Faithful Friday: "I Believe"

Since I'm not sharing Friday Reads any longer, I thought I'd share some of the books that have been formative in my Christian faith over the years, both fiction and non-fiction. I won't share reviews per se, just a short snippet of how it was beneficial to me. Because I haven't read some of these books in (many!) years, please feel free to check out more recent reviews.

In this case, "I Believe": Exploring the Apostles' Creed by Alister McGrath was one of the first books I read that focused exclusively on the Apostles' Creed. It's a shorter book at 120 pages, so it's completely digestible. What was most memorable to me was that one of my theology classes always began by reciting this Creed, which brought these words to life as a reminder of what Christians agree on. This book was a great springboard into reading other works by Alister McGrath over the years.

I'll see how long this Friday series lasts, but it's given me a good excuse to go through my library and find some older books that I have greatly appreciated - thanks for following along!

Comments

Christian vs. Clean

This is a theme that isn't new if you've been following some of my musings over the past several months. You could even say this is the natural progression of taking this line of thinking to its conclusion. In evaluating which books to read, the refrain of Christian vs. clean has become so ingrained in my thinking that it's practically been on repeat for me. To be honest, I've never really held a view on Christian vs. clean books until the end of last year. Most of my reading since becoming a Christian has been all over the place, where I believed that acquiring knowledge, almost any knowledge, was worth it for the sake of becoming more learned. Being a voracious reader meant that I would consume most anything—especially if it was free as I didn't have a lot of books growing up (my parents preferred to take me to the library on a weekly basis as I would have cost them too much in books 😂). However, God has definitely been impressing upon me the conviction that I ca...

Review: The Rekindled Heart

I acknowledge that it's easy for me to fall into a spiritual rut and treat walking with God like a checklist. I fall into these bouts knowingly and unknowingly, so I was quite keen to read The Rekindled Heart by Mark Y. Yarbrough as both a refresher and a reminder of how to energize my spiritual life again. This book was just what I needed and it's one that I will continue to reflect on in the coming days and weeks. Many thanks to Moody Publishers for providing a complimentary copy of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. Book Synopsis Sometimes our faith needs to be revived. You started your spiritual life with a burst of joy, feeling deep gratitude to Christ for saving you. You rejoiced with a sense of belonging in the family of God. And likely, you couldn’t wait to open your Bible, to worship, to share your faith with others. But somewhere along the way, your passion for the Lord faded. Your spiritual journey became a slog. The Rekindled Heart was ...

Review: Movie-Made Romance: Christmas in Garland Collection #4

For anyone who has played bingo along with Christmas Romance movies, it's clear that there are definite (and repeated) themes. Movie-Made Romance by A.M. Heath plays on that idea, bringing a story within a story to life. Book Synopsis He wants a second chance. She wants him to get lost. Carleigh St. John is tired of watching everyone else get their happily-ever-after, and her little sister’s engagement is the last straw. Stewing down the overused plot lines from Christmas Romance movies, Carleigh creates a dating playbook. With a marathon of Christmas dates ranging from picking out a tree with her first crush to volunteering with her grumpy co-worker, she’s bound to find her perfect movie-made ending. … If only her ex will stay out of the way. Joshua Price has spent the last four years trying to outrun his past and the ex-fiancé he had hurt, but now he is back home. As he strives to help his grandfather, he keeps bumping into Carleigh. The pull between them is undeniable, and Jos...