Christian Shelves

I love hearing how others are able to squeeze reading into their days, so I thought I'd share a typical day for me. The picture is a teensy bit aspirational but the following snapshot is fairly reflective of an average day as I try to maintain reading habits in my life. When I first get up, I pray and spend some time in the NIV Chronological Study Bible . I discovered that there is a yearly reading plan included, though it is not broken up day by day when there are larger sections; this has actually been helpful as I can read along at my own pace and read a little bit more on the days that I have more time. All in all, there's a plan but it's given me enough flexibility that I'm ahead instead of feeling behind. After being in the Word, I read my devotional; right now, it's  A Shelter from the Storm . I like to try out different versions as I've gone through a lot of the classic ones, but there have been some years where I've repeated some really good devotio...

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...

January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day . It is a day to remember the victims of the Holocaust and an ever-present reminder of how much God's chosen people have suffered throughout their history. In light of that, The Letter  by April Barcalow was a fitting book for me to read for this upcoming Saturday. If you're interested in reading this as well, it is available for free to newsletter subscribers . Book Synopsis Set in Holland during World War II, “The Letter” tells the story of an unlikely friendship between two strangers, about love across enemy lines, and about finding the courage to shine brightly when the darkness closes in. Source: Author's Website Book Thoughts The Letter  may be novella-sized, but there is a deep richness that lies within its pages. This book is the perfect length as so much is covered within the story without sacrificing any content, pacing, or plot. Written in both narrative and epistolary styles, readers get to know Elly and Piet...

Update from September 2024 : I have since learnt information about the author and how he has discredited himself from serving in Christian ministry. This book was read, reviewed, and rated prior to knowing that information. I have since withdrawn my rating and am instead pointing readers to other available resources from Utah Lighthouse Ministry , Mormonism Research Ministry , and Utah Christian Research Center . If you've read  Unveiling Grace: The Story of How We Found Our Way Out of the Mormon Church  by Lynn K. Wilder, then Passport to Heaven: The True Story of a Zealous Mormon Missionary Who Discovers the Jesus He Never Knew by Micah Wilder is the perfect companion book as this is her son's story. Book Synopsis “You have a call, Elder Wilder.” When missionary Micah Wilder set his sights on bringing a Baptist congregation into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he had no idea that he was the one about to be changed. Yet when he finally came to know the ...

After reading a powerful post about what it means to write Christian fiction , I was intrigued by the premise of  Dear Daughter by Kassandra Garrison, along with the role that this book played in the author's life and writing. I am grateful to the author for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own. Book Synopsis Understanding her past may be the key to her future... When Olivia Larson finally escaped her childhood home and abusive mother, she never imagined she would have to relive the trauma of her past. Yet, after complications during childbirth, God sends Olivia on a journey back through her life. Desperately, she scrambles to hear God in the midst of her memories. With every moment she relives, Olivia draws closer to a life-changing realization, one that will forever alter how she loves herself, others, and God. Will it be too late for Olivia to get back to her family or will God give her another chance at life? Source:  Amazon Book Th...

I've always considered myself a pretty boring Christian and now that I'm online again, I can confirm that I am still very boring. By boring, I mean that I've typically been hesitant or suspicious about trends in general, even before I came to know the Lord. That's not to say that this is always a good thing, but in looking back over my life, I'm beyond grateful that God used my cautious nature to alert me to the notion that just because something is popular, it doesn't mean that it's necessarily good or right. As a result, I'm rarely the type to get on bandwagons. Where I think this suspicion has played out most has been in my Christian entertainment choices, funny enough. As I seldom consume secular entertainment, I suppose I'm already untrendy there. It's also not the focus of what I'll be writing about here as it doesn't play much of a part in my life. In thinking back to when I was a young Christian, I remember being excited about any...

I think I have to accept that I won't like every book that I read, and that it's difficult to know this beforehand unless I take the time to read reviews. Admittedly, I avoid doing this to some extent in order to stay away from spoilers (so yes, I obviously need to revisit this stance). I also want to be an encouragement as I recognize that authors are doing their best, but it sometimes doesn't land for all readers. With that in mind, I'm going to do what I can to minimize negative reviews and only share them on my blog as Goodreads can be fraught with a lot of interesting responses. Of course, these thoughts don't make it to social media as I don't want to heap criticism on others. While that takes care of that, it has made me increasingly apprehensive about posting my Friday Reads each week, bringing me back to the dilemma where what I read is not necessarily what I would endorse. In thinking through this, I realized I kept asking myself the following questio...