Tuesday, February 5, 2008

From the English Major

booksChris and I have had the wonderful opportunity here at Central to READ! It has been so wonderful to not only learn through watching others and through hands-on experiences, but to also learn through reading. I just have a few books I would like to recommend and tell you a little about. Some of them have been so helpful while others have been just plain enjoyable!

1) Every Heart Restored: A Wife's Guide to Healing in the Wake of a Husband's Sexual Sin by Fred and Brenda Stoeker (Fred co-authored Every Man's Battle)

This is a one of a kind book that talks about healing we all need regardless of if we have experienced the pain of a husband's sexual sin. For those of us who have (and I know that is the vast majority of women), this book is a gift from the Lord to us from a woman who's been through it.

I highly recommend this book for ALL women, married or unmarried. We are going to face this issue. It is being forced upon us, and as Christian women we must be prepared to stand and fight and glorify God.

2) The Marriage Builder by Dr. Larry Crabb

This is an amazing marriage book that talks about the main purpose of marriage: glorifying God! The main point is that marriage is for our own growth, our growth closer to God. It has some wonderful information.

3) Sharing Jesus in the Buddhist World edited by David Lin and Steve Spaulding

This book is heavier reading, but has some amazing and insightful information about Buddhism and teaching Buddhists. I highly recommend it if you are interested in ministering to the Buddhist world.

4) The Strong-Willed Wife: Using Your Personality to Honor God and Your Husband by Dr. Debbie Cherry

I don't think has been a time in my life where I have thought that my personality was worthwhile. In fact, I have often felt that my strong-will was not a gift from God but closer to a curse. This book has given me a new, yet Biblical, perspective on the strong-willed wife. I feel like I have grown so much closer to what God has been trying to mold me into because of what I learned from this book. If you think you have a strong-will (we usually know it!), then this is the book for you!

5) Leap of Faith: A memoir of an Unexpected Life by Queen Noor

This autobiography is a very interesting saga about an American who marries the King of Jordan. It provides an interesting viewpoint of recent political events as well as what you normally learn from memoirs: the same things the person living them learned.

6) An Enduring Love: My Life with the Shah by Farah Pahlavi

This is also quite an interesting story of the Shahs who were eventually ousted by the Islamic revolution in Iran.

7) Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Though peppered with crude language and somewhat offensive, this book is an interesting story of a boy who graduated from Emory, gave all his money to charity, and was found dead from starvation in the Alaskan wilderness. It is a very detailed account of his person and describes an acted-upon longing I often have: to go into the wild.

8) In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story by Ghada Karmi

With the politics of Palestine all over the news, I am very interested to read more from the "other" side. This book is the account of a family ousted by Zionists in 1948. The last page of the book left me quaking in my boots. . .but I won't ruin it for you!

9) A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot

An amazing story of what a single woman did in India. I often felt myself arguing with Amy's reasoning and actions, but this story is challenging in the way so many missionary biographies are.

10) For Men Only: A Straightforward Guide to the Inner Lives of Women and For Women Only: What You Need to Know about the Inner Lives of Men by Jeff and Shaunti Feldhahn

Two of the best marriage books we've read! Chris and I read these together and enjoyed every minute. We took forever to finish them because each idea presented left us discussing it for days! I highly recommend these books for newlyweds especially.

11) Give Joy to My Youth: A Memoir of Dr. Tom Dooley by Teresa Gallagher

I was angry to the last page with this book. I am always amazed at who we honor in this world. . . but I'll leave it up to you if you find the man who inspired the Peace Corps worthy of honor or not.

No comments:

Post a Comment