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Summer Reading with a Purpose

Are you interested in missions? Do you enjoy reading biographies? Reading about the lives of famous and not-so-famous people who gave their lives to reaching the unreached can be educational, inspiring, and entertaining. Here are some suggestions to get you (and your kids) started.

torches of joyTorches of Joy, by John Dekker. Pete and I know John Dekker—he served with Pete at a local mission ministry here in Colorado. It’s hard to believe this quiet, unassuming man and his family spent years living in the jungles of Irian Jaya. The Dani tribe was still living at a stone-age level when the Dekkers arrived to bring them the gospel. Today, they’re full of joy, and eagerly send missionaries to the other tribes around them. This book is a page turner! And in case you’re wondering, yes, noted novelist Ted Dekker is John and Helen’s son.

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Read This: Futureville, by Skye Jethani

futurevilleWhat does the future hold? Many people believe that the human race will eventually create “heaven on earth”—that our wisdom and scientific discovers will solve the problems of poverty, war, disease, and the like. On the other hand, many Christians believe that “it’s all gonna burn”—that the world will be consumed in fire, completely destroyed to make room for a brand new heaven and earth.

Both these views have concerns. Humanism presents a glowing future, but ignores greed, envy, and other sin issues. And the belief that the world will be destroyed and replaced eliminates our motivation to steward our resources, and to make things better here and now.

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God With Us

jethani-withYou know how I keep telling you I’ve read the Best Book Ever and I just have to share it? Yes, this is another one of those posts. Except this time, really, this book is amazing! It’s called With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God, by Skye Jethani (note the link to his blog on the right side of this page). His previous book, The Divine Commodity, was excellent, and I highly recommend it. But this time, Jethani hit the ball out of the park. In one relatively short volume he manages to diagnose the problems with much of what passes for American Christianity, and offer a solution that leads directly back to Jesus. Pretty impressive!

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Thrills and Chills

Humming with intensity and blindsided twists, Eyes Wide Open is raw adrenaline from the first page to the last—pure escapism packed with inescapable truth. Not all is as it seems. Or is it? Strap yourself in for the ride of your life. Literally.

eyes wide openSound like something you’d like to read? I took the above blurb from best-selling author Ted Dekker’s website, as it perfectly describes his latest book. I know. I read the first installment (Identity) on the long drive across Texas, on our way home last week. Now I am slowly tearing my hair out, anticipating what will come next. Identity is available as a free e-book, so I foolishly downloaded it, assuming our library would have the rest of the story. Our library failed me.

I should know better than to start reading a book when I don’t yet have the sequels. I really should have known better, considering this comes from Ted Dekker. I’ve read plenty of his books and there is absolutely no way you’re going to put one down until you’ve consumed every last word. Saying Dekker writes exciting books is like saying the Broncos are an adequate football team.

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Grown-up Jesus

You know the words:

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.
The stars in the sky looked down where he lay, the little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.

The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes, but little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes;
I love thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky and stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay close by me forever, and love me, I pray;
bless all the dear children in thy tender care, and fit us for heaven to live with thee there.

With “Away in a Manger” running (and running… and running… ) through my head, it’s easy to focus on sweet baby Jesus, laying calmly in a bed of straw, never making a fuss even when he wets his swaddling cloths. That Jesus is easy to love. He’s non-threatening, making no demands on my time or resources. Baby Jesus doesn’t ask me to give up my pet sins. He doesn’t ask me to love the unlovable. He doesn’t ask me to lay down my life for His sake.

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Free! Books!

Do you like to read? Do you like free stuff? Did you know that there are a zillion free books available for you to download to an e-reader? Here are four places to check:

David C. Cook. You’re probably familiar with their Sunday School curricula, as well as their Christian books. Did you know they often offer one or more new selections from their catalog for free? Simply visit their website. Today’s offering includes four books: Marriage Matters: Extraordinary change through ordinary moments, by Winston T. Smith, What’s Your Secret? Freedom Through Confession, by Aaron Stern (one of the pastors at our church!), truereligion: taking pieces of heaven to places of hell on earth, by Palmer Chinchen, and Touching Wonder: Recapturing the Awe of Christmas, by John Blasé.

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Let Trafficking Break Your Heart

A Walk Across the Sun2Some books entertain, some educate or inform, and some make you want to leap out of your chair and do something! I just finished reading a book that screams for action.

A Walk Across the Sun, by Corban Addison, is fiction, but the underlying facts are real—and heartbreaking. The story follows two teenaged Indian sisters living near the beach south of Chennai. As the book begins, it’s December 26, 2004—the morning after Christmas—the last morning of life as they know it. The family had felt the earthquake the night before but, as no damage was done, it was soon forgotten. And then the waves come. Only the sisters survive. Soaked and bleeding, they stumble home only to discover the bodies of their beloved family. Their home has been destroyed, and with no food or water, they realize they cannot stay where they are.

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Change the World

half the skyReading Rachel Held Evans’ book on Biblical womanhood (see review) piqued my curiosity about the status of women around the world. One of her chapters is devoted to women and justice, and it’s enough to break your heart. While women here complain about barriers to promotion, unequal pay, and skimpy maternity leave, women in much of the world struggle to survive. Our complaints here are valid, but we have laws protecting us. When we are treated unfairly, we have recourse. Millions of women do not.

Evans recommends a book on this subject, so I tracked it down and started reading Half the Sky, by Pulitzer-prizewinning journalists Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. I thought I was pretty well educated on trafficking and other “women’s issues,” but this book opened my eyes to suffering I knew nothing about.

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Am I a Biblical Woman?

A-year-of-biblical-womanhood-bookI should have read this book sooner.

I’ve enjoyed Rachel Held Evans’ blog in the past, and I knew she was a talented writer. I care deeply about the issue of women in the church—to the point where I’ve read dozens of books and articles on the subject. So why did I wait nearly a year to pick up a copy of Evans’ book A Year of Biblical Womanhood, even after it made the N.Y. Times bestseller list and was recommended by a couple of friends, both of whom are exceptionally good at picking out worthwhile books? I guess I was too cheap to buy a copy.

Turns out that not only did our library have it available, I was able to download it to my phone in three minutes. Now I’m buying copies as gifts for my friends (shhh, don’t tell them—it’s a surprise). It’s that kind of book.

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Now Appearing: Jesus

There’s nothing like snuggling up with a cup of tea and a good book, especially with a huge thunderstorm pounding on the roof. It’s even better when you haven’t had a chance to sit down in days, if not weeks.

With my dad all moved into his new quarters, and a huge pile of leftover furnishings and other debris filling our garage, jammed into the family room, and clogging hallways, I finally chose to take a day off. I needed it.

So Monday I sat down with a steaming mug of Irish Breakfast Tea (my favorite) and started reading Dreams and Visions: Is Jesus Awakening the Muslim World?, by Tom Doyle. When noon arrived I took a short break to make a sandwich, propped the book up on the table, and read several more chapters. Pete arrived home. We reheated leftovers and I headed to bed, dinner in one hand, book in the other. I finally turned out the light around eleven—late for someone who normally gets up around five. And yes, I finished the book.

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