Looking for great scripturally-sound devotionals and books to enhance your private devotions and personal reading? Maybe you’re looking for books that take a strong biblical approach to current social, culteral, and global issues…maybe you like biographies or classics. How about those Puritans – ever read any of their rich writings? I read as many different types as I possibly can and I want to share the best with you – new releases and the classics!
I confess! I’m a “good book addict” and I find it easier to read a good book than write about it! This is my excuse for the sixteen books sitting on my desk waiting patiently to be added to my list of recommended books.
These books are excellent study tools, devotions, and words of encouragement, but they are NEVER intended to replace God’s Holy Word as our sole source of authority and life-giving power.
Lies Women Believe – And The Truth That Sets Them Free
By Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, Moody Publishers, 2018|Originally Published: Moody Publishers, 2001, Chicago, Illinois
This is an almost-encyclopedic accounting of the multitude of lies that can derail a woman’s peace of mind, personal relationships, and her walk with God. More important than the lies, Nancy offers God’s Truth as the remedy for each and every lie that may attack. A best-selling classic on the subject.
Moving Through Your Problems Toward FINDING GOD
By Dr. Larry Crabb, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan: 1993
Dr. Crabb shares his own brutally honest, raw, and difficult journey through painful circumstances, challenging mental stresses, and emotional turmoil. It isn’t always an easy read – particularly for the one going through dark days, but the truth that Dr. Crabb shares makes it a must-read, especially for the one “looking for God” while dealing with life’s hard issues. Crabb explains what may keep a person from “finding” God – even though God is with them through it all.
Identity Theft – Reclaiming The Truth of Who We Are In Christ
Edited by Melissa Kruger; Contributors: Hannah Anderson, Lindsey Carlson, Courtney Doctor, Megan Hill, Jasmine Holmes, Betsy Childs Howard, Melissa Kruger, Jen Pollock Michel, Trillia Newbell, and Jen Wilkin; The Gospel Coalition, Deerfield, Illinois: 2018
Each of these authors addresses a separate aspect of our identity in Christ creating an interesting and easy-to-read overview on the subject of identity. Questions at the end of each chapter provide excellent discussion starters for group studies or prompts for the individual reader to contemplate before moving on to the next chapter.
Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible – Flawed Women Loved by a Flawless GOD
By Liz Curtis Higgs, WaterBrook Press, New York, New York: 2007
Five deeply flawed women all greatly loved by their mercifully patient, ever-willing-to- forgive LORD and GOD as HE does a work of healing and transformation in their lives: Sarai/Sarah, Hagar, Rebekah, Leah, and Rachel. Once again Liz masterfully blends contemporary tales with biblical narratives to show us our flaws and weaknesses, demonstrating how GOD is willing to work in us, if we allow Him.
Bad Girls of the Bible – And What We Can Learn from Them
By Liz Curtis Higgs, Waterbrook Press, New York, New York: 1999, 2007
Liz Curtis Higgs masterfully spins her fictional stories and personal bad girl story, into brilliant introductions for ten bad girls pulled from the pages of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. She’s as excellent a story teller in writing as she is in person. Quick to point out the humor or irony of a situation, Liz will have you laughing one moment and in the next you’ll be aching over the tragic decisions made and the sorry lives lived by these bad girls. Each bad girl story offers a lesson for us today. A quick and wonderful read. It’s no wonder this series has sold over a million copies!
Becoming Elisabeth Elliot
By Ellen Vaughn, B & H Publishing Publishing Group, Nashville, Tennessee: 2020
This is an authorized biography written by New York Times bestselling author, Ellen Vaughn with a foreword by Joni Eareckson Tada. It is the story of a bright, articulate, fastidious, and dedicated young woman who became a widowed mom less than a month after she turned thirty. This beautifully written story transports you through the early years of Elisabeth Elliot. Pages from Elisabeth’s diary give us glimpses of her heart and the transformational work that God was doing in the remarkable, yet relatable, young woman. In the days after the murder of Jim Elliot, her missionary husband, Elisabeth struggled and then chose obedience to continue the work begun by Jim to minister to the Waodani jungle tribe that killed Jim and his four co-workers. An incredible story of obedience and whole-hearted devotion to God.
Moving Mountains – Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority
By John Eldredge, Nelson Books, Nashville Tennessee: 2016
Written in typical Eldredge style, his writing propels you through the pages with truth, insistency, and instruction making it impossible to set it aside until you reach that last page. Eldredge speaks from personal life experience on the power of prayer and encourages the reader to be satisfied with nothing less in her or his own life. He offers practices and principles for developing powerful prayer habits. It’s an excellent book on prayer.
Atomic Habits
By James Clear, Avery an imprint of Penguin Random House, New York: 2018
It’s no wonder this book has sold over 4 Million copies! This commonsense approach to making life-changing new habits and getting rid of bad habits is easy to digest. It provides simple, logical ways to build healthy habits in your life. An excellent read with great suggestions no matter how ordered and healthy-habit-filled your life may be!
Mended – Restoring the hearts of Mothers and Daughters
By Blythe Daniel & Helen McIntosh, Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon: 2019
A wonderful resource for those seeking to move past the hurts of the past to build hope, peace, and healing into a restored mother-daughter relationship. Click to Read Review…
The Loudest Roar – Living in the Unshakable Victory of Christ
By: Judy Dunagan, Moody Publishers: September 2022
Looking For Hope & Encouragement When Satan’s Roar Seems To Be Getting Louder Everyday? Click to Read Review…
A Year with C.S. Lewis – Daily Readings from His Classic Works
Edited by Patricia S. Klein, HarperOne An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers: 2003
Lovers of C.S. Lewis’ writings and newcomers to the works of this 20th Century Christian intellectual giant will find this book a great way to get bite-size nuggets of biblical wisdom and insight every day of the year. Click to Read Review…