My best book list

Inspired by another blog I read today I decided to list some of my best books. Not just good books, but ones that have really changed me. Books that were instrumental in my growth as a Christian, a Mom, a wife and everything in between.

The top "book" would have to be the Bible (duh). That's a post for another day. It would take more writing than I'm in the mood for at the moment.

"Road to Reality" (can't remember the author now)........what I learned most from this book was that if churches really cared about spreading the gospel and loving people, would we spend 10,000 on a new piano (when the other worked fine) or would we send out missionaries or feed the hungry. It hit home to me about how out of balance my own priorities were.

"Waking the Dead" by John Eldridge.........This was one of the first books I read after becoming a Christian. Oddly enough, after I got saved I found myself hating church. Mind you, I had "played" church for a long time. But when I got saved (gave my life to Christ for real) I was so happy and free and I loved life. And when I'd go to church, I'd look around at all these people who looked bored to tears, lead sad lives, and never got excited about anything (in church at least).......this book helped me to see how Satan steals our joy and it opened my eyes to the way he tries to keep God's church captive and not effective in the world.

"Captivating" by Staci Eldridge..........This book gave me freedom to be a women. The best chapter was when she talked about being at rest in Christ. She talked of a lady whom she knew that made her so comfortable just by being in her presence. She was a women who knew who she was and who she was not. She was comfortable in her own skin. She wasn't pretending to have it all together, she didn't wear the mask......ah....I wanted to be that women. I love this book.

"Mother Teresa" a biography............she is my hero to this day. Her life was amazing. To live a life with no possessions, free from the love of "stuff", taking care of the out casts of the world. Her faith and her courage inspires me still. My fav quote by her, "poverty is not being hungry, or homeless, true poverty is being unloved, unwanted, and lonely" its so true.

"Yesterday, I Cried" by Inyala Vanzant...........she is very "new age" and believes a little bit of everything. Her book is her own life account of the abuse she endured as a child. It was the first book I read that let me know I was not alone in my struggles to overcome my past. She writes a poem in the beginning of the book. The last line of the poem reads......."today I cried.....I cried a soulful cry today......today I cried with an agenda, because today, freedom has come"......sends goose bumps up my spine to this day.

"Ragamuffin Gospel" by Brennan Manning (yes that is where we got Brennan's name)..........Its an account of his journey out of alcohol addiction. Its a powerful story of sin and redemption, and the power of a grace filled life.

there are many, many more great books I've read, but these are at the top for sure. I'm currently reading "Age of Opportunity" by Paul David Tripp. His brother wrote, "Shepherding a Child's Heart" which honestly I didn't care for. Age of Opportunity is about parenting through the teen years, but can be applied to any age I think. Its a good book. The best parenting book I've read has been, "Parenting with Grace and Truth" by Cloud & Townsend. Not life changing for me, but some great parenting advice.