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Reading list from the past

One of my favorite things is reading. I remember completing reading challenges in school for prizes of pizza, book fair certificates, tickets to ball games and just the fun of keeping a list. I had a grandfather that fostered my love of reading. He would take me to used bookstores around his home (sometimes we would travel for almost 2 hours). Even on vacations we would sneak away to find a local used book store. We discovered so many off-the-wall places, and he enjoyed helping me build my vast library. Books are everywhere in my home, and when my grandfather passed, I was gifted his enormous library, too. Our interests are varied, yet it was a simple commonality that we could share.

I have kept the list of books that I’ve read the last few years. My memory is not so great, and I find that time is slipping all around; I’ve lost the breadth of time that came with youth. Now my days are confused with weeks and months, and years seem compressed in liquid moments. Lists help me with the spacing of time, and it helps me in remembering my journey. I thought I would list some books I’ve read. Everything I read helps me in some way or another, even if the text is pointing me away from a place I’d rather not visit or live. I think it is just as important to know where you want to go in life as it is to know what you’d like to avoid.

Books from 2019

These are in order as I read them:

  • The Imperfect Disciple by Jared C. Wilson
  • Side by Side by Edward T Welch
  • Disciple Her by Kandi Gallaty
  • Alive in the Spirit by A.W. Tozer (read this one twice)
  • That Makes Two of Us by Connie Witt
  • War of Words by Paul D. Tripp
  • Peacemaking Women by Judy Dabler and Tara Barthel
  • Adorned by Nancy D. Wolgemuth
  • Growing Up by Robby Gallaty
  • Firmly Planted by Robby Gallaty
  • Bearing Fruit by Robby Gallaty
  • Rediscovering Discipleship by Robby Gallaty
  • Suffering by Paul D. Tripp
  • With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray
  • Resolving Everyday Conflict by Ken Sande and Kevin Jacobson
  • Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges
  • Made for Friendship by Drew Hunter
  • Mentor for Life by Natasha S. Robinson
  • Soul Talk by Larry Crabb
  • The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller
  • The Art of Rest by Adam Mabry
  • Humility by Andrew Murray (read this one twice)
  • How People Change by Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp (read this one twice)
  • Absolute Surrender by Andrew Murray
  • A Small Book about a Big Problem: Meditations on anger, patience and peace by Edward Welch
  • Friendish by Kelly Needham
  • Pray Big by Alistair Begg
  • Holy Helps for a Godly Life by Richard Rogers
  • The Right Kind of Strong by Mary Kassian
  • Waiting on God by Andrew Murray
  • Choosing Forgiveness by Nancy L. DeMoss
  • Knowing God by J.I. Packer

Books I read for Lent:

  • The Good of Giving Up by Aaron Damiani
  • From the Grave by A.W. Tozer
  • Pauses for Lent by Trevor Hudson

Book I read for Eastertide:

  • Pauses for Pentecost by Trevor Hudson

Books I read for Advent:

  • Come, Let us Adore Him by Paul D. Tripp
  • The Dawning of Indestructible Joy by John Piper
  • Love Came Down at Christmas by Sinclair Ferguson

The most important of all my reading is God’s Word. In 2019, I read the Bible according to Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s reading plan and used D.A. Carson’s commentaries For the Love of God (Volumes 1 and 2). This was also the year that I used a brand new journaling Bible in the English Standard Version, and kept notes and journaled directly in my Bible as I read and moved through the year. At the end of the year, the Lord asked me to place the name of The Pioneer (my oldest) on the cover and write him a note. This will be a keepsake Bible for him.

Takeaway

As I read back over this list, I can see the theme of preparation through the books. I had prayed early in the year that God would strengthen my faith; looking back, I can clearly see Him answering. It was the year before COVID shutdowns, and the surprise leading of an intense discipleship group. It was two years before God closed some doors in hard and unwelcome ways, and yet, with my current eyes of faith, it makes so much more sense!

Do you have a love for reading? Books that have helped in your transformation? Leave your comments and recommendations below.

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