Grace Is Free: One Woman's Journey From Fundamentalism to Failure to Faith: by Marci Preheim: Throughout the Christian World there is a deadly false teaching that is seeping into the hearts of many Christians. Far too many women are finding themselves enslaved to self-righteousness through seemingly good things like to-do lists, extra biblical rules, and striving for excellence. What can easily be seen as striving for godliness can in effect lead to women who are robbed from the intimacy that comes from walking in Christ's righteousness. Preheim shares in the book the tendency that we as women have to view the woman who excels the most in homemaking skills and organization as the epitome of godliness. If this is true then Martha Stewart is the godliest woman of all. This book pulls the mask off of the false gospel of legalism and fundamentalism by reminding the reader of the Gospel. I highly recommend reading this book this year!
Trusting God (Even When Life Hurts) by Jerry Bridges: It is really hard to describe the impact this book has had on my heart this past month. There is a part of me that wishes I could order a dozen copies of this book and just hand them out everyone in my life who is going through a difficult time. I could definitely agree that it is so much easier to obey God than to trust Him. Sometimes trusting God in various situations simply doesn't make sense to us. In my own life I have been walking through a season where God is radically challenging my trust in Him. This book has been such a comfort the past month. I'm embarrassed to admit that we have actually owned the book for two years before I opened the cover. What a well of encouragement I have been missing. Bridges writes from the perspective of one who has seen his own shares of adversity. Throughout this book he shares what God has taught him about God's power over all things. I have no doubt that at the end of 2015 this will have been one of the books that had the biggest impact on me this year.
Heaven at Home by Ginger Plowman: I don't know about you but I have a deep desire for my home to be a haven and a place of peace. I really enjoyed reading this grace filled book on homemaking.
Say Goodbye To Survival Mode by Crystal Paine: Over the past four years Crystal's blog moneysavingmom.com has been one of the two blogs that I have faithfully read on a weekly basis. This is her second book and I really enjoyed reading it. Throughout the book the author highlights 9 strategies to reduce stress and live a life on purpose. I loved how this book was written from a clear Biblical perspective but was also filled with practical advice.
Supermarket Healthy: by Melissa D'Arabian: I really enjoyed the photography in this cookbook. Simply stunning and almost good enough to eat right off the page! Throughout the book the author tries to create delicious, nutritious meals from ingredients that can be found at your local grocery store. I love a fancy grocery store like Whole Foods but it is a rare treat in our life. We don't live close to a store like this and we lack the budget to shop at such a store exclusively. This is a great cookbook for the real world. I marked a few of her recipes to try in the next week. Please note that I did receive a review copy of this book from Blogging For Books.
What books did you read last month? I would love to hear your suggestions on what books to add to my list for February. Do you have any suggestions for reading a book about prayer?
i'm adding All of these to my want-to-read list! they sound great--especially the one on trusting God.
ReplyDeleteright now i'm reading "the gospel of ruth" by Carolyn Custis James, since i'm studying ruth right now, and its been a really interesting perspective--she writes about "is God good for women" basically.