The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith by Timothy Keller

This is a different spin on the gospel. It is a little bit different than what I've heard lately, but still more like what God is showing me recently than anything before three years ago....... I guess you could call it "reformed," but by that I mean only that the emphasis is on what GOD does rather than on what we can do. And it proposes that we need the gospel every day... Timothy Keller says, "The Gospel is the A-Z of the Christian life, not just the A,B,Cs." These are things I have been learning, from Alan Kraft's book and all of CCCG, and from my time at SGC, and even from reading Mere Christianity. But it bears repeating... over and over:)

The Path of Loneliness by Elisabeth Elliot

Let's just be real; it has been a lonely time for me. But I benefit from reading Elisabeth Elliot's sobering and re-orienting words any time. This particular book seems to focus more on issues related to loneliness. I like her idea of offering loneliness to God.

"It is a very different line than I offer [than joining a health club, etc], more practical, more "useful" in the long run than any diversion, one that has been for me not only eminently workable wherever I was, whatever the cause, but fundamentally transforming. It is not a trick or a program or a method of getting rid of loneliness altogether. I do not believe there is such a thing. It does not cost money, require skill, or depend upon the cooperation of others. It is this simple matter of seeing loneliness as a gift-- to be received, and then to be offered back to God for His use. We might say it is a coin, exchangeable for something of everlasting value.

"When a coin is spent it's gone. I have often found that loneliness given to God disappears. I cannot find it anywhere. My heart is light. My work is a joy. I am healed. and all unbeknownst to me, there has been, in addition to my own healing, an exchange I did not dream of: Someone else's load has been lightened.

"But then it comes again, in a different way, perhaps, but loneliness all the same-- the reminder that I was made for god, my heart will never rest anywhere else, and nothing the world can offer will satisfy.

"Can I promise that your loneliness will disappear at once? No. It does not always happen so. I cannot offer a want which when waved in the proper way will make your troubles vanish. I cannot say, "This is what you can do about it," but I can say, "This is what you can do with it-- right now." Receive it willingly from God. Offer it thankfully back to God.

"You will still be alone, but you will not be lonely. You will find solace in solitude, and your oblation brings you one step nearer to spiritual maturity." (147-148)

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

What can I even say? This book is soooo good. I can't describe it. Just read it. Whether you are a Christian or not. It is beneficial.

Emma by Jane Austen

I do like Jane Austen. But every time I read one, I feel like it is too long.

Treasury of Christmas Miracles by Karen Kingsbury

I know I'm late! I did read most of these during the Christmas season but for some reason read the last one just last night. It has been refreshing for me. I tend to think that God only works miracles like Shadrach, Mechach, and Abednego, saving the lives of those who are about to die for him, and in the process bringing glory to himself amoung entire peoples... So reading about how he works in tangible ways, sometimes just to bring comfort to one of his children, reminds me of the personal and powerful God that he is.

Good News for Those Trying Harder

This book was written by the pastor of my church in Greeley. I've heard messages based from this perspective that have really changed me and brought me life. So while it can stand alone as a good book with a very worthwhile message, to me it also represents the impact this message has had on me over the past 28 months or so now. It has brought me from a place of "trying harder" to understanding, though as of now only on a superficial level with still much to practice, that I cannot live "the Christian life" in my own strength. God's blessing and strength are not dependent on my performance. One of the most liberating new ideas of all this is that "we are not only justified by faith; we are also sanctified by faith." (173)

So often we have areas of our lives in which we have posted a "No Trespassing" sign to Jesus. The guilt, the shame, the fear we feel keep us from every letting Jesus get near. Ironically and sadly, it is often this shame that will lead us back into the sinful behaviors of which we are so ashamed. Sin always thrives in secret. But imagine what might happen if you choose to come to Jesus in that moment, to welcome His presence as you are raiding the refrigerator, or looking at porn, or exaggerating the truth. What if you choose to be aware of His loving presence in the midst of that sin? (170)

He goes on to explain that this does not mean thinking of Jesus as a Big Brother-like figure. This leads to shame and guilt, which can be powerful motivators in the short-term. But we really need is the heart change that comes from hearing the twin melodies of brokenness and faith. First, recognizing our sin for what it is, and then, after seeing how awful it is, looking to our Savior, not our own efforts for faith. I need to see that he is right there with me, saying, "I love you. I know why you are doing this, but it will not fulfill you the way you think. I am here to offer you motivation & a better way." And this can only happen by gazing upon Him, by meditating on His words to me, by drinking deeply of him- in other words, practicing His presence, as Brother Lawrence taught me.

The Heart of Racial Justice by Brenda Salter McNeal & Rick Richardson

I'd had some exposure to the ideas in this book... but some of them were new to me. And I can't say that I wholeheartedly agree with all the viewpoints and methods proposed by this book, but the truth is-- it's very good to hear a different viewpoint about something I don't think of enough. It is a good reminder of something I do believe strongly- that God designed for many nations to know him and for this to bring him glory. He is glorified by groups and cultures worshiping him in unity but not in ways that look identical.

And I believe that is our sinful brokenness that has caused those with power to use it to harm. And too often in America, in particular in my culture as a comfortable, I-haven't-done-anything-like-that, upper middle class person of a great amount of privilege, we don't even try to consider what it is like for other people...... we don't like to think about these tense, gritty, issues that make people like me feel guilty. But it is essential- because I am called to be united with my brothers and sisters in other cultures, and also to fight against injustice as a Christian. So now the most difficult question arises- how?