In the meantime

And December is drawing to a close, which means that my 2019 Reading Challenge is practically over. Here are the final books I've read for 2019. Read about the first forty books I read this year HERE and HERE . Here's my rating system: 5+ Stars - Incredibly encouraging & edifying; absolutely loved it! 5 Stars - Fantastic and edifying read! 4 Stars - A great read! 3 Stars - An okay book overall. 2 Stars - Left much to be desired. 1 Stars - Don't waste your time reading it. Each title is a link to the book.  Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn't Make Sense,   by  Paul Tripp -- 5+ Stars This book is insightful, both practically and spiritually. Tripp writes from a unique perspective, for not only has he been able to minister to many people going through suffering, he has recently experienced some significant suffering himself. Because of the suffering God has brought him through, Tripp is able to identify with many of the emotions tha...

I recently shared seven reasons for why you should read the entire Bible instead of only parts of it.  Here are five more reasons for why you should read the entire Bible.  (As you read these reasons, please keep in mind that I am not saying that reading the entire Bible is the only way to read the Bible--there is definitely a time and place for slower and deeper study of the Word.) 8. It is an act of faith.  If we believe 2 Timothy 3:16-17 is true, we believe that all of Scripture is profitable. According to these verses, Scripture is profitable for "teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" to the end that "the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."  So when we're in the middle of the Old Testament and it seems like there is absolutely nothing in it that is beneficial for our lives, we cling to this declaration of the power of Scripture and keep reading it. God has promised to use ...

With 2020 just around the corner, there is lots of talk about starting fresh with Bible reading goals. One of the most popular goals is reading through the entire Bible in a year.  Reading through the Bible in a year is a fantastic goal to have. All throughout my years at home, my parents read through the Bible every year. They then encouraged me to work towards accomplishing that goal myself, even when I was quite young. The discipline of having to stick with a schedule in order to finish within the prescribed time-frame was instrumental in helping me develop a habit of reading the Bible every day.  So what are some reasons for why we should read the entire Bible? Why not just stick to the parts that make us get all warm and fuzzy inside? Or the parts that are "fun" to read? Or the exciting stories about heroes?  Why should we continue reading, even if we feel lethargic as we read through the endless genealogies, Levitical procedures, graphic murder s...

Struggling with doubts about one's salvation is quite commonplace among believers. Indeed, if we are honest, I think many of us would agree that we have asked ourselves the question: "Am I truly saved?"  As a teenager, I had several conversations with my mom about my assurance of salvation. While I don't remember all the details of those often-late-night conversations, I do remember my mom pointing me back to Scripture and reminding me of what God says. Even now as an adult, there are still occasional moments of doubt.   Assured: Discover Grace, Let Go of Guilt, and Rest in Your Salvation by Greg Gilbert is a helpful little discussion about how to deal with these moments of doubt. Its goal is to drive us back to Scripture and remind us of what our salvation truly rests on. Four Sources of Assurance  The majority of the book centers around a discussion of four sources for our assurance: the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God's promises, the Holy Sp...

Here are twenty more books marked off that ol' reading challenge . I've now read just over forty books this year. ( Here are the first twenty books that I read this year.) I was hoping to accomplish the Committed  level (a total of fifty-two books), but with the number of weeks left in the year (December is just around the corner, yikes!) and the number of books I still have to read (about ten), that leaves me with needing to read roughly two books a week. As much as it originally looked like I was on track to successfully reading fifty-two books this year, I think I'm going to be a few books shy when December 31st comes around. *sigh* On a brighter note, I've absolutely loved using a reading challenge, for it has forced me to step out of my comfort zone and read a whole variety of books! So here's how I'm rating them: 5+ Stars - Incredibly encouraging & edifying; absolutely loved it! 5 Stars - Fantastic and edifying read! 4 Stars - A g...

Every afternoon, as I work to get Talitha settled down for a nap, there is inevitably at least one (maybe two or even three) trips to the bathroom because she supposedly "has to go to the bathroom." More often than not, this seems to be an excuse to get out of bed and delay going to sleep rather than an urgent need to answer nature's call...The more of a routine that it becomes, the more wearisome it feels. I often find myself on the verge of frustration. Who would have thought that something as natural as potty-training could produce so many frustrating parenting moments?  And yet, as we went through the routine yet again today and I could feel the frustration building, I was reminded of the reality that I cannot do this parenting thing by myself; I am  needy.  Oh, so needy for His sustaining strength in so many areas of my life. Parenting is merely one area.   In contrast to my extreme neediness, God is not needy. In fact, He is self-sufficie...

Roughly a year ago I decided to start reading again, after having pretty much abandoned all books after college. Getting back into reading has been one of the most encouraging and profitable habits that I've ever cultivated!   Perhaps you're wondering what happened in my brain for me to, practically overnight, go from reading no books to reading multiple books at the same time. I wrote about that awhile back.  Perhaps you're wishing you could also get back into reading and actually finishing a book. Over the past year, I've unintentionally discovered some strategies that have been helpful in cultivating a reading habit. Maybe some of these strategies will resonate with you.   1.  Make it enjoyable By enjoyable, I mean fun and light. In an effort to get back into reading, make those first few books that you read be books that have a story line that you know will be easy to follow and enjoy, right then and there.  For me, my initial fun ...

Click on image for link The sub-title says it all: The Greater Journey focuses on Americans in Paris from 1830 to 1900 and how Paris influenced them and how they, in turn, left their mark on Paris. McCullough uses a chronological timeline to organize his book, however, he does not give equal weight to all individuals. For example, individuals like Samuel Morse, George Healy, Elihu Washbourne, and Augustus Saint-Gaudens have large sections dedicated to unpacking the time they spent in Paris, as well as their overall character as a person. For others, McCullough gives much less space: some are given a few pages, others only a paragraph or two, and still others are given barely more than a brief mention. Despite the primary focus being on Americans, McCullough skillfully weaves significant events in Parisian history into the story-line: there was the cholera outbreak in the early 1830s, the rise of the Second Republic in 1852 with Napoleon III as Emperor, and then the Franco-Prussian...

Click on image for link W hat is a Healthy Church Member  by Thabiti Anyabwile is the second book about church membership that I've read recently. The first book is  I am a Church Member  by Thom Rainer, and I wrote about it here .   Similar to  I am a Church Member , Anyabwile also outlines some specific attitudes and habits a healthy church member should strive to cultivate. Several of these attitudes overlap with and expand on the ones mentioned in I am a Church Member .   This entire book is solidly Biblical in how it argues from Scripture why church membership is important. After I finished reading it, I couldn't help but feel like I had just had a spiritual battery recharge concerning my understanding of my role within the local church and why I should want to serve and be involved with the other believers who attend the same local church. Combine this book with  I am a Church Member  and you have two outstanding books...