I am a reader. For most of my life, I’ve hoarded books, many books. As a child, my mom often caught me reading after bedtime. As a teacher, I collected children’s books. As a parent, I perused bookshelves for just the right books to provide truth, knowledge, and excitement to engage my children’s curious minds and hearts. As a wife, I bought books about marriage. Since babies aren’t born holding their own personal manuals, I bought almost every book on parenting ever written. (My kids will tell you, I still got plenty wrong.) Then I added to my library all the books I had (the privilege) to read while in seminary a few years ago.

The other day, I heard our town library planned to have a used book sale while we were away. FOMO (fear of missing out) struck hard. The thought of other people scooping up books I needed sent me into a spiral. One of my author friends has a small curbside book library in front of her house. Picture a birdhouse, but with books, not birds. If she didn’t live an hour away, I might be sifting through her offerings weekly.

By now, you have visualized my overcrowded bookcase, stash of books under the bed, books in bags behind the bed, and my fast-growing library on Audible. So why do I call myself a writer? I haven’t published my book…yet. I have published a couple of articles for other ministries, and I have an article published in the Inspire Christian Writer’s anthology called Inspire Courage: Inspiring Writings About Courage. You can find it on Amazon.

Over twenty years ago, snuggled under a blanket on my couch, I read a book late into the night as my husband and babies slept. I don’t remember the title, but an intrusive thought interrupted my flow in the middle of a paragraph. “Someday, you are going to write a book.” I immediately felt butterflies in my stomach—the kind that speak both fear and excitement as they flitter deep within. I completely dismissed it. After all, I had no real topic or experience, and life was too busy with three children, two and under. For several years, my words remained within the pages of countless journals that occasionally offered useful material for speaking opportunities.

Fast forward twenty years and God has provided me plenty of life experiences and topics about which to write. And friends, I have some WORDS to share. I believe WORDS MATTER—especially God’s words.

Currently, I’m working on three writing projects. One is a non-fiction book about the power of our words and what God has to say about them. While exploring examples in the Bible, this book will outline practical ways to tame the tongue, bless others with our words, and handle harsh words we hear. I’m still in the editing phase of the first few chapters and book proposal. My next step is wooing an agent and publisher.

My second project is a series of children’s picture books. The first book is about the story of Scripture. God’s Word is not just a group of disconnected stories. It is one grand, fantastic narrative and we are a part of it! Weaving through the significant events and people in the Bible, I’ll show young readers God’s character and how each part of His story fits together and points us to Jesus. God invites us to understand His story because He desires us to know Him intimately and walk alongside Him in the purposes He planned for us before the beginning of time. The rest of the series is about what we believe as Christ followers (basically the essential doctrines of our faith, but I won’t call them doctrines. That’s likely a dull word to a ten-year-old).

My third book project is a practical and illustrative guide for entertaining outdoors with Airstreams. I plan to combine my love for creative entertaining, glamping, and the great outdoors.  Those who don’t want to sacrifice entertaining in style while camping will love the inspiration in this colorful coffee table book. I am currently writing a proposal to submit to several publishers.

I am a writer because I love encouraging others with the life-giving power of God’s Word. I am a reader for the same reason I write. Most often, my reading was born out of a need to answer questions or solve problems. I love how books counsel us and grow our perspectives on issues. I want to provide that for others. Reading is so important to the process of writing.

“The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book.” —Samuel Johnson

Because I am a reader, naturally I want to share some of my favorite books with you. Let me introduce you to a few of my favorites I’ve read over the last twenty years. It’s not an exhaustive list, but they rank high among the most impactful books for me to recommend, discuss, and give away. These authors have partnered with God to present the truth of His Word within their own stories and expertise. Their time studying, researching, and writing and re-writing shaped their words from cover to cover. Their commitment and call to get their messages out to the world provided me with different lenses to see God and my circumstances. I’ve been challenged and deeply encouraged by each of these authors. I’ll share five below and a few more in my next article. If you are not a reader, but love to listen to books, most are available on Audible.

Not God Enough: Why Your Small God Leads to Big Problems by J.D. Greear

J.D. Greear invites us to think about how big God is. He’s bigger than the words we know to describe big. And He is pursuing each of us personally to participate in His divine mission. Still, sometimes we miss it because we think of Him as small. Or worse, we allow Him to be a part of our lives and not the central or entirety of our lives.

Favorite quote: “I’ve heard God’s work in our lives compared to the weaving of a tapestry. On one side you see a beautiful, intricate work of art. But if you lift the corner and look at the back side, you find an erratic and chaotic mess of strands. If all you could see were the back side of a tapestry as it was being woven, you would conclude that nothing beautiful was taking shape. When you flip it and look at it from the front, however, you see that every strand finds its perfect place according to the plan of the artist. One day, God will “flip over” history, and we will see that every strand of lives was part of picture God wove together for His glory.”

Find Your People: Building Deep Community in a Lonely World by Jennie Allen

I think Jennie is right. We are living in the loneliest generation in history, even though we are the most connected generation through the internet and social media. “We aren’t supposed to be this lonely,” she says. I agree. We were created to live in community with true intimacy, to know others and to be known. Jennie outlines practical solutions for creating true community and draws from the truth of God’s Word to explain why this is necessary. “Loneliness does not have to be your reality.”

Favorite quote: In her chapter entitled “Finding Your Family,” Jennie challenges us to stay in imperfect marriages, imperfect churches, and in imperfect friendships. She says, “Choosing to stay is not easy, but whomever God has given you as your family…the moment you decide to accept them for who they are instead of constantly trying to get them to change…the moment you look for ways to serve your family and church instead of constantly expecting things from them…the moment you watch for opportunities to speak an encouraging word instead of questioning their every decision…the moment you seek out chances to love them well instead of spending your days anticipating awful exchanges with them…that might be the moment when you see your family and church changed.”

Jonah: Beyond a Tale of a Whale by Mark Yarbrough

Dr. Mark Yarbrough is the president of Dallas Theological Seminary. I had the privilege of taking two of his classes while attending DTS. Joel and I both have loved learning from him and hanging out with him in other settings. One of our favorite times was on the DTS Israel trip in 2022. Dr. Yarbrough is a master storyteller, and coupled with his vast biblical knowledge, he makes the ancient text come to life. His heart is to share God’s Word so that others understand it and apply it. In each chapter he ends with “A life that is growing spiritually…” Three key themes I held onto while reading this book were the importance of true repentance, authenticity, and obedience. Dr. Yarbrough teaches truth and loves well.

Favorite quote: Dr. Yarbrough shares a time that a legendary DTS faculty member, Howard Hendricks, spoke these words to him: “Don’t miss your moment.” After that first time, they continued to speak those words to each other often. In the last chapter of his book, Dr. Yarbrough says, “Unfortunately, Jonah’s story comes to a heartbreaking conclusion. God gave him a moment, a chance to see what matters. But his values were inverted, and his heart was cold and self-centered. God gave him a moment, and he missed it. We dare not miss ours.”

Love, Pray, Listen: Parenting Your Wayward Adult Kids with Joy by Mary DeMuth

Mary provides truth, encouragement, and wisdom for all parents of adult children (wayward or not). Honestly, this book is great for every relationship. I’ve read several of Mary’s books, and she always points me to Jesus. Her writing is theologically sound. Mary has a profound way of interpreting passages and applying them to our struggle with our wayward adult child. She goes deep. This book is rich, and not one word is wasted. Mary unpacks 1 Corinthians 13 (Love is patient, love is kind…) and relates it to this stage of parenting, especially with an adult child who is struggling. At the end of each chapter, she gives practical ways we can love, pray, and listen.

Favorite quote: “Our battle is not against our adult kid. Our battle is against what pushes against them, tempts them, wants to steal, kill, and destroy them—the enemy of all our souls, Satan.” I have too many favorites not to mention one more: “Look back over your life and see how God has been patient with you. Listen to what he reveals to you. May his patience toward you bring deeper patience in you.” One more: “Your value does not lie in your ability to perfectly parent, nor does it come from adult children who make perfect choices.”

Secrets of the Secret Place: Keys to Igniting Your Personal Time with God by Bob Sorge

I adore this book. If you saw it, you’d know it’s been cherished. A few pages are falling out, highlights adorn my favorite phrases, notes are written in the margins, and sticky tabs bookmark those things I don’t want to forget. This book is all about intimacy with God. Bob Sorge has such a way with words. The chapter lengths are perfect to be read as a devotional, which is how I’ve used it for many years. Even after reading it through three times, I still find new nuggets.

Favorite quote: “He doesn’t enjoy you any less because you struggle. He knows your weakness, He sees your failures, but yet He owns you as His child and enjoys you even when you fall! He loves it when you pick yourself up and keep stepping forward again into His arms. How comforting to know we can bring the entire package of our inadequacies and shortcomings into His presence and know that He lovingly embraces us and delights in us! He enjoys us at every stage of the maturity process.”

What are your favorite books and who are your favorite authors? How have they shaped you? Have you read any of the books from my list above? If not, which ones are you interested in reading? What thoughts or questions do you have for me regarding my writing projects? Which one would you like to see published first?  I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment or email me directly. I look forward to connecting with you!