As an English major, I am constantly reading books during the school year. I don't get as much time to read for pleasure as I would like, but when I do, I love to dive into Christian books and grow in my faith. As someone who actually studies books from all different time periods and cultures, I thought I could offer some insight into what Christian books I enjoy. I recommend all of these listed below, and since we are living a "corona summer," we have plenty of time to dig into a good book.
Crazy Love by Francis Chan
I read this book the summer before my junior year of high school, and I am not exaggerating when I say it was life changing. Francis talks about the "crazy" love of God and what our response as His children should be. It truly made me stop and think about how intentional I wanted my life to be in pointing to Christ. This book is not a "feel good" Christian book. It's convicting, it's a punch in the gut in a lot of ways, but it will teach you so much and open your eyes to His love.
The Mark of the Lion Series by Francine Rivers
I am throwing a curveball on this one; I bet y'all did not expect some Christian fiction to be on here. Well, surprise. I love Christian fiction, and I love that these type of writers are able to create such a strong storyline that honors and glorifies God first. I got this series as a high school graduation gift (shoutout to Tim and Lorinda Wender), and I cannot stress to you how captivating it is. It is about a young girl, Hadassah, who is a follower of Jesus during the days of the early church and is captured in Jerusalem and taken to Rome as a slave. Hadassah is so devoted to Jesus, and because of her faith, you will leave this series so inspired.
Love Story by Karen Kingsbury
Karen Kingsbury is my favorite author. She is so talented, but her heart for God is what truly shines through her work. This is the first book of hers I ever read, and it shows the beginning of the famous Baxter family series. I actually met Karen my senior year of high school and had her sign my copy of this book. She looked at me and said, "There has to be a next bestselling author, why not you?" I have never forgotten it. If you love a good love story, you'll love this book, but even more than that, you'll see how God can use anything for our good and His glory.
God's Not Dead by Rice Broocks
No, this is not the book version of the movie. I am pretty sure they did use the information in the book within the movie though. This is an apologetics book (essentially it talks about how science points to God's existence). This is the first book based on apologetics that I ever read. Sometimes we will encounter people who do not believe in God at all, and I think it is imperative that we are able to give a reason as to why believing really is the only logical option. If you are doubting your faith or maybe even have no faith at all but are curious, this book can answer a lot of your questions if not all of them. This book is also kinda an interesting one to share because the author's son is one of my friends from college. That's a fun fact for your day.
Live Original Devotional by Sadie Robertson Huff
Y'all already knew Sadie Rob had to make it onto this list. Sadie is such a good role model for girls everywhere, and her Live Original devotional was such an encouragement to me while I was in high school. I think any woman could benefit from this devotional especially because it gives a space to write what God is teaching you at the end of the devotional as well as direct questions that pertain to what you learned that day. It has such easy application to it.
(Unfortunately, I do not have a physical copy of Crazy Love because I have it on my iPad).
Here is a photo of when I met Karen Kingsbury! Such a cool moment.
Here is where Karen autographed my copy of Love Story.
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