20 Best Books

These are the 20 top books that have impacted me the most... not necessarily in any order.

1 Miss Twiggley’s Tree This is my all time favorite children’s book. It is a sweet sing song-e story with a great moral at the end especially geared for a kids like me… a little bit shy.

2 Allure of Hope by Jan Meyers Many years ago it occurred to me that hope is a risk and that just didn’t make sense. Jan Meyers explained why hope is a risk and why it’s a necessary risk to take to live life to the fullest. This book has answered nagging questions and has done more to impact my spiritual growth than most any other book. I go back to it from time to time and let her wisdom seep back into my parched having-a-hard-time-with-hope-soul.

3 Hind’s Feet on High Places by Hannah Hunnard As evidence by the series of devotionals I wrote based from this book it is clearly a favorite and also made a huge impact on my Christian walk. Each time I have read it I have gotten something new out it.

4 Sacred Romance by John Eldredge & Brent Curtis For me this book was like eating a large steak I had to read each chapter twice to get it fully digested. But all this additional chewing was well worth it. It just filled in the blanks, and made me feel beloved by the lover of my soul and that’s a good feeling.

5 Journey of Desire by John Eldredge I had never thought too much about heaven but this book made me realize that eternity is full of worship and that it will be more than singing the same chorus over and over. This made me feel a lot more comfortable about going to heaven… I have also been challenged not to let my deep desires go unnoticed or repressed but to live them out to the glory of God

6 Wild at Heart by John Eldredge If you want to understand men better then this is the book to read. If you know a man that seems a little lost in a world that tries to make men be “nice” and stay in the cubicles at work you might encourage them to read it as well.

7. 10,000 Things to Praise God There have been times when finding something to praise God for has been difficult. There have been times when I just wanted to know what someone else was praising God for. In college, my roommate Brandy and I would read a few pages from this book before going to bed and we would highlight or star the ones we felt a particular “Amen” to. It’s the kind of book you keep on reading over and over.

8 What Happens When Women Pray Great stories, truly meaningful ideas that can be implemented so easily into a prayer group. One of the simplest yet effective ideas I have gotten is when praying in a small group where each person shares, to pray after each person instead of at the end after everyone has shared. Something so simple has made an impact on the prayer groups I have been in because for a few minutes the focus is on just one person and their needs.

9 I Went to the Animal Fair (Heather Harpham Knopp The best way I can describe this book is that it comes full circle in such a beautiful way. It is a painful book but sometimes to deal with our own pain we need to process with someone that has been down that road before. Healing can be grueling but in the end quite glorious. I marvel over her writing style and say to myself at the conclusion of each chapter, “She is a genius for tying all these random ends together.” The author captures the day to day, moment to moment process with poetic prose and imagery that is real and sometimes startling… but that’s life isn’t?

10 Anticipatience. Finally a Singles book that doesn’t read like fingernails on a chalk board. OK not everyone will agree with me on that note. There was some of the usual stuff in there, but there was actually some new ideas in here that I had just never thought of before. And I got all fired up. Just ask my dad…

11 The Complete Works of E.M.Bounds I discovered Bounds at time when I was in a season of prayer and fasting and a little brokenhearted. He just made sense and was in a way a cheerleader for lack of a better word to keep on praying and then pray some more because it does matter. It does make a difference. I often got a picture of this fiery little man standing on a soapbox under a big tent saying with great authority and fervor, “The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men…Men of prayer."

12 The Spirit Controlled Woman by Beverly LaHaye This in depth look into personality temperaments was just eye-opening to me 10 years ago when I first read it. I started to figure out why I do some of the things I do and why I act the way I act and what I can do to harness my weaknesses and make them into strengths. Mostly it helped identify my strengths and weakness so I could put a name to a feeling or reaction.

13 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman Yet again one of the books that’s made a huge impact on my life. Though you’d never know from my dating track record… It has helped me understand people, students and significant others (when I happen to have one) much better.

14 Daughter of China by C. Hope Flinchbaugh I am partial to this book because I met the author and she deeply ministered to me. Her novel is a phenomenal look into the terrors and joys of being a Christian in China.

15 Love Walked Among Us By Paul Miller Jesus became so much more real to me as I was reading this book. It was challenging and refreshing. I just kept thinking I wish ______ would read this book that way they could see who Jesus really is.

16 The Light and the Glory by Peter Marshall & David Manuel it has been a long time since I read this but American history came alive for me in this book and to think about how God’s hand was constantly on this fledgling nation was just awe-inspiring.

17 Prescriptions for Nutritional Healing I refer to this book quite often when a case of hypochondria over takes me or I hear of a friend or loved one that has some kind of health issue. It is a good place to start in understanding the condition and offering some alternative healthcare suggestions. I used the book extensively when I was battling Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

18 The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson by Mary Rowlandson I read this as part of American Literature class in college. I had never heard of the story/book before and I was greatly moved. At 20 it started to sink into my head the importance of memorizing scripture or at the very least memorizing the principles and concepts and getting the truth deeply planted in the heart so that when in some kind of “captivity” you will always have the truth of scripture with you. Mary survived an Indian captivity because the Word was in heart and it gave her strength to rely on the truth she had studied. I made it my business to get to a place where I really knew scripture well because of this book.

19 Loving Soren This was a page turner for me and also a timely much needed look into what happens when we make an idol of the man we love. It was not your typical novel. It is based on the life of Soren Kierkegaard, I am convinced that it was a better read for me because I didn’t know anything about Soren other than that he was a famous writer/philosopher. Not knowing more about him made the book more suspenseful.

20 No Compromise by Melody Green This is the autobiography of Keith Green lyricists of numerous praise and worship songs. This is the book the Holy Spirit led me to and used to teach and prepare me for some trying times.