Category: Book Recommendations Page 2 of 5

Worth Your Time (July 2023)

On July 26, 2023

In Book Recommendations, Worth Your Time

Trying something new! Instead of doing a couple of posts a year with my book recommendations, I’m going to write them monthly, and include links to videos and other resources as well. Feel free to share your ideas with me!

Videos and Music:

Maverick City Music sounds beautiful but is even more wonderful to watch.
Vocamonix is an excellent Nigerian acapella group.

Universe Size Comparison –for when you need to remember how small you are and simultaneously how incredible you are.
College softball players with a 53-game winning streak talk about the difference between happiness and joy.

Articles:

Embrace Your Otherness by Jen Wilkin: “Sweet child, study the way you are feeling today. Because I love you, I ask this of you: lean into your “otherness”—learn the contours of its face, feel out the steady grip of its hand. Because I intend it to be your lifelong companion. It is a truer friend than those who surround you now. More than I want your comfort, I want you to be an alien and a stranger.”

This is Pro-Life: Powerful Photos of Older People with Downs Syndrome Defy Misconceptions

Books:

Lots of people are talking about the “Shiny Happy People” documentary about Bill Gothard and the Duggars–and it’s important. Jinger Duggar Vuolo’s memoir Becoming Free Indeed tells a similar story, but I appreciated how she gave a nuanced perspective on her childhood and her family, and how she carefully “disentangled” Gothard’s legalism from true faith. It’s a courageous book.

All My Knotted-Up Life by Beth Moore was both delightful and sobering. I’d only read one other Beth Moore book, but I’ve admired her insight, humor, and grace on Twitter, and this memoir only increased my respect for her. She’s a gifted storyteller so it’s a page-turner on its own, but it’s also an important book because of what it reveals about American evangelical culture. I highly recommend it.

Gil teaches a section on dating and relationships in one of his Bible classes, so he’s always reading up on what’s happening in American culture on this topic. He talked so much about American Hookup: The New Culture of Sex on Campus by Lisa Wade that I decided I needed to read it myself. It’s not a Christian book, but that doesn’t keep it from revealing how the hookup culture on college campuses is scarring our young people. This is a very hard book to stomach–but is a must-read for any parents sending their children off to college.

I was completely ignorant about how difficult it is to take down sex offenders until I read What is a Girl Worth?: My Story of Breaking the Silence and Exposing the Truth about Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics by Rachael Denhollander. Even though Nassar had abused hundreds of girls, no one could stop him until Rachael–a tenacious lawyer–put everything in her life on the line to find justice. It is a compelling and eye-opening story.

Pictures are from our trip to Yosemite and Gold Country in June.

How Do I Live As a Christian in America?

By amy.medina

On February 1, 2023

In Book Recommendations, How Americans Think, What I'm Learning

This was a first for me: I’ve read hundreds of books in my life, but I’ve never stopped a book halfway through and started back at the beginning. I was so struck by the significance of what I was reading.

So you could say that Jake Meador’s What Are Christians For? Life Together at the End of the World made a notable impact on me. My husband will probably secretly tell you he’s sick of me talking about it.

First, some background. Until 2020, I hadn’t lived in the United States as an adult for more than a few months at a time. So I’ve had a lot to catch up on these last couple of years. And now that I’ve figured out the basics, like which are the best deals at Costco, how to pay my water bill, and how to navigate media-streaming (okay, well, Gil still has to do this for me), I’m ready to move on to deeper things like, “How do I live as a Christian in America?”

Maybe this seems like a no-brainer, but I’ve spent an exorbitant amount of time thinking about it. Many missionaries languish back in the States, like life no longer has the meaning and purpose it did overseas. I wrestle with this but keep thinking: If I’m living the gospel anywhere I am, it shouldn’t feel that way.

Also, because I’ve lived out of the country for half of my life, I have the curse (and the blessing) of seeing things about my culture from a different perspective. I can’t listen to the commentary on Christian radio without mulling over how a Tanzanian friend might interpret it. I can’t go grocery shopping without thinking about how an African in poverty might judge what I buy.

In November, I wrote a piece for the EFCA blog called Swimming in the Stuff of America. It’s about my struggle to steward my extraordinary wealth as an American, and in my opinion, it’s one of the most important things I’ve written in 15 years of blogging. Top 5, probably. Yet some of the responses I received puzzled me – people who insinuated that I shouldn’t feel so bad – like I was struggling over nothing.

Gil and I are co-teaching an adult class at church, and he recently asked the group to list some “acceptable sins” in America. Not a single person mentioned materialism or consumerism, and I just about fell off my chair because for me, that sin is squawking loudly with glaring blinking lights.

Sometimes I feel like an alien, like I speak a different language that no one understands. And I wonder if I’m just completely crazy.

Read These Books

By Amy Medina

On November 9, 2022

In Book Recommendations

At first I didn’t want to give in to the hype around Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund because I figured I already knew God loved me and I didn’t need more reminders. But this book won me ever and brought me to tears with its exploration of the depth of the riches of the love of Christ. It was good for my soul.

I highly recommend Write Better: A Lifelong Editor on Craft, Art, and Spirituality by Andrew LePeau for anyone who loves to write for God’s glory. It’s both practical and inspiring. Your Future Self Will Thank You by Drew Dyck was a helpful discussion of self-control according to both the Bible and brain science. The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer should be read by every busy American. The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle should be read by every person in a leadership position. I wish I had read it before becoming a principal, but still found a ton of fascinating insights about improving any relationship, including in marriage and family life.

Speaking of fascinating, The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge takes the cake. In a world where we believe things like intelligence, sexuality, and personality are fixed (Enneagram, anyone?), this book proves otherwise. It’s a secular book but sounds awfully like sanctification.

Read These Books

By Amy Medina

On January 21, 2022

In Book Recommendations

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

This book is part biography, part historical, part scientific, and part memoir. It weaves together medical ethics, race in America, the science behind cell lines, and the remarkable story of Henrietta Lacks. It’s an award winner and I wasn’t sure I would like it because I’m not really a science person, but I was entranced.

A Praying Life by Paul Miller

Deeply moving, and the most practical book on prayer I’ve come across. Months after reading it, still it has stuck with me.

Back When I Took Scissors on a Plane

By Amy Medina

On August 27, 2021

In Book Recommendations, How Americans Think

20 years ago this month, Gil and I were boarding our first flight to Tanzania.

As we went through security, my carry-on bag got pulled aside. I watched patiently as the agent unzipped my black roller bag, poked around, and pulled out a full-sized pair of Fiskars scissors.

I was mortified. “I’m so sorry,” I fumbled. “I was using those for cutting tape for boxes and I meant to take them out before we left for the airport. You can confiscate them.”

He shrugged, put the scissors back into my bag, and waved me through.

I was taken aback. I recall telling Gil, “Fiskars scissors are really sharp. I’m surprised they are allowing me to take them on the plane.”

I don’t remember anything else about that journey. But that memory stayed with me because it was just a few weeks later when 19 terrorists with knives about as big as my scissors forever changed air travel, America, and the world.