Hi everyone! Sorry it’s been pretty quiet around here. All my writing time and energy are pouring into my book! I’ve written seven out of ten chapters with three more to go. My goal is to finish the first draft by April, which means that you may get to see the finished product this time next year.
Before 2025 gets too far behind us, I want to share the recommendations I’ve been collecting…and neglecting to pass on to you. Enjoy!
Articles:
No Chance of Survival: How a Deadly Plane Crash Yielded a Growing Spiritual Harvest by Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra
This is one of those stories that will make you cry and rejoice and wonder at the mysterious, hard, beautiful ways of God.
AI Makes Me Doubt Everything by Tim Challies
“What I am finding is that the existence, the growing prevalence, and the invisibility of AI have begun to seed a kind of epistemic doubt in my mind. When I watch videos I wonder if they are real or fabricated. When I see a photograph I wonder if it is authentic or generated, untouched or manipulated. When I read an article on the internet I wonder whether it was written by a human being or a machine. I don’t know what’s true anymore. I struggle to know what’s real.”
In Adoption, Only Jesus is the Hero by Jen Oshman
“The hard truth is that our love is not enough. Our love, no matter how fierce, will not heal their wounds. And our parenting, no matter how biblical, will not rescue them. Our best-informed, best-educated, best-supported efforts will always fall short. You and I cannot meet our children’s deepest needs, whether they are adopted or not. Our kids need Jesus. And not only do they need Jesus, but we need Jesus. Adoptive momma, we need the gospel. On this journey, we must remember who we are and who we are not. Only Jesus is a hero. Only Jesus is a rescuer. Only Jesus can save lives and redeem people.”
Movies/Shows:
Gil and I absolutely loved this re-imagining of the book of Acts. It is incredibly creative, deeply moving, and sent us back to our Bibles to ask, “Wait, is that how it really happened?” (And it did!) I highly, highly recommend it. We hope there is more coming!
This movie tells the true story of a family forced to flee their country during the Armenian genocide. Since refugees seem to be frequently vilified these days, it’s good to remind ourselves of why they come and why we want them here.
If you’ve ever seen clips on social media of adorable African street kids dancing their hearts out, it was probably the Masaka kids. This documentary tells their story.
Books:
The Storied Life: Christian Writing as Art and Worship by Jared Wilson
“To write is to wage war on multiple fronts. The insecurity battle is just one of many.” As I fight my way through writing my book (many times feeling like I am literally forcing myself to put words on a page and wondering why I ever thought I could do this), Wilson’s book was encouraging, affirming, practical, and helpful. Any Christian writer will benefit from it.
Exile: The Church in the Shadow of Empire by Preston Sprinkle
How should Christians view politics and government? I know Preston Sprinkle is controversial among Christians, and I don’t claim to agree with him on everything. I read this book as research for the book I’m writing, and I found it interesting and compelling. I still need to do more studying on this subject, but Sprinkle has some really good points that every Christian needs to consider.
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
There’s a reason why this book won the Pulitzer Prize: it’s absolutely brilliant. Barbara Kingsolver is the kind of writer I can only dream about becoming one day. That said, this is a devastating story. It took me a long time to get through it because it is so dark. Consider yourself warned: this story is full of profanity, drugs, abuse, violence, and sex. The fact that one little boy is at the center of all of it just makes it worse. Yet I can’t help but recommend it because of its power. It’s not a true story, but it’s a realistic depiction of life in Appalachia in the nineties. I couldn’t believe the events of this story could be historical, so I did my own research and discovered that, yes, the story is an accurate representation. Kingsolver wrote this book as a modern-day version of David Copperfield, and just as Dickens did, she succeeded in bringing to light the harsh realities of poverty and the exploitation that causes it.
The Hats We Wear: Reflections on Life as a Woman of Faith by Elizabeth Trotter
Elizabeth Trotter is the editor of A Life Overseas and one of my favorite writers. What a gift this book is to women! Elizabeth isn’t afraid to crack herself open and let us see the most vulnerable and difficult parts of her story so that we can learn and be encouraged by what God has taught her.
The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis by Karen Swallow Prior
Why do we believe what we believe? Hopefully, for Christians, the Bible defines this, but we don’t often see the places where culture has deeply integrated into our beliefs. If you are interested in worldview, art, literature, and how stories and images influence us in ways we don’t realize, you’ll love this book.
Practicing the King’s Economy: Honoring Jesus in How We Work, Earn, Spend, Save, and Give by Michael Rhodes, Robby Holt, and Brian Fikkert
This is another book I read as research for my own writing, and I loved it! This was written by guys from the Chalmers Institute (think When Helping Hurts). If you are someone interested in poverty alleviation, a business owner who wants to do more for the community, or any Christian with a passion to get outside American consumerism into a more biblical way of seeing life, this book is for you. It is super practical and inspiring.
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