Yes, I love to read. I read to go to sleep. I read to wake-up. I read to reward myself for a job well done. I read for pleasure. I read to learn new things. I read because it’s in front of me (like the cereal box in the morning). If there are words, I’m reading them. In fact, as a little kid, I once read virtually every sign from Portland to Sacramento out loud. For me, it was a fun way to help keep the driver stay awake on that overnight trip. (There are a lot of EXIT signs along the I-5). My Kindle app recently announced that I’ve read over 760 days in a row.
Fortunately, God is using my crazy obsession for my good. I want to share with you today a few of the life-altering books that I’ve consumed this past year:
- Winning the Battle for the Night – God’s Plan for Sleep, Dreams and Revelation, by Faith Blatchford. A book I read right after I had surgery last January – a time when sleep was alluding to me. It helped me take back my nights from terror, for rest and restoration.
- Good Night & Sweet Dreams – Prayers and Promises for Peaceful Sleep, also by Faith Blatchford. When I’ve had an off day, I flip open this little booklet when I hop into bed for the night, and God does something special while I sleep.
- The Way of The Warrior Series (books 1-3) by Graham Cooke. Well, as far as I’m concerned, anything by Graham will stir me up to greatness, but these were particularly inspiring. Being an excellent warrior takes training and practice.
- Mantled With Authority – God’s Apostolic Mandate to Women, by Barbara Yoder. Although this book sat on my shelf for fifteen years, it just seemed to jump into my hands asking to be read last month. Basically, Barbara and other Christian women leaders call us to wake up and answer the call God has on our lives to lead with strength, wisdom, and compassion. It woke up my Mama Bear (don’t mess with my people) while helping me to rethink what I’ll be like in my next season as an influential leader. God and I have some big plans to work toward.
- Make Us One – A 31-Day Prayer Journey Toward Racial Healing, compiled and edited by Niko Peele (a young black man) and Jonathan Graf (an old white guy) with a foreword by Dr. Alveda King. My frustration was deep, with not knowing how God wanted me to respond to what was going on around us. I needed to have my heart, mind, and eyes refocused on God’s plan, not the various versions of the world’s view. In this little book, the prayers and testimonies challenged and released increased levels of love and understanding that I wasn’t getting anywhere else. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if God used this time to unleash a holy unity in love that has the power to transform the world? I’m in for that, are you?
Though I didn’t mention it above, I also am a student of the Bible. Various versions of the Bible fill two-and-a-half shelves of my bookcase, with my current favorite being The Passion Translation. I’m so thankful that God helped me, a person with dyslexia, learn to read. I get to hunt Him down through the written word every day. He opens my mind to possibilities and a greater understanding of Him through what others have written. What is God teaching you through the things you read?
I’m praying that His ideas leap off the page and into your heart!
Andrea