This week,
on Kingdom Bloggers, we each have a chance to share three books that are
favorites of ours, beside the Bible.
I once accompanied
my husband on a business trip to Kansas. I was left to explore the area when he
was busy .I spent my days visiting the local Library. My friends laughed. They
were like “huh?... Didn’t you go to visit any local sites?…the Shopping Mall?”
It didn’t make sense to them.
I love to
read. I am one of those people who hope that books never stop being made, as I love
holding a literal book in my hand.
From early
on, the Library was a refuge. Our house could get very noisy with 6 children. We
lived in 4 rooms, so privacy was a misnomer. The 3 other apartments held a slew
of relatives. People walked in and out of each other’s apartment, even without
knocking.
I remember walking
to the Library on Saturdays. (And yes I walked many miles, even in the snow…just
kidding!!!). There, we would climb the creaky stairs to the upper room, where
we listened to stories introducing us to various characters and bringing us to
faraway places.
I smile at the
pride I felt when I could print my own and therefore qualified to get my very
own Library Card.
I devoured
books then and I do the same now. I visit our local Library at least 3 days a
week. My hobby is also visiting Libraries across CT.
My preferred
genres are varied. Here are some books from
recent times.
My first
favorite is a series. I cannot separate each book as they weigh in on the whole
story. It is called The Redemption Series by Karen Kingsbury. It is about
a multi generational family…the Baxter’s.
She is a
Christian author with mostly fiction books. Up until reading her, I had leaned heavily
towards nonfiction books… particularly Biographies. With her books, I have taken
a turn to enjoy fiction books.
One thing
about her books, that sets them apart, is that she expresses Contemporary
Christian living in an honest manner. She does not explain away problems or sugar
coat them. Rather she talks about real life issues, while ultimately offering solutions
of faith through Jesus Christ. Her books could be an excellent tool to reach
non Christians.
I have read
pretty much all of her books. Not all of her series match this one, yet she
does have a lot of excellent stand alone titles. One in particular is Divine. It
is a very difficult book to read. Yet, as a Christian Author, she again delves
into some very real and hard life issues.
My second choice
is Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. In the book, she offers writing advice,
in a practical way. She can be a bit irreverent at times yet she is very
funny…helpful and encouraging to authors. This book makes writing seem doable
and even fun. The main take away from
this book is to be an observer of life and to carry index cards around, so as
to jot down ideas/observations that you glean in your everyday life. 
My third
choice is again, not one book but a 2 book set by Jill Austin. They are titled The
Master Potter and the Master Potter and the Mountain of Fire. They
are allegorical writings.
In them, Jill
takes the main character, Forsaken through her journey towards wholeness. She
includes heavenly and satanic forces that battle for Forsaken’s soul, until the
Master Potter rescues her, giving her a vision of a bright destiny. Eventually,
Forsaken’s name is changed to Beloved. In the second book, the journey
continues as, Beloved deals with some very important life issues such as, unforgiveness,
suffering, illness, a need for miracles as well as a moral failure of someone
close to her.
I was drawn
to Jill Austin’s Books after hearing her testimony, I found her to be an
authentic Christian. She was at once serious and yet hilarious. To me, she
exemplified living a Christian life with passion and fearlessness. Sadly, she
died a few years ago, unexpectedly. If you can get any of her teaching Cd’s I
would recommend them too.
Well…that’s
all folks!!!
I remain…
A Lover of
Books who says NO to Kindle!
Linda
Maynard
.
