As always, Francine Rivers writes an exceptional story in The Shofar Blew. This ones follows the story of a young pastor and his family who are called to help save a dying church.  The pastor's view of what a church should be soon becomes distorted, however, and the glory he seeks becomes his own rather than God's.  One of the main foci in this story is on the wife and her dedication to both God and her husband, although her husband is not loyal to either of them in return.  Rivers gives a great example of what a faithful wife and christian looks like.

This is a great book for women, although many pass right over it when they see it because the cover definitely doesn't look like a typical Christian women's book!  No pink flowers and pretty cursive writing here!  Carolyn Custis James was one of the first five women to enroll in her large evangelical seminary after it opened its doors to women, and as a result faced alot of opposition from men who thought she was out of place.  She often heard that there were no great women theologians.  She argues that being a theologian has nothing to do with graduating from seminary, but everything to do with intimately knowing God.  She cites Mary of Bethany as the quintessential female theologian, and studies her story as an example.  Her views on the role of theology in a woman's life isn't something that you hear often, but is so true.  This is a great one that every woman (and man!) should read, and is a great one to pass on to your female friends.

This is the first novel for Meghan Daum (I like to pick authors who are brand new that I've never heard of), and she is definitely one that I'll continue to follow as she writes more.  Her story is of a journalist from NYC who feels like she's missing something, but can't put her finger on it.  She ends up moving to the middle-of-nowhere town of Prairie City to do a series of reports on "The Quality of Life"... which is basically a story on what New Yorkers are missing.  Nothing goes as planned, however, and the the result changes her life.

I randomly picked this book up for $2 at a bookstore that was going out of business (I basically cleaned off their shelves for them when I saw the prices!). I'd never heard of it but thought the title was interesting, so I bought it...it seems that happens alot!  I read it in about a day.  It's somewhat of a coming-of-age story of a young girl who has a pretty messed-up childhood.  She grows up playing pool for money and hanging out in places that no little girl should hang out in.  The book seems to have no obvious point until she grows up and decides to go to New Orleans to learn about her family's past, which is when several characters enter the scene that liven up the story a good bit.  It's a good read that explores some of the issues of the effects of childhood later in life.

I borrowed this one from Janie because I had run out of stuff to read and was going crazy, plus I love anything by Francine Rivers.  This one is totally different from her other ones, but still amazing like always.  The Last Sin-Eater is another of Rivers' novels that is historically-based, although I had never heard of anything like this before.   This one is based on a 10year old little girl who's life is shaken at the death of her grandmother, then turned totally upside-down when she hears and sees the sin eater at her funeral.  Through searching and questioning, plus the help of several older ladies in the community, she begins learning the truth about this old tradition and the lies it holds with it.  Through significant and new-found friendships and the help of the forbidden "man of God" by the river, she brings the Truth to her entire community.

This is a book by Anita Diamant, who also wrote the more well-known The Red Tent.  She is a great writer who uses a historical basis to write fictional stories of people she imagined might have lived at the time.  This story is written in an interesting format, as it follows the stories of many interconnected characters (each chapter devoted to one), though still following a roughly chronological order.  It is placed in a place known as Dogtown, which is the derogatory name given to the town filled mainly with outcasts: widows, prostitutes, orphans, African-Americans and others who weren't welcome at the time.  She basically chronicles the lives of these people who see Dogtown to its end, sad as their stories may be.  You won't find any uplifting, happy ending, but the book ends as it should, keeping the same tone throughout.  It's pretty melancholy, one of those rainy-day books.

An unbelievable book on a new Sunday School system that will revolutionize Sunday mornings in your children's ministry.

Required reading for my Joshua-Esther class. I have posted a review here.

Difficult read. Very difficult. If this is a topic you particularly are dying to know about, you should probably choose another author...Unless you're being tested on it and have to write a paper on it (like me). He's got great ideas and I hear he's a great professor and speaker, but he seems to have a hard time translating his extremely complex thoughts onto paper. Be prepared to have a headache.

Again. I love it. I'll probably read this one over and over again throughout my life, as its one of those books that I imagine will have all new things to say to me at whatever stage I'm in. This one is on my All Time Favorite's list.

A great read on the importance of teaching our covenant children biblical truths at an early and impressionable age.  If you need an argument on the significance of the Childrens Ministry in your church, this is a good one! I've posted a review here.

This is a great book that EVERY Christian parent should read. It is about how to train your children to love worship, not to just sit quietly and behave during the service while the adults worship.  It teaches the importance of children learning this during the impressionable toddler-preschool years, and the difference it makes in the long run. Its about 150 pages or so and I read it in one sitting in a couple of hours.  Its an easy and pleasant read that anyone will enjoy.

I've read several Esther/Ruth commentaries over the years, and this one is by far my favorite.  This series only has 6 books out, but I plan on buying and reading every one.  They explore the text and historical background like none I have seen before, and at the end of each section make sure to explain how that portion of the text points us towards Christ.

I read this one night when I couldnt sleep.  I got it for Christmas this past year (because I asked for it), but I actually didnt like it that much.  It had lots of good advice and everything, but it seemed really simplistic.  Each chapter covers a different issue that women face: slander, idolatrous emotional attachments, manipulation, hurt feelings, vanity, PMS, legalism, the feminist influence, the role of women in the church and trials.  I guess my issue with it was that it seemed like stuff I've heard a million times before.  However, it got alot of good reviews, and I would think it would be really helpful for a woman who has recently become a Christian and is trying to apply it practically in her everyday life.  I just felt like I've read alot of this before -and in more detail- in other women's books.

This is another book I read when I couldnt sleep one night.  Its a short read, but really really helpful if you're involved in your church's childrens ministry. Actually, I think I'm going to have everyone on my childrens ministry team read this book so that we can go over some of the topics together as a group. It goes through alot of the typical struggles that nursery coordinators face, such as:

• Developing a vision
• Gathering a team
• Evaluating and setting goals
• Setting up the nursery environment
• Policies, procedures, and job descriptions
• Recruiting, screening, training, and safety issues
• Age groups, insights on learning, separation anxiety, and more 

If you're involved in your church's nursery ministry, this is a must-read.  Its really short and can be read easily in a couple of sittings (or in one night if you can't sleep!). 

I read this for my Joshua-Esther class.  It was an easy read, as far as history books go.  Not a great one for just casual reading though.  It didnt hold my attention that well.

Lacey gave me this book because she said it was so good that I HAD to read it, and that it would change my trips to Wal-mart forever.  In many ways, she was right.  You've probably heard about this book...a journalist decides that she wants to see what low-income living is really like, so she goes to several different cities, gets minimum-wage jobs & really cheap housing, and sees what happens.  Her story is definitely an interesting one, filled with the histories of wonderful and troubled people she met along the way.  She learns that living on minimum wage is barely living for many people. This book will make you look a little differently at the people who do some of the everyday jobs that many of us don't give a second thought to.  Read it...you'll understand your neighborhood a little better.

This is another book that Lacey gave me.  Robert Lupton lives in inner-city Atlanta and ministers to the poor and low-income families there.  This book is a collection of stories and lessons that he learned throughout his years of ministry. He makes alot of really valid points about the importance of ministering to this particular group.  If urban ministry interests you, you should read some of Lupton's stuff.  This is a great one.

This is on my list for summer reading for my Synoptics class (Matthew, Mark, Luke, & Acts).  Its a good one that goes through each portion of the Bible, explaining the high points and teaching you what kinds of questions to ask as you read.  It talks about the various types of literature in the Bible and how to read each one (since they're not all the same, it's hard to read them all the same way).  Overall, a good book.  Pretty helpful.

I've enjoyed this book alot, although I'm not totally finished with it.  It's arranged in a topical format rather than a chronological format, so it's the type book that you pick up when you have specific theological questions about something in the New Testament. I have to read a good portion of it for my class (everything on the Synoptics and Acts), so I feel that I've gotten a pretty good taste of the book. It's very readable, easy to understand, and is one of the better textbook-style books I've read on the theology of the NT (not that I've read many!). Overall, a useful one to have on your bookshelf.

I've had a hard time getting through this one. It's not that it's difficult to read, it's just difficult to read without falling asleep.  It's your classic textbook- pretty dry.  It is full of lots of good information, though, so its a good resource if you need a general overview of the NT. What frustrates me the most is how they will present multiple theories on a topic, then summarize the section with "...but there's really no way to know for sure."  My response is always "Then what was the point of reading that?!?"

It's a good textbook, but in the end, that's what it is-- a textbook.  If you're doing your own general reading, I'd go with something else.

I've really enjoyed this one.  It gives a really comprehensive view of various portions of the Gospels, and I thought it was a really interesting read.  I didnt have any trouble getting through it, and I really enjoyed the perspective of the author(s). It wouldnt surprise me if I pick this one up sometime down the line and read it again, just to see if I got everything out of it. I'd recommend it.

This one is similar to the other textbook I reviewed above, but not quite as dry.  I was also glad that the authors give more concrete material rather than just giving me a survey of other people's theories. It hasnt taken me long to get through the sections required for this class, and I'll probably keep this one on hand for a quick introduction/background to any other biblical classes I take.  This is another good one to have around if you're doing biblical research or any serious reading.

This was a really great book- I love the book of Acts anyway, and I felt that this gave great background and explanations. This is one I would probably read again, just because I had to read it so fast the first time.  I'd love to reread it and see what else I can get out of it! If you're planning on going through the book of Acts, buy this book and read it as a supplement.

This book is really good, but pretty dense.  It feels kind of new-agey, but I dont know.  It talks about the way that alot of scholars search for the "historical Jesus," stripping the Jesus story of anything supernatural and trying to find explanations for anything that seems unexplainable.  It also talks alot about the various beliefs that have developed explaining Jesus, and alot of them are pretty lofty. The good thing was that it wasnt that long of a book, because I dont know if I could have handled it if it was!!

I really enjoyed this one- it's a fairly extensive overview of the Penteteuch, and I thought it was really useful.

I didn't like this one quite as much- it seemed really repetitive and extremely scattered.  There were seperate sections devoted to each of the major covenants in the OT, which was helpful, because it would talk about the specifics of it, and then talk about how it related to the NT and Christ.  But as a whole, I didn't enjoy it as much as the others I've been reading.

I didn't enjoy this book that much, but I think it was mainly because the topic didn't interest me that much to be honest.  It was written my my professor, who is a great writer, so I enjoyed that part of it.  If you like Ancient Egypt etc, you'd probably like this book.  It's just not myfavorite subject.

This is a tiny little book that talks about Calvin's extensive knowledge of Hebrew and Greek.  It makes me jealous, because I want to know it that well. For some reason, I doubt that's going to happen. But still, this book makes me all the more impressed with Calvin!

I LOVED IT! Kurt Vonnegut is brilliant.

Another great one by Steinbeck. What a master.

I enjoyed this one- a friend gave it to mom, and she let me borrow it before she read it.  It is set in the months before WWI and follows the story of an upperclass English family and a Russian peasant who travels to England in order to murder a Russian prince.  Its got a little bit of everything wrapped up in it - romance, affairs, murder, suspense, politics, wealth, revolution... you should read it.

Another good one by Anita Diamant, although I think I liked The Red Tent  and The Last Days of Dogtown better.  This one follows two women dealing with major issues in their lives (breast cancer and a rocky marriage) and focuses on the strength of the bond between them once they finally decide to start opening up and learning from one another.  It was good, but it seemed like a typical feel-good woman's novel.  It didnt strike me like the others that she's written, however.

This is one that I picked up for $1 at a bookstore that was closing.  I thought it looked interesting, so I bought it.  It was pretty good, but not the best.  I dont know if I'll go back and read the others by Michelle de Kretser or not.  To be honest I got a little bored about 3/4 of the way through.  You can click the amazon link and go read reviews if you'd like.  Maybe I'll try to read it again someday and see if I like it better the next time around. 

This book is AMAZING! Definitely a must-read for any Christian.  It is subtitled "The Supremacy of God in Missions," and I loved hte fact that Piper stuck to his original purpose in writing the book.  Missions isnt about us. It isnt about the unreached people. It's about worship.  Piper starts off the book saying that "Missions isnt the purpose of the church, worship is. Missions exist because worship doesnt."  Worship is the goal of missions.  If true worship by all people existed, missions wouldnt be necessary.  I would like to take the time to do a full review of this book eventually, because I think it is full of concepts and issues that all Christians should be aware of and take time to think about.  Of course, everything Piper writes is worthwhile, but this is definitely one that is a must-have for any personal library.

This is another missions book that I thoroughly enjoyed.  It covers 21 key trends that both help and hurt missions in the 21st century.  It really opened my eyes to alot of issues I wasnt really aware of or hadnt really taken the time to give much thought to.  The chapters are short, so it's a good one to read in short little snatches of time here and there.  I would say that anyone involved in missions (either going or sending) should read this and be aware of these trends.

This is a great book on Christian Education.  It goes systematically through the foundations of CE, focusing on Biblical, Theological, Philosophical, Historical, Social, etc.  I felt like reading this gave me a much clearer grasp on the basic concepts involved in CE, and I think it really helped me to form my own opinions and views on the subject.  I havent read many CE books so far, but this one was extremely helpful to me.

Another good CE book.  This one is also foundational, and perhaps not as helpful as Pazmino's, but very relevant.  There were several chapters that I thought were very beneficial to my personal study of CE.

This was required reading for the Community Group Leaders and their wives at church.  Nate's a community group leader, and I'm a wife. So we both read it.  I actually really, REALLY enjoyed it.  Its all about change, but its talking about TRUE change.   Not just tools to help you modify your lifestyle or your actions, but true biblical change that starts at the heart. I'd recommend it.

YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK! Just trust me.

I read this biography for a presentation in my Missions class at RTS.  If you're not familiar with Amy Carmichael (or even if you already are!), its a great way to learn more about her life and ministry.  She is a powerful example of what it means to trust the sovereignty of God in all of life's circumstances.