Who will influence you this year? The people you spend time with are the most significant influences in your life. And while we don’t always have a choice about who we spend time with in person, we do have a choice about who we spend time with on the screen and on the page. What blogs will you follow? What shows will you watch? And, my personal favorite: Whose words will you let wash over you this year?
This past year I was thankful to read the following books. These are the ones I’d recommend to you (top picks have *); it was time well-spent in their pages:
- *Half the Sky: turning oppression into opportunity for women worldwide
- The Glass Castle (fascinating memoir!)
- From Eternity to Here: Rediscovering the ageless purpose of God
- *Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a relentless God
- One Million Arrows: Raising your children to change the world
- The Missional Mom:Living with purpose at home & in the world
- The Attentive Life: Discerning God’s presence in all things (haven’t finished yet–yikes sorry Danielle!)
- Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A year of food life
- Love Does: Discover a secretly incredible life in an ordinary world
- Unfinished: Believing is only the beginning (coming in May!)
- *No longer a Slumdog: Bringing hope to children in crisis (FREE!)
- *Reese Howells, Intercessor:The story of a life lived for God
- *The Circle-Maker: Praying circles around your biggest dreams and greatest fears
- The Lost Art of Listening: How learning to listen can improve relationships (haven’t finished yet)
- Love Has a Face: Mascara, a machete, and one woman’s miraculous journey with Jesus in Sudan.
- The Friendship of Women: The beauty and power of God’s plan for us
Annual re-reads include The Pursuit of God by AW Tozer and Humility by Andrew Murray.
Also, 2011′s list is here, if you’re looking for more great reads AND a Fifteen Fiction books are here in case you’re looking for some fun sprinkled in with the serious stuff.
- Bringing Up Girls: Practical advice and encouragement for those shaping the next generation of women
- Love-Powered Parenting: Loving your kids the way Jesus loves you
- The Mother At Home (written 1833!)
- The Mind of Christ: The transforming power of thinking His thoughts
- A Severe Mercy
- The Well-Trained Mind: A guide to classical education at home
- Sacred Mundane: A quotidian revolution for women everywhere
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Will this be your first time reading A Severe Mercy? I’m so excited for you! It’s one of my favorites.
You recommended it to me last year and I’m still working on it! I’m a few chapters in…but I think it’s one I need to read on vacation, I have a feeling it’ll suck me in and make me cry and I’ll neglect my family.
Thanks for suggesting it!
Have you read Radical by David Platt? Wow. It’s rediculously GOOD.
It’s like Crazy Love on steroids.
A book I started at the end of 2012 and plan to finish soon is For the Children’s Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay. The little bit that I have read was an amazing inspiration and encouragement. I think I’ll add a few of your recommendations to my list for this year. Thanks!
Ooh, that books sounds great, Shiree. Thank you for the recommendation; I’ll check it out for sure. I need inspiration and encouragement!