Reading List: Summer 2019

Oh my goodness it's been so long since I've updated and posted one of these! Toddler and home life keeps me busy and tired so I don't read nearly as much as I used to! But here you are!

Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family by Paul Tripp

(Read spring 2018) This was a really great book! It’s so easy to think you know what to do with kids, that you’ll never do such-and-such or yell at your kids… but Paul hones in on the fact that both parents and children are sinners and need God’s grace to change us. A theme is that parents are ambassadors of God and can only be used as they are themselves willing to humbly embrace the difficult task God has set before them. Paul gives practical examples from his own experience as well as others. How should the law be used? What role does identity play? How do we teach our children to submit to authority and rid them of their foolishness? How do we accept our inability and learn to rest in God who alone has the power to change our children’s hearts? So much encouragement for parents who are seeking to faithfully raise their children in the Lord.

“…parents who admit they are inadequate and run to God make the best parents. You see, he doesn’t ask you to be able; he asks you to be willing.” (pg. 36)

“Our job is to help our children to be so blown away by God’s glory that they find joy in submitting to his rule.” (pg. 133)

“Every single thing your child has ever said or done is rooted in worship… change is not so much about behavioral management, but worship realignment.” (pg. 150)

In Defense of Jesus: The New Lawgiver by John Reisinger

(Read summer 2018) I’ve been wanting to read this for quite some time! This book was written in response to Richard Barcellos’ book, In Defense of the Decalogue. In his book Barcellos, a Covenant theologian who’s Baptist, addresses his concerns about New Covenant Theology (NCT) and why he believes it’s not Biblically accurate. Reisinger responds to these concerns and claims with sound historical and Biblical arguments. Barcello clearly does not really understand what NCT really believes, nor does he accurately view history and Reisinger shows this without a doubt. Who is the supreme lawgiver? Is it Moses as Covenant Theology claims? Does Jesus just keep and re-affirm the law and make no changes to it? Or as NCT maintains, does Jesus give new laws and an actual new covenant? Is the Decalogue (the 10 Commandments) the unchanging moral law of God? Or was it given to and for the nation of Israel and thus not the standard for us today? Are those who hold to NCT “without law” as Barcellos and others think? Regardless of their opponents opinions and arguments, New Covenant Theology has strong Biblical support and those curious about it and those who oppose it would be wise to read this book and consider its contents.

“Difficulties [in discussion theology] result when people insist on using theological terms instead of Biblical terms.” For example, the Bible nowhere mentions a covenant with Adam. Covenant Theology argues for several things that are not actually named in Scripture, which is problematic.

Devoted: Great Men and Their Godly Mothers by Tim Challies

(Read fall 2018) This is a great little book for moms of boys! Challies introduces us to the mothers of 11 men throughout history, from as far back as Biblical times to today. It’s inspiring to hear these stories of mothers who simply trusted God and did their best to teach and train their sons to follow Christ. Despite some of them being single parents and/or sick or very busy their prayers and passion for raising their sons was so encouraging. At the end of each chapter there are also reflection questions.  

Set-Apart Motherhood by Leslie Ludy

(Read winter 2019) This book was so encouraging. The book is Ccntered around keeping Christ as the focus of your life and relationship with your children, but gets into some of the practical stuff too. Great tips, good reminders, funny stories…. Very thankful for this book!

“…when I approach motherhood for the sole purpose of bringing glory to God, I find tremendous joy in making personal sacrifices for my children. As I seek to honor Him in my motherhood, it becomes my delight to give my best to my children, without concern for what I’m getting out of it, but only with what He is getting out of it.”

“Training, discipline, routine, and structure are important, but these things are tools that enable me to focus on what matters in motherhood: building healthy relationships with my children and leading them to Jesus Christ.”

Vaccines: A Reappraisal by Richard Moskowitz M.D.

(Read winter/spring 2019) I originally got this book on kindle, but before I’d finished, I went bought a hard copy as well. It’s one of THOSE books…. One that you’re going to go back to, for reminders, information, research, facts…. It’s ALL there. This is incredibly well-researched by a doctor who's been in the field and in research for over 30 years. For anyone and everyone who wants to (or claims to be) educated on this subject, this is a MUST-READ. If you are concerned about vaccines, this is a great resource, if you are solidly pro-vax, there’s facts in it that you HAVE to deal with. So get it and read it.

Currently Reading:

Grace-Based Parenting by Karis Kimmel Murray

Reading List: February 2018

Finished since last post:

Things I Wish I’d Known Sooner by Jaroldeen Edwards

The subtitle for this book is “Personal Discoveries of A Mother of Twelve”. It was a neat read from an experienced mom not just about parenting, but personal and spiritual discoveries as well. Great thoughts and meditations for any mom!

“Home is a living, breathing thing – a laboratory for living. I believe we should create a home that makes people think, ‘I want to be in that home,’ not ‘I wish I owned that home’.” (p. 77) “I realized that any growth that comes from pain and challenge can come only after we have stopped asking why… The firs thing we must do in order to begin to gain the lessons from pain is to accept what is past and let it go. Then we must begin to ask ourselves the what questions: What am I still able to do? What am I learning? What goals should I set?” (p. 101)

The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor's Journey into Christian Faith by Rosaria Butterfield

This was a super interesting testimony and story from a former lesbian turned pastor’s wife! Just hearing her journey from lesbian feminist professor to Christian was inspiring and convicting… there were people who loved her no matter what and invited her into their home and patiently answered her questions. (There was one short chapter on her view of only singing Psalms in worship which I pretty much skipped - 0 Biblical support as far as I’m concerned – but I digress!). It also goes through her experiences as a pastor’s wife which was also really interesting.

Between Worlds: Essays on Culture and Belonging by Marilyn Gardner

Marilyn (Brown) Gardner grew up the child of missionaries in Pakistan. I knew her parents, one of her brothers married my mother’s sister. This was an interesting account of being a Third-Culture Kid (TCK) – a child who is raised in a different country than it says on their passport and how their sense of “home” is rather… confused, and comes with challenges that others have a hard time understanding. It was an interesting read and I really appreciated her openness and honesty about her experiences and journeys. 

The Shaping of A Christian Family by Elisabeth Elliot

This subtitle of this book is “How My Parents Nurtured My Faith”, and it’s about Elisabeth’s parents, their own history and how they nurtured and raised their 6 children. It’s one families’ story, but it is beautiful, inspiring, convicting even. She talks about her parent’s individual walks with God, how they instructed, disciplined, dealt with work and play, how they particularly nurtured and taught each child, learned to trust them to God as they made life decisions (some of which maybe they weren’t thrilled about) and learned to let them go (Elisabeth along with several of her siblings went to the mission field). It gave me some great inspiration about how I want to raise my children in the Lord.

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ida May Gaskin

This was written by a woman who, when she wrote this book, had been a midwife for 30+ years and overseen hundreds of births. This book is a MUST-READ for every pregnant woman! It is a powerful book that has put me in awe of how amazing God created the female body! Birth is not a thing that we need to fear (although it must be taken seriously). It is a natural thing, not something to be treated. Babies were meant to be born and women were made to give birth to them. Yes, there’s pain involved, but it’s not the kind of pain you need to dread…. In fact, the birth experience can be the most amazing of your life! As I get ready to have my child in the next 3 months, I am excited and ready to trust God and my body to do what it was made to do.

The Duties of Parents by J.C. Ryle

I have really appreciated J.C’ Ryle’s books in the past so wanted to read this short work as well. Very simple, but important advice for parents on raising their children in the ways of the Lord.

“Train [your children] with this thought continually before your eyes that the soup of your child is the first thing to be considered.”

Dissolving Illusions: Disease, Vaccines, and the Forgotten History by Suzanne Humphries, MD & Roman Rystrianyk

This was a book written by two individuals (one a medical doctor) who have spent years researching and studying health, disease and vaccines. They take a detailed look at the history of disease and how vaccines were created and what their actual impact was. Did vaccines really cause the eradication of smallpox and other diseases? Or is there a lot more to the story? Very interesting and informative book!

“Beginning in the mid-to-late 1800’s and into the 1900’s, the mortality rate for all infections diseases dropped. The deadly threats that were once so commonplace slowly faded into the past. By the end of the 19^th century, it was apparent that sanitation was making a significant impact against the bacterial diseases, typhus and typhoid fever, without any vaccine.”

Currently Reading:

Grace-filled Parenting by Paul Tripp (great so far!)