by Donya Dunlap | Jan 13, 2018 | Book Reviews, Random
Since my first encounter with Laura Ingalls Wilder somewhere around age 6, I have always been an avid reader. I’ve never made a list of books to read or set a reading goal, however, until last year. Inspired by Jon Acuff’s posts on what books he had been reading, I decided to make a list of every book I finished in 2017.
My decision was part curiosity and part goal oriented. I was curious to see how many books I read in a year, with a loose goal of reading 50 by years end. The rules were, I only counted books I finished. If I had started the book in 2016 and finished it in 2017, I counted it. If I started the book in 2017 and didn’t finish it, it didn’t make the list.
The Top Ten
Instead of sharing details or summaries of each book, I’ve highlighted what I feel were the ten most impactful or most enjoyable reads.
The Broken Way was a book I began in 2016 and finished in 2017. I read it while on a trip meant to make the holidays a bit easier after losing my mom. I don’t know that it did, but this book was helpful. I had to read it slowly. I think I cried through every chapter. I highly recommend it to anyone facing a season of brokenness. And if you aren’t read it anyway.
The Help and To Kill a Mockingbird were both highly entertaining as well as enlightening. These books tell powerful stories of the injustices suffered by African Americans in the south. They left an imprint on my soul I hope never fades.
Big Magic is a priceless text on creativity every artist, writer, actor, singer, creator of anything meaningful should read. It is encouraging, humorous, challenging, and motivating. In fact, I am looking forward to reading it again soon.
Atlas Girl is a memoir of a young girl who left home to find herself and ended up truly healing and growing by returning home to help her mother who had been afflicted with a brain tumor. I saw a lot of myself in the pages and cried my way through most of the second half. The story is powerful, but more so are the spiritual takeaways.
The Glass Castle is another memoir with a deeply impactful story. It is a well-written tale of growing up under the care of parents plagued with addiction and mental illness. I’m not sure if I’ll watch the movie, but the book will stay with me for some time I expect.
The Historian is the best-written version of the Dracula tale I have read. It’s definitely not for everyone as the story is rather dark. However, the weaving of history and fantasy is masterful and the descriptions of the places, both ancient and modern, pull you into the drama and make it hard to put down.
The Furious Longing of God should be read by every Christian seeking a closer walk with the Lord. The book is thin, but the contents are deep. I hope to read more of Brennen Manning’s books this year.
Simply Tuesday is the second Emily P. Freeman book I’ve read. The first A Million Little Ways is one of my all-time favorite books. Simply Tuesday was a timely reminder to value the little things in life. It’s not all about striving to be the best we can be for God. Sometimes all God wants from us is to love our families well and be kind to our neighbors. To listen and love without hurry. Maybe you need that reminder too?
Daring Greatly is the first Brené Brown book I’ve read, but it won’t be the last. She focuses on overcoming shame and fear, two of my own greatest hurdles in life. The explanation of her studies makes a difficult subject easy to digest and apply to your own life. Though not a spiritual book, many spiritual parallels can be made.
Honorable Mentions
A quick glance will show my affection for the Aunt Dimity series. My mom recommended these cozy mysteries to me several times, but I never took the time to read them until after she passed. I’m still only about halfway through the series, but I have fallen in love with the quirky main character and I would kill to live in her gorgeous English cottage. These books are mostly fluff, but a perfectly lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
I highly recommend (and often recommend if you get me talking about books) anything and everything written by Joel Rosenberg. A quick google search will explain his rather impressive history. His writing is captivating and intense. The stories move quickly and are dramatic without being over the top. If you have even an inkling of interest in end times theology, read his books.
All the Rest
Though I won’t bore you by discussing the rest of the titles, every book on this list has merit. A couple I would recommend with caveats, but overall, each is worth the time.
See anything you’ve read? Adding any to your book list for the new year? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you.
The List
- The Broken Way – Ann Voskamp – 1/10/2017 (Read my full review here)
- The Fool of New York City – Michael D. O’Brien – 1/29/2017
- The Help – Kathryn Stockett – 2/4/17
- Drops Like Stars – Rob Bell – 2/5/17
- To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee – 2/12/17
- Aunt Dimity: Snowbound – Nancy Atherton – 2/20/17
- White Chocolate Moments – Lori Wick – 2/26/17
- Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea – Nancy Atherton – 2/27/17
- Aunt Dimity Goes West – Nancy Atherton – 3/5/17
- You’re Already Amazing- Holley Gerth – 3/13/17
- The Four Loves – CS Lewis- 4/2/17
- Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austin – 4/18/17
- Big Magic – Liz Gilbert – 4/21/17
- Aunt Dimity: Vampire Hunter – Nancy Atherton – 5/10/17
- The Third Target – Joel Rosenberg- 5/13/17
- The First Hostage – Joel Rosenberg- 5/15/17
- Without Warning – Joel Rosenberg – 5/17/17
- Aunt Dimity Goes Down Under – Nancy Atherton – 5/21/17
- Aunt Dimity and the Family Tree – Nancy Atherton – 5/28/17
- Atlas Girl – Emily Wierenga – 6/2/17
- The Red Sea Rules – Robert J Morgan – 6/4/17
- Real Artists Don’t Starve – Jeff Goins – 7/12/17
- Crossroads – Wm. Paul Young – 7/15/17
- Funding Your Ministry – Scott Morton – 7/16/17
- Writing Down the Bones – Natalie Goldberg – 7/19/17
- The Christian Atheist – Craig Groeschel – 7/25/17
- Eve – Wm. Paul Young – 7/30/17
- All In – Mark Batterson – 8/6/17
- The Grave Robber – Mark Batterson – 8/19/17
- The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway – 9/3/17
- Living Forward – Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy – 9/4/17
- The Glass Castle – Jeannette Walls – 10/1/17
- Stop Walking on Eggshells – Mason and Kreger- 10/6/17
- The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova – 10/13/17
- The Furious Longing of God – Brennen Manning – 10/15/17
- Danger in the Shadows – 10/28/17 – Dee Henderson
- Illuminated – Matt Bronleewe – 10/29/17
- Aunt Dimity Beats the Devil – Nancy Atherton – 11/11/17
- Aunt Dimity: Detective – Nancy Atherton – 11/12/17
- Aunt Dimity’s Christmas – Nancy Atherton – 11/14/17
- Aunt Dimity Digs In – Nancy Atherton – 11/17/17
- Strengths Based Leadership – Don Clifton, Tom Rath, Gallup – 11/23/17
- Simply Tuesday – Emily P. Freeman – 12/9/17
- The Negotiator – Dee Henderson – 12/9/17
- The Guardian – Dee Henderson – 12/10/17
- The Truth Seeker – Dee Henderson- 12/10/17
- The Protector – Dee Henderson- 12/13/17
- The Healer – Dee Henderson – 12/15/17
- Uninvited- Lysa TerKeurst – 12/16/17
- The Rescuer – Dee Henderson – 12/17/17
- Daring Greatly – Brene Brown – 12/30/17
by Donya Dunlap | Jan 17, 2017 | Book Reviews, The Spiritual Life
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about brokenness. If you read my last post, you may have a sense of what I mean by that. Grief does many things to different people, but for me, the one word that best describes how I feel most of the time is broken. I’m not myself. I feel scattered, distracted, unsettled. I find it hard to remember things and the energy that I once depended on to get me through long, busy days is lacking in vibrancy and easily depleted.
Maybe you know how that feels?
Today I’ve had the lyrics to an old Steve Green song running through my mind.
Broken and spilled out
Just for love of you Jesus
My most precious treasure
Lavished on Thee
Broken and spilled out
And poured at Your feet
In sweet abandon
Let me be spilled out
And used up for Thee
It’s a beautiful song and a heartwarming story in Scripture. I remember being touched by the poetic idea of my life being spilled out for Jesus when I first heard it sung in church. But real brokenness isn’t always beautiful. It’s messy and complicated and uncomfortable. It makes you cry at inopportune moments and wonder if life will ever be the same again.
The Provision and the Problem
In The Broken Way: A Daring Path into the Abundant Life by Ann Voskamp, she repeats a conversation she had with her husband, a farmer. On a day when she was feeling especially fragile, he spoke these words to her:
The seed breaks to give us the wheat. The soil breaks to give us the crop, the sky breaks to I’ve us the rain, the wheat breaks to give us the bread. And the bread breaks to give us the feast. There was once even an alabaster jar that broke to give Him all he glory. Never be afraid of being a broken thing.
But isn’t that just the problem? We accept pain will come to us all at some point. Life and death are inseparable. Love and grief are too. Success and failure. Abundance and loss. All sides of this same coin of existence. So why then is it so hard to admit that we’re hurting? That we don’t have it all together?
I think it’s because we are afraid. Afraid to be seen as weak. Of being judged for our messy emotions. Afraid people can’t be trusted to handle our fragile hearts carefully. Afraid of greater pain, deeper loss, wider shame.
So we stuff our feelings and every day we’re “fine” when on the inside we’re crying or raging or simply lost. We plaster a smile and save our tears for the shower so no one knows just how broken we really are.
The Broken Way
Ann offers another path. One of healing and communion. Of honest prayers and united hearts. She offers the broken way—leaning into the suffering of Christ and thereby entering into the suffering of His followers. And it all begins by admitting your own need.
Before we can be honest with others, we must be honest with God and ourselves. Are you angry? Tell God why. Are you confused? Confess to Him that you don’t understand. And then give yourself grace. Take a nap. Write your feelings in a journal. Call a friend you know can handle someone ugly crying on the other end of the phone.
You don’t have to be afraid
Does this sound unChristian to you? Possibly selfish? I know I worry about being a burden to others or dragging them down into my pit of despair, but again, Ann offers another perspective. She says we don’t have to be afraid of our brokenness because in this sharing of hearts we find community. Friendship. Intimacy. Healing.
There is no fellowship for brokenhearted believers while protecting others from our own brokenness—because we are the fellowship of the broken…and fellowship happens in the brokenness. The miracle happens in the breaking.
So be aware…the next time you ask how I’m doing, I might just tell you. And the next time I see you faking a smile, I might just push a little back. Because we are all in this life together. We need each other…even though we might not want to admit it sometimes. And if you find yourself feeling fragile too, I encourage you to get The Broken Way. To quote dear Kathleen Kelly, “read it with a box of kleenex.” But do read it.
by Donya Dunlap | Sep 29, 2016 | Book Reviews
It’s been 13 years since Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality hit Christian bookstores, bringing a flurry of controversy with it. To my knowledge, it was the first of the searching memoirs—stories of young Christians tired of the religiosity in the churches they attended looking for a deeper connection with God. In his own words,
I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn’t resolve. But sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself…I used to not like God because God didn’t resolve. But that was before any of this happened. – Donald Miller
I understand why Blue Like Jazz rocked the religious boat. Donald Miller speaks of his early years as a journey of exploring love and grace as he camped out with hippies, attended classes at one of the most irreligious schools in the country, got in fights with his roommates, and grappled with hard questions regarding the nature of God and the human condition. He leaves nothing out. His faults, his successes, his doubts—he explores every inch of his path as he recalls his teens and twenties. I believe this is why people are uncomfortable with him.
Miller doesn’t give suggestions for Christian living tied neatly in a bow with Scripture verses as decoration. There’s nothing wrong with that style of writing. If there was, I would have to retire my pen. Christian living writing is what most of us are used to, thus the jolt when reading something outside our comfort zone.
Instead, Miller prefers to suggest complicated questions and let the reader search for their own answers. He doesn’t advocate for every young mind to leave Christian education and attend an atheist led school. But he explains why doing so helped him grow in his beliefs and his boldness in sharing his faith.
He doesn’t suggest Christians adopt a one-love, hippie mentality. But he shares how he learned to accept others for who they are, love them despite their differences from himself, and listen to people who hold opposing beliefs from his own without becoming antagonistic towards them.
I believe Christians limit exposure to beliefs different from what they’ve been taught for fear of corrupting their faith. But if our faith is so fragile, is it even real? How can we effectively respond to questioning kids and adults if we refuse to listen to them? Can we be salt and light if we never leave the safety of our Christian schools and churches? Can we show an ancient Book to be relevant to today if we don’t live out its teaching on the streets? These are questions Blue Like Jazz brings to the surface.
As it says on the back cover,
For anyone wondering if the Christian faith is still relevant in a postmodern culture, for anyone thirsting for a genuine encounter with a God who is real, for anyone yearning for a renewed sense of passion in life…Blue Like Jazz is a fresh and original perspective on life, love, and redemption.
I encourage you to read it and tell me what you think. I’d love to discuss it with you.
*affiliate links used above
by Donya Dunlap | Jul 29, 2016 | Book Reviews, Making a Difference
Of all the Christian living books I’ve read, and I’ve read a lot of them, Love Does by Bob Goff is the most lighthearted, entertaining, and refreshing. It is a weaving of humorous life stories with spiritual principles he’s learned along the way. He makes you think, but in a way that inspires you to change rather than condemn you for the way you are.
What It’s Not
At first I was a little taken aback by the lack of Christianese. A person who has never seen a Bible or stepped foot in a church could read Love Does and understand every word. I realized quickly that this strips the religion out of the subject, and that is a wonderful thing when you are talking about being like Jesus.
The lack of religiosity also supports his premise that love is an action, not a feeling or an idea. If we love someone, we will do everything we can to make them happy and ensure their well being. Just reading all about a person does not put us in relationship with that person. We must interact with them and serve them.
What It Is
But what does that mean when we talk about loving Jesus? According to Bob, don’t just read and memorize Scripture—you do what it says. When it says to love your neighbor, you actually leave your house and go to where they are. You listen to them, interact with them, and help them however you can. When a stranger you just met wants to propose to his girlfriend on your porch, you provide the dinner music. If children are unjustly imprisoned in Uganda, and you’re a lawyer like Bob, you use your gifts to set them free. When God blesses you with material gifts, you use your excess to give to the poor. If your friend is dying, you make sure they have one last memory-making caper before they go.
The whole point of Love Does is DOING whatever you need to do to be Jesus to that person in that moment. Love doesn’t wait. It doesn’t write up a pro’s and con’s sheet. Love does what is in its power to do.
Of course, Bob says it much better than I can. He’s a pretty funny guy. And his life backs up his words. Pick up a copy of Love Does and discover for yourself “a secretly incredible life in an ordinary world.”
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by Donya Dunlap | Jul 8, 2016 | Book Reviews, Making a Difference, Modern Day Slavery
Before jumping into the review for Unashamed, I’d like to give you a little backstory on how the author’s ministry has personally impacted my life.
I learned of Christine Caine through video of the Passion Conference several years ago. At that time, I had not heard the words “human trafficking.” I didn’t know that there are approximately 27 million people enslaved today, more slaves now than at any other time in history.1 I had no idea that Atlanta, a city I had lived in for five years, was one of the 14 leading cities in the United States for commercial sex trafficking of children.2 All of this changed during the 40+ minutes of that video.
God interrupted my blissfully ignorant existence that day and broke my heart. Christine taught on the Good Samaritan and shared her testimony of how she came to start the A21 Campaign—a bold mission striving to abolish injustice in the 21st century. As she spoke, God used her passion to expand my desire to reach women for Christ. My life will never be the same. For that, I am eternally grateful.
Since then, Christine has written three books detailing much of her story: Undaunted, Unstoppable, and Unashamed. I have found her written words to be just as powerful and directed by the Holy Spirit as her spoken words. She has also recently started Propel Women—a ministry targeted at raising up godly women leaders. I encourage you to familiarize yourself with both ministries mentioned and all of her books.
Unashamed
In her latest book, Unashamed, Christine shares how Satan began to bind her with cords of shame in kindergarten. Instead of making new friends as she had hoped, she became a target for bullying her very first lunch period. She compensated for her hurt and loneliness by excelling in academics and athletics. But rather than receiving praise for her accomplishments, she was told that good Greek girls weren’t supposed to be smarter and more accomplished than the boys. She was shamed into hiding her true self. In addition to her struggles at school, Christine began to be sexually abused as well. Even after coming to know Christ personally, her pain, fear, and unforgiveness held her in bondage.
Throughout the book, Christine shares how God lead her step by step into freedom. It didn’t happen all at once. God, our Good Shepherd, leads us gently out of our past and into our future. But over time, the Holy Spirit helped her to forgive those that had damaged her. His power broke the chains of her shame, allowing her to walk freely in Jesus’ name.
This book will surprise you
To be honest, I first bought Unashamed because I wanted to use up a gift card. I didn’t think I needed it. I was wrong. God used it to show me I have unknowingly been walking in shame in certain areas for years. Unashamed stirred within me a desire for healing in these areas. I know that God wants me to be free, and I know that my ministry will be greater for it. I am choosing now to take a hard look at my past through the lens of the biblical principles Christine used for her own healing.
Whether or not the subject matter speaks to you, I encourage you to read this book. At the very least, you will be blessed by Christine’s journey of forgiveness and freedom. Hopefully, you will also embark on your own.
*Affiliate links used above
by Donya Dunlap | Jun 16, 2016 | Book Reviews
Corban Addison burst upon the literary scene in 2014 with A Walk Across the Sun. This beautiful, heart wrenching novel follows two orphaned sisters into a life of human trafficking. The book is so much more than a well-written piece of fiction, although it is that. Addison goes behind the scenes to expose the dark secrets of India’s brothels, the hidden rooms of America’s sex trafficking operations, the inhumane methods of international drug trafficking, and the hopeless slavery of forced labor around the world. Addison translates the real horror so many face into realistic fiction, inspiring readers to defeat the darkness of the world with love.
Similarly to A Walk Across the Sun, in The Garden of Burning Sand Addison again tells a dark story with golden threads of hope woven throughout. The backdrop is sub-Saharan Africa. The cornerstone, a young girl with Down Syndrome found wandering the streets after a vicious rape. Addison weaves together Kuyeya’s story of stolen innocence with the stories of those trying desperately to bring her justice. Along the way he describes the breathtaking views of Victoria Falls and Cape Town, the maze-like slums of Zambia, and the inner workings of the African legal system. Addison’s own knowledge of the law and the efforts of the International Justice Mission provide the foundation for the harsh realities his characters face.
Though the books are not for the faint of heart, they are vital for the truths they represent. The wealthy of this world have an obligation to bring justice and generosity to the oppressed. Though the books are not Christian in nature, they teach the biblical truths of caring for orphans and seeking justice for those in bondage. Beyond being excellent novels, these books force readers to face their responsibility for their fellow man. Addison also offers practical solutions for engaging in the fight for justice.
I highly encourage readers to get all three of his titles, as I am quite sure his third book will follow in the footsteps of the other two. I look forward to reading it myself soon.
*Affiliate links used above.
