Don't you love summer? Well, it's now officially here - today is the start of summer and the longest day of the year. Summer conjurs up thoughts of fun vacations, cookouts, family reunions and rest. It's also a great time to catch up on our reading.
Read a good book or plan to read one? Let's share our summer reading list with each other. I'll kick it off.
Lost in the Middle - Paul Tripp. It's an outstanding book on the challenges of mid-life. As I mentioned in a prior post, it's both gospel centered and remarkably insightful on the trials, temptations and troubles that come with mid-life. I had planned to finish this before summer but didn't quite get there. I'm 80% done with the book and when I finish it up, I plan to post a complete review of the book.
Contending for Our All - John Piper. He brings us the biographies of Anasthasius, John Owen and Gresham Machen in the fourth book of his "Swans Will Not Be Silent" series. If the prior three are anything to go by, I expect this to be wonderfully encouraging to my soul.
Above All Earthly Powers - David Wells. David Wells is Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and an astute commentator on philosophical dynamics that affect the culture. Above All Earthly Powers is about the post-modern culture we live in and its implications to the church. I listened to an interview of David Wells by Mark Dever and am looking forward to reading it.
The TippingPoint - Malcolm Gladwell. It's a fascinating book on how "little things can make a big difference", in business or cultural trends. Malcolm Gladwell is not a professing Christian (as far as I know) but he is a renown writer with interesting insights. I've borrowed this book from a friend and am committed to finishing it this summer.
These are my books for the summer. I probably won't get through them all but I'll give it a good shot.
Now it's your turn - what are your recommendations?
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4 comments:
no summer here...but reading
Dad in the Mirror
Legacy of Sovereign Joy
Wud like to get my hands on that book by Paul Tripp : loss in the Middle. Feeling a little loss in the middle.
I'll probably re-read and seek to increasingly apply the teachings found in "Humility" by CJ Mahaney. The sin of pride is pervasive and evident in certain areas of my life which lessens my experience of God's grace. Perhaps one area related to this blog is pride in my workplace. While it may not be immediately evident to those on the outside, the pride that you don't see is the one who goes to work without a word of "thanks" or "help" or examines how he falls short of the holiness and glory of God. That is the pride that hinders me. And the result may be a lack of joy during the workday, discontentment of where career is heading, or just lacking excellence in all that I do. These things may cause me to think about dreams or ambitions that are far beyond good for me. This book is very appropriate for anyone who has a similar day like mine and who wants to see God's grace at work. For God is searching and giving grace to those who are humble, undeserved favor (James 4:6 and Isaiah 66:2).
I believe that humility is a characteristic that will further the kingdom of God in the marketplace greater than any other gift or character trait. It shows a clear reflection of Christ which is greatly needed in the marketplace where idols abound. For me, it steers my ambition away from this world and towards a heavenly road.
So, as you can tell, I highly recommend this book. FYI - it's probably the shortest book on these lists :)
Mike
Thanks for sharing not only your book recommendation but also your thoughts on how humility can be a distinguishing mark for Christians in the marketplace.
Your reading list looks similar to mine. I'm currently reading, or planning to read:
Above All Earthly Powers
Lost in the Middle
Defending the Faith (biography of J. Gresham Machen) by DG Hart
Team of Rivals or 1776 or some other historical work
Something light like #1 Ladies Detective Agency
For baseball fans I recommend 'Juicing the Game' by Howard Bryant
MM
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