• Humility by CJ Mahaney – In a word – humbling. This is the second time I’ve read through it and its just as challenging.
• Forgotten God by Francis Chan – Just about a chapter in but already challenged by the lack of attention I give the Holy Spirit.
• Erasing Hell by Francis Chan – A few pages in and I’m sure it will be good but this is one I’ll probably finish last.
• The Reason for God by Tim Keller – This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is the best apologetics book from a philosophical and practical point of view. I will be giving this book to every graduating senior in our youth ministry from now on.
• Give them Grace – by Elise Fitzpatrick – A tremendous book on parenting which is a subject I need a tremendous amount of help in.
• Ministry by Teenagers by Jonathan McKee – I want to see our teens serving more and taking on more on their own. This looks to be a great resource.
• Candid Confessions of an Imperfect Parent by Jonathan McKee – Not only am I reading this for myself but I’m hoping it will be a good resource for the parents of the teens in our student ministry.

About a year ago we tried to read Charlotte’s Web one chapter a night and while she loved to read it every night she didn’t always remember what had happened the previous night or seemed interested in seeing the story progress. More often than not she wanted to go back and re-read bits that we had already read.

So, while perusing the library a little over a week ago I found myself in the older children’s section and noticed that the library had several books sitting on top of the shelf that were being featured for the week. One of the books was The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner. I don’t remember the first time I read this book but I loved it. I always had a fantasy about going out and living on my own, making cool and useful things out of common objects and who wouldn’t want to build their own swimming pool?

I checked the book out and told Mia I had a special story to read her that night. We got home, Mia got ready for bed and we settled into our big comfy recliner and started the book. And from the first page she was enthralled. She was so interested to know where the children had come from, what was going to happen at the bakery, and why they didn’t buy any donuts…

As we neared the end of the first chapter I was very curious to see her reaction when I stopped reading and it was exactly what I had hoped for. She was very disappointed that we had to be done for the night but she was excited that we would get to continue the story the next night. This also served for her as a very good motivator to get ready for bed quickly because we wouldn’t read until everything was done.

Well, Mia loved the book and we ended up finishing it in about a week (Mickie read a couple chapters during the day when Mia couldn’t wait to see what would happen next). So now I am really excited to be able to share some of my favorite stories with her – the only question is what story will be next? I’m thinking of Matilda by Roald Dahl but we’ll have to see.

I recently have been reading books and getting documentaries from Netflix about their war for independence and then the 6 day war.  I guess what has fascinated me the most is how despised of a people they have been.  A good portion of the world would like to see Israel wiped off the face of the earth completely.  What I find interesting is that the world for the most part stands by and for the most part idly accepts those feelings.

I just finished reading Night by Ellie Wiesel which is a first hand account of someone who lived through the holocaust.  I can’t remember reading a book that was so chilling and numbing.  Probably like much of the world thought at the time, my mind did not want to believe what I was reading.  I had the benefit though of historical fact, other testimonies, and the privilege of walking through the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem to aid my understanding.

Reading that book has given me a deeper perspective on what it must mean to be a Jewish person.  They fight against those memories every day.  And each new day is a fight to make sure it doesn’t happen again.