Recent reads: April

The Five Languages of Apology by Dr. Gary Chapman

I love the concept of the 5 love languages, and have enjoyed Gary Chapman's books in the past, but this one lasted too long. It was 288 pages, and could have easily been reduced by 60%. I'll share the most thought provoking part of the book, and save you 10 hours from reading the entire thing:

"Genuine forgiveness and reconciliation are two person transactions that are enabled by apologies. Some, particularly within the Christian worldview, have taught forgiveness without an apology. They often quote the words of Jesus, "If you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you trespasses." Thus, they say to the wife whose husband has been unfaithful and continues in his adulterous affair, "You must forgive him, or God will not forgive you." Such an interpretation of Jesus' teachings fails to reckon with the rest of the scriptural teachings on forgiveness. The Christian is instructed to forgive others in the same manner that God forgives us. How does God forgive us? The Scriptures say that if we confess our sins, God will forgive our sins. Nothing in the Old or New Testaments indicates that God forgives the sins of people who do not confess and repent of their sins.

When a pastor encourages a wife to forgive her erring husband while he still continues in his wrongdoing, the minister is requiring of the wife something that God himself does not do. Jesus' teaching is that we are to be always willing to forgive, as God is always willing to forgive those who repent."

I don't know... I'm still thinking about it.

What's The Difference by John Piper

This was a great, short read about the difference (and importance) of masculinity and femininity as defined by scripture, not culture. Very good.

Eat This and Live for Kids by Dr. Don Colbert

Good tips on feeding kids, nothing groundbreaking. I now think my kids don't get enough exercise.  

Beyond Ordinary by Justin & Trisha Davis

For being labeled a "memoir", there weren't many personal stories.

Maybe I'm just too nosy and wanted more of the juicy details.

Praying Circles Around Your Children by Mark Batterson

This was a small book, but very good. My favorite part:

"Drawing prayer circles is a metaphor that simply means "to pray without ceasing." It's praying until God answers...

...we instinctively attach an ASAP to every prayer and ask God to answer as soon as possible. We need a paradigm shift. We need to start praying ALAT prayers- as long as it takes. "

 Lifelong Love Affair by Jimmy Evans

I started following Jimmy Evans on twitter a few months ago, and really enjoy the videos he has on youtube. I hadn't read any of his books, so Adam bought this for me last weekend. I think it was a small token of appreciation for sitting in the van with all 3 kids for 45 minutes while he browsed the bookstore by himself. See, Adam already knows how to be successful in marriage. 

This is probably the best book about marriage I have read to date. His main point throughout the book was proving that love (especially in marriage) is based on a choice, not an emotion. 

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