Summer is here! What a great time to cut back on TV and movies! If you’ve ever considered a media fast, maybe now is the time. Do you feel God might be asking you to abstain from TV, movies, facebook, youtube or video games for a day/week/month or more this summer? If you are feeling his gentle nudge (or his not-so-gentle smack) to do so, my best advice is to go for it! You won’t regret it.
If you do decide to fast from screens for a while, what will you do to relax? Read, of course! The summer is a great time to get caught up on all those books you’ve been meaning to start/finish. Don’t have a reading list? No problem. Here are some of my personal recommendations. (Book descriptions follow the list.)
Happy Reading! (And Fasting.)
1. “The Yada Yada Prayer Group” by Neta Jackson. (First book in a series.)
2. “Blessed Child” by Bill Bright and Ted Dekker.
3. “Eli” by Bill Myers.
4. “Gods and Kings” by Lynn Austin. (First book in a series.)
5. “Boo” by Rene Gutteridge. (Sequel “Boo Who”.)
6. “The Divine Romance” by Gene Edwards.
7. “The Face” by Angela Hunt.
8. “The Singer” by Calvin Miller. (First book in a trilogy.)
9. “The Fisherman’s Lady” by George MacDonald. (First book in a series.)
10. “Imaginary Jesus” by Matt Mikalatos.
11. “Healing Stones” by Nancy Rue and Stephen Arterburn. (First book in a trilogy.)
12. “The Reluctant Prophet” by Nancy Rue. (Sequel “Unexpected Dismounts”.)
1. What do an ex-con, a former drug addict, a real estate broker, a college student, and a married mother of two have in common? Nothing, or so I thought. Who would have imagined that God would make a prayer group as mismatched as ours the closest of friends? I almost didn't even go to the Chicago Women's Conference--after all, being thrown together with five hundred strangers wasn't exactly my "comfort zone." But something happened that weekend to make us realize we had to hang together, and the "Yada Yada Prayer Group" was born! When I faced the biggest crisis of my life, God used my newfound Sisters to show me what it means to be just a sinner saved by grace.
2. Abandoned and raised in an Ethiopian monastary, a young orphan discovers he has strange supernatural powers that lead him on a journey filled with intrigue and peril. Can the simple faith of a child and the power of the Holy Spirit convince people who've lost the ability to believe that God loves them?
3. What would our world be like without Jesus? A hardened newscaster finds out when he's hurled into a parallel universe like our own, except for one thing: Christ hasn't yet appeared. Then he meets a humble man clad in jeans and a T-shirt who preaches about love and works miracles. Is he the Son of God?
4. Gods and Kings is the story of King Hezekiah, heir to the throne of King David. When his evil father plots to sacrifice him, Hezekiah's mother, Abijah, searches frantically for a way to save him. But only two men can help her, and neither of them seems trustworthy. In a time and place engulfed by violence, treachery, and infidelity to Yahweh, Abijah and her son must discover the one true Source of strength if they are to save themselves and their country.
5. Talk about Working out Your Faith with Fear and Trembling. The biggest thing to happen to Skary, Indiana, is renowned horror novelist Wolfe Boone–or, “Boo,” as the locals fondly call him. For the past sixteen years, the reclusive writer has been the town’s greatest attraction, having unintentionally turned the once-struggling Skary into a thriving tourist-trap for the dark side: from the Haunted Mansion restaurant, famous for its “bloody fingers” (fries splattered with ketchup) to Spooky’s Bookstore (where employees dress like the walking dead). But when a newly reformed Wolfe suddenly quits the genre and subsequently starts to pursue Skary’s favorite girl-next-door, Ainsley Parker, the little town made famous by his writings becomes truly horrified. Soon, a scheme is plotted to put the fright back into Skary–and get their most famous resident out of love and back into the thrill business.
6. A breathtakingly beautiful saga spanning from eternity to eternity, presented from the view of angels. Experience creation, the crucifixion, and the resurrection from this unique viewpoint, and gain a better understanding of the majestic love of God. Gene Edwards’s classic tale is the greatest love story ever told.
7. Orphaned and severely deformed, from her earliest moments Sarah Sims has been kept hidden away in a secret CIA facility—until an unexpected discovery gives her an opportunity to make a life for herself at last. Now Sarah has an ally, a long-lost aunt who has discovered her true identity. Aided by this brave psychologist, twenty-year-old Sarah must find the courage to confront the forces that have confined her for so long. And the strength to be reborn into a world she has never known.
8. The Singer (originally published in 1975) retells the story of Christ through an allegorical and poetic narrative of a Singer whose Song could not be silenced. Miller's work reinvigorated Christian literature and offered believers and seekers the world over a deeply personal encounter with the gospel.
9. The discovery of a woman's body in an old house overlooking the sea leads to revelations concerning Malcolm MacPhail, a Scottish fisherman. A haunting romance in the classic Gothic style by one of the bestselling authors of the nineteenth century edited for the contemporary reader by Michael R. Phillips.
10. When Matt Mikalatos realizes that his longtime buddy in the robe and sandals isn’t the real Jesus at all, but an imaginary one, he embarks on a mission to find the real thing. On his wild ride through time, space, and Portland, Oregon, he encounters hundreds of other Imaginary Jesuses determined to stand in his way (like Legalistic Jesus, Perpetually Angry Jesus, and Magic 8 Ball Jesus). But Matt won’t stop until he finds the real Jesus and finally gets an answer to the question that’s haunted him for years.
11. Christian college professor Demitria Costanas had vowed to end her affair with a colleague. But she gives into temptation one last time...and a lurking photographer captures her weakness for all to see. Quite literally, she's the woman caught in adultery. And almost everyone--herself included--has a stone to throw. Enter Sullivan Crisp, a decidedly unorthodox psychologist with his own baggage. He's well-known for his quirky sense of humor and incorporation of "game show" theology into his counseling sessions. And yet there's something more he offers...hope for a fresh start. Reluctantly the two of them begin an uplifting, uneven journey filled with healing and grace. By turns funny and touching, this story explores the ways humans hurt each other and deceive themselves. And it shows the endlessly creative means God uses to turn stones of accusation and shame into works of beauty that lead us onto the path of healing.
12. At age forty-two, Allison Chamberlain is still making a half-hearted attempt to figure out what she wants to be when she grows up. Although she has been a pew-sitting member of a church for seven years, “prophet” has never been on the short list of possible careers. Then one Sunday Allison senses a divine nudge to buy a Harley motorcycle and go wherever it takes her. Soon she is wondering if she is called to present the reality of Christ to one of society’s darkest corners—and challenge her own church to look beyond their fears.
