Summer Reading List 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009Here's what I've been reading this summer....
JUST FINISHED IT:
As We Forgive Based on personal interviews and thorough research, As We Forgive returns to the boundary lines of genocide’s wounds and traces the route of reconciliation in the lives of Rwandans—victims, widows, orphans, and perpetrators—whose past and future intersect. We find in these stories how suffering, memory, and identity set up roadblocks to forgiveness, while mediation, truth-telling, restitution, and interdependence create bridges to healing. The result is a narrative that breathes with humanity and is as haunting as it is hopeful.
Rwanda looms as a vastly uncharted case study in forgiveness. Why are survivors who lost entire families willing to forgive and befriend those who destroyed their lives? Why are once-militant and murderous Hutus now repenting of their crimes? These questions beckon the humble to explore the pain, the mystery, and the heartbreaking beauty of the process.
This book was amazing, and I am still processing it. Hopefully I can get my thoughts together sometime soon to write a full review. Here's the Amazon Link if you're interested.
JUST STARTED IT:
The Hole In Our Gospel This is a story of how a CEO faced his own struggle to obey God, whatever the cost, and his passionate call for Christians to change the world by actively living out their faith. Believing that the "good news" is more than a private transaction between God and us, Stearns challenges readers with this question: What does God expect of us? Two thousand years ago, twelve people changed the world. Stearns believes it can happen again.
I am only about 1/3 of the way through this book but so far, it is amazing. So far, I have read almost every chapter watery vision... through eyes filled to the brim with tears. This book is a wake up call, a call to action, and a cry of hope for Christians to answer the cries of poverty, despair, and death. Amazon Link
NEXT UP (1):
Crazy Love Have you ever wondered if we're missing it? It's crazy, if you think about it. The God of the universe—the Creator of nitrogen and pine needles, galaxies and E-minor—loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrifi cing love. And what is our typical response? We go to church, sing songs, and try not to cuss.Whether you've verbalized it yet or not.we all know something's wrong.Does something deep inside your heart long to break free from the status quo? Are you hungry for an authentic faith that addresses the problems of our world with tangible, even radical, solutions? God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself. Because the answer to religious complacency isn't working harder at a list of do's and don'ts-it's falling in love with God. And once you encounter His love, as Francis describes it, you will never be the same.
Because when you're wildly in love with someone, it changes everything. Amazon Link
NEXT UP (2):
There Is No Me Without You This is the remarkable story of Mrs. Haregewoin Teferra, a middle class Ethiopian widow whose home became a refuge for hundreds of AIDS orphans, and about a few remarkable children who moved through her life.
I cannot wait to read this one! This woman was truly remarkable, selfless and everything that Micah 6:8, James 1:27, and Matthew 25:35-36 talk about. Mrs. Haregewoin just went to be with the Lord in this past year, but her life and legacy lives on in the many children whose lives she forever changed. Amazon Link
Ok, so now its your turn....what are you reading this summer? What do you want to read? What have you read, etc etc. I'm always on the lookout for good books that people recommend. So either post it on your blog and let me know, or just leave me a comment here! :-)
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I'd love to hear from you!