1. My favorite book growing up was the Little House on the Prairie series. Donnie actually bought me a set for Christmas one year because they are like a comfort-read for me. Zach’s been reading them and enjoying them, too, which kind of surprised me. Then again, it shouldn’t–it just proves the universal reach of great literature!

2. The funniest book I’ve ever read was probably The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass Aged 37 3/4ths. It is rare that I laugh out loud when reading a book, but this one still has the power to make me laugh when rereading it,  even though I know what’s going to happen next!

3. The one book that has truly changed my life is  the Bible.

4. If you’re looking for a real “tear jerker” you should probably read Operation Homecoming. I know that sounds like a shameless plug, since I authored one of the passages in the book, but I have never, ever cried while reading a book like I did with this one. The story written by the mother whose son dies and she’s remembering him when he was little—OH my gosh, I literally cried all my makeup off, went through a box of Kleenex, just sobbed as I read it. If you haven’t read this book yet, I can’t recommend it highly enough.

5. If I could meet any author living or dead I would want to meet Adrian Plass. I did get to meet him briefly at a Christian publishers’ conference years ago, when I approached him after his talk and asked him to sign a book for me. But I love his writing so much, I’d just love to pick his brain and learn his secret for making his readers laugh out loud one minute, and well up with tears the next. And he just seems like a really fun person to know.

6. The next book on my “to read” list is…I can’t name just one. There are so many books I want to read.

7. If I was snowed into remote cabin in the woods and could only choose three books to bring with me I’d bring one of the Little House books, The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass, and something by Max Lucado.

If you’re married (or aren’t, but want to be) this book is a must-read.

I’ve read a lot of books on marriage. Sometimes I read them during rough times, seeking answers and guidance on making it through. Other books were read while things were good and I was in search of ways to keep it that way.

This is definitely the best book I have ever read on the subject.  Maybe it’s because I’ve always felt that creating a good marriage is some of the hardest work on Earth, and this book acknowledges that from the start. It’s so easy to let things slide through the years, to develop the habit of fighting against your spouse instead of fighting FOR him or her. The Eldredges explain how to overcome these destructive habits and start building a solid future together again.

And the process involves a lot of self-examination; no more wondering how to change my husband, but examining how I can and must change the way that I relate to him and people in general. It’s not a warm and cozy comforting read, but a hard-hitting challenge to work on yourself.

That makes it sound harshly written, but it’s not. There are laughs throughout the book, and love flows through it.

If you’ve found yourself wondering how to improve your own marriage, or what it takes to create a good one, click here and get your own copy. You won’t be disappointed.

From the publisher:

What the Eldredge bestsellers Wild at Heart did for men, and Captivating did for women, LOVE & WAR will do for married couples everywhere. John and Stasi Eldredge have contributed the quintessential works on Christian spirituality through the experience of men and the experience of women and now they turn their focus to the incredible dynamic between those two forces.

With refreshing openness that will grab readers from the first page, the Eldredges candidly discuss their own marriage and the insights they’ve gained from the challenges they faced. Each talks independently to the reader about what they’ve learned, giving their guidance personal immediacy and a balance between the male and female perspectives that has been absent from all previous books on this topic.   They begin LOVE & WAR with an obvious but necessary acknowledgement:  Marriage is fabulously hard.  They advise that the sooner we get the shame and confusion off our backs, the sooner we’ll find our way through.

LOVE & WAR shows couples how to fight for their love and happiness, calling men and women to step into the great adventure God has waiting for them together. Walking alongside John and Stasi Eldredge, every couple can discover how their individual journeys are growing into a story of meaning much greater than anything they could do or be on their own.

This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.

Those who follow my column know that I love to write about the differences between men and women. Now that I have three boys, I see how many of these differences are hard-wired and practically evident from birth. Not understanding them can cause stress at home, but just as much—if not more—stress in the workplace. In The Male Factor, author Shaunti Feldhahn explains why men and women working together are often at such odds and how to overcome these challenges.

Perhaps it’s because I am at home most of the time now with four males—and I homeschool two of them—I couldn’t help applying what I read to situations I encounter with my husband and my kids. All women can benefit from remembering three little points from the chapter entitled “The Little Things That Drive Men Crazy”:

1. Get to the point.

2. Don’t overreact.

3. Let it go.

You’ll have to read the book to get the details behind each point, but I found myself nodding and laughing in agreement as I read about the ways women can drive men crazy without even trying. This book is a great resource for men and women alike—when I read an excerpt to my husband, his interest was sparked and now he wants to read it, too! Which is fine, because I think it works both ways. Perhaps he’ll gain a little insight into the female psyche and better understand that we’re meant to complement each other, not collide!

More from the publisher:

Many talented women today risk undermining their careers without realizing it, simply because they don’t understand how they are perceived by their male colleagues and customers.

In What Men really Think, best-selling author Shaunti Feldhahn reveals the inner reality behind men’s views — the unspoken expectations that no man would dare to publicly acknowledge, and no woman would learn from an HR department. These revelations include:

• Men’s unwritten ‘rules’ of the workplace
• How men perceive workplace emotion
• What common situations with female colleagues most frustrate men– and why
• Why revealing clothing can sabotage a woman’s effectiveness
• Why some men think flextime is fine, but equal compensation for it is not

What Men Really Think equips women with the information they need to make informed decisions and compete on a level playing field.

Author Bio:

Shaunti Feldhahn is a nationally syndicated columnist and the bestselling author of For Women Only: What You Need to Know About the Inner Lives of Men and For Men Only, which together sold one million copies. She holds a Master in Public Policy from Harvard, worked on Wall Street and now lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Search me, O God, and know my anxious thoughts.” -Psalm 139:23 (NIV)

All of us have anxious thoughts, but few of us follow the Bible’s example above and ask God to search us for them and know them. Because of that, we often let the nagging questions regarding our faith and our attitudes go unanswered. We pretend the questions don’t exist, or dismiss them instead of searching for God’s answers to our greatest concerns.

“Why am I so confused about finding God’s will?”

“Why do I care so much about my reputation?”

“Why do I always feel so exhausted?” (Yeah, that one hit home with me right now!)

C.D. Baker addresses these in a relaxed, conversational style in the daily devotional, 40 Loaves: Breaking Bread With Our Father Each Day.  I have read ten of the “loaves” as I am saving the rest to start the New Year off right, and begin reading on January 1, 2010.  This would also be a fabulous devotional to read during the 40 days of Lent (which begins on Ash Wednesday, February 17). Each reading is followed by a prayer and a “Food for Thought” section with relevant questions to meditate on.

If you’re interested in pursuing honest answers to the questions of your soul, then join me next year in reading “40 Loaves.” I have a copy of the book to send to one of my readers. Just leave a comment below and I’ll do a random drawing a week from today to choose a winner!

And to satisfy FTC rules, I have to tell you that this book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

I’ll admit that through the craziness of the past few weeks, I have not had time to finish reading this yet. What I have read, though, has been excellent.

This book came to me in a very timely fashion, as the past two years of my life have been fraught with difficult times.  I’ll spare you the details, as many of them you’ve already read about here. Aside from the joy surrounding the upcoming birth of our third child, it’s felt as though one hardship has fallen after another, with little time to recuperate between hits. It has been hard to keep a positive outlook.

Granted, we’ve been through enough difficult trials in the past to know that God is faithful through it all, and we’ve fallen back on that. Yet there have been many times of questioning, “What next?” and finding that even now, we struggle to see a light at the end of the tunnel ahead.

I look forward to finishing this book and am certain I’ll uncover more of the comfort I know God has in store for us as we navigate through this long season.

If you’re struggling with questions over why God allows times of suffering and evil, I highly recommend this book. The publisher’s summary is below. Check it out!

Every one of us will experience suffering. Many of us are experiencing it now. As we have seen in recent years, evil is real in our world, present and close to each one of us.

In such difficult times, suffering and evil beg questions about God–Why would an all-good and all-powerful God create a world full of evil and suffering? And then, how can there be a God if suffering and evil exist?

These are ancient questions, but also modern ones as well. Atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and even former believers like Bart Ehrman answer the question simply: The existence of suffering and evil proves there is no God.

In this captivating new book, best-selling author Randy Alcorn challenges the logic of disbelief, and brings a fresh, realistic, and thoroughly biblical insight to the issues these important questions raise.

Alcorn offers insights from his conversations with men and women whose lives have been torn apart by suffering, and yet whose faith in God burns brighter than ever. He reveals the big picture of who God is and what God is doing in the world–now and forever. And he equips you to share your faith more clearly and genuinely in this world of pain and fear.

As he did in his best-selling book, Heaven, Randy Alcorn delves deep into a profound subject, and through compelling stories, provocative questions and answers, and keen biblical understanding, he brings assurance and hope to all.

Click here to find “If God is Good”

Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspectives Ministries and a bestselling author. His novels include Deadline, Dominion, Edge of Eternity, Lord Foulgrin’s Letters, The Ishbane Conspiracy, and the Gold Medallion winner, Safely Home. He has written eighteen nonfiction books as well, including Heaven, The Treasure Principle, The Purity Principle, and The Grace and Truth Paradox. Randy and his wife, Nanci, live in Oregon and have two married daughters and four grandsons.

I never really thought about the concept of “spiritual urban legends” until I heard about this book by Larry Osborne. But as soon as I read the Table of Contents, I immediately realized that not only had I heard of such things, I believed many of them myself.

Osborne touches on 10 widely held beliefs that are both dumb and dangerous—dangerous because they often lead to disillusionment with God, and a loss of faith in Him, church and other Christians.

All of them were eye-opening and thought-provoking, but the five topics that touched me the most were:

• -Faith can fix anything
• -Forgiving means forgetting
• -God has a blueprint for my life
• -Everything happens for a reason
• -A valley means a wrong turn

For many years, Donnie and I attended churches where we were taught these things from the pulpit. And I don’t think that our pastors had bad intentions; they were just sharing what they’d been taught that were also misinterpretations of the Bible.

As a “word nerd” I have always been fascinated with learning about the original meanings of the words in the Bible, words that sometimes lost their original meaning when translated into English. Osborne delves into these meanings, and explains—in a completely non-judgmental, compassionate fashion—how it’s been so easy for man to misinterpret so many essential Biblical verses.

As somone who has been “living in a valley” for the past two years, wondering where we went wrong to end up in such a difficult place, I can’t tell you how comforting it was to read Osborne’s work and realize that no matter how much I dislike it, this actually is where I should be right now.

Interested? I have another copy to give away to one of my readers! Just post a comment or send me an email with your email address, and this Friday, I will draw a random name from all who enter.

Feeling a bit sheepish…it’s been ages since I posted anything. I’m sorry. Lots of stuff going on lately; but none of it really interesting enough to blog about. HOWEVER, I have a column to share tomorrow, and a book review hopefully later on tonight.  So I’ll be back soon!