Books

Since the beginning of this year, my Dad and I have been in competition to see who can read the most books (we are also counting # of pages read). It will last until the end of this year. My Dad is a super fast reader and reads huge books so he is probably whooping my tail right now but here is a list of books I've read so far.

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
2. My Heart in His Hands by Sharon James (this is a great biography on Anne Judson, a missionary to Burma with her husband Adoniram)
3. My Antonia by Willa Cather
4. Sir Gibbie by George Macdonald
5. Mrs. C.H. Spurgeon by Ray Charles
6. Creative Counterpart by Linda Dillow
7. War of Words by Paul David Tripp

I just finished "War of Words" yesterday. This was a great read and has really helped me to evaluate my speech in a biblical manner. Because I really struggle with confrontation, I appreciated this acrostic to show the elements of proper biblical confrontation:

1. Examine your heart. When we start with our own confession, we are in a much better place to lead another to confess.
2. Note your calling. Your goal is to help people see an accept God's view of them.
3. Check your attitude. When you speak, are your words spoken in kindness, humility, gentleness, patrience, forgiveness, forbearance, compassion, and love?
4. Own your own faults. As we admit our own need for the Lord's forgiveness, we are able to be patrient and forgiving with the one to whom God has called us to minister.
5. Use words wisely. We need to ask God to help us use words that carry his mesage, not get in the way of it.
6. Reflect on Scripture. We should enter moments of confrontation with a specific understanding of what Scripture says about the issues at hand.
7. Always be prepared to listen. We need to listen for true confession and the commitment to specific acts of repentance.
8. Grant time for a response. The Bible teachers us that change is usually a process. We need to model the same patience God has granted us.
9. Encourage the person with the gospel. It is the awesome grace of God, his boundless lvoe, and his ever-present help that give us a reason to turn from our sin. The truths of the gospel-both its challenge and its comfort-must color our confrontation.

I'd encourage everyone to read this book. It does a great job of showing us the power of our words and God's plan to use them for His glory.

I'm on my next book now: "A Life that Says Welcome" By Karen Ehman