5 Books to Read in 2018

I love to read.  If you look at my bookshelves you would be able to see that I love books!  2017 was a great year of reading.  I have read the following books and highly recommend you add them to your reading list for 2018!

Fervent:  A Woman’s Battle Plan for Serious, Specific, and Strategic Prayer   (Priscilla Shirer)

If you need encouragement and a plan to help you have a better prayer life, this book is for you.  Priscilla lays out ten areas in our lives where the devil loves to attack.  She gives a strategy for our prayer life to knock the devil out.  Each chapter ends with a call to prayer and Scripture we can use as a prayer, too.  I also love the tear-out prayer cards in the back of the book where you can write down your prayer for each area and post it where you can pray it everyday.  This is an excellent book in helping you fight the devil through prayer.

Discerning the Voice of God:  How to Recognize When God is Speaking  (Priscilla Shirer)

Do you ever wonder if what you are hearing is the voice of God or if it’s just your own thoughts coming through loudly?  In this book, Priscilla takes us through three sections:  realize the way He speaks, recognize the sound of His voice, and remember what He wants to accomplish.  God speaks to everyone and this book will help you discern His voice. I think one of my favorite quotes from this book is, “You don’t need a seminary degree for this…For some reason we have been duped into thinking that God only speaks to certain people and only in ways that the “elite” saints can understand.”  (Shirer, 2007, p. 92).  God speaks to all of us and this book helps us in knowing the voice of God.

Love, Skip, Jump   (Shelene Bryan)

This is a book about the true story of Shelene Bryan and her quest to meet her Compassion International sponsored child.  Shelene is a Hollywood Producer who doubted whether her money was actually being used for helping her sponsored child.  What she finds through this quest is a passion to serve more and do more.  This passion leads to her developing a non-profit organization called Skip1.  This a wonderful story about being the hands and feet of Jesus.

Love Does:  Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World  (Bob Goff)

Bob Goff is a whimsical man who lives life to the fullest.  If you’ve ever heard him speak, then you know this to be true.  In his book, Love Does, he writes his stories of love in action.  Each story is inspiring and encouraging.  I smiled and laughed all the way through this book, and I believe you will, too.

Goliath Must Fall:  Winning the Battle Against Your Giants  (Louie Giglio)

This is Louie’s latest book and it’s phenomenal.  He shares personal stories and Biblical wisdom (focusing on the story of David and Goliath) in helping you knock down the giants in your life.  Some of the giants he discusses are fear, rejection, comfort, anger, and addiction.  He helps us realize how battles are won:  “It is not by the strength of man that battles are won.  It is by the work of God.”  (Giglio, 2017, p. 91).  This book is a must read if you are struggling with any Goliath in your life.

If you would like to read other books I recommend, check out these posts from past years:

Favorite Books of 2016

My Favorite Books of 2015