I heard (or perhaps read) about someone describing how they balance their reading a while back. Their selection over the course of a year contained some enjoyment reading, a biography or two, books in an area that they desired personal growth, and then the kicker… a book about prayer.

I remember how it struck me as extremely strategic to include in one’s reading each year a book about prayer. Whether good or bad, such material would hopefully remind and provoke my commitment and reward in this area of my spiritual life.

I would love to say that I am a deep and consistent pray-er all the time. I am not, however. My prayer life is like the tide.

With all that said, however, I highly recommend this short book, The Kneeling Christian. It was written between the two World Wars – in the 20s or 30s. While the author refused to identify himself (or herself), most think it the work of Anglican clergyman Albert Earnest Richardson.

The author is well-versed in scripture, and although there are a few principles that I would take issue with, the material will most assuredly challenge your prayer life.

It will challenge your first love as being rooted in Christ.
It will challenge the praise of your prayers, the regularity of your prayers, and the urgency of your prayers.
It will help you examine possible hindrances in your prayer life.
The book also has a great chapter on “who” can pray. Most of us might like to quickly respond, “Anyone!” But not so fast, says this author. I think you’ll find yourself nodding in agreement with him by the time you follow his line of reasoning.

If you haven’t read a book this year on prayer, swing by Amazon and pick this one up. Then pass it along.

I hope it provokes you as well to become a kneeling Christian.

In preparation for the upcoming movie (released February 14), I decided to read the Spiderwick Chronicles. For one thing, they were an incredibly fun and easy read. You can read each book in about 45 minutes to an hour.

The tale revolves around twin boys and their older sister whose parents have recently split. They find themselves living with their mom in an abandoned mansion, once lived in by their great aunt.

Mysterious things begin to happen, and for a while only one of the twins is aware of the source of the drama. He finds a hidden book, secreted away, and it reveals the reality of what they now face.

Each book builds on the other, and as far as fantasy-adventure, the chronicles are more like a motorboat, skimming quickly across the surface of previously charted waters.

For true enjoyment and a significant depth, I’d recommend the Chronicles of Narnia as a priority before chewing on the lighter and more candy-coated Spiderwick series.

They’re a fun read, and kids will most assuredly enjoy them. I do suspect, however, that the movie will be much more enchanting than the books have been.

What a delightful surprise this book was!

It’s bulky 533 page mass beckoned mysteriously the last time the kids and I were at the public library. The library had put it on display as a new book.

I flipped through it and was fascinated with the hundreds of pages of original artwork by the author, Brian Selznick. I showed it to Adelyn, our 8 year-old and asked, “Do you think you could read this?”

She looked at it, intrigued, but clearly doubtful.

Imagine her delight when a week later she was proudly posing for a picture to show that she’d read the book! A third grader who had polished off a 533-page book is quite an accomplishment, I would say – even if the book had hundreds of pages of pictures.

It’s a rewarding achievement and gift for a child to realize that they can tackle a book of that size. I saw in Adelyn that proud evening the dawning of a new day of book reading desire.

I picked up the book after she completed it and was quickly immersed in the story. Selznick has indeed earned his Caldecott Medal for this achievement. It’s not so much as a good read as it is a visual, epic feast.

The illustrations combine with the story to give you the sensation of watching an old movie. And indeed, that’s what much of the plot is about. As you read this fascinating tale, you’ll also learn some amazing history about early movies. Every movie referenced in this magical tale is real, and one of the main characters is also real.

I’d highly encourage anyone to sample this innovative medium. You won’t be disappointed.

Aaaaaaah.

I sat up til late last night savoring every word and nuance of the final Potter book. I had put off reading it forever, knowing that after I was done… I was done.

It didn’t disappoint.

In fact, the final tale to the Potter epic was remarkably deep and powerful in themes of love, redemption, sacrifice, family, friendship and learning the purpose in life.

I had skimmed the book Looking for God in Harry Potter and was impressed by the intricate weaving of classic literary themes and Christian elements into the Potter series. In that book, the author unashamedly recommends the Potter series for reading by all.

I would echo that sentiment. In Potter, as in other tales of fantasy and epic literature, there are themes as grand as the imagination can bear.

In particular, however, I was struck by J.K. Rowling’s use of biblical themes from Jesus’ life. In one instance, Harry and friends find the inscription, “Where your treasure is, there will be your heart also” (Matthew 6.21) on Dumbledore’s parents’ grave.

In another instance, 1 Corinthians 15.26 is inscribed, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

While reference is not made to the source of these two verses, they remain true in our reality – as well as in Potter’s. I was fascinated and even moved by the final chapters of the epic as Potter willingly moves toward his destiny. (I’ll skirt that here for those of you who haven’t read it.)

As I closed the final page, I did so with warm reluctance. It had been a deep and fantastical journey since I read the first book back in 1997. Another grand literary epic was brought to a more than fitting conclusion.

Bravo, J.K.

A while back I read an article saying that George R.R. Martin and Robert Jordan were some of today’s fantasy epic writers. I was craving some great, imaginative literature since I’d read Tolkien’s books years ago (and even reread them!).

I picked up Martin’s books and devoured them. I can’t recommend them to everyone because they’re rated PG-13. There are some pretty pointless graphic descriptions in them. However, as far as character development and plot, they’re fantastic.

Imagine my surprise when I finally picked up Jordan’s first book in his Wheel of Time series and became increasingly enthralled by it. I’ve read some reviewers who say that he simply mimics themes and elements from other fantasy authors (such as Tolkien), and I’m not saying that he doesn’t.

However, if such mimicry is as compelling as Jordan’s tale is, then bring on the Xerox machine.

I found myself immersed in this story that continually pulled back the curtain to allow you to glimpse a much broader and grander history that the author intended to unfold. It’s simply cinematic.

One discovery was a little dismaying… there are 11 books (so far) in the series! Wow. I wasn’t quite ready for that much of a commitment.

To top it off, Jordan passed away in September 2007 with the series unfinished. Also known as James Oliver Rigney, Jr., Jordan was diagnosed with amyloidosis in 2006, and his death was due to complications of that disease.

Brandon Sanderson, a well-known fantasy author was hand-picked by Jordan’s wife to finish the Wheel of Time series.

I will most assuredly pick up the second in the series and then make the decision from there as to whether I’ll continue.

In the meantime, if you’re in-between series and wondering what to read next, you can’t go wrong with The Eye of the World. It ends in a way that brings much resolution, and it’s not necessary to continue reading in the series unless you’re curious or have become captivated by the broader epic.

I have had Aldrich’s book Lifestyle Evangelism so long that I still chuckle when I look at the cover – it has two couples dressed in decidedly 80s fashion visiting together while sitting on a wall. The new cover is much better. I guess Christian publishers have learned to cease putting pictures of folks on the cover of books?

The whole focus of the book is intended to help educate Christians on how to “share their faith” through their relationships. Aldrich’s contribution to this essential Christian discipline and lifestyle is enormous.

The author first of all debunks the idea that evangelism is the work of the Christian. Rather, it is the work of God. God alone convicts of sin, calls people and draws them to Himself. However, Christians are both the medium through which God’s great truths and message of forgiveness are made known AND the means of making God known.

Aldrich continually points out that the church (a gathering a local believers) is the bride of Christ and therefore should be a beauty to behold. He points out Jesus’ words that said that the world would know that He was sent by the Father if his believers loved one another.

When you encounter a bickering group of Christians, it does irreparable harm to the gospel of Christ. That’s why the New Testament apostles were urgent and authoritative in their declarations about how Christians should treat one another.

When Christians and churches live a lifestyle of humility, obedience, and truly put one another’s interests before their own, they become a people through whom God reveals Himself to a lost world. The more sensitive a group of people are to God, the more attractive and beautiful they become to a watching world.

Aldrich points out that Christians cannot simply live “good lives” in front of their communities but rather they must speak and proclaim the truth of the gospel verbally to be an ongoing explanation of why they live the way they do.

Some churches focus on service to the exclusion of gospel proclamation while others focus on proclamation to the exclusion of service. Both are ultimately necessary and focusing exlusively on either extreme leads to imbalance.

Relationship alone is not enough. No one is good enough to let just his life speak for Christ. Words are necessary to point beyond himself to Christ.

I love one of his idioms. He says that in order to portray Christ and faith in Him as beautiful, we must not look like we were weaned on dill pickles.

To some Christians, the very word “evangelism” makes them break out in a cold sweat. They envision memorizing a long presentation and knocking on the door of a stranger to shove rote content down an unwilling neighbor’s throat.

Aldrich redefines evangelism as simply expressing what you possess in Christ.

Personally, I thought the two best chapters in the book were the one on Avoiding Evil Instead of its Appearance in which the author does a magnificent job of explaining how Christians are to relate with non-Christians. How far should we go to establish a relationship with them? Jesus was accused by the religious elite as being a drunkard and a “friend of sinners.” To what extent should we go to befriend those who are living remarkably “unChristian” lifestyles?

Another chapter that I thought was particularly well-written was the one entitled Evangelism and the Church Body which deals with how a church can become more beautiful.

This resource is an excellent one that has been around for a while now (first published in 1981), but its tone and teaching are greatly needed in the church today.

I distinctly remember being curious about this book when I saw it on the steeply-discounted book rack at Mardell’s a while back. I’ve had it for quite some time. Imagine my surprise after reading the first chapter to find myself drawn into the author’s writing style and observations about church.

He treats the church with kids’ gloves, intentionally being gentle; however, he also asks some powerful questions that need to be asked.

It’s a good read, and one that I would recommend!

I still have no idea why I picked it up at the town library. It was as if it jumped off the shelf into my hand. The Christmas Train is a fun, easy read. With it being the Christmas season and all, I did enjoy it, but it will be easily forgettable.

However, if you’re looking for a great little story for the holidays by a renown author, I’d encourage you to pick it up… or check it out.

I’m simply digesting it a little at a time… It’s fantastic, inspiring, and challenging.

It was quaint when it first came out, but now there are simply other, better resources available for financial management and stewardship. By all means, if this is the book you want to read, and it’s the only book you plan to read in becoming a better steward of your resources, then do so.

However, I’d encourage you to check out other materials – perhaps by Randy Alcorn, David Bach, or Dave Ramsey.