The Five Love Languages, by Gary Chapman, 1995

This book has affected the way I communicate love to everyone in my life. I can tell you the love language of all of my closest friends, my children, and of course my husband. It transformed my relationships. I'm not overstating it when I say I use what I learned from this book everyday of my life.

 

The Power of a Praying Wife, by Stormie Omartian, 1997

I had never, (and I'm not proud of this) ever thought of my husband as a child of God until I read this book. It made an immediate and everlasting difference in my marriage.

 

The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls, 2006

This memoir depicts triumph over abject poverty and neglect. No one who reads it will ever forget it. The story is unbelievably true, gut-wrenchingly poignant. Now, when my children complain, I say, "Wow, Jeannette Walls didn't have these luxuries when she was a child." And my children embrace me and thank me for all the ways I've so lovingly provided for them. They tell me what an amazing mother I have been and how they don't deserve such a giving, generous, and well, gregarious too, parent. I say, "That's enough now, just get back to your chores." And they thank me for another opportunity to swab the toilets. The Glass Castle. It will change your life.

 

Where the Heart Is, by Billie Letts, 1998

A novel set in Oklahoma about a pregnant teen who is abanoned at a Wal-Mart. For years I thought of Novalee every time I went to Wal-Mart. Billie Letts is a master character creator. Read everything she writes: The Honk and Holler Opening Soon, and Shoot the Moon, for starters. Her next book is due out in June 2008, Made in the USA.

 

The City of Ember, by Jeanne Duprau, 2004

This one is children's lit but I've recommended it to everyone I know. I loved this book about a concrete city and its two adolescent heroes. You'll fall for Lina and Doon like I did, I know it, and you'll want to read the sequel, The People of Sparks, which I liked even more than the first book. Both books tell the story of getting along--of unity in the face of adversity. The truths told here transcend their fictional setting to the real world we struggle to understand ourselves.

(The prequel, The Prophet of Yonwood is third in the series and I loved it but my daughter and other teens and preteens I know didn't like it so much. The fourth and final book comes out in Fall of 2008.)

 

I don't have a favorite book of the Bible. I have ones I'd prefer to skip. . . But if I were to pick one book of the prophets, I'd go for Isaiah. Have you read it lately? Well, here's an idea. Start with chapters 40 through 55. You'll be refreshed. As for the minor prophets, have you read Habakkuk lately? If life's not making sense to you, check this little book out. You'll find you are not alone in wondering how everything fits together in God's holy plan. And you'll find that Habakkuk finds peace in God anyway, even when he doesn't understand. That works for me.

 

At the 2007 BRMCWC (two pictures of Jim Watkins are included on this page--did you find them?) I attended Jim Watkins' class, Communicate to Change Lives. I loved it so much that I wanted to take the whole thing all over again. Lucky for me, I had purchased his book. It's a great training tool for anyone---both writers and speakers. And when I say that, I mean if you write emails or speak to people. You don't have to be a mega-published super-speaker celebrity type (or even want to be) to benefit from the tips and tools Jim offers in Communicate to Change Lives. Buy it, read it, and see how God can use your words to glorify him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People say he's larger than life. He says he's exactly the right life size. All I know, is when I tried to post his picture on my website, I couldn't shrink it down to fit. All the others would accept the edit, reduce their size, and post to my site. Not McNair's. His picture, even when edited, took up my whole screen.

 

Some (I'm guessing those who think they know McNair better than most but have really only heard him speak more than the rest of us) would say that this kind of techno-nonsense is proof: McNair is indeed, very literally, larger than life.

 

I'd say read the book. Don't cheat McNair or anyone else by setting them outside the limits of creation. I'd say read the book and you'll see that McNair, like me, like many of you, had a real, normal-size life that was often viewed through a steeple shaped magnifying glass. Maybe it still is.

 

I read Raised in Captivity between naps on the way to D.C. (Luckily, I wasn't driving. Never a good idea to read and drive and I've not had much luck napping in the driver's seat either.) Like McNair, I was raised by free-thinking church folk. My dad was a Southern Baptist pastor; McNair's a church school administrator. Both his father and mine allowed, even encouraged, independent thinking. So, going into the read, I knew I would enjoy the book, because I'd enjoyed McNair's speeches and I had a similar upbringing to his. What I didn't realize is how heartily I could recommend it to you--the average Josie--as just a really fun and enlightening book.

 

See, McNair's story is mainly a story of a boy finding his place in this world. It's the story of a boy who grew to a man, wanting to glorify God in places other than VBS and church choir. It's the story of an artist and a writer, a brother and a son. It is a lot like my story. I bet it might be a little like your story too.

 

Also, McNair discusses "churchianity" and the issues that impact American culture. Whether you agree with him or not, I think you'll find McNair's take on fundamentalism, legalism, and other churchisms thought provoking. And my daddy says it's good to think. McNair's did too.