Bennett and I got to hang out with Mrs. Wolf at a baseball game the other day.  She absolutely loved it (read: she was scared out of her mind, and wanted to get out as soon as possible) and wishes we could do it again.

Thanks Bec for the pic.

The summer is coming to a close…at least for me.  We go on our leadership retreat for the college ministry later this week, and once we get back from that it’s just days until all the fall activities kick back up.  So I thought I would talk about the books that I’ve read/am reading this summer…. and there haven’t been as many as I hoped there would be.    I’m a really slow reader and I have two young kids, making reading time hard to come by. So I’m constantly remembering a quote by John Piper, “Books don’t change people; sentences do.  That’s all we remember.”  I love that quote cause it reminds me that book reading is not about saying you finished the book…but about actually being impacted by the book.  When I am reading, there’s a big temptation just to get through a book, so that I can tell people I’ve read it and claim to have some new insight.  But, I’m trying to slow myself down and remember that the sentences will be what changes me not the chance to say that I read this or that book.

Anyways, sorry for my ramblings….

Here are a few books that I’ve loved this summer.

1. Proclamation and Praise. by Ron Man

 I can’t think of another book that has been as useful to me in leading worship as this book has been.  Ron Man does an excellent job of explaining the present work of Christ in our corporate worship gatherings.  I think a group of us are going to read this book again this fall in a study group.  

2. The Wages of Spin. by Carl Trueman

This is a book that my buddy Nick Roark recommended to me.  And I now love this writer.  He is hilarious, and also has a great ability to address the issues of the modern church through the lens of Historical Christianity….a difficult thing to do I think.  He’s also the author of the article, “What Can Miserable Christians Sing?”… which can be found in this book.  Great article. So glad that I got this book.  

The Big Picture Story Bible.  by David Helm and Gail Schoonmaker

This is the book I’ve spent the most time reading this summer… with my 2-year-old, that is.  If you’re a parent, this book is a must-have.  It ties the Bible stories together under the themes of God’s kingship and promised Messiah.  A great overview of the Bible… even for adults, actually.  Plus, the illustrations are pretty cool.

There have been a few others…but i’ll have to blog about them later.

Happy Monday.