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What’s been a foundational or just very helpful book you’ve read in your life and why?
One of the key foundational books for me personally is quite a weird one in relation to the question, but it’s honestly helped me more at the beginning than most of the proceeding books I’ve read. That book is “It’s (not that) Complicated” by the Botkin sisters. For those who have read it, you know it’s almost a dating book written for girls specifically but most of the same principles apply to guys as well.
The one key thing I got from this book was in short, serving in the here and now and not longing for a change. They gave examples in the book of young women longing to be married, or to go away on a missions trip thinking that those were the noble things you could do and that their lives wouldn’t really start until then. Not realizing one of the greatest things they could do was serve where they were at, as God-fearing sisters to their siblings helping, guiding, and encouraging them to grow closer to the Lord.
This really hit home for me as I always had a feeling of “when I move out” or “when I get married then life will really get exciting” not realizing that I am called here and now to serve my own siblings. Reading that book really opened my eyes to how much I was failing to be faithful in the seemingly small things in my life. I had come to the realization that the noblest and courageous act for me to perform was not in the future, but was in the moment.
Pretty much from that day forward I really started putting effort into the things I said, and more importantly the things I didn’t say (don’t get me wrong, I’m still not doing a great job, but I’m more aware of the impact of my actions). God tells us whoever is faithful in little will also be faithful in much. So if I am to be worthy of being entrusted with much, I need to be faithful in little, the things I don’t think are important are actually the most important things to be faithful in.
If you all haven’t read the book I highly recommend it, though I would suggest talking with your parents before doing so and reading the preface to the book as it explains why!
Hmm, for me personally a great book that I believe counts in this topic is by Charles. J. Sykes, “50 Rules Kids Won’t Learn In School.” Since I’m not really a fan of non-fiction or life books, I didn’t expect to like it and there are probably a lot of people who will disagree with me when I say how great it is, (I mean the subtitle is “real-world antidotes to feel-good education”), so naturally, there is a lot of opposition out there against my opinion.
But for me, it was an extremely helpful (nearly foundational) book that confirmed some of my doubts and certainties, helped show me that I wasn’t the only person who was well, human and had a lot of influence on my perception.
So anyway, that’s just my two pennies in this topic:)[quote quote=95594] @buildsbygideon Hmm, for me personally a great book that I believe counts in this topic is by Charles. J. Sykes, “50 Rules Kids Won’t Learn In School.” Since I’m not really a fan of non-fiction or life books, I didn’t expect to like it and there are probably a lot of people who will disagree with me when I say how great it is, (I mean the subtitle is “real-world antidotes to feel-good education”), so naturally, there is a lot of opposition out there against my opinion. But for me, it was an extremely helpful (nearly foundational) book that confirmed some of my doubts and certainties, helped show me that I wasn’t the only person who was well, human and had a lot of influence on my perception. So anyway, that’s just my two pennies in this topic:)[/quote]
Wow! That sounds like a very interesting book! Thanks for sharing!
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My foundational book is definitely A Trip Into the Supernatural by Roger J. Morneau. Morneau’s book is so incredibly powerful and convinced me to officially identify as an SDA Christian.
The book is also so exciting. Morneau’s style is the least boring I have ever read. He vividly related his story of being a demon-worshipper and uniting with Satanists. It’s so chilling and vivid, especially the parts where Morneau actually converses with chief demon counselors and describes how the Satanists worshipped. His conversations with the Satanist priest were what really convinced me, as well as the conversations among the Satanist church members in general.
Highly recommend!
@buildsbygideon For me, the book that’s been most foundational in my (recent) life has been Finding God’s Life for My Will by Mike Donehey. My husband and I read it out loud together this year (twice, actually) and it was such a wonderful read. It’s a bit hard to summarize, but I saw it described on Goodreads as part Christian living, part band memoir (Donehey was the lead singer for Tenth Avenue North for almost two decades). A lot of the book is about worrying less about what God’s will is for your life, and instead seeking His presence in your life regardless of what you do with it. All in all, would highly recommend.
“Seven seconds till the end. Time enough for you. Perhaps. But what will you do with it?”
Ooooh, this is a fun question!!!!! Okay, so my answer is probably obvious and all, but it’d be the Bible. Buuut since that’s probably what everyone’s answer is here and like I said, it’s pretty obvious, another one would be Priscilla Shirer’s Armor of God study. It’s really impacted a lot of how I see things regarding the spiritual battle and our role in it.
God gives His hardest battles to His strongest soldiers.
TeenWritersNook.com@joy-caroline wow, yeah I remember you mentioning that book before but I didn’t realize it got as far in-depth as that!
@lewilliams – That sounds very interesting Elizabeth, I think I’ll check that out! 😀
@issawriter7 – Haha yes, the Bible is first and foremost! I’ve heard good things about that study, I’ll definitely keep that in mind 😀 thank you for sharing!- Rank: Bumbling Henchman
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Do Hard Things by Brett and Alex Harris. Super good.
Also, How to Ruin your life by 30 by Steve Farrar.
Haha, I read both regularly to re-convict myself. Both of those have made me stay up at night thinking about the awesome truths and Gospel-centred themes. Highly recommend.
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