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Happy May Day! We were greeted with sunlight shining in through our front window and illuminating our living room. It feels so nice to have earlier mornings and longer days. It’s still pretty chilly overnight (hardly above freezing) but there is a warmth in the sun which makes it pleasant for hanging out outside (maybe with a book or two!).

On the stack of to-reads for this month are:

Fighting for Family: The Relentless Pursuit of Building Belonging for a book published in 2024
Church History in Plain Language for a book on church history
Everything Sad Is Untrue for a book based on a true story


I am hoping to add a graphic novel and a photo essay book to the mix. We’ll see what comes up!

Here are a few books I'm still reading at the beginning of May:

Adorning the Dark, by Andrew Peterson - memoir of a Christian musician and fiction author. A good book for creative people to read.

Paul, A Biography, by N.T. Wright - I'm still reading this but hope to finish soon. 400+ pages, somewhat scholarly, interesting!

Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship, by John MacArthur - I'm learning the difference between charismatic, continualist, and cessationist. This was written by a cessationist.

Old Yeller, by Fred Gipson - dreading the sad parts.

Beautiful on the Mountain, by Jeannie Light - I'm feeling uplifted by reading this inspiring Christian memoir.

Power Through Prayer, by EM Bounds - wow, just wow... this classic book about prayer is making me very happy. It was originally written for pastors.

I am in the middle of Grasping God's Word by J Scott Duvall and J Daniel Hays, Babel by R F Kuang, and Money by Steve Forbes.
I Still Believe by Jeremy Camp is on deck for me.

Books currently reading or in my line up for May:


� A book of poetry: You Took the Last Bus Home by Brian Bilston

* A book your pastor recommends: 4 Chair Discipling by Dan Slade


� A book about preaching or public speaking: What's Your Message?: Public Speaking with twice the impact, using half the effort by Cam Barber


✔A book by your favorite author: Caribbean: A Novel by James Michener


� A Christian novel: Ordinary Grace by William Kent Kruger


✔A book by a female author: Letters From a Woman Homesteader (Illustrations and Annotated with Terms of Reference): Tina Assanti Presents a Pioneering Women's Series by Elinore Pruitt Stewart


� A book on the current New York Times bestsellers list: The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel A. van der Kolk


� A book about marriage: The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country's Foremost Relationship Expert by John M. Gottman


✔A book about church history: Worship in the Early Church


� A book of your choice: Her Second Chance Cowboy by Natalie Dean


� A book about church history: Profiles in Faith: An Ecumenical Church History by David Koch


� A book about suffering: Suffering is Never for Nothing by Elisabeth Elliot


� A book of your choice: Hearts Set Free: An Epic Tale of Love, Faith, and the Glory of God's Grace by Jess Lederman


� A book on the ECPA bestseller list: Redeeming Love by Francine Waters


� A book by or about a missionary: Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot

Best: Rembrandt Is In the Wind: Learning to Love Art Through the Eyes of Faith, by Russ Ramsey - a nonfiction book about some famous artists from a Christian perspective. I really loved this book!

Worst: Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, by Gary D. Schmidt - too many stereotyped characters

Surprise: Paul, A Biography, by N.T. Wright - this big thick scholarly book about the life of the Apostle Paul was sometimes hard to read through but it gave me a desire to learn more about early Christian history.

Man, this had been a banger month for me.

Best: most of them. Specifically Secret Origin by James Riley. Third book in a series about a girl who can jump into books seeking her dad. This book told the background of her father. Each book in the series is spoofing a genre of literature. First was SFF, Second was mystery, this was comics.

Worse Babel by R F Kaung. It was 3 stars but the second half displayed that she did not do enough research and had a lot of problems with her take on history.

Surprise: Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett... I was not expecting that there would a fake Hollywood set up in the Discworld.