My Recommended Reading List: Part 1

 My Bloggerites old and new: greetings.  At the behest of several of my friends I've decided to create a list of books I'd recommend to you all.  In the spirit of generosity, I'll also include a list of the books I'm currently reading and rereading so you can know what books may show up on the next list.  I won't include a synopsis for all the books, which is why I included the link to the books Amazon page which has a pretty good summary.

Books You Should Read ASAP (In order):

1.       Come to Papa: Encountering the Father that Jesus Knew - Gary Weins (Read it this past semester, changed my life.  Must read)

a.       Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive - John Eldredge (Read above)

b.      Beautiful Outlaw: Experiencing the Playful, Disruptive, Extravagant Personality of Jesus - John Eldredge  (Completely changed how I read the Gospels).

2.       When Heaven Invades Earth: A Practical Guide to Miracles - Bill Johnson (2 chapters in and its blowing my mind.)

a.       Destined to Reign - Joseph Prince  (When I first read it, flipped my entire outlook upside down).

b.    "I Was Framed!" Signed, God -  Doug Webb  (Yes, this was written by my Dad. Yes, I could be bias.  That being said, this book is based on a bible study my Dad did with the fam when I was 17ish and it the information in this book ( and its coming sequels) started me on the path to discovering the heart of God towards me.)

Books You Should Read (In no particular order; I’ll have the topic in parentheses)

·         Unmerited Favor - Joseph Prince  (Tis the only book on this list I haven't read but it's highly recommended by people I trust so I included it.)

·         Supernatural Ways of Royalty - Kris Vallotton (Solid Read)

·         The Future War of the Church - Chuck Pierce and Rebecca Sytsema (

·         Red Moon Rising - Pete Greig 

·         Authority in Three Worlds -  Charles Capps (Read it 4+ years ago and its about time for a reread.  I didn't fully comprehend the magnitude of this book at the time but its a game changer.)

·         Heaven: Close Encounters of the God Kind - Jesse Duplantis

·         Sheparding a Child’s Heart -  Ted Tripp

·         Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul - John Eldredge  (Upon first reading it really spoke to me. I'd read this in conjunction with Fathered by God.)

·         Epic: The Story God is Telling  - John Eldredge (Short and Sweet a quick read but a helpful reminder of the setting of our story).

·         Fathered by God: Learning What Your Dad Could Never Teach You  - John Eldredge 

·         Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis

·         This Present Darkness - Frank Peretti (This is fiction but I find its presentation of spiritual warfare to be very thought provoking. Plus its great fiction . I'd read it after Territorial Spirits).

·         Piercing the Darkness - Frank Peretti  (The sequel).

·         Territorial Spirits - C. Peter Wagner  (My intro into Spiritual Warfare, the stories in this book will change the way you view the world.)

·         Warfare Prayer -  C. Peter Wagner  (The sequel to Territorial Spirits)

Quick Note: I read multiple books at the same time, hence the two lists.  I usually take notes for both the initial reading and the subsequent rereading, so I can see what hidden gems I missed the first time.

My Reading List (Books I’m going to or am currently reading for the first time):

·         The Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart of God - Brett Curtis and John Eldredge (Currently Reading)

·         When Heaven Invades Earth: A Practical Guide to a Life of Miracles - Bill Johnson (Currently Reading)

·         Twilight Labyrinth - George Otis (Currently Reading, also on Spiritual Warfare)

·         Walking With God - John Eldredge

·         Desire: The Journey We Must Take To Find The Life God Offers - John Eldredge

·         Uprising -  Edwin McManus

·         Soul Cravings - Edwin McManus
 

·         Chasing Daylight - Edwin McManus

·         Spirit Wars - Kris Vallotton

·         Violent Prayer - Chris Tiegreen

·         The Gospel in Ten Words - Paul Ellis

·         The Artisan Soul -  Edwin McManus

·         Unmerited Favor - Joseph Prince

My Re-Reading List:

·         Come to Papa

·         Waking the Dead

·         Destined to Reign

·         Beautiful Outlaw

·         Red Moon Rising

·         Authority in Three Worlds

·         Heaven: Close Encounters of the God kind

 

Thoughts on a Sunny Day (and a Rainy One Too)

Ello Bloggerites, I've decided to mix it up a little today.  In this two sectioned post, I'm going to give you all a little peak behind the door titled "Christopher and God".  This is a rare exclusive back stage pass so I'd savor it I were you.  In addition, in the midst of a recent study break I read some very interesting articles and so I'm including links at the bottom of this post.  I'd love to get your thoughts on any article that stands out to you personally.

Part 1: Sunday (The Sunny Day)
After getting a surprise visit from a friend I was lying in the bed, thinking about God and letting him speak to me (I had just read Psalms 141-145).  I suddenly felt the urge to write and this is what came out (Note, this has been slightly edited for clarity of thought):

"Great is the Lord, My God, and marvelous are his works.  He stands on high yet his attention is with us continually.  He sees into our greatest, deepest, desires and turns them first towards him, and then he answers them in his perfect timing, for our best benefit. 

Great is our Abba, who delivers us from evil, both self-inflicted and outside of our control.  He allows us to be like him, the express image of his creation and being; the prize of his heart, the apple of his eye, the prize jewel and crown of his creation.  He sets eternity in our hearts and places the answers within himself, drawing us closer to him each day. 

The Dwelling place of the Lord is with man, nay, is with ME.  He who knew only perfection and perfect intimacy with the Father, forsake it all, in order to restore humanity to the place he had intend; not because he has need of us, but because he desires us, all of us.

If he is the creator of all humanity, why would he only choose certain individuals to receive salvation? If he gave Adam and Eve the choice to choose him when they were surrounded by his goodness, did he not send Jesus to put us all in that position? 

We all choose between the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Will we submit to God and receive freedom and life, or chose to become the gods of our lives and receive bondage and death?  This is the story of the world. "


Part 2: Monday (The Rainy Day)

This is not an exclusive list but I'll post the other articles with another post to keep the list manageable.  I found these articles to be quite thought provoking; as always, post your thoughts in the comments.

Noahs-ark-thanks-Hollywood

dating-thou-shalt-thou-shalt-not

come-on-now-did-god-really-give-you-that-talent

the-dreaded-n-word

Driven to Write: Part 1: .....Why?

Every time I tell someone that I’m writing a book I get the same two questions: “What’s it about?” and “What made you want to write a book?”  I’ll answer the first question in another post, but today I want to focus on the second question.

I’ve long been a lover of stories, in all the ways they can be presented. Movies, TV shows, books, even verbally, I love them all.  I remember when I was growing up my Mom would tell stories about my siblings and I, about how we would go on fantastic adventures and overcome great challenges.  As we got older and my Mom got busier (being a stay-at-home mom and full-time teacher is no walk in the park), my older sister took over the story telling duties, crafting entertaining stories that were equal parts fantasy and comedy. 

I also had a vivid imagination as a youth; however, at that point in my life I was solely concerned with my role within a story, therefore I had no reason to present my ideas to a wider audience, as my siblings weren’t too keen on hearing about me all day. I was a voracious reader growing up and for many years I would create new adventures with my favorite characters and add myself to the mix. As I got older and I was better able to understand the concept of the setting of a book as a complete world, I become less concerned with adding myself to the story and more involved in creating new stories for story’s sake. I’d come to know the characters as if they were real and It never made sense to me that the story would simply end.  I mean, that’s not how life works!  This is why I have always preferred reading a series of books as opposed to a stand-alone novel.  The disingenuousness of the idea that I would only be interested in a cross-sectional perspective of a character’s life was irritating, although as I got older I began to appreciate stand-alone stories for what they were. 

Throughout this time, as I went from high school to college, I still continued to make up stories, some based on dreams; others based on things I’d seen or read.  But I usually never mulled over a single story for more than a two week period before I moved on to the next one. But then, one day, something changed.  It was the middle of the night and I was contemplating an idea for a story. As I was thinking about it, I realized that this was not a story of the stand-alone model, a thought provoking isolated event with a clear beginning, middle, and end. No, this was a story in the mythic sense of the word.  There was history and context, past events playing a pivotal role in the present, and a present that relentlessly moved towards the future.  I wasn’t telling a story, I was creating a world (I mean world in the alternate reality sense of the word, not the physical sense).

“So, you want to write a novel? Great! Writing a novel is a worthwhile goal. It’ll challenge you, stretch you, and change you.  Getting it published will gain you respect from your family and friends, and it may even earn you a bit of fame and money. But respect fame, and money aren’t the only reasons for writing a novel. The only reason you need to give for writing a novel is that you want to write a novel. Don’t let anyone one bully you by demanding some better reason; there isn’t one.”

This was the very first thing I read when I opened my most recent birthday present, “Writing Fiction for Dummies”.  In many ways, this small statement sums up two years’ worth of thoughts and observations about writing a book.  I’d being lying if I said that I’d never thought about the financial benefits of being a successful author or of doing a reading at a public venue.  But neither of those thoughts were there at the beginning, when, as I was lying in the bed one night, I decided to grab the most recent of a myriad of ideas that had ventured through my head and transform it from idea into reality.  I suppose I would sum up my feelings like this: I’m not simply writing a book because I have a story to tell, I’m writing a book, this book, because like with all stories that pique my curiosity, I want to know what happens, I want to know how it ends. 

The Bald Author Experimentation

Hello my bloggerites, I apologize for my extended absence but the balancing act that is prioritizing has put the ole blog on the back burner.  That being said, it would be in poor taste for me to forget to break in the New Year with a new post. 

Since I'm sure the title of this article has piqued your curiosity, I'll cut right to the chase.  Yours truly is currently in the midst of writing his inaugural novel. Throughout this writing and creating process I've gained a greater appreciation not only authors but also artists and filmmakers as well.

I'll go more in depth into the book in a later post, but I will be giving weekly updates on my progress and maybe a couple sneak peeks in to the story.  For now, I just want to focus on what I've learned over the past year and a half.  

I first got the idea to write a book around two years ago.  A creative seed was planted and unlike other ideas I'd had over the years I actually took the time to write this one down.  While various changes have been made since then, some drastic, some minute, the core vision has always stayed the same.  Improving upon the vision, creating a viable world for the story to take place in: that has been the easy part.  Executing the vision, putting words to the things and ideas that I so easily manipulate in my head: that has been the hard part. 

It's been an incredible challenge, trying to find the right words to describe the color of a carpet or the shape of a building.  I can only imagine how an artist feels, as their whole goal is to create a physical manifestation of their vision.  Or a filmmaker, who must not only craft a complex and compelling story, but also oversee the scouting of locations, the building of sets, and the creating of  digital effects. 

So as I continue on this journey, as I attempt to enlarge my vocabulary and improve my writing skills, I also want to have a better appreciation for the work and effort that goes into all creative endeavors,  not just the ones that meet my standards of a good book, or a good painting, or a good movie.

Well, that's all I've got for now. I hope you all had a great 2013 and I'm excited to share with you guys all that 2014 has in store.