A few years ago, I started reading books that will help draw me closer to God. I am still blown away at how these books did exactly what they were printed to do. The books I am going to share with you below have legitimately changed my life. I’ve grown so much wiser and can only imagine how I will continue to grow through the implementation of the principles I am learning. The books below are in no particular order of importance, and all cater to different areas of my life. Because of these books, I am a better woman mentally, spiritually, personally, and professionally. I hope they elevate your life as much as they do mine. All of the books are linked in the titles.
The Bible
All roads lead to Jesus is just one major concept I grasped. I read it in 14 months chronology. I now have a better understanding of how God speaks and when I read the Bible now, I have a bigger picture of what’s going on. Present-day, I get to slow down and meditate on verses and get more clarity on prayer from the Holy Spirit. If you feel like God doesn’t speak to you, I would start with reading the Bible. Do you have to read it in 14 months? No. Knowing where everything starts and where it’s going is helpful though. Plus I’m nosey and I liked reading all the juicy details! Extra plus-Jesus does not mince words. I like how he says what he says. (Say that like Nene Leaks). I have the NIV cultural study bible but I also have the YouVerse bible app so I can read different versions.
Healing
This book was helpful because it taught me how God still is in the business of healing and he doesn’t just want it to be an idea we read about in the Bible. He still can heal. He still can deliver. In the end, it walks you through ways you can help yourself and others through inner healing and deliverance. I still use the prayer guide principles when I’m listening to people talk throughout my day. Graham cook always says, “everyone is advertising something.” This book will help you take what someone is showing you about themselves and turn it into prayer and healing!
31 Days of Prayer For My Husband
So I’m not done with this book. I only pull it out when Donte is really hittin’ that last nerve. It walks you through a time of reflection on YOU, your husband, your marriage by Listening to Jesus, Doing the Bible, Taking Action, and Claiming His Promises. I find this helpful because it focuses on YOU. I know it’s a hard concept to grasp but we can’t change our spouses. After working through the prompts, I have a perspective shift and Donte gets to live another day. If you do end up purchasing this book, make sure you have a journal laying around. There isn’t much room in the book to write and it could be because I don’t read it for 31 days straight but I find that I have a lot to reflect on.
Healing the Soul of a Women
What isn’t transformed is transferred.–Pastor Mike Todd
Emotional wounds are dangerous! They don’t go anywhere if they aren’t dealt with and they will peek their little heads in your relationships with your family members, kids, marriage, and work. Yes. All the things. God doesn’t want us walking around holding all of that baggage. He wants us free. Well, he invites us to yoke up with Jesus and this book addresses things that hinder us from doing that, releasing them, and grabbing hold of what is true. One of my favorite things about Jesus is that he never didn’t say anything so he didn’t hurt feelings or disrupt people from what they knew to be true. Joyce talks about standing up for yourself and I think anyone who grew up being taught to been seen and not heard could benefit from that Chapter.
Crafting a Rule of Life
I got tricked into attending this class at church! I missed the 1st session so when I saw the title of the class I thought we were going to be doing crafts for 12 weeks. (If you know my church you would know that we do weird crunchy stuff like that all the time! LOL) You can buy any workbook to help you with your goals for your life but this one is based on 12 Christian principles that will root you in Christ. When you know who’s you are and who you are, life gets easier to walk through no matter how challenging or easy. The goals you set are also manageable. Once you learn about why the particular area in your life is important to master, you set a goal and then you work backwards. For example, if you set a goal for the year–What does that look like monthly? What does that look like weekly? What does that look like daily? What does that look like hourly?
If you have read any of these books, please let me know your thoughts in the comments. And if you have any other suggestions, I’d love to hear them. Thanks so much for reading. Make sure you chime in on my post on Instagram or Facebook and bookmark this page so you have this list for later.
Shalom,
Shardae`