I hope your summer has been a good one so far. If you’re anything like me, I have high expectations for long, relaxing days by the pool, barbeques, and fun evenings out with good friends. I could go on. All things being equal, mine has been one of endless loads of dirty baseball laundry, feeding hungry teenagers, and trying to weed my garden in between buckets of rain. Nevertheless, I have had time to read a few books and listen to some good podcasts lately and wanted to share these with you.
The podcast, “Affirming Your Man” by speaker Ann Wilson for Family Life Today was a perfect refresher of much that we’ve learned in our Cry of the Hidden Heart classes. It was funny and poignant, and so very real. The second day of the talk “The Power of a Woman’s Words” is great, too.
My friends and mentors, Karen Bacon and Joan Kehr, have been reading these books this summer: “Hearing God, Developing a Conversational Relationship with God” by Dallas Willard and “A Godward Heart: Treasuring the God Who Loves You” by John Piper.
I haven’t read “Hearing God …” by Dallas Willard yet, but I’m definitely adding it to my “to read” list. His book “The Divine Conspiracy” is one of my all time favorites! Joan’s perspective of “A Godward Heart” is that it’s “a delightful read, easier than some of his works, with short devotional chapters to get us out of our spiritual slumber.” It sounds like the perfect book to slip in your suitcase to take on your summer trip!
If your head is reeling because of the news from June 26, these websites have some great articles and have been a help to me: John Piper’s article “So-called Same-Sex Marriage: Lamenting the New Calamity” and “Gay Marriage: What the Church and God’s People Need to Do Now” by John Freeman with Harvest USA.
And, if you just need an escape, something to read to remind you that we’re not home yet, try “Heaven” by Randy Alcorn. This book did that for me.
Happy summer, friends!