Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Books like Blood Transfusions


A good book enters into your blood stream.   These 15 books are vitamin rich and will leave you a more thoughtful and infused Christian.

 

This secular work follows an Ethiopian woman, who out of deep grief, starts taking in children till her house is overflowing.  It will pull heart strings and infuse your soul with the real stigma of being an AIDS orphan. The story is masterfully told and will stir even the compassion fatigued.


The genocide in Cambodia of two million people came with Communist ideology.   "Equality" comes at a sickening cost.   The young survivor who pens this story struggles with anger, survival guilt and a numbness of conscience.  It is a gruesome and yet important read to understand history repeats itself everywhere class warfare takes hold.  This book inadvertently shows the hopelessness of the author's Buddhist beliefs.  Sadly, she holds tight to something that gives her no peace.



This is a sweet glimpse into a different day in age when words meant something and self-discipline was taught as an admirable trait.   Though I can not agree with all of Charles Wesley's views, the sincerity he lived by was winsome and the struggles he endured for the sake of Jesus were heroic.  The author writes with maturity and fairness to reveal the flawed man in awe of the flawless Christ.

 
Get ready for some supernatural miracles and a young woman who stumbles into her life's calling.
This true account will help you understand how financial help from overseas has stimulated greedy, unethical people into "helping children" while pocketing the money.  The exploitation of orphans is horrifyingly commonplace.  This courageous girl changes things in Haiti through the power of God. 

 
Read aloud to my children.  I loved this spunky woman who moved into a need and began an amazing ministry that brought 7,000 people to Christ.  Because our lives are so much more insulated now, I particularly was touched how constant severe hardships did not discourage her from the work of God.  Florence Young was immovable because she knew she served a steadfast, loving God.  Her life was spent in obscure beauty. 
 
 
 
This autobiography of Ravi Zacharias takes you from the exotic smells of India to the halls of Harvard.  More than that it is an unapologetic thread of how God weaves our stories and how God is present even before we are aware of his working.    The reshaping of a man takes as long as it does to walk from east to west.   
 

An extraordinary tenacity and hunger to know the Word of God, leads a man to groom his young son to translate the Bible in the language of their tribe.  It is a nonfiction book that balances a deep sense of obligation and yet privilege to be the bearer of such a great mission.  Truly inspiring to not give up when God gives you a task that seems insurmountable.
 
 
A young California couple pack up and decide to move to Ethiopia to prevent the killing of the marked children.  Children killed to appease the spirits and prevent misfortune to the village are rescued by their pleadings.  It is a sobering reality that sees failure and death as often as rescue.   They live in a hard place where God demonstrates that true love is sacrificial and emotionally costly.
 
 
A fascinating account of Christianity in China through personal interviews from the eyes of an avowed non-believer.  Perhaps the author doesn't fully understand that a human government could never squash a work of God.  Despite being spiritually dead, the author is very aware that the underground church is alive and well in China.
  


Our parenting styles may be quite different, but I still appreciated how she could write with self-deprecation and humor about the process of adopting and assimilating different cultures into her Jewish family.  Married to a criminal defense lawyer in Atlanta and having 9 children makes for a
interesting mix.  Be warned there is a little bit of language and risque themes.
 
 
A Messianic Jew tells how he escaped war-torn Sudan.  It is a gripping first-hand story of a refugee and the courage it takes to embark on such a journey not knowing the outcome or the end.  His horrendous journey made him the man he would need to be to go back and bring hope and healing to his countrymen. It is one of those books which demonstrates that beautiful stories are written from sorrow and lessons are learned in pain.

 
Given to me in Idaho.  It is a full-throttle, in your face, encouragement to truly live.  The small moments make up a life and as the calendar keeps flipping I realize I don't want to waste precious time.  I want to die by living.  I want to be spent in Christ and love people well.  It is a carpe diem book for Christ-followers.

One of my sweet blog friends from the past few years wrote this book.  As a mother to over a dozen kids, she loves to recount the work of the Lord in their lives. She is a radical lover of Jesus and advocate for the orphan.  Her daughters on the cover are both testaments of God's goodness.  The older one serves medically fragile orphans in Uganda.  And as for little Ruby, you just need to read the story. 

 
After reading God is Red, I was curious to read this as well.  This one is not as gentle and there are some seriously disturbing personal interviews.  That being said, I am so thankful I have a Chinese son who will not be a factory worker with other handicapped children or a street beggar.  I am so thankful that as an American I can have a big family and move without permission from the government.  This powerful book unfolds the despised parts of Chinese culture.

 
Oh, how I love the subtitle: when God rescues messy people.  Through vulnerable beginnings and the ugly side of an abusive marriage, God reaches into their individual lives and woos them to himself.  Christ's love compels this couple into action.  They choose to bring home damaged foster children and show them the undeserved love they experienced.