3 Best Books of 2011

What a year! With all the joys that come with the birth of my son and the trials regarding his health this year, I am so thankful for the way that God has shown me his grace in the books that I have had the privilege of reading either that were sent to me for review, given as gifts, or ones that have been sitting on the shelf for some time.  I am constantly surprised at how God show himself to me through the books that he offers to me just when I need them.

Of the 53 books I have read this year, I wanted to share the ones that have meant the most to me.  Perhaps they would make great Christmas gifts for people in your life or you may find that they mean something to you as they did for me.

Here, then, are my top 3 picks of the year, followed by some honorable mentions:

Holiness by Grace
by Brian Chapell

This was a fantastic book! I read this in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit when my son was under sedation for days and on full ventilation after his trachostemy surgery.   Dr. Chapell tells a moving story about a mother whose child turned blue during the baby’s first feeding after birth.  It was a great comfort to me in a time where I was completely helpless to do anything for my son, just as each of us are helpless to do anything that is truly pleasing to God, apart from the finished work of Christ.  Holiness by Grace is about how not only are we saved by grace, but we are perfected and sanctified by Christ’s work on our behalf.

Click here for full review.

Review: Tempted and Tried

Tempted and Tried: Temptation and the Triumph of Christ by Russell D. Moore

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Are you human?  Then you have dealt with temptation.  Even people who do not consider themselves Christian talk about being tempted, and they are not the only ones who chronically give in.

Yet there is a watershed difference in what temptation mmeans to one who is called of God and who has been bought by the blood of Christ.  The book of Hebrews tells us that, in Christ, we have a “High Priest who was tempted in every way, yet without sin.”  It also says that Jesus’ temptations were “common to man.”  How much more clear do we need to get?  Jesus, God in human flesh, was tempted in every way that you have been or will ever be tempted.