Thursday, June 25, 2009

What books are on my night stand?

As I said in my last entry, I am following several homemaker's blogs. One blog I just found a couple of weeks ago is A Quiet Heart. In a post this week she discussed the books that are on her nightstand. I thought it was quite interesting & reveals a bit about oneself, so I decided to do the same.


Ok, yes, I know that is a lot of books for one to be reading all at the same time but at least half of them are reference books that I only use on occasion & a couple of them I haven't even started. So, to get to it, I will be starting with the book on the left & moving right as I describe each one.

Perspectives: A Spiritual Life Guide For Twentysomethings by Colin Creel: I am totally loveing this book. There are parts in it that I think are changing my life. I better hurry up & read it, though, since I am 29. However, at least from what I have read so far, most of this could apply to any life stage you happen to be in.

Backfired: A Nation Born for Religious Tolerance No Longer Tolerates Religion by William J. Federer: This is a very interesting book. I started it about a year ago but put it down & just haven't picked it up much since. It is a very interesting book but I tend to get distracted easily, I think I was reading a couple of other books at the time for some small groups. Anyway, the title pretty much sums up what this book is about. I'm only to the point where the American colonies have decided to allow Catholics to hold office & such.

Sanctuary: Creating a Blessed Place to Life and Love by Pamela J. Bailey: I just got this book last week. So far, I'm only a couple of pages into the book & she is talking about how she came to the point where she decided to turn her house into a home. I'm enjoying it so far. She has said a couple of things that I have really liked. The most meaningful for me being, "Intentionally or not, a home is a reflection of the person or people who reside in it." That is basic knowledge I already knew but that really "hit home" for me because I do not like what I see around me right now & I want to reflect something much nicer & peaceful.

Lady in Waiting: Becoming God's Best While Waiting for Mr. Right by Jackie Kendall & Debby Jones: This book was recommended to me by a friend about 9 or so years ago & I just now decided to read it. She really liked it & said she got a lot from it. I guess I need to keep reading because of what I've read so far, I've gotten very little from it. The first chapter dealt with issues single women typically deal with but that I feel I have already put behind me. This book seems very surface level & probably would be great for 17-21 year old women. Granted, I did start this book coming off my Captivating high. (Captivating being a very deep book that I can not recommend enough & has completely changed my life & idea of God.)

Keeping House: The Litany of Everyday Life by Margaret Kim Peterson: This is one of the books I haven't started, so I have no idea what it will be like. I'll let you know later.

A Life That Says Welcome: Simple Ways to Open Your Heart & Home to Others by Karen Ehman: This is another book I haven't started yet but I really like the title & I can't wait to get to it.

Too Much Stuff: De-Cluttering Your Heart and Home by Kathryn Porter: This book I was probably the most excited about ordering but since Santuary came first, that's the one I started reading first. So, this one will probably be next.

No Ordinary Home: The Uncommon Art of Christ-Centered Homemaking by Carol Brazo: Not really sure if this will be relevant for me at this life-stage but I'll give it a whirl. It is highly rated on Amazon.

Life Application Study Bible (NLT) by God with help from His prophets: It's the Bible. I've been reading this particular one for about 3 years & it is beginning to show it's wear. I love all the little notes that they put at the bottom of each page.

Where To Find It In The Bible: The Ultimate A to Z Resource by Ken Anderson: This is one of my reference books. I don't use it that often but I really like it.

The Ultimate Guide to the Bible by Carol Smith: Another reference book that is quite good but I've read very little of it.

Halley's Bible Handbook: This is a great reference book that I grew up seeing my dad searching through all the time when he was preparing for a Sunday School lesson.

The Kingdom of the Cults by Walter Martin (author) & Ravi Zacharias (editor): This is a fantastic book wonderfully detailing many of today's religions including Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Science, the LDS, Buddhism, Scientology, New Age, Islam, & others. Both of these men are highly respected & probably considered two of the leading Christian apologists. I am a particular fan of Ravi Zacharias after listening to a few of his radio sermons. I've only made it through their chapters where they define a cult & other language they use & only half way though their discussion of the psychology of a cult.

Handbook of Today's Religions by Josh McDowell & Don Stewart: This is another apologetics book I occasionally pick up. I am highly interested in differing religions to the point that, one day, I would like to write maybe a small group study on some of them. I may write more someother time about my interest in this subject. Anyway, this book covers many of the same religions as The Kingdom of the Cults including a few more like Occultism, some religions I've never even heard of, & some that people may not classify as religions such as atheism, agnosticism, Marxism, Secular Humanism, etc... I've only read through Islam & most of their chapters where they introduce & discuss the language & definitions of a cult.

Handbook of Denominations in the United States by Frank S. Mead, Samuel S. Hill, & Craig D. Atwood: This book is pretty interesting in which it breaks down each denomination within the US. It gives the founding date, the estimated mempership, how they formed from the parent group, what their basic doctrines are, &, if available, their headquarter's address & website address. I haven't really used this book much but I'm pretty sure it would be interesting.

Webster's II New College Dictionary: It is a dictionary. :) I have it here because, while reading, I occasionally come across a word I don't really know, so I look it up. Very old-school, I know.

Well, that's about it right now. I think I'll end up moving most of the apologetics books & reference books to one of the shelves on the bookcase in the living room as soon as I get them organized. If I don't use them regularly, I really don't need them out, do I? :) I know I have a couple of more books in the apartment complex office that I need to go pick up but they should be the last for a bit.

So what books are on your nightstand or desk or car or purse or where ever you tend to read?

Ok...it is definitely WAY past my nap time. Later.

4 comments:

jinxxxygirl said...

In general i keep one book on my nightstand at a time. Sometimes, rarely i will have two going at one time. Sometimes i will keep one in my locker at work and only read it at work on my lunch hour and then i'll start one at home before i go to bed at night.
At the moment i have one on my nightstand only called 'Germ', can't remember the author and too lazy to go look. :) But its about germs that have been created to attack only one DNA . Kind of an assassin virus. Theoretically could be released in a room and only kill the person it was intended for. HHmmm only just started it but sounds interesting with scary implications...NO? Jinx!

Unknown said...

I try to only have one book going at a time, excluding my Bible. But, most of these books, are more like reference books or text books that you can read a little of & then put down & when you come back too it years later you won't have to have remembered the last bit you read.

Is that book by Michael Crichton? It sounds like something he would write. He is definitely one of my all time favorite authors, so sad that he died. :(

Veronica said...

Thanks for sharing the link to your post...I love to see what others are reading - and often find more to add to my own list. I love homemaking/organization books, so I'll have to check out a few that you mentioned! You might also like "Cleaning Up the Clutter" by Emilie Barnes. I read that one a few years ago, and it was super practical! I'm still attempting to implement some of her suggestions!! :)
I also like to have several reference books out as well, although most of the good ones have disappeared to my husband's office of late! ;) And, I'm glad to see someone else still uses the dictionary...
Looks like an interesting list! Happy Reading/Studying!!

Unknown said...

Veronica, thanks for your comment. I'll check that book out...after I've read these (a new policy of mine) or at least the organization ones. I actually usually use the computer to look up a word but sometimes it is quicker just to run to the old dictionary rather going to the computer, opening a new browser, searching, etc...