2011 Reads

With my total reads for the year reaching 112 total, I have surpassed my goal of 100 books and also topped my personal best of 101 books read in a year. I had a very good reading year, not just in quantity of books but in the quality and depth of the books that I read. I would definitely rate my top 2 books of the year as Radical by David Platt and Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman. A close 3rd would be Jesus + Nothing = Everything by Tullian Tchividjian. Top fiction was definitely The Queen by Steven James.
I discovered the author Barbara Delinsky and read my first read by Michael Horton, both authors I will definitely continue to read. Getting the Kindle this year was also a factor in my reading as I was able to get books for review through Netgalley as a result of having the Kindle. I also enjoyed taking advantage of my library's inter-library loan system. This coming year will most likely be a smaller year in quantity read as I plan to tackle several chunksters I've been eyeing for a while.
Here is the final list of 2011 reads:


1. What Good Is God? by Philip Yancey
2. A Heartbeat Away by Michael Palmer
3. The Dead and the Gone by Susan Pfeffer
4. The 10 Dumbest Things Christians Do by Mark Atteberry
5. More Than Friends by Barbara Delinsky
6. Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
7. This World We Live In by Susan Pfeffer
8. The Sister Wife by Diane Noble
9. The Me I Want to Be by John Ortberg
10. Idols of the Heart by Elyse Fitzpatrick
11. The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
12. The Personifid Project by R.E. Bartlett
13. What's Right with the Church? by Elmer Towns
14. Pathway to Purpose for Women by Katie Brazelton
15. Delayed Diagnosis by Gwen Hunter
16. Thrive, Don't Simply Survive by Karol Ladd
17. Michal by Jill Eileen Smith
18. Not My Daughter by Barbara Delinsky
19. Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges (re-read)
20. Overcoming Emotions That Destroy by Chip Ingram
21. Marriage of Inconvenience by Debbie Macomber
22. Stand-In Wife by Debbie Macomber
23. Getting Off the Emotional Roller Coaster by Bob Philips
24. Introverts in the Church by Adam McHugh
25. How to Handle Your Emotions by June Hunt
26. Under the Cajun Moon by Mindy Starns Clark
27. Lying on Sunday by Sharon Souza
28. A Good Friend by Les Parrott
29. True North by Gary Inrig
30. Recursion by James Cavell
31. Hope for Your Heart by June Hunt
32. The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center
33. Christless Christianity by Michael Horton
34. The Christian Atheist by Craig Groeschel
35. Spring Broke by Melody Carlson
36. Crave by Chris Tomlinson
37. Family Tree by Barbara Delinsky
38. Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon by Debbie Fuller Thomas
39. Christianish by Mark Steele
40. Faithful by Kim Cash Tate
41. Toxic Faith by Stephen Arterburn
42. Radical by David Platt
43. Hardball by Sara Paretsky
44. The New Media Frontier by Various
45. Blackout by Jason Elam/Steve Yohn
46. Grown-Up Girlfriends by Erin Smalley/Carrie Oliver
47. The Irresistible Church by Wayne Cordeiro
48. Menu for Romance by Kaye Dacus
49. Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow
50. Hooked on the Net by Andrew Careaga
51. The Book of Jane by Anne Dayton
52. The White Plague by Frank Herbert
53. Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey
54. Stuff Christians Like by Jon Acuff
55. Fool's Gold by John MacArthur
56. The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck by Kathleen Y'Barbo
57. Why You Do the Things You Do by Tim Clinton/Gary Sibcy
58. Vanish by Tom Pawlik
59. Radical Womanhood by Carolyn McCulley
60. Three Weddings and a Bar Mitzvah by Melody Carlson
61. The Power of Emotional Decision Making by David Hawkins
62. Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
63. Darkness Is My Only Companion by Kathryn Greene-McCreight
64. Sabbath Keeping by Lynne Baab
65. The Last Christian by David Gregory
66. Black Widow and the Sandman by L.L. Reaper
67. Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
68. Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado
69. White Sleeper by David Fett/Stephen Langford
70. Body Work by Sara Paretsky
71. Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris
72. The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
73. Domesticated Jesus by Harry Lee Kraus
74. Knowing Me, Knowing God by Malcolm Goldsmith
75. The Enclave by Karen Hancock
76. Why Church Matters by Joshua Harris
77. Muscular Faith by Ben Patterson
78. Bake Until Golden by Eva Marie Everson/Linda Shepherd
79. Medical Error by Richard Mabry
80. The Reason for Sports by Ted Kluck
81. The Ever-Loving Truth by Voddie Baucham
82. The Marketing of Evil by David Kupelian
83. Overcoming Negative Emotions by Annie Chapman
84. Bloodline by Malcolm Rose
85. Why One Way? by John MacArthur
86. Gotta Have It! by Gregory Jantz
87. Vigilante by Robin Parrish
88. Titan by Ben Bova
89. Plutonium Murders by Robert Charles Davis
90. Knowing & Loving the Bible by Catherine Martin
91. The Amish Midwife by Leslie Gould/Mindy Starns Clark
92. The Queen by Steven James
93. The Secret Between Us by Barbara Delinsky
94. Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman
95. Vanished by Alton Gansky
96. How To Be a Best Friend Forever by John Townsend
97. Lit! by Tony Reinke
98. The Next Story by Tim Challies
99. The Gospel Commission by Michael Horton
100. Nick of Time by Tim Downs
101. The Sky Is Not Falling by Charles Colson
102. How Evil Works by David Kupelian
103. Disciple by Bill Clem
104. What Is the Mission of the Church? by Kevin DeYoung/Greg Gilbert
105. The Truth War by John MacArthur
106. The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1 by Justo Gonzalez
107. Back to the Bible by Woodrow Kroll
108. The Story of Christianity, Vol. 2 by Justo Gonzalez
109. Twilight's Last Gleaming by Robert Jeffress
110. Deep Church by Jim Belcher
111. Jesus + Nothing = Everything by Tullian Tchividjian
112. Reading the Bible with Heart & Mind by Tremper Longman III

Chunkster Challenge 2012

This goes right along with my 12 in 2012 so by completing my 12 in 2012, I will also complete the Chunkster Challenge.

I could either do level 3 or level 4.
Level 3 - SIX Chunksters from the following categories: 2 books which are between 450 - 550 pages in length; 2 books which are 551 - 750 pages in length; 2 books which are GREATER than 750 pages in length
Between 450-550 pages:
-Church History in Plain Language by Bruce Shelley
-Basic Theology by Charles Ryrie
(also Sound Forth the Trumpet by Marshall/Manuel, vol. 3 on American history)

Between 551-750 pages:
-Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview by J.P. Moreland
-The Portable Seminary by David Horton

More than 750 pages:
-Perspectives on the World Christian Movement
-Understanding the Times by David Noebel

For Level 4: EIGHT or more Chunksters of which three tomes MUST be 750 pages or more. 

The additional more than 750 pages (to bring total to 8):
-Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem
-Calvin's Institutes of Religion

Jesus + Nothing = Everything

Jesus + Nothing = Everything by Tullian Tchividjian
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a fantastic, uplifting and gem of a book! Based mostly on the book of Colossians, the author takes us through how Jesus is all we have and all that we need for living the Christian life. Once we are saved, we often attempt to live out the Christian life in our own strength and ability, failing miserably. We need to continue to preach the gospel to ourselves, not only that we are saved by Christ's death on our behalf, but that we have been made righteous already in God's eyes through Christ's righteousness. Nothing we do or don't do changes our standing with God. By His lavishing grace, we grow, not by trying harder, but by resting in Christ's finished work in our behalf. We are to focus on Jesus's finished work, not on our own efforts.

Everything we need for godly living is already ours in Christ. This book affirms over and over the gospel and the grace that God has bestowed to those who are His. An encouraging and refreshing reminder that it is all about Christ, not about us. By turning our focus to Christ instead of ourselves, we can grow in the Christian walk as God intended.


*This ebook was provided to me by the publisher for free in exchange for my review.

Operation Deepen Faith 2012

Though I am trying to not officially join any challenges for 2012 as I don't seem to do very well on them, 2 challenges call to me. I'm technically already doing the Chunkster Challenge with my 12 in 2012 (will post in separate post). And deepening my reading of the Bible is always a good goal to aim for, even if I don't complete it, so attempting to be part of Operation Deepen Faith is a good challenge for me to always be part of.


From 2012 Operation Deepen Faith 
I. Deep and Wide; Goal: read multiple books of the bible in multiple translations.
For example that might mean reading four to six books of the Bible (OT or NT, whatever you prefer) in four to six different translations. The books wouldn't have to be long books. You might choose Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, etc. Or you might choose  John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Revelation. Or Luke, Acts, Romans, Hebrews. You can choose a group of books that makes sense to you. Books that you want to explore further. You choose the books, you choose the translations. You choose the pace.

For me this is my hope: To Read 5 books of the Bible in multiple translations:
-Proverbs
-Galatians
-2 Corinthians
-Colossians
-Ephesians


Possible translations - NIV, NASB, NLT, NKJV, ESV, New Century, The Message (updated to change this one to the NET Bible version instead)

II. Going Deep; 
Goal: STUDY one book of the Bible throughout the year. Read it in at least four translations. Read the notes in a study Bible. Read a commentary book about it. Read or listen to sermons on it. Read it as often as possible--whether that is once a week or once a month or even once a day. Get to know that one book well. Let God speak to you through it. You might even choose to take notes or journal as you read. Whatever you want to do. 


-Philippians (memorized in college) - would like to re-memorize, so in-depth study would help


Part III kinda goes along with my hope to re-memorize Philippians. I have also been trying to memorize 2 Corinthians 4 for a while now.


Part IV is reading of Christian Non-Fiction which I will already be doing with the 12 in 2012.

Twilight's Last Gleaming by Robert Jeffress

Twilight's Last Gleaming by Robert Jeffress
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This statement was what drew me to this book and made me interested in reading it – “Although we cannot prevent America’s eventual demise, we can delay it”. I am discouraged as I look around me at the moral decay in America. This book addresses the issues we face in current society and encourages believers to take a stand. America will eventually fall, but we can help delay that by standing up for what is right to make a difference in our society.

The book starts out talking about our responsibility as Christians to be lights and salt in our communities. We are not to just put our heads in the sand and ignore what is going on in our culture. We are to make a difference not to blend in.

Another chapter is spent going over 3 key turning points in American history that have led us to our current state. One is taking prayer out of schools, another is legalizing abortion, and the final a lesser known case of overturning a ruling regarding anti-sodomy in Texas. The direction our country is headed is a losing of our religious freedoms as Christians, while other religions are considered fine and free to be practiced. A killing of our children that are unwanted or inconvenient has been the result of legalizing abortion. And we are fast approaching the legalization of gay marriage, which will undermine the importance of marriage between a man and a woman and continue to destabilize the American family unit.

This was a well-written book showing where we are currently at in American culture and the need for American Christians to take a stand for what the Bible teaches. The end of the book has discussion questions based on each chapter, making it an excellent resource for small groups and book clubs to read together. This book is being released on January 3, 2012.

Some quotes:
“…one reason Christians are so discouraged and frightened about the condition of our country is that, unlike the apostle Paul, their lives are focused on personal peace, prosperity, and the avoidance of pain.”

“Listen carefully to the messages from many pulpits across our country, and you will assume that God’s primary desire for your life is that you build a successful career, experience a fulfilling marriage, or enjoy a long and healthy life. None of those objectives is God’s primary purpose for your life. God’s one desire for you is that you mirror the attitudes, actions, and affections of His Son, Jesus Christ.”

“A life that is focused on pleasure and leisure is one that is destined for spiritual atrophy and destruction.”

*I received this e-book free from the publisher (through netgalley) in exchange for my review.

Reading Challenges

I love reading challenges! Or maybe it's that I love signing up for reading challenges and then putting my lists together for them. I love making lists. But actually following the list and reading the books for the reading challenges becomes a, well, challenge :-). After failing yet again this year I have decided that for the most part, I will not be participating in reading challenges next year, at least not officially. I do have a list of books that I want to read in 2012, but am not going to kick myself if I don't complete the list.
That being said, here is a list of challenges for next year that if I were participating in challenges, then I would probably sign up for these ones.

The Just for Fun Challenge - I have lots of books that have been sitting on my TBR for a long time

The Unread Book Challenge - kinda the same thing; tackling the unread in the TBR that have been there a while

Off the Shelf Challenge - reading the books that have been on the shelf for a while

2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge - another 'read those books in your TBR pile' challenge

Why Buy the Cow Reading Challenge - reading those ebooks that you got for free but have just been sitting on your e-reader, unread

Tea & Books Reading Challenge - reading books more than 700 pages (a lot of the books on my list for 2012 fit this category already)

What about you? Are you joining any challenges for 2012?