Christmas Gift Ideas: Part 1 of 4 - For the Cliffs’ Notes Fan...
Friends! Are you like me and staring at a PILE of books in the forever “So-many-books,-so-little-time” scenario?
Well, I’ve got GOOD NEWS for you and your friends...I found a book that would be an awesome Christmas gift and you’ll be all the smarter for it. This book is a resource you’ll return to time and time again. The workout your brain will receive is just what the doctor would most assuredly order.
The book? 25 Books Every Christian Should Read—A Guide to the Essential Spiritual Classics (Includes Selections from Each Book), Selected by Renovare and a Specially Appointed Editorial Board, including Richard J. Foster, Dallas Willard, Phyllis Tickle, and Richard Rohan.
Renovare USA is “a nonprofit Christian organization that models, resources, and advocates fullness of life with God experienced, by grace, through the spiritual practices of Jesus and of the historical Church.”
Richard J. Foster is founder, past president, and current team member of Renovare in the United States. There are other members world-wide as well.
Checkout www.Renovare.us
The editorial board says they identified “a handful of the most outstanding books ever written on Christian faith and the life of prayer and discipleship.”
The board adds,
From the above quote, I had to look up the meaning of “distillation”: “the extraction of essential meaning or most important aspect of something.” Hang with me, this is a very GOOD thing...
You may be thinking like me, wondering HOW these folks came up with only twenty-five books??? Their method is explained in the Introduction. They also reveal their selections come with a WARNING and an ENCOURAGEMENT...
The warning is that the excerpts are no walk-in-the-park reads. That’s why I say your brain WILL get a workout. The encouragement is this book gives us readers three whopping benefits:
1 - “The power to renew your soul,
2 - The power to rekindle your spiritual passion, and
3 - The power to transform your life.”
PLUS, how fun (and what a relief!!!) you don’t necessarily have to read these books in their entirety—these brilliant folks on Renovare’s Board have done the leg work for us readers—giving us the very best of each book to then decide if we will read these books or not. Translation: no stress!!!
I say it’s time management at its’ finest. Remember getting Cliffs’ notes in school when you were assigned a book? If any of you answer “no” to that question, don’t tell me. I was a Cliffs’ note groupie if there ever was one. (Please don’t go back and find my teachers to tell them!)
25 Books Every Christian Should Read is my friend for that very reason. We’re getting the pearls or golden nuggets (that’s the distillation we learned about earlier) of these books, many of which are considered classics of the Christian faith.
An additional bonus is sprinkled throughout the book. Many well-known authors get to put their two cents’ worth in, gifting us readers with their personal “Top 5”, sometimes “Top 7”, favorite books. These are fascinating. Many times these writers mention the same book. Trust me, you’ll be adding to your “to be read” list...
Prior to each books’ excerpt, you’ll find three important sections:
“WHY” this book is essential, “HOW” to read it, and Study Guide questions.
I believe your friends who are bibliophiles will flip over this book. Thence, it’s my first of four gift ideas for you this Christmas season.
You may also be wondering how the board was able to diversify their selections. They share,
“the final list includes books essential to the Eastern (Orthodox) tradition as well as books more familiar to those in the Western (Latin) tradition, both Protestant and Catholic.”
Gayle Beebe, a member of the editorial board says,
“We invite the reader to read the books that have drawn people of all backgrounds into a deeper and richer life with God.”
I found it fascinating the Board excluded books by authors who are still living. Some of you talented writers out there, be not offended!
C.S. Lewis said, “Old books have the advantage of having been tested by time.” He suggests books be tested by “the clean sea breeze of the centuries.”
There is, however, a section at the end of the book on “Best Contemporary Authors.” I’m pleased as punch to note that our very own Wendell Berry from our state of Kentucky is listed first, along with five of his books. You’ll know many of the authors in this section as well.
If you pop on Amazon, you can pull up 25 Books Every Christian Should Read and click on the “Look inside” link over the book cover. Scroll down to where you can see the 25 books listed. You’ll recognize most, I suspect. I won’t list them all here, but I will tell you my favorites so far:
Confessions by St. Augustine. This one blew me away. To think his writings are fifteen hundred years old! What? And they’re just as relevant today as they were then. I also love that St. Augustine pondered what true friendship looks like. This excerpt definitely made me want to read more of Confessions.
Another favorite is The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. I’ve read this book, but it’s been a long time since I did. Naturally it’s nowhere to be found in this house, so I especially appreciated getting another chance to read at least an excerpt.
I got tickled Brother Lawrence learned how to practice God’s presence largely from frustration in being stuck in the kitchen. And we know they did NOT have dishwashers back then! He hung onto 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.” That phrase became his M.O.
Meditate on this a minute:
I loved learning that “in the more than three centuries since The Practice of the Presence of God was first published, more Christians have read it than any book other than the Bible. John Wesley and A.W. Tozer were among its many champions, Wesley including it as part of his spiritual library of recommended reading for all Christians.”
Friends, we’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg. I pray you can tell from what I’ve shared what a jewel 25 Books Every Christian Should Read is. Start making your list for your friends who will love this book, yourself included!
Run, don’t walk, to your nearest bookstore and conquer that Christmas list! I’ll be giving you more gift ideas as Christmas approaches.
‘Til next time!
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the page above are “affiliate links.”