I love being around people who are smarter and more experienced than me (some would say that’s not too hard to find, to them I say, words can hurt you know?). One of the easiest ways to do that is to read what these people write. These are my favorite five books I read within the last year, I encourage you to check them out.
1. Crash The Chatterbox - Steven Furtick
“The voice you believe will determine the future you experience.” pg 17
I love this line so much I have it pinned on twitter. I love how Steven Furtick points out lies that the enemy tells us each and every day. If you want a book that will help show you how to overcome the lies of insecurity, fear, condemnation, and discouragement, you need to read this book.
“Everything changes the day you realize that not only does God love you but he actually likes you too. Not just because he has to. But because he wants to.” pg 38
When I first read that line, I was legitimately floored. I've always struggled with strong negative thoughts and feelings about myself, even hating myself at certain points in my life. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had the head knowledge that Jesus loves me, I grew up in church after all. Over the last few years, I’ve been coming to know in my heart too that Jesus loves me. This line put me over edge though. It’s so easy for me to only think about what I need to do better and what I need to do next, it’s easy to forget that Jesus not only loves me, but likes me because he chose to like me. I say this all the time, but if I was God, I would do things myself because people suck. But God chose to use us and decided that we should be his bride. Not only does God love me but he actually likes me too.
2. Visioneering - Andy Stanley
“Vision gives significance to the otherwise meaningless details of our lives.” pg 9
This book is so good because Andy Stanley shows us how to engineer a vision through the life of Nehemiah. He takes you on a step by step process through twenty different building blocks to take your vision from dream to reality to maintained reality.
“Visioneering requires patience, investigation, and planning. Visioneering requires faith in God’s ability to work behind the scenes.” pg 270
3. The Advantage - Patrick Lencioni
“Becoming a real team requires an intentional decision on the part of its members. I like to say that teamwork is not a virtue. It is a choice.” pg 21
This book is amazing for creating organizational clarity and health. Patrick Lencioni walks you through why organizational health is the most important aspect of creating thriving organizations. My mind was blown by some of the concepts that are simple to maintain in theory (like running a good meeting), but exponentially harder to maintain in practice (like running a good meeting). Great read for anyone who wants to be a part of or create an great and effective organization.
“If the best way to ensure that a message gets communicated throughout an organization is to spread rumors about it, then leaders simply ought to go out and tell ‘true rumors.’” pg 144
4. Creation Unraveled - Matt Carter & Halim Suh
“God wants us to trust in His goodness. From the very core of who we are, He wants us to know that He’s a good Father who desires to give us every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). He also wants us to trust that when He withholds things from us, it’s only those things that would cause us harm…When it comes to sin, the central issue isn’t the disobedience of the hands; it’s the distrust of the heart.” pg 49
Sorry for the long quote, but this book destroyed and then proceeded to build up my thoughts about what sin really is. This is a great devotional type book that explores the Gospel according to the book of Genesis. Matt and Halim opened my eyes to how much of Genesis is in the Gospel and what the book of Genesis means in light of what Jesus did and continues to do in the lives of so many people.
“Paul said the law doesn’t exist so we can work our way to heaven by obeying every letter of it, but so that our boastful mouths will be quieted.” pg 137
5. The Artisan Soul - Erwin McManus
“What has happened to us is not nearly as powerful or as formative as our interpretation of why it happened.” pg 85
In this book Erwin McManus, the pastor of MOSAIC Church in LA, talks about crafting your life as a work of art. Whether you think so or not, your life is the most valuable thing that you can have. Whether you have a lot of money or almost no money, time is the great equalizer. We all have a short supply of time. What you do with it matters. How you live your life matters. We were put on this earth for a reason and a purpose. With instant entertainment right at our fingertips, I find it so easy to waste so much of my time on YouTube, Instagram, or Hulu that I don’t really do anything for entire days on end. I don’t even have time to think! This book talks you through intentionally crafting your life like an artisan.
“The point of Genesis is that God created us with intention, that the entire universe exists with intention, and that we, if we are to live life as God intended, must also live intentional lives.” pg. 108
You can buy any of these books here
I highly recommend all of these.