Recommend the single most soul-expanding book you've ever read....

[wide eyes & laughter]

I'm a Christian who's open to non-Christian writings and perspectives. In recent years, I've suffered a diverse spectrum of losses, including death of my dear one. I've come to see how small my world has been and how small my soul. I've been challenged & tested & tried. I cannot even say that I've clung to Christ. But I can say He has kept me.

 

If you can recommend a book that has impacted your personal growth and expansion of your soul, I'd appreciate it.

[ThelmaLou]

The Pleasures of God and Desiring God, both by John Piper.

[Beth in Central TX]

The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God by Dallas Willard

[inquirer]

Shadow of the Almighty: THe Life and Testament of Jim Elliot - by Elisabeth Elliot

[Remudamom]

The Bible.

[Philothea]

The Story of a Soul, by St. Therese of Liseuix

[mull-berry-ish]

Embraced by the Light by Bettie J. Eadie. There is a sample chapter, a "brief retelling," and more on her website. HTH

 

Edit: Likely to be available at your library.

[OnTheBrink]

Biblical Christianity by John Calvin (I'm reading this now) and Lies Women Believe by Nancy DeMoss

[Rich with Kids]

The Shack by William P.Young

[PariSarah]

Resident Aliens, by Hauerwas and Willimon

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman

The Body of Compassion, by Joel Shuman

Heal Thyself, by Shuman and Meador

Virtues and Practices in the Christian Tradition, ed. Nancy Murphy.

The Moral Vision of the New Testament, by Richard Hays

 

All but the last two are very accessible to the motivated non-specialist. The second-to-last one has a somewhat dense first chapter or two, but then moves on into fun stuff. The last one has a first half that is VERY dense. It's hard going. But then when he gets into how one reads the bible, and how one applies it to specific issues, it's absolutely, perfectly brilliant.

 

The second one is not about Christianity at all, but it changed irrevocably the way I think about the Christian individual's relationship to medicine.

[Sparrows-Song]

A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows Through Loss- by Jerry Sittser. Here is Amazon's quip about it:

 

"The experience of loss does not have to be the defining moment of our lives, writes Gerald Sittser. Instead, the defining moment can be our response to the loss. It is not what happens to us that matters so much as what happens in us. Sittser knows. A tragic accident introduced him to loss of a magnitude few of us encounter. But this is not a book about one man's sorrow. It's about the grace that can transform us in the midst of sorrow. For those experiencing loss, A Grace Disguised offers a compassionate, deeply affirming message of hope, richness in living, and joy not after the darkness, but even in the midst of it."

 

I've read this book, and it is truly that good.

[momster]

revolutionized my 'prayer' life ~ "The Practice of the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence. It's a skinny little book with a powerful message.

[happy2homeschool]

The Alchemist by Paul Coelho -- a great book!

[Janna]

Oh my goodness! I read The Shack last summer (before it was released actually) and really enjoyed it. I remember recommending it on this board last year, but didn't know anyone else read it! I've not heard anyone, anywhere talk about it!

[Janna]

I'm going to echo Rich with Kid's suggestion of The Shack, esp. in light of your post. It sounds right up your alley.

[Rich with Kids]

Oh my goodness! I read The Shack last summer (before it was released actually) and really enjoyed it. I remember recommending it on this board last year, but didn't know anyone else read it! I've not heard anyone, anywhere talk about it!

 

It gave a completely new perspective on what my relationship with God should "look" like. It had the same affect on my DH.

[Jenny in Atl]

When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold Kushner

When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron

[j.griff]

A Simple Path- by Mother Teresa (i'm sure anything else by her is awesome as well).

[SparrowsNest]

Mere Christianity, followed closely by The Brothers Karamazov.

[Amy in NH]

The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell is really good.

[Heather in MD]

The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne

[1bassoon]

Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss

 

I reread this every 6 months or so.

[Vita Passiva]

It's not so much a book on growth, but rather on reflecting on the story God has written in your life. It's a book to encourage you to tell your story and to write it down. I found the workbook helpful to trigger thoughts and story starters. If you like to journal, it's a great help. I actually like several of Allender's books. He writes with a realness and rawness that I can relate to.

[Jan in SC]

I think many different books have spoken to me at different times. Some are works of fiction that I read not looking for anything very spiritual. I do not like wokrs with lots of "cheese factor" on them.

 

The Red Tent was a fiction book that really inspired me. It did the same for many of my friends, so maybe we were all in the same place.

 

Girl Meets God is my most recent find. It appealed to me on the most basic level of longing for something spiritually and making an effort to reach for it. I felt some sort of renewal after reading it, but the feeling is hard to put into words.

[Teddi]

I've seen several recommendations for "The Shack." I suggest you consider the following review first.

 

 

 

227 of 349 people found the following review helpful:

Time to Rain on this Parade, January 17, 2008

By Tim Challies (Oakville, Ontario)

 

I am certain that there is no other book I've been asked to review more times than William P. Young's The Shack, a book that is currently well within the top-100 best-selling titles at Amazon. The book, it seems, is becoming a hit and especially so among students and among those who are part of the Emergent Church. In the past few weeks many concerned readers have written to ask if I would be willing to read it and to provide a review. Because I am always interested in books that are popular among Christians, I was glad to comply.

 

First, a word about the book as it is written. William Young shows himself to be a capable writer, though I would not have believed it through the first couple of chapters. The book began with far too many awkward sentences and awkward sentence constructs (e.g. "One can almost hear a unified sigh rise from the nearby city and surrounding countryside where Nature has intervened to give respite to the weary humans slogging it out within her purview"). But as it went on and as the story took over the book became easier to read. The story itself is interesting enough, though certainly it lacks originality. The last chapter should have been left on the editing room floor and the final paragraph (before the "After Words") was a ridiculously terse attempt to provide closure to remaining plot lines. But on the whole the book is readable and enjoyable. Never does it become boring, even after long pages of nothing but dialog.

 

But Young did not write this book for the story. This book is all about the content and about the teaching it contains. The book's reviews focus not on the quality of the story but on its spiritual or emotional impact. Eugene Peterson grasps this, saying in his glowing endorsement, "When the imagination of a writer and the passion of a theologian cross-fertilize the result is a novel on the order of "The Shack." This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" did for his. It's that good!" Could it really be that good? Is it good enough to warrant positive comparison to the English-language book that has been read more widely than any other save the Bible? Let's turn to the book's content and find out.

 

The Shack revolves around Mack (Mackenzie) Philips. Four years before this story begins, Mack's young daughter, Missy, was abducted during a family vacation. Though her body was never found, the police did find evidence in an abandoned shack to prove that she had been brutally murdered by a notorious serial killer who preyed on young girls. As the story begins, Mack, who has been living in the shadow of his Great Sadness, receives a strange note that is apparently from God. God invites Mack to return to this shack for a get together. Though uncertain, Mack visits the scene of the crime and there has a weekend-long encounter with God, or, more properly, with the godhead.

 

Young covers a wide variety of theological topics in this book, each of which is relevant to the theme of Mack's suffering and his inability to trust in a God who could let his daughter be treated in such a horrifying way. The author is unafraid to tackle subjects of deep theological import--a courageous thing to do in so difficult a genre as fiction. The reader will find himself diving into deep waters as he reads this book. Unfortunately much of this theology is simply inconsistent with the Bible. Young shares strange ideas on the Trinity, the way God reveals Himself to us, forgiveness and a variety of other topics.

 

Despite the great amount of poor theology, my greatest concern is probably this one: the book has a quietly subversive quality to it. Young seems set on undermining orthodoxy Christianity. For example, at one point Mack states that, despite years of seminary and years of being a Christian, most of the things taught to him at the shack have never occurred to him before. Later he says, "I understand what you're saying. I did that for years after seminary. I had the right answers, sometimes, but I didn't know you. This weekend, sharing life with you has been far more illuminating than any of those answers."

 

Throughout the book there is this kind of subversive strain teaching that new and fresh revelation is much more relevant and important than the kind of knowledge we gain in sermons or seminaries or Scripture. Young's readers seem to be picking up on this. Read this brief Amazon review as an example: "Wish I could take back all the years in seminary! The years the locusts ate???? Systematic theology was never this good. Shack will be read again and again. With relish. Shared with friends, family, and strangers. I can fly! It's a gift. `Discipleship' will never be lessons again." Another reviewer warns that many Christians will find the book difficult to read because of their "modern" mindsets. "If one is coming from a strong, propositional and, perhaps, fundamentalist perspective to the Bible, this book certainly will be threatening." Still another says "This book was so shocking to my "staid" Christianity but it was eye opening to my own thoughts about who I think God is." At several points I felt as if the author was encouraging the reader to doubt what they know of Christianity--to deconstruct what they know of Christian theology--and to embrace something new. But the faith Young reconstructs is simply not the faith of the Bible.

 

Because of the sheer volume of error and because of the importance of the doctrines reinvented by the author, I would encourage Christians, and especially young Christians, to decline this invitation to meet with God in The Shack. It is not worth reading for the story and certainly not worth reading for the theology.

 

You may wish to read a more thorough review on my Amazon author blog...

[Alice]

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman

/QUOTE]

 

I totally agree...amazing book.

 

I really love most anything by Richard Foster. I especially enjoyed his book on Prayer (Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home).

[Surfside Academy]

A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers

The Hawk and the Dove by Penelope Wilcock

 

I have not read many books by F. Rivers...some of her other topics just don't interest me but this particular book along with the 2nd book in the trilogy are excellent.

[Apiphobic]

For myself, Les Misérables was my "wakening" or seeing the light experience.

 

I hope you're able to find something that gives you peace of mind.

 

[Soph the vet]

The Bible - goes without saying, I guess.

Heaven by Randy Alcorn (theology of heaven, not just a fluffy story)

One Thing You Can't Do in Heaven by Mark Cahill

The Life of God in the Soul of Man - Henry Scougal

Desiring God by John Piper (and any sermon by him at desiringgod.org)

[fishnoises]

We are studying it at my Women's Bible study on Weds. One of the women lost her teenage daughter last year in a car accident. She had many people recommend books to herand most did not help. Then she read this one. She recommended it to us for a study. It is amazing. It paints a clear picture of what scripture says heaven is now and will be after the second coming and the end of the 1000 yr reign.

It has made me crave what is to come. (Get the study guide too!)

[newlifemom]

I cannot locate my copy, but I think the author is Shelden Van Aulken (or something like that). It really helped me to realize that His ways are not my ways. Read it at least three times.

Pam

[E_Edgerton]

I really enjoyed Better Off by Eric Brende. I don't know if it is "soul-expanding" but I loved it and found many parts inspiring. Happy reading.:)

[PrairieAir]

The Bible

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

several biographies about Gladys Aylward - not for their writing style so much as the stories of an amazing life

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou - Parts of this autobiography are very disturbing, but seeing what she has overcome is incredibly inspiring.

 

Most personally significant? (I'm sorry for saying this for the billionth time.) East of Eden. Not that it trumps the Bible, but I was raised on the Bible. Sometimes when you become too used to reading something over and over, the meaning starts to slip away behind the familiar sound of the words echoing in a less-than-engaged brain. KWIM? East of Eden shook me up and made me think. I don't agree with everything between its covers, but I agree with much of it and it did give me a new way to look at some familiar ideas and apply them to my own life. This passage in particular, but oh so much more as well. I find I think about myself in relation to the characters sometimes and I see a way through something I've been struggling with. Lately it's Tom and what Samuel said about him, then always back to that one passage and phrase, "Thou mayest".

 

I'll stop now. I know my Steinbeck sermons have got to be getting old around here;)

-----

Oh, I've got to add that I love reading and listening to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speeches. Listening is even better. When I listen, it wouldn't even matter what he's saying. I think that voice could inspire me if he was lecturing on the Dewey Decimal System. Ha! Think how much more interesting listening to sessions of Congress could be if everyone could speak like that. OTOH, think how much more dangerous and tempting advertising could be.

[Heather in Neverland]

The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne

 

Ditto!!

[Lady Katherine]

Knowing God, by J.I. Packer

Practice of the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence

Hinds Feet on High Places, by Hannah Hurnard

The Wisdom of Tenderness, by Brennan Manning

Into the Depths of God, by Calvin Miller

[OhM]

I cannot locate my copy, but I think the author is Shelden Van Aulken (or something like that). It really helped me to realize that His ways are not my ways. Read it at least three times.

Pam

 

I was just coming to post this! It's A Severe Mercy.

 

And thanks for this thread! Very inspiring!

[kalanamak]

It has to do with greeting each new situation unclouded by your past. Short, simple, pleasantly written, they are typed up lectures and not at all like the typical USian self-help or pop psychology books.

[Beth in SW WA]

The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

&

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

[pianoplayer]

George Mueller of Bristol, by A.T. Pierson

Ordering Your Private World, Gordon MacDonald

[Beth in SW WA]

I've seen several recommendations for "The Shack." I suggest you consider the following review first.

 

 

You may wish to read a more thorough review on my Amazon author blog...

 

And this review by Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zux1eATQ0o

 

And this from CBN:

 

 

I have not read it -- and I'm not sure I will. So many books, so little time :)

I'd love to get more feedback about this book from others here.

[claire up north]

Another recommendation for Brother Lawrence's Book Practice of the Presence of God. Also, A Severe Mercy was a paradigm-changing read for me.

[Lucy in Australia]

John Bunyan's "The Holy War" . I have the Modern English version by Thelma Jenkins which has made it so easy to read.

[Dawn E]

Hinds Feet on High Places, by Hannah Hurnard

 

:iagree:This book has had a profound and lasting impact on me. Another I would suggest is actually a memoir--Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Diebler Rose. Reading that book I was amazed at God's gentle care for His children even in the midst of great sorrow and devastation.

[wide eyes & laughter]

think of more.....

[Stacy]

In fact, everyone of Bill Johnson's book has "undone" me. I have grown more in my faith since reading his books and listening to his weekly sermon (Bethel Church in Redding,Ca)podcasts than I can ever remember. Life changing.

 

The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence would also be on my list.

[5kidsforME]

The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

&

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

 

Yes, Yes, Yes! I love this book. :iagree:

[Merry]

Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton is the book I turn to whenever my faith and my world feels too small.

[LibraryLover]

The Color Purple was an important book for me.

[Plaid Dad]

Lord of the Rings. Seriously. I was practically weaned on Tolkien and I would say that his influence on my worldview and faith is second only to that of the Bible.

 

Other than that, I echo the recommendation of The Practice of the Presence of God and would also mention Julian of Norwich's Showings, sometimes titled Revelations of Divine Love.

[Kate CA]

I'm a Christian who's open to non-Christian writings and perspectives. In recent years, I've suffered a diverse spectrum of losses, including death of my dear one. I've come to see how small my world has been and how small my soul. I've been challenged & tested & tried. I cannot even say that I've clung to Christ. But I can say He has kept me.

 

If you can recommend a book that has impacted your personal growth and expansion of your soul, I'd appreciate it.

 

Oh, wide eyes, I am so sorry. There are some times in life that are just so hard. I just finished a wonderful book called Things We Couldn't Say. There are many other wonderful books recommended to you here so I will not list others, but this one fed my soul this week. It is a true story of a young couple in WWII Holland during the occupation by Germany. They endured so much yet were very real. Their faith in Christ is evident yet so are their struggles. It is a very human book.

 

Psalm 46 is one I return to again and again. Here is a portion of it:

 

God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear,

Even though the earth be removed,

And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

Though its waters roar and be troubled,

Though the mountains shake with its swelling. (...)

Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

The LORD of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge.

 

Hugs to you today.