Tag: SPCK

Books for Christian women this World Book Day

2 Comments

Happy World Book Day! Over on the Woman Alive blog, myself and the Woman Alive book club members have put together a list of ‘10 books every Christian woman should add to her reading list this World Book Day’. I was inundated with brilliant suggestions, so decided to continue the celebration of books here. So please find another 10 books recommended by us!

A Grace Disguised by Jerry Sittser (Zondervan)

I first came across this book when my mum died in 2020. It is an honest account of a horrific car accident in which Jerry’s wife, mother and daughter died. He describes how he wrestled with his own grief as well as caring for his children but found a new spiritual depth as he did so. I found it profoundly helpful as did Elayne: “I read many books dealing with bereavement after my husband died suddenly, leaving me a widow aged 40 with three teenagers and this was the one I found most helpful.”

All Along You Were Blooming by Morgan Harper Nichols (Zondervan) 

Morgan is an artist, poet and musician, with a huge Instagram following. This collection of poetry and prose is beautifully presented. Amanda says the book is: “really helpful for anyone struggling with their mental health (or not), to only do what we can, to take one day at a time; to learn self-acceptance.”

Boundaries by Dr Henry Cloud and Dr John Townsend (Zondervan)

This New York Times bestseller teaches how to say no (and yes) and protect healthy boundaries while still upholding biblical principles. Lorraine says: “Boundaries changed my life; it was the first time I got validation, coming from a narcissistic home.”

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero (Zondervan)

Peter asserts that you can’t be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature. Having learned this the hard way as a pastor, he encourages us all to take note of our emotional health and to integrate it with our spiritual health by slowing down and learning principles such as letting go of power and control, and breathing by practising Sabbath and rest. Laura explains: “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality is one of only a few books where I have sensed the Holy Spirit working within me as I read it. I was convicted of unhealthy areas of my mind / past and enabled to move forward in a closer relationship with Jesus.”

God Isn’t Finished With You Yet by Catherine Campbell (IVP)

In this book, Catherine retells biblical stories of those such as Abigail, John Mark and the Samaritan woman who had difficult lives and perhaps struggled to see God’s path for them. There are also ‘Life lessons’ sections, which provide key helpful biblical teaching around the theme of each story and reflection questions. Wendy comments that this helps us to “know God is here whatever our struggle”.

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver (Waterbrook)

This book has sold over a million copies. It was one of the first books that I read with my physical book club and we all found its gentle approach about a life of intimacy with God opened up a lot of conversations about striving, needing to learn to rest in him and not worry about what others think of us. Laura says: “I first read Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World when I was overwhelmed with juggling young children, work and ministries at church. It was very easy to read but very challenging in a gentle way and shepherded me back to a more intimate relationship with Jesus, offloading various burdens on the way.”

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (Zondervan)

This book has sold more than one and a half million copies. It invites the reader on a journey of discovering God’s blessings in everyday life, of being present to God in all circumstances. Liza says: “One Thousand Gifts was given to me by a friend who said: ‘This could be life-changing.’ And she was right. It looks at how we can give thanks in the midst of suffering and open our eyes to all the ways God loves us. I was struggling in lots of areas and it made me see the goodness all around me.”

Reason for God by Tim Keller (Hodder & Stoughton)

Liz describes this book: “In 1 Peter 3:15 we are encouraged to be ready to give answers for the hope we have. In our culture today it’s more and more difficult to speak truth. The Reason for God by Tim Keller helps us to not only think about how we would form answers to difficult questions, but also speaks into the places where doubts linger in ourselves. It’s assuring, encouraging and motivating with rational arguments that address big questions like suffering, origins, the intersection of science and faith and how we can, as Christians, apply God-given reason to matters of faith. It’s also bursting with hope: this book doesn’t outline arguments in the dry and theoretical way of many theology tomes but helps readers connect good apologetics and the deep emotion of knowing and being known by the God who is the creator of the universe. It left me both more certain in my faith and thirsty for more of God.”

Surprised By Hope by NT Wright (SPCK)

Leading theologian Tom Wright outlines the present confusion about future hope in both the church and world, explains the bodily resurrection of Jesus and explores the biblical hope for the ‘new heavens and new earth’. He convincingly argues that what we believe about life after death directly affects what we believe about life before death. Fiona says it “Gave me a reason to remain a Christian when I was tempted to walk away. Gave me hope” and Amy comments: “Tom Wright has deepened my faith so much.”

The Power of a Praying Woman by Stormie Omartian (Harvest House Publishers)

Stormie has written a whole series of ‘The Power of a Praying…’ books, which have sold more than 28 million copies! This one is a bestseller, selling more than two million, and focuses on the fact that many of us can find it easier to pray for friends, family and church family but God wants us to talk about our own lives with him too. Stories, scriptures and prayers are included to encourage women of all ages to find hope and purpose in their everyday lives. Stormie’s books are a real provocation to turn to God in prayer in every situation and circumstance of life.

We know there are so many other books we could have included. Why don’t you let us know in the comments section below what would make it into your Top 10 for World Book Day? And if you’d like to join the Woman Alive book club please do – it is totally free to do so and we’d love to have you! You can get more information here.

Comedy and tragedy

I am delighted to welcome Fran Hill to my blog today. She has just released her second book, Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean?, a memoir filled with comedy – but also tragedy. Here she explores the relationship between the two…

The actor Peter Ustinov said: ‘Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.’ He won Grammys, Tonys, Baftas, Emmys and Golden Globes, so I’ll take his word for it. 

Despite what he says, we’re still tempted to create false dichotomies. For instance, we categorise comic and serious fiction in separate generic boxes, confidently labelling novels ‘rom-coms’ or ‘domestic noir’, or perhaps that’s for the convenience of booksellers.  

But Ustinov is right, surely. Comedy is rarely just ‘funny’, free from underlying, serious themes. Think Bridget Jones, Adrian Mole or the fool in a Shakespearean play. Whether commenting on loneliness, teenage angst or the foolishness and vice of monarchs and nobles, each uses comedy, making us laugh while simultaneously plugging in to universal issues of humanity.

The Bible isn’t afraid to mix funny and serious either. How about Balaam’s donkey having better angel-vision than Balaam did and then backchatting his sulky master? Then there’s Jonah, trapped inside a giant fish (vowing never to eat spare ribs again). And Jesus’ own parables were filled with ironic humour and implication, sometimes lost on his listeners. 

However, my favourite Bible story (Acts 20) is of Eutychus. A young man, he falls out of a third-floor window from the windowsill on which he’s perched, having nodded off during a long sermon of the apostle Paul’s. 

Imagine the scene: everyone listening to Paul, the respected man of God. Their faces are serious, intent on learning from the great man. Suddenly, Eutychus disappears, there is a thud and everyone waits for a scream. They rush downstairs to find him dead on the path outside the house. 

Paul could have said: ‘He found my sermon boring. Someone else resurrect him!’ but instead he graciously throws himself on the boy who is instantly revived. 

This is a funny story but it speaks compassionately of average people, trying to do the right thing, and not always managing to keep up or cope: normal folks, not able to meet society’s expectations. That’s all of us at some point. Just like Eutychus, we can’t maintain interest or momentum. Sometimes it’s just too much because we’re tired of life: its worries, griefs, addictions, illnesses or pains. In the same way as Eutychus struggled to keep his eyes open, we too struggle to stay focused, despite it all. 

The story also speaks of a world in which dead things can be brought back to life. Paul makes it look easy, in fact. After he resurrects the youth, he trudges back upstairs to finish his sermon. Eutychus doesn’t get taken home until afterwards, so, where did he sit for Part 2, I wonder? Also, we’re told ‘they took the young man home alive’ as if this was a bonus event, rather than what they’d have expected! Or maybe it suggests that he’d made a habit of this and had been resurrected 17 times before. ‘Honestly, Eutychus!! Again?’ 

I wrote a little poem in his honour: 

I’m comforted by Eutychus
to find that he is one of us.
Asleep, he falls without a push
when Paul the preacher will not shush.
This poem’s an ode to him because,
though dead and gone, that Eutychus
gets resurrected with no fuss.
I think that makes him Euty-plus. 

Erma Bombeck, the American humorist, said: ‘There is a thin line that separates laughter from pain, comedy and tragedy, humour and hurt.’ And, of course, there’s a tenuous distinction between laughter and tears; they both make us feel better, releasing tension-relieving hormones.

Two Radio 4 comedies I’ve enjoyed have been set in depressing situations. One called ‘Rigor Mortis’ is set in a hospital’s pathology department and another – ‘Old Harry’s Game’ – in hell. Somehow the more sombre the setting, the sharper the comedy. And as Dr Adam Kay’s recent book, This is Going to Hurt demonstrates, many whose professions involve tragedy speak of black humour as a vital coping mechanism even amidst horror. 

Teaching can’t be compared to pathology or emergency gynaecology – relief! – but my new book, Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean? also combines comedy and tragedy. It’s a funny memoir in diary format about a typical year in my teaching life and portrays comic classroom moments and the hapless attempts of the protagonist (me!) to keep control of her days as they slip out of her grasp. But it also explores the misbehaviours of both pupils and teachers, including my own, examining why people misbehave, are cruel to others or lack empathy. Sometimes this is linked to past trauma that affects our relationships, perhaps making it hard for us to accept the kindness of others, even though that kindness is vital to survival.  

To go back to Ustinov, Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean? is my attempt to say something serious by being funny. 

Hopefully, no one will fall out of a window at any of my readings. 

Fran Hill is a writer and English tutor living in Warwickshire with her husband. She has three grown-up children and two grandchildren. Her first book Being Miss was self-published in 2014. Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean? is her second. Fran has been a freelance writer for over 20 years, contributing to a wide range of publications, both faith-based and secular. Read more at www.franhill.co.uk