I could list a ton but I’ll just say the first one that popped into my head. The Deepest Waters by Dan Walsh. I just read it a few weeks ago and it was a case of reading the right book at the right time in my life. Things have been pretty turbulent around here lately and the spiritual message threaded into the story had a powerful impact on me: to rejoice in the moment while not belaboring the past or an uncertain future. Even though it is a work of fiction, this book brought me a lot of comfort, hope and peace in a trying time.
Dale Carnegie’s book HOW TO STOP WORRYING AND START LIVING. I think that is the title or something like that. It helped me to think through things that worried me, create possible ways the situation could work out which included the worst possible thing that could happen and if it did could I live with that. I read this when I was in my early 20s and have used this approach all my life. Of course, there is the Bible, but you asked for any other book except that. God can use secular books to teach us.
So many wonderful books have had an influence in my life, especially in the fiction realm. But the one that really helped me personally, years ago, was a non-fiction book, “Irregular People,” by Joyce Landorf.
the blue castle by l.m. montgomery. I first read it at as a teenager– a minister’s daughter with a load of anxiety issues whose every move was quite noticed within the small-town dynamic.
the book taught me to speak out and throw caution to the wind— that ” all the evil in the world at its origins in the fact that someone was afraid of something”
Valancy inspired me to use my voice and to stop critically taking every single interaction I had with people to heart.
I was always my own person: but after reading this, I was far more eager to flash my colourful personality and strong opinions to the world.
“The Prayer of Jabez.” Teensy book, over-marketed, but the original spoke to me more about “enlarging my borders” and taking chances than anything I’d ever read.
“A Prayer For Owen Meany” by John Irving made me consider having a purpose in life again.” Ther are many others, but that was probably the most profound of them.
An Unexpected Grace. It tells about the way God uses tragic losses in our lives to transform us. We lost our son a year ago to cancer and this book helped me put it into perspective.
KayeDacus.com
I could list a ton but I’ll just say the first one that popped into my head. The Deepest Waters by Dan Walsh. I just read it a few weeks ago and it was a case of reading the right book at the right time in my life. Things have been pretty turbulent around here lately and the spiritual message threaded into the story had a powerful impact on me: to rejoice in the moment while not belaboring the past or an uncertain future. Even though it is a work of fiction, this book brought me a lot of comfort, hope and peace in a trying time.
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“Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire” by Jim Cymbala really helped transform my prayer life.
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Dale Carnegie’s book HOW TO STOP WORRYING AND START LIVING. I think that is the title or something like that. It helped me to think through things that worried me, create possible ways the situation could work out which included the worst possible thing that could happen and if it did could I live with that. I read this when I was in my early 20s and have used this approach all my life. Of course, there is the Bible, but you asked for any other book except that. God can use secular books to teach us.
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Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance – I learned to sew based on 1 sentence that changed my perspective on sewing…
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So many wonderful books have had an influence in my life, especially in the fiction realm. But the one that really helped me personally, years ago, was a non-fiction book, “Irregular People,” by Joyce Landorf.
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I read that book too. Thought it might help me understand my sister-in-law. It did, she was irregular. Why fight it.
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the blue castle by l.m. montgomery. I first read it at as a teenager– a minister’s daughter with a load of anxiety issues whose every move was quite noticed within the small-town dynamic.
the book taught me to speak out and throw caution to the wind— that ” all the evil in the world at its origins in the fact that someone was afraid of something”
Valancy inspired me to use my voice and to stop critically taking every single interaction I had with people to heart.
I was always my own person: but after reading this, I was far more eager to flash my colourful personality and strong opinions to the world.
it’s a very liberating book 🙂
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“The Prayer of Jabez.” Teensy book, over-marketed, but the original spoke to me more about “enlarging my borders” and taking chances than anything I’d ever read.
LikeLike
“A Prayer For Owen Meany” by John Irving made me consider having a purpose in life again.” Ther are many others, but that was probably the most profound of them.
LikeLike
An Unexpected Grace. It tells about the way God uses tragic losses in our lives to transform us. We lost our son a year ago to cancer and this book helped me put it into perspective.
LikeLike