My friend Janet, the creator and editor of Footprints Magazine for women recently tagged me to share about the five books that changed me. To be honest I would consider myself only an average reader. I do like reading but find it difficult to read books other than novels and biographies. You will see this on the list I’ve chosen below. Like Janet I grew up reading Enid Blyton books and like Janet I too loved The Faraway Tree series of books but I wouldn’t say that these books changed me. I had friends when I was in high school that would devour books, especially Christian novels and to be honest, I couldn’t stand those books. I wanted real stories, not romantic Christian novels and so you will see that from my teenage years thats where my reading took me for the most part. Even though I can’t say I’m a big reader I didn’t find it hard to find five (actually six) books that have had a huge influence on my life. I haven’t included the Bible in this list (which is technically 66 books anyway) because thats a given.
So, here they are (in order of when they influenced me).
1. Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. This book is an allegory of the Christian life and it captured me when I was very young. My parents were co-founders of Challenge Newspaper when I was only 5 years old and it was the man who started the paper, Eric Evans who gave me my first copy of Pilgrim’s Progress. I kept that copy for a long time before lending it out and never received it back.
From Wikipedia: ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress… is a Christian allegory written by John Bunyan and published in February, 1678. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of religious English literature, has been translated into more than 200 languages, and has never been out of print. Bunyan began his work while in the Bedfordshire county gaol for violations of the Conventicle Act, which prohibited the holding of religious services outside the auspices of the established Church of England.’
As a child I read this book over and over again. I loved the way that Bunyan’s writing opened up Scripture to me and the true meaning behind the cross. The story is written as an allegory and has all sorts of characters in it including Christian, Hopeful and Worldly Wiseman. It also has interesting places such as the village of Morality, Vanity Fair, the Delectable Mountains, By-Path Meadow and Doubting Castle. There are giants and all sorts of people along the way and those who like stories such as Narnia would recognise this as its forerunner.
2. Joni by Joni Eareckson. I first heard the story of Joni when I was quite young, probably in primary school.
From her own website:‘In 1967 Joni Eareckson Tada was injured in a diving accident at 17 years old, leaving her in a quadriplegic state with minimal use of her hands. After two years of rehabilitation, Joni re-entered the community with new skills and a fresh determination to help others in similar situations.’
Joni is a Christian and has used her disability to reach out and help many people. Her story is amazing, I remember watching the movie they made of her life as a kid many times and was always amazed at her Christian journey in such difficult circumstances. She has a huge ministry now to many people through her Joni and Friends International Disability Centre and has written many books as well as painted many beautiful artworks (as a mouth painter). She also has a gorgeous singing voice and shares regularly on a radio program in the US (available as a podcast). She is ever inspiring!
3. Nicky Cruz, Run Baby Run and David Wilkerson’s The Cross and the Switchblade. These two books go hand in hand as David had a great influence on Nicky. I remember these books, especially Run Baby Run as the first semi-adult books I was allowed to read when I was in high school. I say semi-adult because the story is one of violence, drugs and gangs.
Nicky’s story is best summarised through is own words on his website: ‘When he was 15, Nicky’s father sent him to visit an older brother in New York. Nicky didn’t stay with his brother long. Instead, full of anger and rage, he chose to make it on his own.Tough, but lonely, by age 16 he became a member of the notorious Brooklyn street gang known as the Mau Maus (named after a bloodthirsty African tribe). Within six months he became their president…No authority figure could reach Cruz – until he met a skinny street-preacher named David Wilkerson. He disarmed Nicky – showing him something he’d never known before: Relentless love.’
I remember being amazed at how awful gang life was in New York in the 60s and then at the amazing change in Nicky’s life after he accepted Christ. The Cross and the Switchblade is the story of David Wilkerson’s ministry to street gangs in New York at this time. Sadly David died in a car crash in April.
4. The Autobiography of George Muller. There were very strong missions influences during my high school years that have stuck with me to this day. The story of George Muller is one I would highly recommend reading. George’s amazing faith and reliance on God for all his needs as he ran a huge orphanage in the UK in 1830s is mind blowing.
According to Wikipedia: ‘George Müller (27 September 1805 – 10 March 1898), a Christian evangelist and Director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England, cared for 10,024 orphans in his life. He was well-known for providing an education to the children under his care, to the point where he was accused of raising the poor above their natural station in life. He also established 117 schools which offered Christian education to over 120,000 children, many of them being orphans.’
This is why he is inspirational for me:
‘Müller never made requests for financial support, nor did he go into debt, even though the five homes cost over £100,000 to build. Many times, he received unsolicited food donations only hours before they were needed to feed the children, further strengthening his faith in God. For example, on one well-documented occasion, they gave thanks for breakfast when all the children were sitting at the table, even though there was nothing to eat in the house. As they finished praying, the baker knocked on the door with sufficient fresh bread to feed everyone.’
5. Melody Green and David Hazard No Compromise (the story of Keith Green). What can I say about Keith. He sits equally alongside George Muller as a person of great inspiration for me. Keith Green was a Christian singer in the 1970s who started out his adult life involved in the hippie drug scene. This book tells his amazing story and you will not be able to put it down. Keith was a musical genius, playing the piano and writing songs from the age of 4 and to this day we still sing some of his songs in our regular church services. Along with his wife Melody he took in many strangers to the point where they had to buy a ranch to fit them all in, mostly ex-drug addicted homeless people. The devastating part of this story is that on July 28 1982 Keith, along with two of their four children died in a small plane crash. His story continues with Melody going on to write this book and continue their work through Last Day’s Ministries.
From her site: ‘He was only twenty-eight when he died in a plane crash with two of his small children, but singer/songwriter Keith Green had already created a legacy of music and inspiration that would outlive him. A spiritual revolutionary, he found freedom through Jesus at twenty-one and spent the rest of his short life convincing others to refuse to accept the status quo and to bring passion and honesty back to the church.’
6. Max Lucado’s God Came Near. This was the first Max Lucado book that I read and it amazed me immediately. The way that Max writes captures you, he’s a brilliant wordsmith. I went on to read many of his books but this one has always been my favourite. I can recommend reading any of Max’s books and taking a look through the varied online ministry he has by visiting his website.
You can also take a look at Jo (Princess Warrior)’s list of five books here.
