100 books like Growing Kids God's Way

I love John Rosemond! I used to read his weekly parenting columns in the newspaper in the 90s. Rosemond is a Christian parenting expert who gives old-fashioned, common-sense advice. You won’t get any permissive nonsense in his books. He gives very practical advice to raise responsible, independent children. This is an older book from 2006, but the advice is timeless.

You really can’t go wrong with a parenting book by Dr. James Dobson. I’ve listened to his radio show Focus on the Family for years, and he is a godly man full of parenting wisdom.

There are actually two versions of this book — the original and The New Dare to Discipline. I first read the original and really liked it. However, I could tell on the newer, revised version that Dobson had made it less strict, I assume to appease those who thought he was an authoritarian. I personally liked the original version better, but both are good. Dobson is a good storyteller and basically gives lots of examples of why you must be consistent with discipline. 

Serena Miller is one of my favorite fiction writers. However, once when researching to write a novel based on the Amish, she couldn’t help notice that the Amish had the happiest, nicest children she had ever seen. So, she changed from writing a fictional novel to writing a book about how the Amish parent.

I recommend this book because it reminds you that your children don’t need video games, smartphones, or tablets to entertain themselves. The Amish children can easily, happily entertain themselves with very few simple toys. And they know how to cook and do practical skills as small children. Great inspiration.

This book is great for parents of babies and toddlers under the age of three. Dr. White contends that if you don't have your babies under control by the time they are 14 months old, you're headed for those terrible twos. Under control means: Do they lie still for you while being diapered? Do they hit and kick? Do they take no for an answer? He believes that basic obedience should be established by this young age.

In addition to training your child to obey, he also goes through the stages of development for children up to 36 months. He goes over things like how to react to a child’s intentional cry, sleep problems, and whining. I found this to be a very practical book.

I’ve always loved Hong Kong New Wave movies, but they often emphasize action and flashy melodrama over historical context. For someone wanting to dig a little deeper, the graphic novel Boxers & Saints is a look into the parallel lives of two Chinese teenagers during the Boxer Rebellion—One is a red-blooded patriot eager to fight Western invaders. The other is a troubled girl who finds liberation in Christianity. Both characters are carried along, motivated, and then betrayed by fanaticism. When their paths cross, they are forced to learn the difference between religious faith and religious mania. The simple artwork isn’t meant to be lingered over…I read all 512 pages at breakneck speed.

What would happen if you started listening to your cravings instead of trying to silence them? If you’re tired of the same old messages of eat less and move more, this book is what you’ve been missing. You know “how to” get healthy… but now there’s finally a book to help you find your “want to” - the lasting emotional and spiritual motivation to meet your goals and stay healthy.

The reality is we were made to crave. Craving isn’t a bad thing. But we must realize God created us to crave more of him. Many of us have misplaced that craving by overindulging in physical pleasures instead of lasting spiritual satisfaction. New York Times bestselling author of It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way, Uninvited, and The Best Yes, Lysa TerKeurst, invites you to find the missing link between a woman’s desire to be healthy and the spiritual empowerment… show more.

The Shell is a peek into both the horrors and absurdities of totalitarian regimes told in the form of a prison diary kept by the author. Khalifa, a Christian by birth and an atheist, was mistaken (or perhaps not, given what I learned about the Assad regime in the course of my work) for a radical Islamist, arrested and locked up in the notorious Tadmor desert prison, more accurately a death camp. The book reveals the horrific consequences of the logic and methods of the Assad family and other dictators in the Middle East and beyond: Anyone suspected of harboring a hint of opposition to the ruler will be labeled a terrorist and traitor, crushed and turned into an example to instill fear in the wider population.

This book explores the vastness of grace; I read it at a time when I couldn't quite grasp what in the heck grace even was. I was struggling to understand what God's grace does for us and why it was so important—I know the craziness that sounds like at this point in time, but back then when I was a wee baby Christian, it was not making sense for me. Max presents it as a wild, relentless force that pursues and transforms us. He makes it a point to clarify that grace is everything Jesus—His actions, words, and essence. That was profound to me. 

After I read this book I realized that "there is nothing you can do to get grace—grace gets you." This shifted my perspective from earning grace to embracing it as a gift from God through Jesus that empowers change.

I am more secure in my faith,… show more.

One of my favourite books of all time is the moving story of forgiveness by Palestinian cleric, Elias Chacour, Archbishop Emeritus of the Melkite church in Haifa.

I marvelled and wondered how Elias and his family chose to be non-violent and committed to promoting peace when Israelis seized their land in the 1948 war. Elias’ journey, for me, was heart-wrenching and gripping.

The integrity of his story is confirmed by my visits to Ibillin in northern Israel where I’ve spent time hearing more of his story and  experiencing the fruit of his influence in the school and Peace Centre he has established.

I love how Beth Moore invites you to get comfortable yet uncomfortable in her book. She challenges whether you believe big and act on it. This is so important for changing your thoughts and elevating them for more.

The entire book keeps you engaged, reflecting, and dreaming of more. It’s like having a tall glass of lemonade on the porch with a friend who knows you deeply and expects more from you, so she allows you to want it without you realizing you’ve been up-leveled.

This book puts your faith on steroids, and you will believe bigger and actually want to do something about it.