3 Books That Changed the Way I Follow Jesus

I love to read, and I’m usually somewhere in the middle of a book… or three. But every once in a while, I read something that stays with me long and really rewires my brain. These are three of those books. They are completely different from each other, but each one changed something about the way I see God, read Scripture, or think about following Jesus.

A Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers is probably one of the first books I would put in another woman’s hands. It tells the stories of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary, the five women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus. Of course, Rivers fills in details because it is biblical historical fiction, so this isn’t a replacement for reading their actual stories in Scripture. But goodness, did it make me want to go back and read them. These women became real to me in a different way. Their lives were complicated, their stories were messy, and yet God was faithfully weaving every bit of it into His much bigger story. If you have ever felt like your story is too messy for God to use, I think you’ll love this one. Find A Lineage of Grace on Amazon

Forgotten God by Francis Chan made me ask a question that has stuck with me: Do I actually live like I need the Holy Spirit? I believed in the Holy Spirit. I knew about the Holy Spirit. But this book challenged me to look at how much I actually depend on Him in my everyday life. Not just at church or when I’m studying my Bible, but when I’m parenting, making decisions, having hard conversations, loving people, and trying to figure out what obedience looks like on an ordinary Tuesday. This one really grew my desire to recognize His leading and depend on Him instead of trying to do everything in my own strength. Find Forgotten God on Amazon

And then there is The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. If you haven’t read this one yet, put it on your list (or just watch the movie on Amazon Prime). Corrie tells the true story of her family helping hide Jewish people during World War II, which eventually led to Corrie and her sister Betsie being imprisoned in a concentration camp. What has stayed with me most is watching these two sisters choose faithfulness in unimaginable suffering. This book changed me! Corrie Ten Boom is one of my favorite historical heroes.

“I will tell anyone who will listen… There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still” – Corrie Ten Boom
 Find The Hiding Place on Amazon

I’ll keep adding to this list because there are plenty more books sitting on my shelves that have shaped me over the years. But if you asked me for three to start with, these would absolutely be among them.

And just a little reminder from one book girl to another: Christian books can encourage us, challenge us, teach us, and help us see something from a new perspective, but they should always make us hungry to go back to the Book. Some of my favorite books are my favorites precisely because they sent me right back to Scripture wanting to know God better for myself.