Here are a few of my favorite books from 2019.

1. Holy Bible, God
I read the whole thing cover to cover in 58 days. This was a “reader’s” version which had no chapter or verse numbers, so it read like a story. I was amazed at how that changed the reading experience.

2. The Worship Pastor: A Call to Ministry For Worship Leaders and Teams,
Zac Hicks
Zac Hicks was the speaker at a conference I attended in March. I used his book as a basis for our worship team devotions for the rest of the year. He expanded my understanding of what it means to be a worship leader.

3. Spiritual Rhythm: Being With Jesus Every Season of Your Soul,
Mark Buchanan
I would read anything Mark Buchanan writes, but this topic is near and dear to my heart so I gobbled it up. He used the seasons of the year to connect with the ups and downs of our spiritual lives. As always, he tells great stories while weaving in solid truths.

4. The Good and Beautiful God: Falling in Love with the God Jesus Knows, James Bryan Smith
We all probably have some skewed ideas about God that we’ve picked up along the way. Smith looks at what Jesus had to say about God to help straighten out our misconceptions. After all, “the most important thing about a person is what they think about God.” He is good and beautiful.

5. Upside-Down Spirituality: The 9 Essential Failures of a Faithful Life, Chad Bird
Bird is another really engaging writer that a friend introduced me to this year. He’s an ex-pastor, ex-seminary professor and current truck driver who challenges his readers to continue the upside-down, countercultural way of life that Jesus presented in the gospels.

6. Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus, D. A. Carson
I borrowed this book because of one chapter I wanted to read in preparation for leading our women’s Bible study. Then I read the whole thing. It’s a book of theology for non-theologians like me who just want to better understand the scandalous cross of Christ.

7. Humble Roots: How Humility Grounds and Nourishes Your Soul,
Hannah Anderson
Another borrowed book from a friend — a community of book lovers is a beautiful thing. I loved the way she used a garden theme to show how to cultivate humility, something sorely lacking in our contemporary culture.

8. Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling and the Mystery of Making, Andrew Peterson
My gold medal book of the year. If you are at all interested in community, creativity, art, and connecting with the Creator, read it. Just read it. Peterson is a gifted writer, songwriter, singer, teacher, publisher, filmmaker and grace-filled lover of beauty. His work is a treasure.

Of the 38 books I read this year, I did manage to squeeze in 12 works of fiction: Dickens, Austen and C. S. Lewis being my favorites.

What were your top reads in 2019?

~She reads books as one would breath air, to fill up and live.~
Annie Dillard