My ultimate book re-read list

Hello, you wonderful person.

Do you ever just sit and think about books? I do it often. More often, perhaps, than I actually read them (something I've excused myself from since having a baby, but need to work on).

I love books. Of the many things in my life that I feel strongly about, books are probably number 4 after Jesus, my precious family, and human rights for preborn babies. Passionate though I am about books, I suffer, as do many of my fellow bibliophiles, from the curse of forever desiring to purchase new books while also refusing to read them, instead returning to beloved titles from my formative years. In my home there are over 400 books, about 40 of which I've never read. That number keeps pretty stable, because every time I do miraculously read a new book, I consider that an achievement worthy of celebrating with (you guessed it) a new book. 

I do not, and will never understand those people who choose to never re-read books. I'm of the philosophy that a good story, the kind that goes beyond entertainment to actually enhance your shape as a person, is like a favorite meal--it should make you want to experience it again. Perhaps readers who refuse to re-read have simply never known a connection like that with a story and its characters, in which case they need to keep searching. 

I don't re-read all of my books, but I feel very blessed to have many I'm happy to greet as old friends every now and again.

So, if you haven't found your re-reads yet, this list might be a good place to start your journey of discovery.

1. Harry Potter. All of them. 

I re-read this epic saga every year and it never gets old. In fact, every time I re-enter Harry's world it feels new again. And it's especially exciting this year, as I've had the joy of reading it out loud to my husband and son.

2. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

J.R.R. Tolkien's word-smithing is the stuff of magic. Reading his intricately woven masterpiece is like stepping back in time, both fascinating and bittersweet. No one writes like that anymore.

3. The Wind on Fire trilogy by William Nicholson.

These beautiful books are alien and inviting, heart-wrenching and humorous. They will make you feel courageous.

4. The Noble Warriors trilogy by the same.

I can't even put into words what I feel about these books. I read them at a crucial and difficult time in my life, and they helped me center myself and ironically (for Nicholson is an atheist), helped deepen my faith in a surprising way. 

5. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo.

One of those amazing books of which I have memories as vivid as any real-life experience. It's a tale of fear-conquering love, soup, and overcoming grief.

6. Wildwood Dancing and its companion, Cybele's Secret, by Juliet Marallier.

I discovered these beautiful fairy tales by accident at a library book sale. I love to re-read them in the fall, when the chilly air outside helps transport me to the Transylvanian forest where the first book is set. 

7. Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson.

I read (most of) these in 8th grade, at the recommendation of a scurrilous knave I had the misfortune of having a crush on. The books are so good they can't be tainted even by the memory of me making a fool of my 13-year-old self. And I have never laughed so hard at something I've read, ever, in my life. 

8. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell.

What can I say but that I love this book? I find myself in the characters. In my experience it's best re-read around the New Year, when everyone is hoping to turn over a new leaf after feeling, perhaps, a little stale for some time.

9. Wishing Moon by Michael O. Tunnel.

An Arabian Cinderella. What more could you ask for? I've re-read this on several occasions when my life was feeling distinctly un-magical. 

10. Watership Down by Richard Adams.

I have never been as surprised by a book as I was by this one. My mother and sister admonished me for years to read it, and I finally did in the week or so after giving birth to my son. It is beautiful and powerful and strange and my goal is to re-read it at Christmas every year. 

These are by no means the only books I could've added to this list, but for sanity I'll stop there. Happy Re-reading!

A fearful world needs courageous people

We live in a moment of fear.

Fear is inherent in our culture; we breathe it in as we walk outside. We speak it into our relationships. We cower before it in the public spaces where we should be able to be free. 

It's part of the natural human condition to be fearful--what's unnatural is the transcendent ability to overcome fear and even defeat it. To replace our visceral, human fears with focus, with confidence, with hope. It is unnatural to believe that's even possible.

But to the Christian, it is the reality of everyday life--or at least, it should be.

And yet many of us still remain trapped in our fear. Fear of our peers. Fear of injury. Fear of failure, censure, death and sickness. We watch movies and read fairy tales about daring heroes, but none of the real life we consume seems to fit that model. What we see in our media most often reflects the basest degeneracies of human life: destructive speech, violence, addiction and anger. Babies and children are murdered, abandoned and hated by their parents. Innocent people hurt while evil people seem to flourish. 

Evil is real in our world, which is why we have always needed courage to meet it. But courage isn't a ready part of our vocabulary anymore. It's one of those lost Old English words Shakespeare used to use, but which now have no real meaning. 

What is courage, anyway? 

It's not the absence of fear. Actually, it's just the opposite--it's the presence of fear, and the defiant choice to push forward through very real danger, because what you're heading toward is worth the pain, or the ridicule, or the suffering. 

One thing fear gets right is that this world is full of danger. We need fear, in a way, to let us know when we encounter that danger--but if our fear doesn't move us toward courage, it's defeated us.

So what do you need, in order to find your courage? The kind that doesn't tarnish, that doesn't quail before hardship, that stands up boldly and says no to evil, no matter the cost?

You need to believe in SOMETHING.

You need to believe in God.

Believe that God is good, that He is active, that He is never listless or lethargic. Believe that He will help you achieve the good He has purposed for you, and for this world. Believe that He will be your courage when you need it.

Believe that God, his holiness and love and truth, the eternal hope we have in Him, is worth anything and everything. 

When you believe that, you become invincible, and everything becomes possible.

When you know in your heart that God is the ultimate good in the universe, when your soul is at peace and confident resting in His truth--the only truth that exists--you will never want to be silent, shrinking away in fearful darkness, ever again. You will take up the cause of the Kingdom with a hope that wells like the ocean inside of you.

This isn't about politics, though the more I think about politics the more I hear this message, the message of hope and courage. In reality nothing in life is about politics--politics are always about life.

And, Christian, your life is more than right or left, socialist or capitalist, individual liberty or common good. Your life is for God--the God who is above all things things and yet can be found working among them. Your life is meant to ask the question, what is God's purpose for this moment?, to seek the answer eagerly, fearlessly, hopefully. 

To find and grasp the truth of God, the truth that He whispers in lonely moments of prayer, the truth written for us in His Word, the truth He has woven into every aspect of Creation, done out of love for us and joy for a good, good thing. God's truth is love, and perfect love drives out fear.

When you know the truth, fear will find no purchase in you. Any fear that gains control over you only does so because you are holding on to it, rather than fixing your attention on God. 

Jesus said it, and I believe it. Fear of the world will destroy you--but fear of the living God will empower you to do great things.

So do not be afraid of them. For there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops.
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.