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My Top 10 Books of 2020

by Marci Ferrell
Book Reviews Christian Living Encouragement Top 10 Book Recommendations Series

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Who doesn't love book recommendations? I'm always looking for the next book to add to my wishlist. Sharing my top ten picks from this year. #bookreviews #christianbooks #bookrecommendations #christianbooks @mferrell

Who doesn't love book recommendations? I'm always looking for the next book to add to my wishlist. Sharing my top ten picks from this year. @mferrell

Who doesn’t love book recommendations? I’m always looking for the next book to add to my wishlist. Below are my top ten picks from this year. They didn’t necessarily all come out this year, but ones I read and ones that stood out to me. The first one on the list is my top pick; the others are in no particular order. I read from various categories, so it’s a bit of a mix; they are not all Christian books.

 

Becoming Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn

I’ve shared many posts on my site on the influence Elisabeth Elliot has been in my life and I sat absorbed by this book. What an undertaking Ellen Vaughn took on and I’m so grateful she did. If you only sit with one from my list, let it be this one. 

Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington 

Booker T. Washington was born a slave and he is known as one of the most influential African Americans during the period right after the Civil War ended. I honestly don’t remember reading about him in high school but this should be a recommended read to all students. Mr. Washington was hard-working, highly influential, made the best of his circumstances, and blamed no one. This was a well written easy to read biography. 

The Creaking on the Stairs: Finding Faith in God Through Childhood Abuse by Mez McConnell 

A hard read but a hopeful read. There were areas I couldn’t get through because of the tears flowing. Mez points us to the great grace of God. 

Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport 

Read this one slow, work through it and ponder areas in your life where you know you need to change. My life is online because of my time on the blog and podcast so it was helpful for me to work through boundaries I wanted to set for myself. I also recommend his book Deep Work (Rules for Success in a Distracted World). 

Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers by Dane C. Ortlund 

We listened to this one on audiobook on a recent trip and it’s read by the author, which I so appreciate. The Puritan, Thomas Goodwin, is quoted most in this book and it’s on a theme that is so lost at times from the writings of the Puritans: the great love Jesus has for His church. Sit with this one and grasp Christ’s great compassion. 

God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel: How Truth Overwhelms a Life Built on Lies by Costi Hinn 

I first heard Costi Hinn speak in person at the G3 Conference on Worship. The Lord saved him out of the prosperity gospel and his uncle is the well-known false teacher Benny Hinn. If you have been saved out of the prosperity gospel or you have family members still in it—this book is a must-read and a good one to have on hand to pass along. 

All Things for Good by Thomas Watson 

This is my book recommendation from an old dead guy. We should all at least put one of these classics on our list each year. I worked through it early on in the pandemic when the Thankful Homemaker Facebook group was going through an online study on contentment. It is an exposition on Romans 8:28. 

 

Maturity: Growing Up and Going On in the Christian Life by Sinclair Ferguson

I’ve shared many times on social media that I’m studying through this one with a group of ladies from our church. It’s working through the New Testament and how clear the writers were that the purpose of their writing was for the early church (and us!) to grow in spiritual maturity. You won’t regret picking this one up and working through it alone, with a friend or a small group. 

Seasons of the Heart: A Year of  Devotions from One Generation of Women to Another by Donna Kelderman

This book has been a favorite for years. I don’t sit with it daily but when I get those moments to sit with a cup of coffee late morning or early afternoon this is one I turn to. I keep it on my phone in the Kindle app so when I find myself getting really to aimlessly scroll social media I instead open the Kindle app and read a selection from this gem. 

A Company of Heroes: Portraits from the Gospel’s Global Advance by Tim Keesee 

On the back of the book: “Across the globe, the gospel is advancing through the work of Christians willing to risk everything in the hardest places.” It’s a story about ordinary heroes sharing the gospel in hard to reach places all around the world. Let me share one more quote, this one from Rosaria Butterfield and it’s the reason I read it earlier this year: “All Christians should read this book.” A great one to read together as a family. 

 

Please share with us in the comments some of your favorite reads from 2020.

Related posts:

  1. 10 Books Every Christian Should Read
  2. 10 Helpful Homemaking Books
  3. Simple Tips to Reading More Books
  4. EP 103: Simple Tips to Read More Books


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Comments

  1. Amy Irvin says

    at

    Great list. I see several I want to pick up! Thanks.

    • Marci Ferrell says

      at

      Thank you Amy xo

  2. Jenni says

    at

    Learning Contentment by Nancy Wilson
    (Gold mine!)

    100 Bible Verses Every Christian Should Know by Heart, by Robert Morgan
    (So inspiring and enriching!)

    The Man in the Dark by Douglas Wilson (great fiction)

    Hints on Child Training by Trumbull (over 100 years old and so very sweet and applicable today)

    Safe in the Arms of God by John MacArthur (Biblical explanation of what happens to our babies/young children who die early)

    Nothing to Envy, Barbara Demick (true stories of North Korean defectors)

    That’s my top titles out of 50+ books read in 2020.

    • Marci Ferrell says

      at

      Jenni – wow! 50 books that’s great. Safe in the Arms of God was such a good read. I need to put Nothing to Envy on my list and The Man in the Dark. I didn’t know Doug Wilson wrote fiction. Thanks so much for sharing.

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Patience is our ability, under the control of the Patience is our ability, under the control of the Spirit, to persevere and endure in times of suffering or hardship.⁣⁣
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Come listen in (or read) EP 118: Cultivating Patience with One Another at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
By affliction, Christ . . .⁣⁣ shows us our em By affliction, Christ . . .⁣⁣
 shows us our emptiness and weakness,⁣⁣
 draws us to the throne of grace,⁣⁣
 purifies our affections,⁣⁣
 weans us from the world,⁣⁣
 and makes us long for Heaven.⁣⁣
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I know we can all relate to self-pity as women, wi I know we can all relate to self-pity as women, wives, and mothers.  How many times do we focus on our needs that aren’t met?  Unfair situations or circumstances?  Self-pity is a selfish tendency that takes our eyes off Christ and puts them on ourselves. ⁣⁣
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We forget that “God works all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” Are we able to give God “thanks in all things”?⁣⁣
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Come listen in to EP 105: Practical Steps to Overcome Self Pity at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)⁣
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"God's written Word, the Bible, is God's greatest "God's written Word, the Bible, is God's greatest earthly gift to his people, second only to the living Word, Jesus. And because the living Word perfectly lived out the written Word, we are blessed beyond measure. Jesus fulfilled every precept found in Psalm 119, keeping the principles and commandments of this psalm, and he did so on our behalf.⁣
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Our failure to live wholeheartedly is covered by Jesus, who lived it perfectly for us. Ultimately, he is Psalm 119 in human form, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14)."⁣
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~ Taken from Sing a New Song: A Woman's Guide to the Psalms by Lydia Brownback⁣
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With my whole heart I seek you;⁣
let me not wander from your commandments!⁣
I have stored up your word in my heart,⁣
that I might not sin against you.⁣
~ Psalm 119:10-11
Accept the cost of good deeds in time, thought, an Accept the cost of good deeds in time, thought, and effort. But remember that opportunities for doing good are not interruptions in God’s plan for us, but part of that plan. We always have time to do what God wants us to do.⁣
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I’m sharing a walkthrough of various tools and s I’m sharing a walkthrough of various tools and systems that help me to get things done. It’s a practical episode, and I hope to encourage you, if nothing else, to take a look at how your days are going and ask yourself some simple questions like:⁣
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Where do I find myself wasting time?⁣
Where can I make better use of my time?⁣
Can I simplify my days or various tasks or automate them?⁣
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Though gradually, though no one remembers exactly Though gradually, though no one remembers exactly how it happened, the unthinkable becomes tolerable. And then acceptable. And then legal. And then applaudable.⁣
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