Mick Turner
I don’t know about you, but I have always been a voracious reader. In my formative years, I read constantly on a wide range of subjects and one of my most thrilling moments came when my parents gifted me with a set of The World Book Encyclopedia. I literally spent hours marveling at the information contained in those books.
Please, don’t get me wrong. I was not the stereotypical bookworm with a nose always buried in a tome of one kind or another. I was a sports nut as well, playing varsity football, basketball, and baseball. I also ran track. Looking back on my high school years, I don’t see how I managed to fit all those activities, along with my required studies, into the confines of a 24-hour day. Yet I did and, in some ways, still do.
Yes, I read a lot of books, especially related to spiritual matters and the church. I enjoy this endeavor and have no plans to give it up or lessen the time I spend reading. Over the past few years, I have also taken to reading blogs, particularly sites that deal with the Christian faith. I have found this a mixed endeavor, depending upon the content and caliber of the blogs I read. From time to time, I may recommend a specific blog that I feel is exceptional; however, the main focus of this site will be books. Blogs that I visit regularly can be found in my blog roll, which I update as time permits.
I have a soon-to-be- four-year-old daughter who is the apple of my eye and who is also firmly attached to Daddy. Needless to say, my daughter Salina makes understandable demands on the time of both my wife and myself. Still, I manage to find time to read after I put her to bed and, more often than not, by getting up quite early in the morning. Spiritual reading is a vital part of my morning discipline of prayer, studying the Word, and meditation.
I am founder and pastor of LifeBrook Ministries, an organization which develops and produces material designed to assist Christians deepen their daily walk of faith. At LifeBrook we conduct numerous trainings, seminars, and workshops, all of which contain recommendations for reading on the subject at hand. Obviously, I can’t recommend something I haven’t read, so my work also necessitates a certain amount of reading. Further, we have recently developed a series of e-courses to be offered on a regular basis. Again, each of these courses have several books that are a part of the course and I read a number of books on the subject of the course before selecting a few to be required reading in the e-course.
If you are also an avid reader you will understand what I am about to say. While I usually get something of value out of most things I read, from time to time I come upon a very special book – one that speaks clearly to me and seems to be a gift of the Spirit to me, coming at just the right time. Such books quicken my spirit, make my heart and mind soar, and give me much-needed spiritual nourishment. Such books, in a very real sense, make me come alive.
In this series of articles, I will be sharing a bit about a few of these “Books That Bless,” hoping that readers might find them worth the time spent reading them. Granted, these books were highly meaningful for me, and may not be for everyone. Still, I want to share my thoughts about these particular books and how they impacted one man’s life. And who knows? Perhaps you will find them profitable as well.
One final note on all of this – As the series unfolds in the coming months you will discover that my reading tastes run the gamut of theological persuasion. You will see that, from my perspective at least, the Christian faith has many flavors and each taste has something to offer. You most likely will see titles from liberal authors like Marcus Borg to conservative writers such as Chuck Colson, and everything in between. You will see writers from Mainline Christianity to those of a stated Evangelical worldview. And don’t be surprised to see a couple of Charismatic authors as well. Like I said, my spirit is nourished by a wide perspective and, to tell you the truth, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
For more articles on spiritual themes from a Christian perspective, I encourage you to visit our LifeBrook Ministries weblog at:
http://lifebrook.wordpress.com
Blessings in His Light,
Mick
