August Reading

I love to read.  I'll just about read anything I can get my hands on (within reason) and I've been working on reading more Biblical non-fiction instead of fluff novels so that I can really gain a firm knowledge of Theology and I can defend my faith more readily.  I still enjoy an occasional fluff novel, but more and more my husband and I spend our time reading more edifying material.  

One of the problems I face is while I love to read,  I get distracted by other things and my books get set aside in favor of other things (the internet, a movie, etc.)  I am hoping that if I blog about what I'm reading it will hold me accountable and I can actually finish a book in a reasonable amount of time.  I can't tell you how many times I have had to start a book over because I set it aside for way to long.

Here is my list of books for August:

Death By Love by Mark Driscoll- While he may be controversial to some people, my husband and I have him to thank for getting us back on the right track with the Lord.  This book chronicles Christ's death on the cross and how His substitutionary death is relevant for all aspects of our life.

Idols of the Heart by Elyse Fitzpatrick-  I love Elyse Fitzpatrick. I've heard her speak many times and I can't get enough. I loved her book "Because He Loves Me" and I'm excited to dig in this one.  At the heart of every sin lies idolatry and it's important to identify what our idols are so that we can crush our habitual sins and live joy filled lives content with the path our Savior has us on.

Manual of Christian Doctrine by Louis Berkhof-  This is actually one that will take me awhile to go through.  My husband and I are actually studying this book one chapter at a time each week.  This is an abridged version of Berkhof's Systematic Theology so we don't want to rush this one.  My husband went through this book with our pastor and a couple other guys at church (they call themselves "Dudes of Doctrine")  and he was excited to go through this with me.  All I can say is I've done one chapter so far and it's DEEP.  I mean, really deep.

Lastly, I will read something just for fun.  I have really enjoyed The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins and I was able to borrow the third book in the trilogy, Mockingjay from my niece.  I most likely won't post about this since several other bloggers have already done so, and way better than I could.  

So that's my reading list for the month.  I'm hoping to get through one book a week, with the exception of the Berkhof one.   We'll see how disciplined I can really be!