Reading Recommendation
I am an avid reader and often share what I’m reading on this blog and on social media. If I can inspire someone else to READ, I am a happy girl, especially when I find amazing writings. Today I just want to recommend two memoirs that will touch your heart and that are surprisingly connected…as I just discovered!
The first is Elisabeth Elliot’s memoir published after her death using her journals.
I’ve read and loved her for over 30 years, and wrote about this book in Who Are You Becoming? I asked her to speak to the women at my church in the early 90’s and her spiritual depth blew me away…and went over my head at times! I’ve read the story of her missionary journey with husband Jim Elliot in Through Gates of Splendor more than once, but meeting her was another experience. By the way, read this book too, and all her writings!
Later, as I grew spiritually, I couldn’t get enough of her wisdom and faith, and have since read many of her books. Recently my discipleship group together read Secure in the Everlasting Arms. I mention this book in More Good News About the Wait! Other books of her writing I’ve blogged about are A Chance to Die in The Ministry of the Unnoticed and Suffering is Never for Nothing (PLEASE read this one!) in Transformation or Transfiguration?, Joy Restored, and When You Can’t Explain Suffering.
The second memoir I want to recommend that connected Jim and Elisabeth Elliot with a singer/songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman is Between Heaven & the Real World.
This is such a good read (and I’m not finished reading it yet!) as Steven writes about Who made him who he is. He writes with humility, surprise, and gratefulness to all God has done in his life. About halfway through this book, he shares how he met one of the murdered missionaries’ son’s. As a result, he travels to Ecuador to connect with the tribe who killed these men. This tribe was eventually led to Christ by two women, one, Elisabeth Elliot, the wife of a murdered man, another, Rachel Saint, a sister of another man murdered. Not only have I had the honor of meeting Elisabeth, I later got a surprise blessing of meeting Rachel in Ecuador when I was on a mission trip. Now I’m reading a book about how Steven has a connection to these extraordinary women.
In his book, he refers to a music video I’d never seen, one that touched my heart about the missionaries’ story, but reminded me again of God’s sovereignty, in all of us, to lead in every detail of our lives, whether we get to meet people like this or not. He directs it all, and this is a beautiful joining of some people many of us know.
You will have to read the books for more details and I wanted to share that video here but it’s no longer available.
Remember, God has you in the palm of His hand as well, orchestrating your life for His purpose.
Banner photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash
