Knowing Why Is Crucial for Making the Life You Want.
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In each critical area of life,
these books show how to make
the right Different choices for you.
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YOUR BEST YEAR EVER
Michael Hyatt
SEA LIONS IN THE DESERT
Mark T. Whitten
MARK WHITTEN'S may well be the most balanced book I've ever read about the biblical view of wealth. Sea Lions turns on their heads many well-meaning—but nevertheless false—ideas of what the Bible teaches about prosperity. If you really want to get your head on straight about righteousness and “mammon,” read Sea Lions in the Desert cover to cover. I read it twice!
YOUR BEST YEAR EVER
Michael Hyatt
THIS BOOK delivers exactly what the subtitle promises: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals. If you're ready to make Different happen now, this book delivers the planning methodology you'll need to make it happen. Michael Hyatt addresses every aspect of planning well, from starting with the right mindset to creating a workable, reasonable schedule for achieving what matters most.
LIFE IN THE TURN LANE
Jim Patton
JIM PATTON'S version of doing Different is to live life in the "turn lane." Through 40 principles woven into his charming, surprising, and encouraging personal story, he explains that life often forces us to live differently than we had expected. But if we courageously take the turns we're offered, the adventure is greater than we would imagine.
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Mike Huckabee calls Jim's book "the kind of American success story I love to read."
CASH COW (a novel)
Greg Webster & Jim Patton
AMBITIOUS millennial from Georgia T. J. Lusk lands his ideal starter job at a prominent Manhattan bank on the way to living his dream, but he collides with corruption so massive, it reaches all the way to Europe. With only an acquaintance from college days and a charming co-worker as allies, he's launched into the stratosphere of international mergers and acquisitions, complete with hostile takeovers, proxy wars, and threats to his personal safety.
Family, Marriage, Lifestyle
FOR WOMEN ONLY
Shaunti Feldhahn
SHAUNTI FELDHAHN'S fascinating series of books that began with For Women Only: What You Need to Know About the Inner Lives of Men has made her one of my favorite authors and bloggers. She overflows with insight into how men think about everything from work to relationships to sex. Based on interviews with more than a thousand men, she parlays her viewpoint as a woman into stunning revelations, opening the hearts of women to mysteries about the men in their lives. And men who read Feldhahn will feel remarkably well understood.
LOVE & RESPECT
Emerson Eggerichs
PREPARE for countless "a-ha" moments when you read Eggerichs' view on the differing needs of men and women in heterosexual relationships. An astute psychologist, Eggerichs sidesteps politically correct ways of interpreting men and women to unmask how to touch the heart and soul of each. Once you allow that men crave respect from their wives and women long to feel loved, healing, growth, and moving beyond dysfunctional communication can happen.
ON MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIFE
John Chrysostom
JUST WHEN you think the past has nothing teach us in the 21st Century about sexuality and marriage, John Chyrsostom's 4th Century book challenges you to discover an ageless, healthy, and helpful biblical view of sex. He inspires with a high view of male-female relationships: "The love of husband and wife is the force that welds society together." But try not to blush at his unblushing descriptions of married love like "intercourse effects the joining of their bodies, . . . just as when perfume is mixed with ointment."
FOR MEN ONLY
Shaunti & Jeff Feldhahn
WITH HER HUSBAND, Jeff, Shaunti wrote the natural—and equally astute companion book, For Men Only: A Straightforward Guide to the Inner Lives of Women. I first read both books after 38 years of marriage, and they were as helpful as if I'd been introduced to them during pre-marital counseling. Since then, I've seen the benefits for young marrieds as I've shared them with my own children. They're as helpful to anyone who's already married as to those who want to prepare well for a someday marriage.
Men and Marriage
George Gilder
IN MEN AND MARRIAGE, George Guilder takes command of the issue of how feminism has undermined Western culture. When I first read the book in 1990, I recognized it as a pivotal work and am profoundly grateful to Gilder for bringing such unflinching rationality to an issue otherwise overrun with sound-bite philosophy and impulse-driven reactions to real argument. The value of Gilder’s premise lies in his view that gender roles are necessary for healthy personal and social life.
THE WAY HOME
Mary Pride
THIS OLDIE-BUT-GOODIE transformed my own view of the blessing of children, and set my wife and me on the path to raising a large family. We're deeply grateful for Mary Pride's insight. She challenges the reader to consider the true worth of raising children. If God gave you a million dollars, would you say "no" to the second million He offered? Hardly. Yet countless people refuse the blessing of more than two or three children. The loss is incalculable. Let Mary Pride encourage you to make the greatest investment possible!
Faith, Church, Spirituality
THE CHURCH HISTORY
Eusebius
LOVE THY BODY
Nancy Pearcey
OUR BODIES, male and female, do matter in how we understand ourselves and the purpose of our lives. Despite the claims of "freedom" to be whatever a person feels him- or herself to be, LGBTQ and all the associated gender variations require a mindset that devalues our physical selves and risks turning over personal liberties to the State. The high view of physical reality promoted by Christianity, by contrast, elevates our personal worth and freedom. Backed by her copious research, Nancy Pearcy will help you rest in reality in the face of the delusions of contemporary culture. You'll appreciate who you are and what God made you to be—despite contemporary influences that call for conformity to delusional new "norms."
THIRSTING FOR GOD
in a Land of Shallow Wells
Matthew Gallatin
A SURPRISING NUMBER of American Christians live with a gnawing feeling that something is missing from their experience of church—and God. Matthew Gallatin was one of them. A one-time Calvary Chapel pastor, Gallatin discovered the surprising answer for his spiritual search in the ancient—but still very much alive—roots of the Faith. This highly personal book delivers a captivating telling of his own story laced with an inspiring overview of the promise of the Orthodox Christian church for upgrading the spiritual lives of believers. Having walked a similar path, I appreciate the depth and sensitivity of Gallatin's presentation of a new—and very different—Christian spirituality anchored in ancient wisdom.
A LIFE GOD REWARDS
Bruce Wilkinson
THE WAY you live your life on earth affects how you will experience heaven. That's the startling premise of Bruce Wilkinson's pithy, quick-read about purposeful living. While it's true that believers receive eternal life by God's grace, the degree of reward bestowed on those in heaven is largely determined by what we do in the here-and-now. A great encouragement to anyone wanting to live differently than the norm by desiring a life pleasing to God, Wilkinson's book delivers a remarkable grasp of a little-known biblical truth. The hour or two you'll invest in reading A Life God Rewards will provide rewarding inspiration for what you do from now on.
MY WORD, YOUR WORD, HIS WORD
Greg Webster
IF SO MANY PEOPLE believe the Bible, how come so few agree on what it teaches? In My Word, Your Word, His Word, I propose that it's because many modern Christians expect the Bible to do something it was never intended to do. The missing ingredient for biblical living is a grasp of church history. Although profoundly relevant to Christian life today, the implications of early church theology and practice are largely ignored. Much of the problem comes from the post-Reformation belief in Sola Scriptura. There’s a reason so many faithful people disagree about what the Bible teaches. And it’s correctable. Read My Word, Your Word, His Word, and, rather than remaining part of the problem, you’ll find out how to become part of the solution.
Health, Wellness, Nutrition
NOURISHING TRADITIONS
Sally Fallon with Mary Enig
AS THE SUBTITLE PROMISES, Sally Fallon's book challenges "politically correct" preconceptions about what constitutes truly healthy eating. You'll be shocked—but also relieved—to discover that many things you'd like to eat, such as the right kinds of animal fat (can you say, "bacon," for instance?), are actually good for your body! Health concepts of the past half century are actually depriving our bodies of what they desperately need. Low-fat, no-fat foods, meat substitutes, artificial sweeteners, and more are slowly killing us, not making our lives better. Nourishing Traditions reveals the truth about healthy eating—and shows you how to do it!
EAT FAT, LOSE FAT
Mary Enig and Sally Fallon
THE TEAM OF FALLON AND ENIG bring you another striking departure from contemporary perceptions of what it means to "eat healthy." They show that modern foods like vegetable oils actually contribute to obesity, and that eating the right fats can actually help people lose weight. The book features scrumptious recipes that use coconut oil and provides your choice of three different eating plans to get you started on healthy long-term dietary patterns while getting rid of unwanted pounds.
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Business, Income, Education
LET YOUR LIFE SPEAK
Parker Palmer
SECRETS OF THE MILLIONAIRE MIND
T. Harv Eker
PALMER is a great starting point for mustering the courage to have life your way. Using his own story, Palmer is vulnerable and engaging while he delivers unmistakable wisdom and guidance for your own path. At 128 small-format pages, it's one of the most meaningful quick-reads you'll ever find.
IF FIGHTING the financial battle to do Different is your biggest issue, Harv Eker's book is a must-read. He delves into the thought-life required for success in making and keeping money. He shows how to root out deep-seated hang-ups and, even better, how to replace them with healthy, productive thinking.
EUSEBIUS is the best first step I know for opening the "black box" of early church history. He wrote in the fourth century (300s) A.D., and for anyone who thinks we don't really know much about what happened in the first few hundred years after Christ's resurrection, this historian is mind-blowing. He'll tell you who the Cephas was that Paul "opposed to his face" (it wasn't the Apostle Peter). You'll read of Pontius Pilate's report to Tiberias Caesar about Jesus the Nazarene (and what Caesar did as a result!). And you'll witness the remarkable development of the New Testament and what the church did for 300 years before it had "The Bible."
TOTAL TRUTH
Nancy Pearcey
ALTHOUGH not a quick-read, Total Truth delivers a deep and relevant grasp of how to hold a biblical worldview in the face of immense cultural pressure to dilute the power of Christianity. Building on the work of Francis Schaeffer, Pearcey frees believers to enjoy the goodness of Christian thought. The "faith once delivered to the saints" still delivers the most reasonable and encouraging way to understand who we are and what the world is all about. Pearcey's solid work gives you the anchor you need to step out in faith in whatever direction your path to Different takes you.