On Love & Marriage...
Sacred Influence: How God Uses Wives to Shape the Souls of Their Husbands
by Gary Thomas
Ladies, this isn't a how-to guide for molding your husband into the man you've always wanted him to be - sorry to disappoint ;] It is an insightful, encouraging, empowering look at the ways that God designed us as essential partners for our husbands, and how He designed the marriage relationship to build them up into men of God. When the typical worldly methods of bringing about change in your marriage have failed, "Sacred Influence" provides a fresh perspective on ways that you can inspire, encourage and influence your husband in positive ways, and according to God's plan.
Sacred Marriage: What If God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy?
by Gary Thomas
Do you detect a pattern here? My husband and I attended a Gary Thomas marriage seminar when we were engaged. He's simply an amazing speaker with an incredible message. The subtitle says it all: "What if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy?" It embodies all that is wrong with modern attitudes toward marriage, and it is a concept that will transform your perspective on the subject.
Intimate Issues: 21 Questions Christian Women Ask About Sex
by Linda Dillow & Lorraine Pintus
Intimate Issues is a great read for Christian wives who are concerned about their own sexuality, their sexual past, their current sexual relationship within marriage... all things sex, really! Christian women so often develop distorted views of sexuality as they struggle to parse out their own sexual role amid the thorny jungle of worldly influence. The charming and candid authors of this book provide biblical insights that will reaffirm many of your beliefs, uncover areas of wrong thinking, and challenge you to be the Christian wife and lover that God intended you to be.
On Faith & Science...
In Six Days: Why Fifty Scientists Choose to Believe in Creation
edited by John F. Ashton
As a Christian and a scientist, the Creation vs. Evolution debate was always a constant nag in the back of my mind. For a while I espoused the "Evolution within Creation" view, because it was easier than choosing a side. That is, until I read this book (and others of course, but this is a great one!). In Six Days presents a variety of evidence for Creation from a myriad of scientific disciplines, from geology to developmental biology to genetics to cosmology and beyond.
The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief
by Dr. Francis S. Collins
Francis Collins is a pretty famous guy, if you know genetics (or science in general). Under his Directorship, the National Human Genome Research Institute headed up and completed the famed Human Genome Project, an international effort to sequence the entire human genome. He is now the Director of the entire National Institutes of Health, nominated by President Obama himself. So naturally, when I began working at the NIH as a sophomore in college in shared lab space with the Collins Lab, it was pretty exciting ;]
I spent two summers plus a post-baccalaureate year working under that same roof, and had the privilege of meeting Dr. Collins on more than one occasion. He is an incredibly down-to-earth guy - he rides a motorcycle and plays his guitar at the NHGRI picnic every year. I've also had to listen to the lunchroom chatter about Dr. Collins and his controversial writings on the subject of his faith. Even from members of his own lab, it wasn't always encouraging - he was often ridiculed for his beliefs, and his faith was merely tolerated in favor of his scientific genius. When he was appointed as NIH Director last year, the entire scientific community was in an uproar over his faith and how it would influence much of the country's scientific research funding which would now be largely under his control. I will always admire Dr. Collins for taking a stand on his faith, and never backing down despite what it could have cost him. This truly enjoyable read outlines how Dr. Collins the scientist arrived at a decision for God, and why he feels that belief is the only scientific answer to those lingering questions that plague us all.
On Family Planning & Fertility...
Taking Charge of Your Fertility
by Toni Weschler, MPH
TCOYF is an excellent beginner's guide to doing just that: Taking charge of your fertility. Too many women have chemicalized their fertility and filed it away for "some day down the road", oblivious to the serious health risks associated with oral contraceptive use. Most women aren't aware of the fact that there is a completely natural, healthy and hormone-free method of birth control that, when used appropriately, is just as effective (if not more so) than the Pill. Toni Weschler outlines the Fertility Awareness Method of natural family planning, and addresses all sorts of topics including using FAM for birth control, using FAM to achieve pregnancy, common gynecological problems, using FAM to uncover (and remedy!) common infertility problems, and SO much more. For any woman of child-bearing age who has yet to begin or complete her family, this book is a wealth of vital information and it will absolutely empower you to "take charge of your fertility"!
