Devotional Classics | Richard Foster

This book explores many Christian writers, spanning history to contemporary. Each chapter gives us an excerpt and some thought provoking comments by Foster as well as exercises we can do between studies. It has made us think and rethink, discuss and disagree and overall grown in our spiritual journey. 

I enjoy reading this book every few years to regain perspective and be challenged in what can sometimes be an apathetic attitude to my faith. There is a good bibliography following each person so if one takes your fancy you can then read in full all they have written. 

The book is divided into sections which have a practical theme. Within each selection there are extracts from authors on those themes. The fist section is 'Preparing for the Spiritual Journey' and in it we hear from some like CS Lewis, Dallas Willard, Jonathan Edwards, Bernard of Clairvaux. The second section is 'The Prayer-filled Life' and in it Thomas Merton, Julian of Norwich, Henri Nouwen, Evelyn Underhill....then 'The Virtuous Life', 'The Spirit Filled Life', 'The Compassionate Life', 'The World-Centered Life'....There are many inspiring authors and a great book to read when exploring our faith.

Into the Depths of God | Calvin Miller

I am really interested in the mystical side of spirituality. In this book Miller points to a way of life which acknowledges a calmer, deeper and more profound state of faith we can live in. It was refreshing and rewarding to read. I learned a lot and was challenged to observe a quieter centre while on the surface coping with the every day bustle of life.

I hope this book is taken up and chewed on slowly because it merits careful and thoughtful reading. I really like Miller’s style and have read a lot of his books. “Once upon a Tree” and “The Path of Celtic Prayer”.

That Incredible Christian | A.W.Tozer

A.W.Tozer is an oldie but a goodie. I've read him for many years and have found him useful to refresh my memory on the basic tenets of the Christian faith. I went overseas and took this slim volume with me to have as a guide and touchstone in my travels. 
His chapters give an indication of the content.'How important is creed?', 'The inadequacy of instant Christianity','The freedom of the will','Why the Holy Spirit is given'...There are twenty chapters in all and in his careful and well thought out way Tozer is a great read.
I appreciate this book because it helps me keep grounded in the basics, the cornerstones of my faith and helps to give perspective to a lot of issues surrounding my spiritual journey in a modern world.

Color: A Natural History of the Palette| Victoria Findlay

What an exciting journey this book took me on! The premise is that Victoria Findlay is intrigued by the colours in her art box. She begins to wonder about the origin of pigments and colours, their values and related meanings through history. She looks for the natural sources of the initial pigments used in art.

And we take off on a trip around the world. She creates a story around each colour telling us about the origin of the name, the origin of the pigment and how each colour came to the world market. I was engrossed and couldn’t put it down.

Now when I see a piece of artwork or admire a delicious looking colour it gives me a much better appreciation of how we use and admire colour.

Thoroughly entertaining and a great travel log, all about the people around the globe involved in the harvest of pigments.

I also went on to read "Buried Treasure: travel through my jewellery box" about precious stones.

Surprised by the Voice of God | Jack Deere

After reading and really enjoying “Surprised by the Power of the Spirit” also by Jack Deere I was keen to read this one. And in it there were more meaningful revelations of how God chooses to communicate in this day and age. Deere is well versed in the theology but shines through the text by describing his own experiences on how present God can be in our lives.

Deeply moving, helpful and certainly very influential in my faith journey. Highly encourage it be read by anyone who is seeking intimacy with God in a real, life changing way.

Surprised by the Power of the Spirit | Jack Deere

I read this at a time when I was searching for a different dimension in my spiritual journey. Jack Deere explores a side of Christianity which focuses on the Holy spirit and learning to communicate in a real way, on a daily basis with the Spirit. It has Biblical depth and Deere is no airy-fairy proponent of the charismatic movement. He has sound grounding and a true faith which comes through in his informative text  and personal experiences to back it all up. Deere describes himself as a skeptic turned seeker.

No matter where we are in our faith journey this book is well worth reading. There is ample proof that the Holy Spirit speaks today and miracles do happen.

Reading this book was a turning point in my journey. Well worth exploring.

I went on to read “Surprised by the Voice of God” in which Deere concentrates on how God communicates with us today.

Buried Treasure | Victoria Findlay

This is the second of Findlay’s books which I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed. I was travelling at the time and found it a good book to pick up and read in snatches.

This is a book about precious stones and where they come from, their history and their worth. “Travels through the jewellery box” is how she puts it.

I was amazed to discover that Amber comes from the Baltic region and how many people have died harvesting it. I had just bought some pearls and it was great timing to be able to read more about their history. But this is not a dry and dusty account of scientific origins or world markets. It’s a book about people.

In each case Findlay travels to the place of origin and meets the people involved in the trade of the stones. She immerses us in the culture and setting of each stone and so we are taken on a world tour not to see the highlights of each country but to meet the people in unforgiving landscapes such as the opal mines of Australia or the perils of diving in the Red Sea for peridot…

The chapters are arranged in order of hardness of the stones set by the Mohs scale. Amber, jet, pearl, opal, peridot, emerald, sapphire, ruby, diamond.

Well worth reading. It’s interesting, informative, a travel log with a difference and with great stories about people.

Her other book is called “Color: travels through my paint box". Very interesting and we meet more amazing people throughout the world who are involved in giving us colour pigments.

The Outcast | Sadie Jones

To be frank, I picked this book for its cover! It had a couple embracing, not in a bodice ripper kind of way but in a very modest and beautifully photographed way! It conveyed a feeling, and so I grabbed it off the shelf.

And it's a great book, a lovely bitter sweet story well told.

It is set in the 1950's England. Lewis is about 7 when his dad, Gilbert, returns from the war. Until then he's had the sole attention of a doting loving mother. But everything changes when Gilbert takes over the family. He seems cold and overbearing... Tragedy follows, Lewis observes but struggles to interpret his changing world. As he grows up he has contact with other families, who all seem to struggle and have secrets which mark the relationships in the novel.
There is a lot of tension and Sadie Jones tells the story from various perspectives. We sympathise with Lewis as he desperately tries to fit in and find his place. Mostly he feels like an outcast.

In this story there is a lot of tension, emotion, relationships and  suspense. It engages us and is beautifully told.

Small Wars | Sadie Jones

After reading The Outcast by Sadie Jones I couldn’t wait for her second novel to come out. The wait was worth it. She’s a good story teller.

I loved the setting (Cyprus) and the characters. In a way it’s similar to The Information Office by Mark Mills. This story tells the story of a soldier, Hal Treherne, stationed on the island to protect the British colony on Cyprus. His wife watches the slow decline of Hal’s personality as he struggles with the atrocities taking place and his moral decline as he is unable to talk through it and come to terms with the massacres he witnesses. The marriage unravels, they are unable to talk, hiding their pain and their misunderstandings until clara has to retreat with the children.

Although it may sound like a depressing book, it really isn’t. Jones is a very skilled story teller, so we are engaging with the story and the characters, she makes us care about Clara and Hal, and the political situation on the island. It’s a story we can all relate to on some level and it’s beautifully told.

Notes from an Exhibition | Patrick Gale

I hadn’t read any books by this author so I gave this one a go and I quite liked it.

A prominent eccentric artist dies and leaves her family to puzzle out her life through her paintings. Each chapter heading is the note which would appear in an exhibition with each or her paintings and this leads the story to that part of her life and what was going on there to produce the painting...

An interesting way of structuring the story and it works well. The story holds together and we engage with the characters. There is a family in mourning for a wife, mother, artist, genius. It takes them months to deal with the emotional whirlwind that Rachel was, and how it affected, scarred and moulded their lives as children, husband, lovers.

It’s a good read and I went on to read other books by Gale but didn’t find them as good as this one so if you enjoy this one, it’s as good as they get!

Tips from your Nana | Robyn Paterson

It’s ok to be like your Nana! In this book Paterson revives a few good old fashioned skills our Nana’s took for granted and we’ve somehow lost in our very modern lifestyles! What I loved about this book is the characters you meet along the way, beautifully photographed by Tammy Williams

The first chapter is on Sister Loyola, an 86 year old nun who won the coveted New Zealand “Gardener of the Year Award”. We meet Dave, who has been selling worms for worm farms for 25 years or so and shows us how to make one!

There are chapters on gardening, keeping chickens, home brewing, making jams and preserves, home-made cleaning products and more.

Why this book is different from others is that it’s very kiwi, it’s beautiful to read and that in itself is an inspiration to get out of the armchair, brush aside the cup of tea and get on with MAKING stuff, not just BUYING stuff.