The days are longer, the weather is warmer, and it’s a perfect time to get outside and enjoy creation. This is also a great season to let your enjoyment draw your heart closer to the One who invented the sunshine, the growth, and everything else you see. Here are three books I’ve read and enjoyed recently that can help you focus your mind and heart on God this summer:
A Bit of Earth: A Year in the Garden with God
Andrea G. Burke
I’ve never read a book quite like this one. Andrea shares a series of short stories from a year in her garden, with each one pointing to a larger truth. The chapters are short, the writing is excellent, and I found I couldn’t read too much at a time because I needed space to think more about what she said. You don’t have to be a gardener to enjoy this one, but fair warning: you might want to become one by the time you finish.
Considering Sparrows: What Birds Teach Us About Who We Are, Where We’re Going, and the Joy of Following Jesus
Kevin Burrell
This book is basically a more specific version of what I was trying to do in the second half of The Language of Rivers and Stars. Kevin shows us a variety of fascinating birds and draws out how God teaches us through them in helpful, encouraging, sometimes surprising ways. If you enjoyed the bird chapter in Rivers and Stars, here’s a whole book to take you deeper into the living wonders that fill our skies.
Amazed: 30 Days of Growing in Awe of God
Carolyn Lacey
This one is a more traditional devotional format. Each of the 30 short chapters focuses on a different aspect of God’s character, reminding us of just how amazing our God is. It’s always a good season to meditate more on the greatness and goodness of God!
Are there books that you’ve found helpful in re-focusing your heart on the Lord? I’d love to hear your recommendations in the comments!
sethlewis.ie 
Hey Seth,
It’s me again. Thank you for your book suggestions. Here are two from me:
1,) Reforesting Faith by Dr. Matthew Sleeth.
My notes on this book say that it contains several “aha” moments and that it’s a worthwhile and easy read. Here are two snippets to tease your interest: “Every important character and every major event has a tree marking the spot. There is a tree in the first and last chapter of the Bible, in the first psalm, and in the first gospel.” And, “Trees are the only things from our childhood that are bigger when we go back and visit them as adults. Our faith should be like that. The Bible doesn’t tell us to be like a house or a chariot or a lion. It tells us to be like a fruitful tree. Grow, make the world better, and bear fruit.”
2.) Subversive Sabbath by A. J. Swoboda.
Dr. Sleeth wrote the forward to this book, so my guess is that’s how I ended up reading both of them. I’m not sure what to think of this book, which means I probably need to read it again. Here are two snippets: “The emphasis in Scripture is not on the time of creation, as some so easily assume, but on the creation of time itself.” And, “Sabbath gives us the rest we need to do the good Jesus calls us to do.” Each chapter ends with Questions for Reflection and there are numerous notes in the back of the book.
If you end up reading either of these, I would treasure your thoughts.
Scott
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Thank you, Scott!
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