Category: Uncategorized

1. 127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston
2. 99 Thoughts for Parents of Teenagers by Walt Mueller
3. Alive by Piers Paul Read
4. Animal Farm by George Orwell
5. Believe: The Words and Inspiration of Desmond Tutu
6. Bread for the Journey by Henri Nouwen
7. Church: Why Bother? by Philip Yancey
8. Closing the Window by Tim Chester
9. Crazy Love by Francis Chan
10. Grace Notes by Philip Yancey
11. How People Change by Timothy Lane & David Tripp
12. Jesus, My Father, The CIA, and Me by Ian Morgan Cron
13. Justification by N.T. Wright
14. Life’s Healing Choices by John Baker
15. Love Wins by Rob Bell
16. Mad Man in Waco by Brad Bailey and Bob Darden
17. Marketing God to Teens by Ryan J. Doeller
18. Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light – The Private Writings of “The Saint of Calcutta”
19. My Jesus Year by Benyamin Cohen
20. Radical by David Platt
21. Secondhand Jesus by Glenn Packiam
22. Sifted by Rick Lawrence
23. Surrendered and Untamed by Jason Clark
24. The Accidental Anglican by Todd D. Hunter
25. The Bible
26. The Eyes of the Ship: Navigating the Waters of Fatherhood by Jim Moore
27. The Godfather by Mario Puzo
28. The Grizzly Maze: Timothy Treadwell’s Fatal Obsession with Alaskan Bears by Nick Jans
29. The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns
30. The Power of a Whisper by Bill Hybles
31. The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation by Barbara R. Rossing
32. The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri J.M. Nouwen
33. Time with God for Fathers
34. Tracker by Tom Brown, Jr.
35. What Good is God? by Philip Yancey

On Wednesday my Grandma and Grandpa Larkin drove out from Phoenix – where they have been spending the holidays with my Aunt Cindy – to visit us. On Thursday we packed a lunch and enjoyed a beautiful day in Joshua Tree National Park. When we got back to the valley we experienced another stunning sunset. It was great seeing Grandma and Grandpa! Over breakfast this morning I shared with our daughters what a rarity it is to have not only their grandparents, but all of their great-grandparents alive and well, and the privilege and opportunity to spend time with them. Memories to make and moments to be treasured.

Every year I read a lot of books. Among the books I select I try to always have a few that deal with marriage and family. Last week I read the little book Eyes of the Ship by Jim Moore. In the book Moore uses the story of the Titanic as a metaphor to talk about fatherhood. While there was nothing necessarily profound for me personally, I found the questions at the end of each chapter helpful. The book was good in that it simply caused me to reflect on how I am doing as a father, reminded me of the high calling of raising my daughters, and challenged me to be the best dad I can be for them. And that, of course, is the point.