I sat down to update this “Jym Shorts” on my 59th birthday. I do not feel 59, but alas, what am I to do about it? Birthdays really do not bother me much. Age comes naturally to me.

As I reflect over the years of my life, I find myself grateful that forty-five of them have been as a follower of Christ. That comes to me by God’s grace and a brother (biological) who loved me enough to share the gospel with me. For that I am eternally grateful. I often have people from the church family ask me about my favorite books over my now numerous years. Here is an updated list from one I published seven years ago:

• Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain: Twain is my favorite American writer. This is the first book I read on my own from cover to cover. It made me a lifelong reader and a lover of language and how it is used to affect our emotions and intellect.

• To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee: Opened my eyes not only to great writing, but to how to tell a story, and to the realities of injustice in our world.

• Knowing God, by J.I. Packer: Took me more than one read to really get it when I was in college, but when I got it, it opened up my eyes to the great truths of God.

• Surprised by Joy, by C.S. Lewis: A great autobiography from a writer I love (along with almost everyone else in Western culture). It showed me that Christianity stands up to the closest scrutiny by the most intellectual of minds.

• Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe: Published in 1719, it had me riveted to my reading chair for many days in 2001. I waited way too long to read this book. It entertained the boy in me and confirmed some of my theological convictions.

• Mark Twain: A Biography, by Albert Bigelow Paine: Love this biography, even though it is four volumes in length. Twain, although never a convert to Christianity, led a life of adventure, joy, and great loss, and embraced it as an astute observer and commenter on all of it, and the God he believed made it possible.

• The Pursuit of God, by A.W. Tozer: Tozer was relentlessly active in his desire to know God in the deepest way possible (at times, sadly, to the neglect of his family). This book made me want to know God too.

• The Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan: This one is even older than Defoe's great work, published in 1678 and written while Bunyan was in prison for refusing to cease preaching the gospel. It stands on its own without my endorsement. The great classic of Christian literature.

• Out of Africa, by Isak Dinisen (Karen Von Blixen): The best prose I have ever read, and a beautiful story-sad and compelling. I read it on average every other year.

• A River Runs Through It, by Norman Maclean: A beautiful novella recounting the story of a Presbyterian father and his two sons, one a rebel, the other a follower, and lessons learned on a great trout-fishing river in Montana. I have lost count of how many times I've read this one.

• The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien: The story of good and evil told in a vivid, rich way that continues to grip me.

• Desiring God, by John Piper: Once you have read one of Piper's books, you already have his main point in every book he writes, but I still read most of them anyway, and benefit from each one. This is his best in my opinion.

• Abraham Lincoln, by Carl Sandburg: Wonderful multi-volume biography of our best president and one of the greatest men of the 19th century (in my humble opinion).

• John Paton: Missionary to the New Hebrides, by John Paton: This is a breathtaking missionary autobiography, and my favorite of one of my favorite genres: missionary biographies.

• Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret, by Dr. & Mrs. Howard Taylor: Second best missionary biography.

• Moby Dick, by Herman Melville: This great epic written in 1851 is wonderful right from its amazing first line; "Call me Ishmael." There is a gem of a sermon embedded in it as well.

Well, there they are for what it’s worth. Obviously, many others have influenced me throughout my life, but these are the books that come most quickly to my mind. Hope this motivates you to find time to read. Start with the Bible, then go from there.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Jym