Little girls. You never know what they will find funny! Someone at work sent me this free ring tone. “Let me out I’m stuck in your pocket!” said in a high pitched and English accented voice. Elena and Grace thought this was the best! So, when I had them this weekend, there were about 100 requests to hear it one more time. While I thought it was cute, I apparently didn’t know just how much fun it could be!

A friend called me Friday morning while I was at work. She is dong the single mom thing and has been under a bit of stress over the last 6 months. She is the independent sort, so for her to ask me to take her girls for the weekend says something about how much she felt like she need a break.

Though it wasn’t in my plans, Elena (7) and Grace (5) and I are pals, so I thought that I could swing it. They came at 10:00 on Saturday. Somehow, it turns out that I had promised two meals on Saturday — one to someone from church who just had surgery and one for a friend’s family who was out of town. I don’t renege on promises! So, we dropped a casserole off to Kathy, went to the grocery store (interesting event with 2 girls tagging along), grabbed McDonalds as a reward for being such good helpers, dropped supplies off to Kathy because she needed some things from the store, came home and whipped up baked spaghetti, played a few games while it was baking, and then ran it out to my friend’s family — all the while listening to that ring tone.

We got back to my house and my friend, Debbie, called. She invited me to dinner! She could hear the noise in the background, so I explained that the girls were here. She told me to bring them as her children play better with new kids around. We put in a movie for a couple hours and watched it in a “dog pile.” I had the couch first and then Grace climbed on and the cats and then Elena. I couldn’t move lest I knock someone on the floor, but it was a happy couple of hours.

We then headed over to Joe and Debbie’s where we were treated to homemade pizza. The kids ran, played, and belly slid head first down the stairs! We then frosted mini heart shaped cupcakes. It turns out that when you range in ages from 3-7, cupcakes are reusable. They were getting eaten as fast as they got frosted but then we started running low on cupcakes. The kids decided to lick the icing off and decorate multiple times!

So, we’ve been to church in pajamas (the girls, not me), had lunch, and now Elena is reading and Grace and Mali are napping in a patch of sun as I write. Contentment is sweet even if I’m a little tired from keeping up with them. It has been a good time.

And, I think there is a hope principal to be found in all of this. Hope is meant to be passed on. I think a lot of hope has been passed around as people have served each other. I helped Kathy and my friend’s family. (Though, I should point out that I’m not as domestic as all of this makes me sound!) While I’m helping out Grace and Elena’s mom, they have also brightened my generally solitary life. And then, Joe and Debbie and their kids having us all over . . . . Interestingly, they had already spent much of the day having another single mom’s kids over! I’m sure when they called to invite me they were just thinking one not three! I also know that my friend’s family spent part of their morning helping to clean the church and work on the church library.

A couple months ago, I had a conversation where I was complaining about someone else. Julie said to me, “I’ve found that the people who grate on me the most are the ones I most need to have compassion on.” I’ve been thinking about it the last couple of hours. I think Julie is right. In someways, the things I’ve done the last couple of days have been easy because of who they are for. I need to ponder who I might be called to serve when it wouldn’t come so easily or naturally.

But what does it mean to have compassion on someone? I looked it up online at http://www.thefreedictionary.com/. It said, “Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.” That was humbling to read.

I think it fits biblically. In the gospels, when Jesus feeds the 5,000 it says that he had compassion on them for they were like sheep without a shepherd. There are two things that stand out. First, He understood their plight. Second, He didn’t just understand it. He had a deep desire to address it. In fact, that is why He came — to be the Good Shepherd!

Mark also taught about how in John 12 it talks about how a seed must be planted to multiply. A seed that isn’t planted remains alone. The planted seed brings about a great harvest.

So, as Mark talked about us emptying our pockets and (in some ways) our hearts in acts of service, I was reminded of that silly ring tone. Let me out I’m stuck in your pocket! Hope stuck in your pocket is really no hope at all. Hope stuck in your pocket will only wither and die. It’s meant to be passed on. Will you let hope out of your pocket today?

One last picture because it is so cute and an anecdote. At Crosswinds we have a kid oriented service at 9:00 with dancing, singing, skits, and contests. It is called Kid Stuf. Anyway, Joe and Debbie’s kids, Raquel and Lucas, know all the songs and sing them loudly at home and in the car and dance. However, we’ve had Kid Stuf for over a year and they have never gone up front to join the other kids on the floor.

Last night, they were having a lot of fun with Grace and Elena, so we planted that idea that at Kid Stuf they could sit with Grace and Elena. Still, they headed to their normal chairs when they arrived this morning. I said something to Raquel but she seemed unsure. So, I said as excitedly as I could to Lucas, “Want to go sit with Elena?” His eyes lit up and I took that as a “Yes,” and before he could change his mind, I snatched him up and carried him off to the front. Raquel, not wanting to be left behind, followed.

They stayed up front the entire time! This is Lucas rocking it out in his pajamas. The only catch was that it meant I also stayed up front and sat on the floor too. Since I was trying to engage them, I felt compelled to attempt the dances. Seeing as I have no rhythm, I’m sure it was quite the sight to see!

 I have been included in a new game of tag entitled “MeMe.” I was tagged by Dandelion Dayz. We have connected over the last few days through Lysa’s from Proverbs 31. So, what follows will be totally random and useless information, though I hope it makes you smile . . . .

The rules for this meme are: (1) Link to the person that tagged you. (2) Post the rules on your blog. (3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. (4) Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. (5) Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.


1. I am full of useless information. Honestly, I may be a bookworm but I am not really a nerd. I have to monkey around with things on the computer before they acutally work and usually then it is pure luck. Still, I have purely useless information that comes out at random times. It’s as if it rattles around in my head and then someone says something and it just pops out. Some items include:

• It is still available. You can get it at Amazon or through IVP or have a bookstore order it.
  
• It is a written by a group. Paul Tokunaga was our fearless leader. It is usually indexed under him, though it will eventually come up under Amy Brooke as well. The trick there is that there appears to be another Amy Brooke out there who writes as well. How is that for confusing? So, lately, I’ve been trying to add the “L” to my name — Amy L Brooke. Though, that doesn’t help with things that have already been written!
  
• It’s a discipleship book. It was written as a tool for people to use in mentoring/discipling. Working for InterVarsity, we particularly had college students in mind.
  
• It is probably unique in that it was written by 6 vastly different people in gender, age, ethnicity, background. We were selected for our diversity. We had in common a love for Jesus and a joy in writing.
  
• However, I still think it has a lot to say to others as well. But, I’m biased.
  
• The format is 24 chapters that are each 8-10 pages long with discussion/reflection questions at the end. They are broken into 3 broad categories: 1) Rooted in Christ, 2) Committed in Relationships, 3) Disturbing the World.
  
• My chapters are: Risking Forgiveness, Only Very Good Together (gender relationships), Knowing God’s Heart for the World (missions), and my favorite — Hope When We Fall.

Working on this was a gift from God. I had submitted a few articles to IV’s SLJ (Student Leadership Journal) but had not done much more than that. And then suddenly, Cindy Bunch (an editor at IVP) approached me at the National Staff Conference about the possibility of working on this. I had known Cindy through staffing some camps and working for IVP at the Urbana Mission Conference. She knew I liked to write, but I didn’t know she knew I could!

Apparently, they wanted a diverse group even in the regions of the country they came from. Cindy was working with Paul on putting the team together. They had someone from New York, Georgia, Florida, and two from California. They needed a representative from the Midwest. Cindy suggested me. The story goes that since Paul had never heard of me, he nixed the idea. But they couldn’t figure out who . . . . Cindy finally suggested that they ask Jeff Yourison, the editor of SLJ. Apparently, I was the first person out of his mouth when they asked. (Thank you, Jeff!) So, I was asked and would have been crazy not to. It’s got to be a God thing when an editor approaches a writer-wanna-be!

But, I haven’t done much writing since. I’m just beginning again. I think it was that life just happened and the depression worsened and I got really afraid of rejection. I started connecting to Lysa’s blog and she left really kind comments for me. I don’t think that I would have entered the contest if I hadn’t had that affirmation.

Here is a blip from the book. It’s from the hope chapter since I’m chronicling hope this year:

He died on January 21, 1924, but over seven decades later I stood in line to view his body in a guarded mausoleum in Moscow’s Red Square. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin helped usher Communism into Russia, and for some he was a savior, the ultimate source of hope for a better future. But Communism is no longer the leading force in Russia. As I viewed Lenin’s body in 1998, I wondered, What good is a hope that is dead?

A friend once asked, “Do you have hope?” I had to think for a minute. Sometimes I don’t feel very hopeful. Some of the sins I struggled with ten years ago, I struggle with today. Some of the things that gave me pain years ago still bring tears to my eyes. I still fail miserably, sometimes on a daily basis. But I do have hope. Having hope is some of the essence of what it means to follow Jesus. I am not the same person I was yesterday or the day before. I have hope for some of the same reasons Peter did.

And then I take a long look at Peter . . . . To fail Jesus so miserably by denying Him when he needed him the most . . . . The dude had to have hope if after doing that he could still jump out of a boat and enthusiastically greet Jesus on the beach.

I want hope like that. Maybe that is why I’ve come back to it after all these years. If I were Peter, I would have sulked ashamedly in the boat. Not Peter. I want that kind of hope. Finding that hope is probably what all this Hope Chronicle stuff is about.

Well, I should get off the computer and go to bed. I have a friend’s two girls (5 & 7) tomorrow morning through late Sunday afternoon. I’m glad it is pajama day at church on Sunday! I won’t have to worry about getting them dressed! (Seriously, it really is pajama day on Sunday! Only at Crosswinds . . . .)

Do Not Stop On Tracks. I pass this sign on a daily basis. The tracks run between a tiny section of Linden Street between a set of stop lights a block or two apart. Much to my chagrin, there are trains that actually use this track when I am in a hurry to get somewhere. But please, who would be silly enough to stop on these tracks?

There is a sign, so it must have happened at some time or another some where. And it’s such a short piece, if you don’t judge it right with the lights, it might be easy to get hemmed in. And then, I can imagine the red and white poles going down and the lights flashing — and the training coming. Recipe for a disaster!

Still, it seems to be human nature to ignore these kinds of signs. And children who live near train tracks, have to be told over and over, not to play on the tracks. Sometimes, it seems, that we flirt with danger.

I’m fairly law abiding. (I’ve never gotten a speeding ticket!) So, stopping on these tracks isn’t really an issue. But, I found God asking me in the last couple of days, “So, what tracks do you stop on?” Me? Law abiding, Amy?

I recently have become acquainted with a woman, Kathy, who is new to my church. A friend had dinner with her and then told me I had to meet her because we process the entire issue of singleness in the same way. My interest peaked. However, we just got introduced 2 weeks ago and didn’t have time for more than a “Hello.” Then she had surgery. My friend was trying to find meals for her and I volunteered to make something, but I didn’t stay when I dropped it off because she had really just gotten out of the hospital.

Monday night I made my famous chocolate chip cookies to take in for a food day today at work. (Click here for the recipe and my “secret” way of making them). I always make plenty to share, so I decided to drop some cookies off to Kathy. After all, chocolate chip cookies have medicinal purposes after something like surgery.

When I stopped in, two of Kathy’s nieces were there visiting. They were just settling in to watch a movie together, so the cookies couldn’t have had better timing. I was there for minutes, but I felt my heart sink as I left. I stopped on the tracks.

I have always wanted children. Barring that for the moment, I have always had this fantasy of “aunt-dom.” I don’t know where it came from. My mom was the youngest of 17 (7 half siblings and 10 full siblings), so I had a plethora of aunts and uncles. (Though, I would be hard pressed to name them all!) With that many siblings, that meant that there were a tons nieces and nephews. So, maybe it is hard to be super aunt to so many. So, I never had much significant contact with my aunts and uncles.

Still, in “aunt-dom” I imagined being the perfect aunt. I would go to soccer games and basketball games, plays and parties, taking my nieces and nephews to McDonalds, let them stay up late, raptly listen to their stories, and be an all-around-cool kind of aunt. It hasn’t worked out that way. We live to far apart and their are certain family dynamics that have made it an impossible dream. But still, I dream of it.

Walking in on Kathy and her nieces was like walking in on part of that dream. There was an easiness about it. One niece was helping with something. Kathy teased the younger of the two about what her present for her upcoming birthday might be. My heart lept– I want a day like this with my nieces and nephews!

My heart fell because I was instantly seized with jealousy. And then, I dawdled along those tracks for the rest of the day and evening. I went to a class run by a Christian group in town. I had never really been before. It’s running for 6 weeks. I got there early and found a seat. But that jealousy thing crept in. Was I the only one sitting alone?

I prayed about it this morning. God brought to mind this sign. He also brought to mind a friend’s comment the other day. Jill was with me when I dropped off my meal to Kathy. We talked briefly and somehow it came up that I often spend time with Jill’s children. Jill said something to the affect of not having family in town and me being an “adopted aunt” to them. God reminded me of the tough spring I had. When I was feeling a bit better, I had Austin and Kolya over. One of them said, “It’s been 2 months since since we spent the night!” I was astonished they had been keeping track. There couldn’t have been a sweeter compliment.


How do we get off those tracks when the bars have come down and the lights are flashing? Philippians 4:8 has some good advice. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (NIV)


So I’m counting my blessings. My biological nieces and nephews might be far away, but God has granted me several other kids to invest in — to go to track meets, play games, indulge in little ways, cheer on during basketball, and hopefully help mold in positive ways. And He nudged me about the class I went to as well. Did I have to sit alone or did I choose to sit alone? (Ouch.) Perhaps, next week I need to approach someone and introduce myself . . . . Perhaps I’ll meet a kindred spirit or a future friend.

(Here’s a picture of 3 of 8 blessings I was crazy enough to take ice skating for my birthday in December! It was my most memorable birthday.)

We all have to cross the tracks at time. That is a given. Just don’t stop on the tracks. It is a sure way to lose sight of hope.

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose , by any other name would smell as sweet.” It’s a famous line from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliette. And the conclusion is that the name isn’t what matters. Romeo would still be Romeo even if he wasn’t a Montague (but it would have been easier if that was the case). A rose smells the same no matter what it is called.

Luckily, even when I abandoned church, God did not abandon me. God has brought me into a great community of believers. From my friend Jill I have learned to say, “I love you.” I also believe she has chosen to love me. I was (and to some degree still am) a prickly as porcupine when she first met me. (It can’t be easy to love a porcupine!) Perhaps, more importantly than learning to say it, I have learned to hear it and receive it and believe it from others and God. I am still working to know how to rest in it.

Love. It drew Jesus to the cross for me. It made Him stay there until it was through when legions of angels were waiting for His call to sweep in and bring Him down from that brutal cross. For my sake, He endured the ultimate agony when taking my sin upon himself, God turned away. He did it for me. Because of that, I can never say that I am “unloved.”

I do not profess to understand the book of Revelation. But with my fascination with names, Revelation 2:17 has always caught my imagination. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.”

A name only between me and God, written on a pure white stone. With as much as I’ve struggled to understand His love, I might not be surprised to find my own name written there — “Amy, loved one.” I have hope because of His love for me.

I have found over the years that learning something new is good for me. In 2001, I took my first horseback riding lesson. I don’t know what I was thinking. I believe I had been on a horse twice. Both of those times I was walked around while on the horse. It wasn’t really riding. But in July 2001, I showed up at the stables in a nearby town and they put me on a horse named Streak. Apparently, at one point, he had been quite the horse and won all kinds of awards. Now, he was a dutiful lesson horse and the instructor taught me how to walk and sit and groom.

At that point I was hooked. The next time I came, I was put on another lesson horse, Eddie. Eddie was probably the largest horse in the stable. He had an insatiable appetite. At one end of the indoor arena, they kept hay above our heads. When Eddie went by, he often had the tenacity to stop and have a snack. He could reach it if he craned his neck up. They called it Eddie’s drive through. I quickly learned that I had to have Eddie’s full attention and a certain amount of momentum when we were near that hay to keep him from stopping! Eddie, however, quickly became my favorite. The picture is of me and Eddie. Can you tell how big he is?

By April 2002 I was learning to jump. You start out trotting over poles on the ground and then they get raised. Eventually I jumped 18 inch to 2 foot jumps even in a series of 8-10 jumps. It was so like flying!

I confess that I initially thought jumping was all about the horse and that I was just along for the ride. Nothing could be further from the truth! Just as dogs are pack animals, horses are herd animals. As long as the rider has established herself as the leader, they take their cues from the rider. I was amazed to find out that Eddie could tell where I was looking. Did you catch that? I’m on top of him and he can tell where I am looking? I imagined it as if sitting a string ran from my backbone to his. When I looked a certain way, that is (unless being particularly unruly) the way he would go. When I turned my head, my shoulders turned as well. My body position changed and, my best guess, is that is what clued him in.

Back to jumping. Initially, I did think that I was only along for the ride. While he trotted willingly over the poles on the ground, I found that he often came to a dead stop even with poles 6 inches to a foot off the ground. Unfortunately, this had “hard” results for me. At least twice, I went on over the jump without Eddie!

The lesson learned – always look where you are going. When riding to a jump, look up and over it and onto the next one and past that one . . . . When I looked down at the jump, he didn’t nowhere to go. Being rather old and disinclined to work, he was more than happy to stop until I figured it out!

In the animal kingdom, there are a few means of protection. One is camouflage. If a predator can’t see you, he can’t eat you. Then there is fight. This one is typically the last resort for most animals. And there is flight. Horses are flight animals. They spook easily. In herds, there is always a lookout. They run if frightened.

This also played into the jumping. Eddie could tell if I was nervous or scared. Remember the string? My nervousness usually played out all over my body. When we came to a jump and I seemed unsure, Eddie decided (though he had jumped higher millions of times) that he wasn’t sure either. So, stopping and looking at the scary jump (that he could merely step over) made more sense than attempting it!

Look where you are going. Ride the next two jumps and not just the one in front of you.

I think this is biblical as well. I believe it is what Jesus did when He went to the cross. The Bible teaches us that Jesus died willingly for us. He chose to do it. But it also tells us that in garden the night He was arrested, He prayed that God would take this cup from Him. He felt enough anxiety about it that his sweat was like blood. Luke 22:44 says, “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” I read once that this means that he was feeling enough anxiety, anguish, that the stress caused the capillaries in his body to begin to break.

So, what kept Him from fleeing when He knew what was coming? Hebrews 12:2 says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” What is the joy set before Him? I think it is a couple of things. First, it was being reunited with His Heavenly Father. Second, it was looking down through time at me and you. We are the joy set before Him.

This week has been a rough one. I confess that I have been looking at the jumps and not past them. Sigh. There are so many hurdles: things at work, finances, relationships, loneliness . . . . I did okay Monday and Tuesday, but by Wed. I was falling apart. At one point at work, something came up that I had done to the best of my knowledge. (We’ll just say, my knowledge wasn’t good enough.) I ended up in tears. I’ve been working on my eating habits. One week of watching it and eating more fruits and vegetables (up to 4 servings in a day), helped me lose 3.5lbs in a week. This week, I did the same and lost less than a pound. I was clearly anticipating another 3.5! Not so. I had a conflict with a friend. My thoughts have turned repeatedly to things I don’t have but deeply long for rather than to being thankful for what I do have. Add to that, the woman’s monthly cycle. (I confess to as a teen and in my twenties thinking it was all in everyone’s head because it didn’t bother me. Then I hit 30 and now I’m only a year shy of 40 . . . . Well, it is NOT all in the head! I’m at those couple of days of I-know-it’s-coming-just-get-it-over-with!)

So, it has not been a good few days. Perhaps those things would have bothered me some anyway. But, I know that took my eyes off of Jesus. I looked at the jumps instead of at the prize. I looked at the jumps instead of my hope.

But today is a new day. I can regroup. I can refocus. I can fix my eyes on Jesus.

Oh, it has been a long hard day. I think it has been building, in spite my intentions of fixing my eyes on hope, the last few days. Please say a prayer for me. I ended up crying in the office today.  It was not one of my better moments. I’ve been given a task and then a customer complained and sometimes I feel like I haven’t gotten the training I need. So, when there was a very public discussion about the email the customer had sent, I started crying and beat a hasty retreat to the women’s room. Sigh. I hate that.

Part of it may be that earlier in the week I had to verify a document pertaining to Bill, my friend who died. Yuck. I actually had to data entry “deceased.” Sigh. His birthday is on Monday coming up. The week after is the 9 month anniversary of when he died. Yuck. So, I think that may be some of that. But I really hate that I lost it so publicly.

Please pray for me.

I am reading a book! I know, nothing “novel” . It’s called Exquisite Hope by Julie Ann Barnhill. My friend, Jill, gave it to me for Christmas. In the chapter I just finished, she asked that people survey their book shelves because she thinks that it says something about the person. I thought I would adapt it a bit. (I don’t have time to pull all the books in boxes out!). What books influenced you at various points in your life (fiction or not)? Which ones stand out and why?

Post it on your site and let me know and I will stop by. I think it might be interesting!

Here’s mine:

Elementary School:

• The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgeson Burnett. I don’t know how many times I read it, but it was pretty dog eared. I think I related to Mary a lot. Not so much that I was spoiled or contrary but that I was deeply lonely. I always dreamed of a secret place all my own! And I so wanted a friend like Dickon.
• The Family Nobody Wanted by Helen Doss. This is a true story. It actually belonged to my cousin. But every time I went to her house, I read it, borrowed it. I loved it. Looking back it may not be the best written. It is a true story about a Methodist minister and his wife who adopted 12 children — 10 considered unadoptable because of mixed parentage. It was first published in 1954. At some point, there was  LIFE magazine article about the family They may have only had 8 or 9 at the time. I remember finding it at the library. I loved that it was true. I imagined being wanted so much. I imagined someday doing the same.
• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson. I loved the friendship between the children here. Though, it was a very sad tale . . . . I wanted that kind of friendship. I longed for it.

Junior High:

• To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I’m not sure what drew me here, but I liked the writing. I liked Scout. I wished I had her spunk.
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. I dreamed of being one of those children – preferably Lucy. My fear was that I was Susan or would be Susan in the end. I loved the analogies in it and I’m looking forward to the next movie.

High School:

• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This may be one of the few classics that I enjoyed. It is about Hester who has a child out of wedlock in a Puritan society. She has to wear a scarlet letter “A” for Adultery. It’s about her daughter, Pearl. It’s about the minister who can’t forgive himself. I think I was drawn by Hester’s determination and Pearl’s joy of life. Though I didn’t know it then, I think I related to the minister, feeling that there were things that I could not forgive myself for or that God could forgive me for. I’m glad I was wrong about that.
• On the Beach by Nevile Shute. I don’t think I actually read this more than twice. However, it stands out because I was brought up not to cry. (I cry a little too freely now!) But at the time, we didn’t cry. I remember sitting in tears on the floor of my room as I read the last couple chapters. It is an old book — 1950′s. It’s about a nuclear bomb and the population of Australia knowing that the radioactivity will eventually reach them.

Adulthood:

• Knowing God by J.I. Packer. In my view, Packer is a modern day theologian. I love the thought that Christianity is more about being known by God than knowing Him! This is a very deep read. I read it a few times, but usually in a study with others.
• Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent by Ben Patterson. The thought from this book that always stands out to me is that it doesn’t matter so much to God where we are at in the journey so much as that we are on the journey.
• Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. This is a newer book. It’s a fictional account of a town in England that had the plague. They chose to shut the town off — not leave or have anyone come in – rather than spread the plague. It’s a book of hope, but no necessarily Christian – particularly at the end. But I still enjoyed it a lot!
• My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Piccoult. I like many of her books, but this is my favorite and one that I come back to again and again. I love the way she writes. I love the character of Anna and her outlook on life. I love how Jodi explores the many questions of life and death.
• Faith on the Edge:Daring to Follow Jesus by numerous people but can be found under Paul Tokanauga as the principle editor. This one isn’t so much on the list because it is a great read (though I think it is good), but more because it shaped me because I was a contributing author. There were 6 of us who wrote it. We each wrote 4 chapters. We were selected for our diversity — Asian, African American, Caucasian, male & female, younger and older, . . .  It was a discipleship experience for me. Writing is such a way of thinking for me! It was a growing experience. I loved it. It is my one claim to fame!

So what have been your favorites over the years, ones that stand out through time? How have they shaped you?