Summer holds a special place in the lives of children. They are on break from school and their days expand for new opportunities and adventures – vacation with family, camp experiences in the outdoors, or simply more time to explore other hobbies and interests. Summer is a time of excitement as memories are made.
As an adult, the positive association may still be present, but there is no “summer break” for those with jobs and responsibilities. The days continue as usual with the mundane demands that are a reality in life. But adults, like children, need a time of rest to be recharged and to receive a renewed perspective. In our faith, this is true as well, since believers who have been running the race for many years may have lost that initial spark of fervor when they first placed faith in Christ, a summer season of the soul when everything appeared fresh and they soaked in the presence of their Lord as much as a kid at play under the sun.
How can an adult recapture that sense of awe while also striving for greater maturity?
Although there are many ways to find rest amid the hectic hustle of daily life, reading good books is a significant step toward maturity and renewed vision. In the company of good books, we encounter other Christians and their stories, which can give us strength to keep running the race of faith and to see with fresh eyes what truly matters. We might be surprised by the way a single book can impact our lives, meeting us at the place where God knew we would need the words.
Consider using the following summer reading list to refresh and reignite your faith. Some of the titles here are older books, others contemporary, but each has the capacity to transform our focus if we are willing to spend some time walking in the company of those who have also strived for greater connection with the living Lord. Through reading, we are reminded that growing in love for Jesus is a grand adventure that extends far beyond summer break.
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1. A Chance to Die by Elisabeth Elliot
I read this book during a summer missions course for college. The class required every student to read the biography of a missionary and write a paper about that person’s life. Little did I know at that time how much I would need the story of Amy Carmichael’s life.
During that summer, much of my time was spent at the hospital for weekly iron infusions since I suffered from anemia. Each week, I would struggle with fear and dread of my levels dropping again, and I wondered if my health would ever be the same. Amid those hardships, I read A Chance to Die by Elisabeth Elliot about the missionary work of the spirited Irish-born Amy Carmichael, who served in India and rescued many children from temple prostitution. Though it may seem strange to take comfort in such a book, I found within Amy someone who persevered despite hardships. She, too, had faced loss at a young age, as I had, and her health was nowhere near perfect. In fact, she was rejected by a mission board because of her poor health. And during the final years of her life, she was confined to her bed after a fall. Even in those latter years, she worked in service to Christ, writing the spiritual classics that continue to impact believers today. If God could use a woman like that, then surely, He could also use people like me, who struggle with health issues.
This book takes readers to Japan and India, where Amy Carmichael served. We encounter alongside her the hot climate, the unique cultures, and even a demon-possessed man. However, the main thread woven throughout the story of her life is a steadfast trust in the Lord. As Amy had learned from the example of her mother, “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him” (Nahum 1:7, NIV).
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2. Conformed to His Image by Kenneth Boa
Another book that journeyed with me through a summer was Kenneth Boa’s academic, yet accessible, Conformed to His Image: Biblical, Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation. This textbook-sized work was assigned as required reading during a seminary course, which would probably make some students classify it as merely school-related reading. However, I found the book intriguing because of its discussion of Christian practices that are used for spiritual growth – well-known practices like Bible reading and prayer, but also disciplines such as silence and solitude, meditation, spiritual journaling, and celebration.
These disciplines are more than just practices we do; they are rhythms that we engage in to become more like our Savior, for it is our destiny, as Scripture says, “to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29, NKJV). We can submit to this work of God in us by opening ourselves up to be attentive to Him and living with a focus on eternity.
Since this book is larger than others in this list, do not feel pressured to rush through it to completion. Engagement with the discussion questions is vital, as is the lived experience of practicing the disciplines in your own life, both of which require time. Also, thinking deeply about Boa’s observations and comments on the different aspects of spirituality will prove more beneficial than a casual perusal. Making this a summer-long read, taken one section at a time, is a wise choice for those who desire refreshment in their walk with Christ.
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3. Reclaiming Quiet: Cultivating a Life of Holy Attention by Sarah Clarkson
Quiet is often thought of as an absence of noise. Sarah Clarkson’s beautifully written book, Reclaiming Quiet, helps clarify this understanding by showing how quiet can occur even in the hectic moments of our lives because it is much more about a Person. We can enter a quietness of soul by being attentive to the Lord and His ever-constant presence in our lives.
Using a combination of personal stories, Scripture, and insights from literature, Sarah invites us to consider what quiet looks like and the gifts it can provide. Each chapter has a prayer and a set of reflection questions that assist readers in better engaging with the material and thinking about how the concepts can impact their lives. And certainly, there are no areas of life left untouched by the practice of quiet.
Throughout the book, readers will find references to other works of literature, which is to be expected by those who are familiar with Sarah Clarkson’s work. She has a skill for gleaning spiritual insights from stories and using them to illustrate truth. I especially enjoyed her comparison of imagination to the Wise Woman’s cottage in The Wise Woman (also known as The Lost Princess) by George MacDonald. Sarah’s books have propelled me to greater reading since she recommends many wonderful works – an important note for readers searching for more stories with depth and insight.
Also, for those who have ever struggled through times of doubt, health crisis, hardship, or loss, this book provides a beautiful reminder of Christ’s presence in those experiences. Her chapter on grief has given words to what I feel during times of quiet and how sorrow often wells up because it is usually suppressed by noise. To allow space for that grief and to lament, as God invites us to do, is a gift – something that all of us need, especially after experiencing loss.
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4. Becoming Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn
Elisabeth Elliot was known as the biographer of many people, including Amy Carmichael, as noted in this list. So, it is fitting to include the first part of the authorized biography about Elliot’s life by Ellen Vaughn. Written from a place of careful research and keen insight, Vaughn tells the early story of Elisabeth, or Betty as she was fondly called by those who loved her, extending from her childhood to the days after she became a widow. Readers come away with many important observations about faith, obedience, and endurance in the face of loss.
When I read this book, I was instantly drawn into Elisabeth’s world. The story of how her father loved bird calls and assigned each child a special call was fascinating, as was the detail about the influence of the King James Version’s language on the Howard family. As readers are brought into Elisabeth’s story, we follow along as she attends Wheaton College and trains to achieve her goal of becoming a Bible translator. There, she meets Jim Elliot, and their tumultuous relationship ensues. Eventually, as most readers know, they marry, but only after they had each started serving in Ecuador, and Jim had struggled with issues of singleness and marriage in mission work.
The book contains jungles that threaten to consume its inhabitants, acts of sacrifice for the cause of Christ, and the decision by a woman to choose to extend forgiveness in the face of great suffering. Elisabeth Elliot’s story reminds us of the life-changing power of the gospel.
Note: The second part of the biography, Being Elisabeth Elliot, is worth reading as well, though many will find it more difficult because it challenges many of the perceptions that people hold about this beloved Christian woman. I personally found Vaughn’s honesty refreshing and appreciated how she showed grace when dealing with the more difficult areas.
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5. Something Needs to Change by David Platt
David Platt had experienced a journey of a lifetime through the Himalayas that left him burdened for the people who lived there in physical and spiritual poverty. After what he had seen, he could not just return home as normal. For there were still people dying from preventable illnesses, children being sold as slaves, and individuals held in spiritual bondage to the forces of darkness. How could he return home and act as if nothing had happened? Everything was different now.
His trip led him to write Something Needs to Change: An Urgent Call to Make Your Life Count in a World of Urgent Need, which differs from his other books in regard to format. Since he cannot take everyone on such a trip, he brings his story to us, leading us through the days of his journey, showing us what he saw during that transformative week. We follow along as he treks through the mountains and encounters the secluded, hard-to-reach villages. As we follow along, our eyes are opened to the harsh realities of life for the people in the Himalayas.
As Christians, we can sometimes make the unhelpful delineation between caring for spiritual needs and helping people with physical needs. Lots of Christians view physical needs – like health care, food, and shelter – as unspiritual and therefore not a concern for the church. As this book shows, however, the delineation is unneeded. We must work to help those who are suffering in material and spiritual poverty. As 1 John 3:17 reminds us, “If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?” (NLT).
This book can bring refreshment in the form of a renewed vision. Platt urges all of us to heed the call to do the hard work of taking up our cross and following Jesus, including into the dark places where people are hurting and without hope.
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6. Devotional Classics edited by Richard J. Foster and James Bryan Smith
Sometimes what we need for strengthened faith is not a new book, but an old one. Or in this case, a contemporary one that contains the writings of people from the past. We can learn a lot from Christians who have gone before us, as their words can encourage as well as convict.
Lots of the writers included in this collection, brought together by Renovaré, are time-tested guides into the deeper avenues of faith, who invite us to join them and learn alongside their ancient wisdom. This includes writers like Martin Luther, Augustine, Julian of Norwich, C. S. Lewis, John Bunyan, Thomas à Kempis, and many more. The goal of using their writings is the same: to help us become more like Christ.
What caught my eye about this collection, as I was browsing among the endless piles at a used bookstore, was that it contained selections from devotional classics. I had been searching for copies of works by these authors and so bought the collection to begin my study. What I was given, though, was much more than I expected since the editors thoughtfully curated the selections and included questions for careful meditation.
As readers are introduced to beloved authors, as well as new friends, they encounter areas of faith they may not have fully considered before. For me, this area was justice. I read the selection of writings by John Woolman, about his realization that many of the items he had purchased (and other Christians had purchased as well) came from sweatshops, places where laborers were treated poorly. His conviction over Christ was rejected because His followers were supporters of injustice made me think of my own consumption habits. Through regular shopping for items (groceries, other necessities, and wants), was I also supporting causes that brought shame to the name of Christ? I started researching modern-day sweatshops and learned about the injustice of slave labor. This selection of reading made me aware of how my faith can, and should, impact how I interact with the world of commerce. What we do with our resources matters.
This is a book to study slowly with intention and an openness to be transformed by Christ-centered writings.
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7. Heaven by Randy Alcorn
If we are looking for a summer of excitement and renewed hope, then a great book to read is Randy Alcorn’s Heaven. Readers will learn more about their eternal home and the adventures that await them there. As Alcorn shows us, based on Scripture, the New Heaven and New Earth (the eternal heaven) is our ultimate hope and home, and there, we will continue to do all the activities that we love most – feast with family and friends, enjoy God’s creation, travel, and engage in productive, God-honoring work. For the person who was never able to visit a specific location, he or she will get to explore a renewed creation. Or the artist who was never able to complete a beloved project – all eternity is available to work on that project for the glory of the Lord.
Within this large and thoroughly researched work, Randy Alcorn provides a much-needed corrective to the view among many Christians that we will spend eternity as disembodied spirits. Our Lord was resurrected and is forever alive, the firstfruits of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:23). Believers will also be resurrected in physical bodies to live on a restored earth with our God and Savior, enjoying Him forever. Such is the teaching of Scripture: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God” (Revelation 21:3, NIV). Randy Alcorn reminds us of this truth.
Focusing our thoughts on our eternal home and getting excited about living forever with our Lord refreshes our faith.
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Originally published Thursday, 29 May 2025.