20 Authors Who Have Radically Impacted My Life {Part 2}

Yesterday I began a two-part post on authors who have radically impacted my life.  If you missed the first ten, you can catch up here.  Here's the rest of the list:

11. John G. Paton. Another oddish addition to this list, John G. Paton wasn't really an author, but a missionary. However, several years ago when our friend Andy spoke on Paton at church camp, I was hit right between the eyes with several things he shared about Paton, and I immediately downloaded his autobiography on my Kindle. This is another one that I need to devote a whole post to, but let me just say that what he writes about his parents convicted me strongly in my parenting.

12. Elyse Fitzpatrick. I haven't read nearly as much of her writing as I want to, but I have a whole slew of her books on my "to read" list. I first encountered her through a great deal of "buzz" online about her book Give Them Grace. It's one of the few Kindle books I've ever actually just paid full price for, and it was well worth it. Another paradigm-changer for me.

13. Mary Pride. I don't know how many in the current generation of homeschoolers are even familiar with this name, but in the days before the internet and the explosion of homeschooling materials over the past couple of decades, Mary Pride was a major voice in the "homeschool movement" (which thankfully has progressed past being a "movement", such as it was, to just being a lifestyle.) 

Although I don't agree with everything she writes (which would probably be true to some degree for almost everyone on this list), her books were dramatic eye-openers for me as a high school and college student. Her book The Child Abuse Industry caused me to look at the child protection field with a deeply thoughtful eye, which would be of tremendous help years later when I found myself working in that very field, and again even later when our family found ourselves dealing in a much more personal and unexpected way with that field when we were touched by a traumatic crime.

Even more than her writing on child abuse, her writing on the family, and particularly on women's roles (The Way Home, and All the Way Home), was worldview changing for me. Although I don't agree with everything she has to say on the subject, her writing was courageous and challenging in a time when few (even in Christian circles) were encouraging women Biblically in their roles as wives and mothers.

14. Elizabeth George. Elizabeth George is a prolific writer, and to be honest, I haven't read nearly enough of her books. I own several, and have a number on my "to read" list, but just haven't made it to many of them. However, her book Loving God with All Your Mind  was one that God used in a mighty way in a difficult time in my life. Her challenge to replace the false thoughts that so often fill our minds with the truth of Scripture was simple but life-altering.

15. Corrie ten Boom.  I'm not totally sure when my intense interest in all things World War II and the Holocaust began, but I suspect it was probably about the time our church did a massive and amazing stage performance of The Sound of Music when I was in grade school.  I devoured every book I could find on that time period.  Corrie ten Boom's The Hiding Place was one of those early reads.  I later read everything else I could get my hands on that she had written.  One of my favorites, however, wasn't written by Corrie, but about her: Corrie ~ The Lives She's Touched, by Joan Winmill Brown.  Reading about the experiences of Corrie and her family ~ suffering on a level most of us cannot even dream of ~ impacted my young life in a huge way.  God's grace and glory in sustaining their faith through such horror was and still is totally amazing. 

16. Randy Alcorn. His blog and social media posts are a regular source of encouragement to me these days, but his physically weighty book, If God is Good, tackles a spiritually and emotionally weighty topic with Biblical truth and grace. For anyone struggling with the subject of suffering...this is a must-read.

17. Bruce Ware. I first encountered Bruce Ware's books when I found myself struggling to write a book review of a book with which I had major theological differences. In researching further, I discovered Bruce Ware's book,Their God is Too Small. If you ever need a good theological answer to open theism, grab it. It's short but powerful. Around that same time, I discovered that Ware had also written (among other things) a book on doctrine for children, Big Truths for Young Hearts. We have worked our way through it as our Bible curriculum for school, finishing it just last week. Let me just say that this should be required reading not only for children and youth, but also for adults. I'm planning to review it fully soon, but for now I'll just say it is the best, most complete, most understandable book on theology in volume I've ever seen.

18. Reb Bradley. I debated adding Reb Bradley to this list. I heard him speak many years ago, listened to some of his (and his wife Beverly's) audio materials, and read some of their writings over the years. However, none of that was cause for his inclusion on this list. His inclusion on this list comes solely from an article he wrote a few years ago titled "Homeschool Blindspots". I read it when he first wrote it, and read it again just recently when it began making its way through the social media circuit again. Having been involved in the world of homeschooling for over 28 years now (how is that possible???), I think this may well be one of the most important pieces of writing ever for homeschooling parents (and maybe for Christian parents in general.) Thus his inclusion on this list. Planning a more complete post on this topic soon.

19. Scotty Smith. I have a couple of Scotty Smith's older books, written with Steven Curtis Chapman, in hard copy, and his Everyday Prayers compilation on Kindle. Scotty Smith makes the list, however, due to his daily posts on his blog, Heavenward. I can't tell you how often God has used his beautiful and Biblical prayers to encourage, challenge, and convict me.

20.  Joni Eareckson Tada.  Like Corrie ten Boom, Joni's faith and the overwhelming faithfulness of God seen in her life impacted me hugely as an older child and young adult.  Her book A Step Further was especially influential in those years. 



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Missed part 1?  Find it here. 

Who are some of the most influential authors in your life?  Share a few in the comments, please!  

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