The Priddy Family Summer Reading Program

I never was much of a reader. But I did get excited, in elementary school, when the book fair would come. I would walk away with a new book on Michael Jordan, Penny Hardaway or the latest from the Goosebumps series book by R.L. Stine. I managed to accumulate quite the library of Goosebumps but hardly read any of them (I liked the covers). I also remember the books that gave you all the stats and player profiles on lots of sports stars. Some of these even included the players address so that you could write to them. Now that I think of it those books seem some what stalkerish. My lack of reading continued throughout middle school as it consisted of the required reading for class such as, Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls and The Giver by Louis Lowry. Any outside reading was done through Sports Illustrated and ESPN the magazine, which usually meant looking at the pictures and reading an occasional article. In high school I started to take minimal interest in reading during my junior and senior years, mainly through the writing of C.S. Lewis. The sports theme also continued as I would read books about Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods. One of my most enjoyable high school reading experiences came when I was given three days of in school suspension. I would spend the first half of the day getting my assignments finished from class. Because talking and sleeping were not permitted, reading seemed like a decent option for the rest of the day. During this time I read The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, which made the time spent in ISS worth it. Once I began college I found my desire for reading starting to increase but found myself unable to balance reading for school and reading for pleasure. This made Christmas break and the Summer the only time that I would attempt to read anything outside of school. But towards the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008, my senior year of college, something clicked. My desire for books began to increase and I found myself able to to balance both school work and reading outside of class. I think three things played into this equation. 1. I was a newly wed and now that I was living with Laura I no longer spent my free time watching endless hours of Sports Center reruns and playing video games. 2. I realized that when I get to choose the books, I enjoy reading much more than when I am forced to read something. and 3. I read good books that left me wanting more once I finished them. The two books that played a huge role in my life during this time were Knowing God by J.I. Packer and The Reason For God by Tim Keller. Both of these books not only got me hooked on reading but also deepened my faith in Christ. These two books helped me to know and understand more of the the just and holy character of God in ways that I never had before. My new found love for reading even inspired me to begin the Gladstone Book Club last spring, which is still up and running in Murfreesboro, TN. Reading has become a big part of my life and I only see this continuing in the years to come. These days I find my self reading three or four different books at the same time. Never would I have thought that I would come from my days of Goosebumps to the level that I now enjoy reading. So in the spirit of summer reading, I have created the Priddy Summer Reading Program for Laura and I. My plan is for this to become a tradition every summer, and when the kids come along they will have a list too. This summer we have nine different categories and with in these categories we each have different books that we have to read. Each category has a deadline for the book to be read by to keep us on track. The categories are listed below with the book that I am reading first and Laura's book second.

1. Children's Ministry (something that will benefit our children's ministry at Jacob's Well) May 18- May 24 Big Truths for Young Hearts by Bruce Ware, Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp

2. Biography May 25- June 5 The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama, Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett

3. Hot-button Issue June 6- June 15 The Case for Life by Scott Klusendorf, Embryo: A Defense For Human Life by Robert P. George and Christopher Tollefsen

4. Fiction June 16- June 30 The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

5. Children's Books (We will be reading these together) July 1- July 5 Pastor Daddy by Lindsey Blair and Bobby Gilles, This is No Fairy Tale by Dale Tolmasoff, Tell Me About Heaven by Randy Alcorn, John Calvin by Simonetta Carr, Do You Want a Friend by Noel Piper, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, Martin Luther by Paul L. Maier, Dangerous Journey: The Story of Pilgrim's Progress by Oliver Hunkin, The King Without A Shadow by R.C. Sproul, Sammy and His Shepherd by Susan Hunt

Break July 6- July 15

6. Theology July 16- August 5 Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton, Desiring God by John Piper, Knowing God by J.I. Packer, Systematic Theology (selected chapters) by Wayne Grudem

7. Marriage August 6- August 15 God, Marriage, and Family by Andreas J. Kostenberger, Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas,

8. New Atheists August 16- August 23 god is not Great by Christopher Hitchens, Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris

9. New Jersey August 24- August 31 The Soprano State by Bob Ingle and Sandy McClure, It Happened in New Jersey by Fran Capo.

So I encourage you to go pick up a book and start reading. Here are some thoughts and suggestions on the reading of books, that I have found helpful, from Al Mohler. My favorite suggestion is number 6. "Write in your books; mark them up and make them yours. Books are to be read and used, not collected and coddled. Invent your own system or borrow from another, but learn to have a conversation with the book, pen in hand." There is still much of summer left for reading so take some time to edify your soul through the written word.

-rtp