I’m currently listening to Greg Harris’ Time Management Seminar, and one of the wise points he makes is that there are seasons in each of our lives. For men, birth to the birth of their first child is the season of study and preparation. Next comes the season of productivity when they are working and raising their children. Then the season of elder-ship when they are “elding” in the church. And finally the season of statesmanship. We often get these seasons mixed up. But another problem I see…is that we often add another season that doesn’t belong there. The season of entertainment. And it usually falls in those years that are supposed to be “study and preparation.” No wonder we have a lot of grown up children running around.
I was impressed a few years ago when I heard that Greg had challenged his teen aged boys to read a bunch of books one summer. Not just any books. Life changing books. The result? Those two boys started the Rebelution.
So I decided to give my boys a reading list that summer. Sam was 15 and Phillip was 13. I picked some great books (I’ll be posting a list HERE soon) and gave them two weeks to read one book. By the end of that summer they had read 6 excellent books. These were not the kind of books that teen boys naturally reach for, but I think it is the parent’s responsibility to whet their appetite for those kinds of books. I do not subscribe to the modern day thinking that just because it has a front and back cover with some pages of writing in between, that it qualifies as a positive experience for my children. (“But they are READING!!! Isn’t that what’s most important?” Bah!) There’s a lot of trash out there. I want my children to know what is good…and what is not….and to be hungry…and delighted….by excellence.
So a couple weeks ago I was listening to Doug and Beall Phillips Family Strategies seminar, and found out that Doug had challenged his congregation (and family) to read a book a week that year. 52 books. One year.
Now the boys likely read that many books in a year during the school year because of the curriculum we use (Tapestry of Grace), BUT…this gave me the green light to have my boys read a book a week this summer!! So now I had to come up with 12 great books for them to read. So here’s my list for this summer:
1. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
2. Affliction by Edith Schaeffer
3. The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell
4. College Without High School by Blake Boles
5. The God Who is There by Francis Schaeffer
6. Escape From Reason by Francis Schaeffer
7. He is There and He is Not Silent by Francis Schaeffer
8. The Sovereignty of God by A.W. Pink
9. How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler
10. Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy
11. Know Why You Believe by Paul Little
12. The Deadliest Monster by J.F. Baldwin
13. How to Read Slowly by James W. Sire
OK…so there’s 13. We plan to get an early start!
In addition to these books, they will be required to listen to the Biblical Economics course by R.C. Sproul Jr. and some other teachings via CD and DVD that I’m collecting for them. My boys love film making…and love to watch and analyze films. We have a clear player so that we can eliminate trash. One of the conditions for watching a film is that they have to watch or listen to something excellent…like a Vision Forum teaching on CD or a documentary or whatever…for each film they want to watch and analyze. They are quite content with this arrangement and have grown accustomed to reading/listening/watching good things. They enjoy it! They are learning so much…and you can actually have an intelligent, adult conversation with them at the ages of 17 and 15. (Personally, I think they are wiser than most adult evangelicals I know. )
This does not take a whole lot of effort on my part. It is just a really easy way of getting some wise mentors (books) into the lives of your children. And it is extremely effective.
Join the conversation! What are some good books YOU would recommend for summer reading for kids or even women?
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