Our Favorite Summer Reads, with Korrie Johnson and Betsy Childs Howard

Read this, not that. It’s time to build your summer reading list! Hear great book swap ideas from The Good Book Mom and join the summer reading challenge. Betsy Childs Howard also joins us to share about a secret weapon that will help your family grow in Christ.

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Episode Notes

Polly and the Screen Time Overload by Betsy Childs Howard

Nancy’s Favorite Biographies

For your gift of any amount, receive (Un)remarkable: Ten Ordinary Women Who Impacted Their World for Christ

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Erin Davis: Well, whether it's lounging in a hammock, which I love to do, or floating in the pool, which I love to do even more, there's something about summer. And here's the news this morning, summer is on its way. I know that for sure because I got a lightning bug last night. So that's the surest sign. But there's something about summer that invites us to enjoy a good book. I'm Erin Davis, and this is Grounded.

Dannah Gresh: I'm Dannah Gresh. Yes, lightning bugs already in Missouri?

Erin: Yes! 

Dannah: I'm so jealous; we do not get them until almost the Fourth of July. But I'm going to trust you that it's on its way. You know who else is on the way? The Good Book Mom is here to help you build a summer reading list for your family. It's going to help you read great books that will keep you grounded in God's truth. 

Erin: I love this. We do. We do a summer reading list every year at my house. So, I'm glad to do it with some forethought this time. We're also going to give you the inside scoop on what's on each of our summer reading lists, and the books that we think should be on your list this summer.

Dannah: That's what's up today. First, we need some good news. Take it away my friend, Portia.

Portia Collins: I am happy to do so. Well, I want to tell you about a secret weapon to help the people in your family grow in Christ. In fact, it's probably in your home right now. Betsy Childs Howard is our good news correspondent. She is here to tell you about it. Betsy, welcome back.

Besty Childs Howard: Thank you. It's great to be back with you.

Portia: Yes, so excited to have you. Now look, I'm gonna jump straight into it. You call storytime “family discipleship’s secret weapon.” What? Like, what's up with it? What do you mean?

Betsy: Well, when we think of family discipleship and teaching your children about the things of Christ, we usually think about reading the Bible, memorizing Scripture, singing songs. And all of that is a huge part of family discipleship. But it really should happen around the clock, as long as we're awake. 

And one great way is to make that discipleship happen in a more indirect way. You know, the reading of the Bible is a very direct way to disciple. An indirect way is when you read stories with your kids, and I'm not talking about just little kids. I'm talking about older kids, as well as reading books on their own. I hope still read aloud to your children after they can read. Good books provide excellent discussion points to help families talk about the things of God, talk about the world, and how and what a Christian worldview says about different issues—without it feeling like you're preaching to your children.

Portia: Yeah. So, would you say that this is only true if we stick to reading just the Bible or Christian books?

Betsy: Not at all. I think actually reading fiction, reading even secular books, is a great time for this to happen. I'm sure most parents who've taken their children to the library have had the experience of their child picking up a book that presents a worldview very different from God's view. And I think, one way to disciple your children is to look at that book, maybe even read it together. If they're old enough, talk about why it isn't teaching what God teaches. So even some negative things like that can be an opportunity for discipleship.

As well as other books that just teach children about the way the world works. Many of them, if they are true, if they are speaking the truth, there's something in Scripture probably that aligns with that. And you can talk about that in the moment as you read the book, you can also talk about it later. You can say, “Remember when we read this story, and this happened?” That gives children a set of stories and images in their heads to better understand the world?

Portia: Yes, see, and this is why you're our good news today. Because we all have books in our houses. If you've ever anybody who comes to my house, the first thing they're probably gonna notice is I have a lot of books. Okay, a lot of books. I'm probably a book hoarder, but don't tell my husband. 

So many of us we already have something in our homes that we can use to disciple others. And that is great news. I'm so happy about what you just said, that it's not limited to just Christian books or or the Bible. We can use whatever we have as teaching points and opportunities to disciple.

Betsy: It doesn't have to be planned. 

Portia: Yes, one of the fun things is we have story time every night. It's not planned. It's because she says let's have story time. No, like, I love this. I love this. Well, this episode is all about recommending great books. So what is one book that is on your must read list?

Betsy: Oh, that's a great question, for children?

Portia: Anybody?

Betsy: Okay, so if you're looking for a great novel to read this summer, this book is more than twenty years old, but it's one that I recommend often: Peace Like A River by Lief Enger. It's a wonderful, fictional story. There's all kinds of themes of faith in it. If you want to read something aloud to your teenagers, this might be something you do, or you read it for yourself. It's one of those books. It's a great example of fiction. That will start great conversation.

Portia: Perfect. Well, speaking of books, you've written one called Polly and the Screentime Overload. Where can people find that?

Betsy: You can find it anywhere books are sold, your local independent bookstore, Amazon, if you want to go to The Gospel Coalition www.tgc.org/poly, that will take you to several places you can buy it. It's a picture book for children to help them start thinking about the way we use screens long before they're making their own decisions.

Portia: Perfect. Thank you for being with us today, you are always a joy.

Betsy: Thank you, Portia. It's always good to be on.

Dannah: I loved having her wow. You know, I remember when my daughter was in high school, one of my daughter's said that everybody was reading a book, that I just I mean, no way, not going to happen. And this went on year after year after year. And finally she said, “Mom, I can't even have reasonable faith-based conversations with these friends if I don't know what's in the book. And so I said, “Let's read it.” We went out for ice cream. We unpacked it. And that girl was able to discern what was good and what was evil. She was able to move on and have really faith-forming conversations with her friends. 

So, I love what she said. Sometimes you go into places that you don't really want to, and that can be a discipleship tool, too. 

Well, I feel like we're already getting grounded in the God's people, but let's keep it up. Last summer I was scrolling through social media on Instagram. I found a review of one of my books, Lies Girls Believe. And of course, I clicked on it, because I wanted to see what this reviewer said. I discovered one of my favorite followers, Good Book Mom. I joined over 16,000, who keep an eye on this woman's discerning thoughts about the books we put into the minds and hands of our children and grandchildren. I discovered that following her has made me more mindful about what I put into my own mind on my own bookshelf. So, I knew then that I wanted to share her with as many people as I could. So friends, meet Korrie Johnson. Hello, Korrie. Good morning.

Korrie Johnson: Good morning. Thank you so much for having me. That is quite the welcome.

Dannah: I'm so thrilled to finally get to talk to you face to face. Korrie, why does it matter that we read the right kind of books?

Korrie: Oh, you know, it matters for kids. It matters for adults. Scripture is clear when we think about Philippians 4:8, “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, honorable,” and then he goes on to list all of these things: just, pure, lovely, commendable, if anything is excellent, think about these things. 

And so, we want to take that seriously. What we put in front of us affects us. We connect so much to stories. And so, when we read things, they impact us. If somebody says, “Oh, I want to tell you a story,” immediately, you pick up and you want to hear the story. We connect with stories. And so, they impact us more than we realize. God knew that. That's why He gave us instruction in His Word, what to put in front of us, to be mindful of those things.

Dannah: That's right. Bob and I went to a musical on Broadway recently. It was one of the old, old musicals that would have been at the beginning of Broadway. It was just a remake of it. We felt so good afterwards. We looked at each other, and we said, “Wow, the media that we put into our minds today doesn't give us that feel-good feeling.” I think it turned up our discern-a-meter, if you will, to be like, let's be really careful about what we put in our minds. How do you when you're reading a book discern the merits of it?

Korrie:As somebody who reads a lot of kids books, I have to take a step back and think, “What's the goal of this book? Is it to convey biblical truth?” Then I'm going to have a much higher standard. I'm going to make sure that those things line up with Scripture.

If the goal is sort of a broader, biblical idea, sometimes I feel like if it doesn't fully communicate the gospel, but if the idea is like prayer, I have to realize what the goal of it is. If the goal is entertainment, then we have to think about where our children are at in their walk and their spiritual walk. Some kids are going to be ready to be introduced to worldly things alongside you earlier than others. Some you're gonna want to wait until later. As parents, God made you the parent of your child because you know what your child needs. 

And every child you have, if you have more than one, they're going to be different probably when they're going to be ready for those things. So, being aware of what your child is ready for.

Dannah: It is important to remember that we're not trying to raise monks. We're trying to raise kids that can be in the world but not of the world. That does mean that at some point they need to have an understanding of what's out there. Or when they do go out there and you're not there beside them to help them interpret and discern what is good and what is evil, they're not going to have that skill. Of course, one of the places where we encounter that purely entertainment effort is the area of fiction with summer vacation coming up. That means lots of us are looking for books to put in our beach bags. Some of them are for our own readings, some of them are for our children or grandchildren. 

I want to just jump on a soapbox. I think you're probably going to jump up here with me. I have a real concern that a lot of times moms and girls are just reading absolute junk that's really harmful for their mind. And the research really says that's bad for us. Do you agree? What's your opinion of fiction, and how it can form and shape us?

Korrie: Oh, I could not agree more. 

Dannah: You're jumping up? Come on up, girl. Get on the soapbox. 

Korrie: I am right there with you. This is something I feel very passionate about. And, yeah, fiction is tricky. And what I mean, depending on the age . . . If we're talking about teens and tweens, we're sort of approaching where we sort of tie in romance. And what's appropriate? What has what has been interesting is, in the past 50-100 years, people sort of viewed childhood as a time to be trained, to be taught in the things that we need to know. 

I want you to revel in your child, and we sort of embrace just reveling in irresponsibility, and not hard work, and being lazy. And this is reflected in the books that our kids are reading. And so, the culture is reflected in those books. 

I often feel like people think as long as my child is reading, “Great, whatever, they're reading. I'm just happy they're reading.” But the truth is, what they're taking in is really going to shape them. 

If they are constantly steeped in romance novels, that is going to affect the way that they see romance, the way that they see how things should be, because their mind is constantly in that boat. I'm on that soapbox with you. I think that's so important. 

Dannah: The research really indicates that when we read a fiction book, our brain doesn't really discern whether it's a real experience we're having, or whether it's a fantasy picture we're drawing in our head through what we're reading. Our brain doesn't know the difference. And so, it starts to experience that and think that's good. It's not just the romance novels that are after our daughters. But I think for our sons, like the Captain Underpants and the burp books and other bodily function books that we're thinking, Oh, this is a great book, my son's reading it because it's about body noises. 

But here's the thing. It's been long said that readers are leaders, right? Well, I don't want my son to be the leader of the burp patrol, right? I want him to be the leader of character. I want him to be a leader in things that are good. Just going back to that verse, you said in Philippians, whatever is good and lovely and pure and true, think on those things. 

All right, one of my favorite posts on your Instagram feed and when I introduced you to Erin Davis, she loved it too. It’s your swap post where you took popular categories of children's books and recommended better options. I was thinking we could maybe do a rapid-fire Grounded version of this. Are you up for that? 

Korrie: Yes, I am ready.

Dannah: Here we go. We're gonna test you here, Korrie. What if my kids or grandkids are like super into the superhero comics?

Korrie: Yes, a much better option would be the Action Bible. It is illustrated just like superhero comics, but it is the Bible. It's really well done. It’s kind of intense for some younger kids. But if your kids like superhero comics right up their alley.

Dannah: Love it. Okay, what if they're into one of the big, big, big things on the top of the Amazon list for kids. Right now is the Disney look and find. What's your recommended swap for that?

Korrie: There is this awesome series from the Good Book Company called Seek and Find, There's a New Testament version and an Old Testament version. They are just like the Disney ones, but you're going through Bible stories, and they are just adorable. I love it.

Dannah: Love it. Okay, what if I have a kid who is a science geek? They like those science experiment books.

Korrie: Yes, this one is Faith and Science with Dr. Fizzlebop. And there are 52. So, you could do one a week, 52 science experiments. But there's also a devotion built into as you're getting into Scripture, as you do a science experiment. It's so much fun.

Dannah: With a name like Dr. Fizzlebop, you cannot be going wrong there. I'm on it with you. Okay, but another thing I want to say about that is that when it comes to science, it's so important that we're making faith the foundation. 

All right, one more swap. There are a plethora of self-empowered books—you can do it, you're enough books—that are targeting our tween girls and teens. What would you recommend to replace those?

Korrie: Just hop at the library, and they're just all over the place. But New Growth press has this series called God Made Me. It tackles all these subjects. God made me for worship, God made me, God made all of me, God made boys and girls, which is controversial now. So many things pointing back to God as the source. 

Dannah: I love it. So good. All right, one last question. This month at Revive Our Hearts on our flagship podcast, we've been talking about the important role of biographies of Christian women. One of my favorite genres. There's so formative to my faith. Do you have a favorite biography or series of biographies to recommend for younger girls, younger women, little women?

Korrie: I don't have it to show you. But the Good Book Company has a series that's picture books. And it's called, Do Big Things for God. It's Christian women. It has Corrie ten Boom, Betty Green, and they're adding more and more. It's a newer series. That's a great one for little kids. And then for slightly older, there's Trailblazers from Christian Focus and Christian Heroes then and now from YWAM, and that's like 9- to 12-year-olds. They're just so many amazing women. God.

Dannah: Thank you so much for being with us today. Korrie, you have given us a lot of things to research.

Korrie: Thank you so much for having me. It was my great pleasure.

Dannah: You can find Korrie on Instagram,The Good Book Mom, or you can find her on her website, lso TheGoodBookMom. Erin, let's get grounded in God's Word.

Erin: Oh, man, I'm going to have to add a line item to the Davis family budget for new books. I think I'm going to start going by Dr. Fizzlebop, just to see how it works. 

One way we can often frame summer reading or reading in general . . . I hear this so often, I'm gonna say especially for most women, “It's my escape. I want something light and fluffy that I can just kind of check out and enjoy.” And reading can be that. I'm not putting that in the bad column at all. I love to fall into a good fiction book and kind of forget where I am. But I would submit to you today that reading can be more than that, that it is good for us to reclaim this idea that reading goes beyond enjoyment. It goes beyond something we just use as an escape. Reading is something we do because we value the biblical virtues of knowledge and wisdom. 

I loved what Korrie said about the shift in culture and how we just see childhood as these wonder years when really, God intends for them to be character building yours. And for that to happen, we have to really value knowledge and wisdom. 

It's not just because we don't just value them because our culture is decreasingly valuing our love for Christ. But culture values this virtue of being well-informed, Christian or non-Christian. If somebody seems well-informed, that's something that is impressive.

Usually in this segment, we want God's Word to pierce your heart. But God commands us to love Him with our heart, soul, mind and strength. 

So, I want to appeal to those beautiful minds of yours today Grounded viewers. And I want to read you Daniel chapter 1, verses 3 and 4. I'm reading from the ESV. 

“Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.”

Now, that feels like I'm extracting a passage out of nowhere, I'm sure. But you probably know this story. God's people, the Israelites, had disobeyed God for many, many generations. And he warned them that if they continued in their disobedience of his law, they would be taken captive. 

And in fact, they were. They were taken into captivity, the temple that they built under God's instruction was destroyed. And the temple was worse than destroyed. Really, the Babylonian culture had zero reverence or respect for Israel as Israel's God, the One True God, or their religious practices. 

So, they steal the holy artifacts, burn things to the ground. It’s an awful, awful time in history, so they didn't respect Yahweh, Israel's God. But they did see value in two virtues that we see right there in the text: knowledge and wisdom. 

It's fascinating to me that those are two separate things in Scripture. Go ahead, don't take my word for anything. Always look it up in the Bible for yourselves. Look through Ecclesiastes, look through Isaiah, look through Proverbs. Listed side by side like twins are knowledge and wisdom. 

So, they're connected, but they're not the same. Knowledge is the gaining of information. I can gain knowledge by reading a cookbook, which is one of my favorite things to read. When we read, we get knowledge, but wisdom is the wise, righteous application of that knowledge. We can only do it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us and is helping with that day by day. We can look around at those who did not know Jesus. We can find a lot of knowledge, a lot of information, too much information sometimes. But what we can't find is wisdom. 

What I want you to notice, though, here from Daniel 1 is that the king wanted to harvest from the Israelites he captured. It wasn't manual labor for this group of slaves. What he wanted to harvest was men who were endowed with knowledge, who are well read and skillful with wisdom. They knew their stuff, and they knew how to apply it. That's what the king wanted to harvest from his new captives. 

So, these two things. Knowledge, which is information about how the world works, that we gain through reading, and the depth that cannot be gained through YouTube. The righteous application of that wisdom will always be in demand and will always be appealing. 

Dannah had a soapbox; I have a soapbox of my own. We have given over higher education universities in particular to the worldview that is not grounded in Scripture, that is void of wisdom. One way Christians can be a light, one way we can engage our neighbors, one way that we can have conversations that are well thought out and interesting and doesn't just seem like we're making these blank statements that aren't grounded in anything, is by having knowledge and wisdom. We can show there is such a thing as thinking Christians. And one of the ways we can show that is by being prolific readers. All knowledge comes from God, and only God can help us apply it. 

So, here's what I'm proposing. I'm proposing intentional growth in the areas of knowledge and wisdom as a means to reach others for Jesus. And we get to grow along the way. 

So, here's the challenge that I want to issue you. You're gonna hear plenty of book titles already, today. You've already heard some. There are social media accounts like the Good Book Mom that can help you make good book choices and challenge you. But over the course of the summer months—June, July, and August, which we're rapidly heading into—I want you to read three books. That's a pretty low bar, a book a month. But I also want you to tell us what you’re going to read, because the whole reason that we're here, is to help you be grounded. Another way to think of that is to be deeply rooted. The more grounded you are in knowledge, that's information, the more God can grow your wisdom, that's application. 

So together, Grounded book club, we're gonna read one book a month over the summer, and we're going to talk to each other about it in the chats when we gather here each Monday. If you're with me, I want to know it. Drop a note that just says I'm in or tell us what you want to read.

Dannah: I’m in.

Erin: Alright, that's what I was gonna say. Who is in?

Portia: I’m in. 

Dannah: I'm in. Totally in. I love what you just shared Erin, it really challenged me. I remember when we walked, it was at the beginning of this year or last year (I don't know, my years are squeezing together, so blurry.) It was so fun, and now we're going to read it together. Yeah, love it.

Erin: I would say audiobooks count. So, we're listening to your books. That's great. You're still getting the information. 

Dannah: So, I can read and walk.

Erin: Love it. Well, reading it and walking are so much more fun when we do it together. So, like I said, I want to launch a Grounded summer book club. We don't all have to read the same book. But we're all reading. We're all growing together as a means of being informed, well educated, wise followers of Jesus. And we want to be those friends who always have a good book to pass along. So, my hosts have come ready with their book recommendations. Dannah, what's on your summer reading list? What are you going to tackle first?

Dannah: Well, I haven't read my summer reading list yet, Erin. So, I'm going to be very conservative about what I recommend. But one book that I feel like I've read enough of it that I can recommend it is a book titled Refresh. The subtitle is “Embracing a Grace Pace Life in a world of Endless Demands.” It's written by Shona and David Murray, who've been guests on our program before. So that's one reason why I feel like it could trust it. But I also read the first chapter on that Amazon look inside, and was riveted as Shona was so transparent about a time when she totally burned out. 

Listen to this first sentence on the back cover. It says, “Many women don't realize they're running at an insatiable pace until it hurts them physically, emotionally, and spiritually.” We've all been there right, too.

Erin: It's a good caveat that we haven't read these books yet. But actually, that's all part of learning this discernment. Hopefully you read something that challenges or stretches us.

So, you are welcome to tell us what book you want to read without fearing that we're going to judge you for it. We're going to practice those discernment muscles together. 

Portia, what about you? What's on your list?

Portia: Ya know, this is a really tough one for me. I love books, and I’ve got too many. I picked a reread. Do y’all reread books? I reread books?

Erin: Yes, I reread books. 

Dannah: Yes! If they stay in my bookshelf, that's because they're a reread. I have a lot of books on my bookshelf. If they don't stay on my bookshelf, they go to Goodwill, because, “No, not gonna read that again.” So, I do a lot of rereading.

Portia: Okay, perfect. I don't feel bad. So, I'm gonna go with this book that I read a couple of years ago, but I plan to reread this summer the Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn. 

Dannah: I love Randy Alcorn. 

Portia: Yeah, me too. Me too. It's just a good book, especially this kind of the season that me and Mikhail are in with wanting to be more wise with where we store up our treasure.

Erin: Love it. 

Dannah: I have read pieces of that book. I remember pieces of that book, because it was so profound in my life. Erin, what are you going to be reading this summer?

Erin: I love what Betsy said about reading with a spectrum of kids ages. I ran upstairs while you were interviewing Dannah, while you were interviewing our guests and grabbed what I'm reading to my boys right now. I'm reading this with my little two, Little Pilgrims Progress. It is beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. And it's not the old English version, which can be a little bit hard to get to through is well worded for modern kiddos. 

And then with my teenagers, I'm reading this, Who Am I and Why Do I Matter? So storytime at the Davis house is sacred and precious, and I will never give it up. They're going to be grown men. I'm going to be coming to their house to read to them. So that's what we're reading. And then I'm partway through this book right now Mother and Son the Respect Effect, I would say for any moms of boys a Five Star recommendation for me. Our girl Dannah Gresh is quoted in it, I discovered as I was reading it this weekend. But the one I'm dying to get to is this one, Give Me This Mountain by Dr. Helen Rosevere, who is a hero of mine. 

Dannah: Yeah. 

Erin: I absolutely adore her, but I've never read this book. So that’s all my summer.

Dannah: I'm intrigued. I want to read that book. 

Erin: I’ll pass it on. 

Dannah: Well, I have a feeling that everybody's already zoning out from us and filling up their Amazon cart. I know, I can see you're multitasking. I know it takes one to know one. Your Amazon cart is going to be very full after this episode. Another book we want you to consider is Nancy's favorite biographies. So, she has books to consider. She loves biographies as much as I do. And she has read Gladys Aylward, Amy Carmichael, Lilias Trotter and many others, and they are certainly going to inspire you. I'm going to drop a link in the show notes of where you can find a blog article that Revive Our Hearts that lists all of Nancy's Favorite biographies. Wouldn't you like to read along with her?

Portia: I know. That is so cool. So yeah, check out the link guys. But guess what? I've got a new Revive Our Hearts resource to recommend. It is (Un)remarkable: Ten Ordinary Women Who Impacted Their World for Christ. And guess what? You can't get this on Amazon. We will send it to you. Will you give a gift of any amount to the ministry this month? It is a Revive Our Hearts exclusive. I think it's a great addition to your summer reading list. 

Dannah: Me too.

Erin: Oh, man, I love our little, small-town library where I live. You can incentivize kids to read. You get to put your name in a box a certain number of times ,you can win a bike. I wish we had a version of that for Grounded. But I think what we gain is knowledge and wisdom. So, I'm excited to see what God does over the summer months as we all are reading and talking to each other about our reading. It's gonna be so fun. This is a great episode.

Dannah: It was a great episode. You know, next week's episode is going to be a little bit steamier 

Erin: A little PG-13.

Dannah: That’s right. We're gonna go from children's books and biographies to my friend, Dr. Juli Slattery. She will be here next week to talk about sex and the single girl.

Erin: The word is out there. 

Dannah: Yes, the word is out there. There it is. Be sure to come back if you're not single though. I'm going to share some biblical thoughts about a Christian woman's response to unmet longings which you don't have to be single to be experiencing.

Erin: I'm gonna just put my amen there and have no further comment.

Dannah: That's what you call wisdom the application of knowledge Erin Davis. Nicely done. Alright friends, let's wake up with hope together next week on Grounded.

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