My journey with books didn’t start today, I have been reading for over a decade, I just love reading books and while I have read some on recommendations, there are several others that I had to read firsthand for myself.

Reading is one of the ways in which we can get the information we need to be a better person that we have always wanted to be, it affords us the opportunity to see life and people through a different pair of eyes. It also gives us the opportunity to travel to places where our feet might never touch.

While the Bible still remains one book capable of transforming us from inside out, there are other books written by people who have gone through one experience or the other and have deemed it fit to documents their experiences and have them published to the world.

Let me share 10 great books that I have read overtime that you might also want to add to your personal library.

In no significant order, let’s dive into it!

1.     The Lady, Her Lover And Her Lord By T.D Jakes

This book is one of the books I consider life-transforming that I have ever read.

I read it first while I was in the university some eight years ago and the lessons are still with me ever since then. I first read it in the room of one of my campus executives and because of the great lessons I learnt in it, I went ahead to buy a copy for myself.

It talks about the relationship the lady is to have with herself, her lover and her lord.

It was in this book that I first saw that there are things only my Lord can do for me which my lover no matter how much he loves me can never do, and that putting that kind of burden on any man isn’t a good thing. 

There are so many lessons I learnt in the pages of that book that I believe your life will also appreciate if you can only pick up a copy to read.

You can get it for a little over One Thousand Naira or less if you’re in Nigeria. 

You can get it in any Christian bookshop, and if you reside in Lagos, you can pay a visit to Bible Wonderland in Surulere.

I can assure you that It will be a worthy investment as the book is worth every Naira you’ll sped on it.

2.     Beautiful In God’s Eyes By Elizabeth George

This is yet another great book I have read, it was written by a woman who has been married for over thirty years and through this book, I was able to see that everyone is beautiful in the real sense of the word.

I did an in-depth review of this book, you can read it here.

3.     Bad Girls Of The Bible By Liz Curtis Huggs

The topic of this book was what attracted me to it in the first place.

The first time I ever knew there was anything good to learn from the not-so-good characters in the bible was when I was the University and a brother said that as bad as jezebel was in the bible that there was still something good to learn from her.

I sat with rapt attention ad by the time he was through I couldn’t agree less, so when I saw the title of this book by Liz, I knew that it was a book I would want to read.

This is one of the books I have read this year and oh my!

The book started with analyzing the diverse characters that the book is all about.

The book talks about Eve, Rahab, Saphirra, as well as The woman at the well…

It talks about them and the various lessons we can learn from them as well as how we can apply the lessons to our modern day life, and also talks about their mistakes so that we can also avoid it.

I sincerely think every woman should read this book.

4.     Girls With Sword By Lisa Bevere

This is another book that I recommend greatly.

The book starts with painting a picture of someone who is a target without knowing.

This book opened my eyes to the fact that I am in a battle here on earth and it is high time I started living in the consciousness of that reality as the joke is on me if I think otherwise.

It mentions the various sword with which everyone can fight this battle with, and while we are not fighting to win, we are fighting from a stand point of victory.

I did a review of one of the chapters of the book that ministered to me, you can read it here.

5.     Power Of A Praying Wife By Stormie Omartian 

This is a book I think every lady both married and unmarried should create out time to read.

It has thirty-one chapters so you can choose to read a chapter per day so as to fully immerse yourself well into the book and get all the juices out.

I got my copy as a gift some months back and it was one of the most thoughtful gift I have received in a while.

It is not just a regular book as this book comes with a daily reading as well as prayer guide to end each chapter with.

There is another edition for men titled power of a praying husband, but because this is a list of books women should read, we will stick with the one women should buy.

This book will serve as a guide for you to pray for your husband, your significant other or even for the man whose name you don’t know yet. It will give you different aspects of his life for you to pray for.

I have said enough about this book, do get a copy and start praying and reading.

There you have it; 5 books I think every Christian woman should read. I’ll sure give another list of other books soon.

If you are someone who do not consider yourself a reader, I shared some tips that you can work with to help you become better at reading and hence improving your life through the life and experiences of others, you can read those tips here

Have you read other books that you consider profound and life changing but were not included in the list, do well to share with us in the comments section.

I once mentioned in a recent post how there is a thin line between a low self-esteem and been proud, you can read about practical tips for a healthy self-esteem here.

We already talked about people battling low self esteem, now let’s flip the coin and talk about pride.

Being proud is something very subtle and before you know it, you are just a little blown up just caught up in your own world.

It might be due to a lot of things, your beautiful/handsome body, your height, your net-worth, your job/position at work, and the list continues.

For some, the haughtiness on the outside is just a cover up for thedeficiency on the inside.

Identity crisis is the reason why some just behave in a rude way, cos in their mind, if they believe if they behave haughty enough, then they'll be able to earn the respect of those around.

If you're always behaving haughty to get respect, then you'll have to keep behaving haughty to sustain it and this isn't a good way to live.

Indicators That You Are Proud

-        You Feel Life Revolves Just Around You

While it is a good thing to think that you are a very important part of life and that you are a unique personality, but just thinking that everyone answers to you or that life is just about me, myself and I is a very strong indicator that you are proud.

-        You See Everyone Below You As Mere Trash

By grace, I have had access to some places where I never thought was possible for me to get to, and I have also witnessed people talk to fellow human beings like they are a piece  of rag because those people weren’t up to their standard, whatever that is. 

How To Deal With Pride 

Know You Are Only A Receiver

The scripture tells us that there is nothing that we have that we haven’t received from God, and if we have received all we have from God, why then do we behave like what we have is only by our strength?

1 Corinthians 4:7 (NLT) says it this way

What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?

Irrespective of the many blessings you might have received from God, bear in mind that you don’t own them and that you have only received them from the Lord.

I understand how you can start getting pumped up because you are at a particular level of life or because your investment account is already getting close to seven-figures or that it is even nearing eight-figures, just calm down please, there is nothing you have that you haven’t received.

That that gate man at that bank where you work always calling you sir does not give you the right to talk rudely to him, one thing life has taught me is that, times and opportunities are only what differentiate one from the other.

Mr Fred might have had the opportunity of being given birth to in a comfortable home, sent to school on time, graduated from the tertiary institution of learning on time, and by grace got employed on time, and from that time, life have just seem to go on well.

Mr Joshua on the other hand was given birth to in a polygamous home where the father told all his wives that he was not responsible for their children and that everyone of them are responsible for the well-being of their children. Joshua struggled to finish just his primary school, before learning one trade after another to survive, his not going to school was never his fault; it was just because of the kind of family he got born into and he didn’t have the choice to have chosen his family at birth.

Know this for sure, there are no owners, only receivers also known as stewards.

Bear In Mind That Life is Fleeting.

Life is so fleeting; it only last for a short time.

You can be here and gone tomorrow.

This is one fact of life that is very humbling for me, while I desire to live the best life always, but just thinking that there will be a day I’ll go back to my maker just humbles me.

If you are in a particular office at work, and for that reason, pride is already finding expression in you, how about thinking of the day you’ll resign from that job, get sacked or even at best to be told to go home due to age (retirement) or worse death comes knocking.

There is a day when we will all leave here, either Christ returns or calls us home, we are definitely going to leave here, so while that happens, can we do our best to make sure we live our best life always and that we don’t get all pumped up.

We are here today and can be gone tomorrow, like a wave tossed in the ocean, a vapor in the wind.

Attend funerals and see that mighty man/woman with all he/she has owned been buried amidst all the affluence but in a casket with no cars or mansions, when you see that corpse in the casket, trust me, that moment is indeed life-shaping as you’ll tend to hold everything about this side of eternity lightly.

Desire A Heart Like Christ

Christ is the second person in trinity.

And at a point where God was supposed to come to this world in flesh, He came.

He was fully God and yet humbled himself to become like us.

No other person has every right to lay claim on everything on earth, or even has a right to be proud like Jesus, but yet, he choose to humble himself, even unto the death on the cross.

Philipians 2:5-7

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.…

Always Count Your Blessing

Create out time at intervals to count your blessing.

As you count your blessings, you’ll realize that most of the things you are proud about aren’t anything of your doing.

Your height

Your fine face

Your beautiful structure

The money in bank

The money in investment

Your healthy family

.

.

.

While we have our role to play in the way our life plays out, there are some things we can’t take credit for.

You are tall; it didn’t have anything to do with you.

Your fine face also doesn’t have anything to do with you too.

The money in bank and investment might be because of your prudency but what about those who couldn’t get a decent job after school, you’ll realize this is worth being grateful for too.

The wonderful spouse or healthy children you have isn’t by your power too, consider those more beautiful than you who are still unmarried or parents who gave birth to children who had one complication or the other.

Always count your blessing and don’t forget to name them one by one.

They’ll help you come down from cloud nine.

Bear in mind, that all you have; your greatest achievements are all gifts from God, they shouldn’t instill any sense of superiority on you, but rater humble you and let you continually be in awe of God the giver of all.