Books

Five Books to Encourage Single Parents

Chosen by Anna Meade Harris, author of ‘God’s Grace for Every Family: Biblical Encouragement for Single Parent Families and the Churches That Seek to Love Them Well.’

Illustration by Elizabeth Kaye / Source Images: Getty / Pexels

Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work or Watch or Weep

Tish Harrison Warren

Overwhelmed single moms and dads will identify with Warren’s struggle to pray after multiple losses in her life. She found the words she needed in Compline, an ancient prayer that lifts our human vulnerability up to God. Single parents work, watch, and weep alone, standing guard over their defenseless children, often without much support. Warren offers a way back into prayerful conversation with the God who neither slumbers nor sleeps.

Everything Sad Is Untrue: (a true story)

Daniel Nayeri

Nayeri relates his experience in a sixth-grade classroom in Oklahoma after fleeing Iran when his mom becomes a Christian. His father stays behind, his absence as formidable as his presence had been. The agonizing long-distance phone calls between father and son will be familiar to parents and children in the wake of divorce. Part memoir, part fiction, all masterful storytelling, this book attests to the enduring hope Daniel finds in his mother’s faith.

The Mockingbird Devotional: Good News for Today (and Every Day)

Edited by Ethan Richardson and Sean Norris

Single parents generally have little bandwidth for reading dense theology, but this 365-day devotional offers ample theological bang for the harried single parent’s quiet-time buck. Exploring key biblical doctrines through Scripture, plus story, music, and movie references, multiple contributors proclaim the gospel with clear-eyed realism about our brokenness, our need for a Savior, and the grace we have in Jesus.

The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out

Brennan Manning

For weary single parents who feel they never have enough time, energy, money, or patience, Manning shows that Jesus’ love for broken humanity depends not on what we do or fail to do but on who Jesus is. No matter how far we are falling short, Jesus loves us because he loves us, and oh, how he loves us.

Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story

Bono

Raised by his father after his mother’s sudden death, U2 frontman Bono narrates the audiobook version of his memoir with the humor, pathos, and style of a consummate performer. This one’s mainly for fun (something single parents don’t get much of), but Bono shares honestly about lingering grief for his mother and complicated attempts to connect with his father who won’t discuss her death.

Also in this issue

In the face of the horrific war begun by the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israelis, we ask: Why? For this issue, Mike Cosper, director of CT Media, traveled to war-torn places in Israel to learn about the harmful ideology that led to the violence against innocents. You’ll also read Southeast Asia editor Angela Fulton's exploration of controversies around “street language” Bibles and translated “bad words” in Scripture. News writer Emily Belz spent time in East Palestine, Ohio, after a catastrophe crippled the small town and tells how the church is doing crisis response. And don’t miss reflections on a year after the Asbury University revival from the school’s president and news editor Daniel Silliman’s weird Easter Bunny history.

Cover Story

The Evil Ideas Behind October 7

Seeing Stars, Not Light Pollution

Is the Pope Catholic? Then These Christians Say Don’t Pray with Him.

Testimony

I Hated ‘Church People.’ But I Knew I Needed Them.

The Old Testament Foretells the Crucifixion. What about the Resurrection?

The Holy Sound Stuck Inside Your Head

Should the Bible Sound Like the Language in the Streets?

Political Homelessness Is a Good Start

We Can’t Turn a Blind Eye to Harmful Ideologies

Faithfulness Requires Risk

The Weird True History of the Easter Bunny

Hackers Try to Take AI to Church

Medical Cost Sharing Ministry Stole Millions

An Orphan Took Over an Orphanage. Its Mission Changed.

Empty Streets to the Empty Grave

Can Christian Colleges Make the Grade?

Review

The Bible Was Written to Be Heard and Spoken to Be Read

Review

The Surprising Practicality of Christian Philosophy

New & Noteworthy Fiction

What the Asbury Revival Taught Me About Gen Z

How Doubt Derailed a Train Town

View issue

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News

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