7 Books That Changed My Life | Christian Book Recommendations | Melody Alisa

so today i’m going to be sharing with you
these seven books that have absolutely   positively not even been dramatic changed my life   hey everyone welcome back to my channel my name
is melody and i make faith-based content here on   youtube i post new videos every single tuesday
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let’s go ahead and hop into today’s video   so today we are gonna be talking about books i’m
gonna be sharing with you these seven books that   i’ve read that have genuinely wholeheartedly
changed my life and i don’t say that lightly   guys like they genuinely have produced life change
so i’m really excited to share them with you all   the books that i mentioned today will be linked in
the description box and yeah let’s just go ahead   and jump right into it so the books are in no
particular order number one on my list is sacred   marriage by gary thomas so my husband and i read
through this book when we were going through our   engagement season this was a small group book that
was selected by our small group leaders and it   genuinely prepared us for marriage in a way that
i was not anticipating prior to reading this book   i had understood some of the biblical principles
and the biblical foundations of marriage but this   book really highlighted some of the important ones
that i did not know i wasn’t grasping so first and   foremost the big one that this book really left me
with and the big realization that has absolutely   shaped and impacted how i view marriage and
how i walk through my marriage currently   is the concept that marriage is not to make you
happy but to make you holy just that in itself   truly changed my whole perspective on marriage
i think the world and culture definitely um kind   of promotes this concept that we should marry the
person that makes us happy and once you’re married   you live happily ever after no like that is not
the case and this book really woke me up to that   and really woke me up to the point of marriage
in that the whole point of marriage isn’t to make   you happy at all that god created the context of
marriage to sanctify us to make us holy and within   that process of sanctification there’s going to
be conflict there’s going to be things that arise   that show you the areas in your life that you
need to repent of and turn towards god too so yeah   this book i could not recommend it enough whether
you’re married whether you’re engaged whether you   are wanting to be married it truly truly shifted
my whole perspective on marriage and i’m thankful   for it so the second book on our list is by dr
miles monroe and the book is understanding the   purpose and power of prayer so this is actually
a new pick up for me i recently came across this   book after listening to dr miles monroe’s sermon
on prayer i actually recently shared that both   on instagram and here on youtube but y’all the
the sermon just like blew my mind he talks about   how the lord’s prayer is actually a template that
we’re able to use for prayer and then in the book   he goes further into detail about the purpose of
prayer why we pray how we’re supposed to pray and   even it gives us 12 steps to follow when we pray
and i’ve been going through those 12 steps for   the past two or three weeks now and i have truly
felt a shift in my prayer life like that thing is   is taking off my prayer life is taking it’s being
taken to new heights because of this book and   because of his sermons so i am so appreciative
and i’m going to recommend to everyone and their   mother please check this book out especially if
you’re ever wondering how to pray or wanting to   just elevate your prayer life in general this is
an amazing place to start and an amazing resource   so number three on our list is the bible you guys
know i had to put it on here there are so many   versions of the bible some of my favorites are
the amplified version esv and also csb those   are my go-to’s and then the message as well
when i’m kind of wanting something put in more   plain terms but i can’t not have the bible on my
list of seven books that changed my life because   throughout my lifetime the bible will be the one
book i read continuously i think the bible is just   a place where you can always go and find something
relevant it’s always going to be relevant no   matter where you are in life no matter how old you
are in life and no matter like how old the bible   becomes it will always be relevant and people
will always be studying the bible because it is   just that deep like you can think you understand
everything and new levels can be unlocked you can   think you know something and read it again and
now you’re getting something completely different   it is the one book that you read that reads you
back and for that reason in itself i have to add   it on the list and it is you know literally the
book i read every single day or try to read every   single day so can’t recommend the bible enough of
course find the version that works best for you   i definitely suggest you kind of using maybe one
or two finding one that you like to read and then   one that gives you a little bit more context and
one that kind of breaks stuff down in a different   way that the other one doesn’t and if you guys
would like a dedicated video about how to do that   how to kind of find the best version for you
or just diving more into bible study in general   definitely let me know i’ve been trying to just
learn more about how to study my bible effectively   and i’d love to share it with you guys if you guys
would be interested so yes that is number three   the bible number four on our list is the
purpose-driven life by rick warren so i really   love this book and it has really allowed me to
shift my day-to-day perspective on my life the   book really gives you a different vantage point
and a different perspective that you can see   your life through so instead of seeing
your life through your career being a   mom or not being a mom being married or
not being married and what you achieve   you’re able to see your life through the five
purposes that god innately gave each one of us   here on earth for our lives it starts by asking
if it’s a question like what are we even here for   and i feel like it’s such a great question because
a lot of us innately have that question right and   we try to fill in the blank with what we think
but this really allows us to fill in the blank   of what on earth are we here for based on what
the word says based on what god says why he   placed us here on earth so i’m gonna actually
read the first excerpt of the first chapter for   you guys just to give you a little taste of what
really allowed my perspective to shift so it says   it all starts with god it’s not about you wow okay
the purpose of your life is far greater than your   own personal fulfillment your peace of mind or
even your happiness it’s far greater than your   family your career or even your wildest dreams
and ambitions if you want to know why you were   placed on this planet you must begin with god
you were born by his purpose and for his purpose   so you guys see what i mean literally out
the gate you’re just getting this whole   new vantage point to see your life through and
i love it it’s something that i really think   i’ll continue to read throughout my life it
is 40 days you kind of read it as a devotional   and it’s short enough chapters that you’re
really able to take in that information   sit with it and move on to the next day so highly
highly highly recommend this book i think for   anyone in life that’s wondering like what am i
doing here or what am i doing what should i do   this is an amazing place to start so number
five on my list is a book called home going   by ya gazi i read this book back in 2017 and
it was a very timely read for me because i was   actually traveling to ghana at the time and this
book woke me up to my new favorite non-christian   genre of books to read it is african-american
historical fiction and the story that this book   tells and the way that it is able to weave these
characters together and really give you a sense   of the impact that slavery had not just on the
continent of africa but on the enslaved people   brought over to america it is just it was
the most beautiful book i’ve ever read   i’ve never cried at the end of the book like i
cried at the end of this book it is truly just an   amazing read and it gives you a first person point
of view into the experiences of an individual and   guys i just i i don’t have any words it is just
truly a book that will touch your heart and will   allow you to really put your feet in someone
else’s shoes and to walk it out and to really   see what that would be like and it also gives
you a comparison so you know it tells the story   of two different families and it weaves it all
together however you’re really able to experience   what happened with one family and what happened
with the other and how like one life event really   shifted the whole entire generation of
that family to come like guys it’s just   a phenomenal read if you’re on the market for a
fiction novel i could not recommend this enough   again after i read this book i realized my
new favorite non-christian genre of books   is african-american historical fiction
and i’ve enjoyed the genre ever since so   definitely recommend this book so the next book on
my list is captivating by john and stacy eldridge   i read this book back in 2016 i believe when
i was first starting out my walk with god   and it truly allowed me to see how i was placing
men above god in my life and trying to get a man   to fulfill what only god can fulfill in my life
and in my heart so the book really talks about   a woman’s heart how she was made how god made her
to be and it also talks about how often women will   feel like they are lacking in a specific area
so whether that’s love whether that’s attention   whether that’s you know being sought after being
pursued and instead of going to god to get full of   these things we turn to other things in our life
to see if they can give us that fulfillment and   when i read this book i was just so awakened to
how unhealthily i would operate in relationships   and how i would truly make the person i was dating
absolutely responsible for all of my emotions and   for making me feel good for filling me up it
also has an accompanying book for men i don’t   remember the name of it i’ll have that linked
below as well um but yeah it’s a great book to   read like if you’re dating or if you just want to
understand men a little bit better or if you’re a   man and wanting to understand women a little bit
better or if you’re a woman and want to understand   yourself and men a little bit better it’s just
yeah these are really really great books so the   last book on my list is closed legs do get fed by
d daniel thomas so this is a book i came across   when i was first trying to figure out how to walk
out celibacy i had no guide i had no gauge of   anyone like ever doing it ever in my life and it
just seemed like this impossible feat and i came   across this book in the amazon store and it truly
helped me understand how to just talk about it it   gives you such practical tips how to talk about
being celibate the whole point of being celibate   not going into celibacy thinking like if i’m
celibate god will give you my husband but really   try to just seek god’s heart through that trying
to seek a deeper relationship with god through   that and to honor god with your body and with
your relationship through celibacy and even giving   you points on like how to navigate interesting
situations that come up when you are celibate   it was just so full of so much practical advice
that i was needing because i had again absolutely   no idea how to walk it out now i will say that
this book i don’t agree with a hundred percent of   everything it talks about and i don’t want anyone
to read the book and to yeah i think i’m endorsing   everything that it does talk about she talks
about masturbation in a way that i don’t think   biblically is accurate and kind of reflects what
the bible says about that she also talks about   living together in a way that i also don’t think
is completely biblically sound but it doesn’t   take away from the really great practical tips
in terms of walking out celibacy that the book   does provide so definitely be mindful of those
things but if you are looking for a true guide   on how to have conversations and truly what
it means to walk out celibacy and you’re just   starting your celibacy journey or you’re just
starting wanting to research more into this   i think this book is a great place to start all
right guys so that is my list these are the seven   books that have changed my life i hope you enjoyed
this video if you did be sure to give it a thumbs   up and now it is your turn so in the comments
below let us know a book that you have read that   has truly changed your life i’m always looking for
new recommendations so i look forward to seeing   what you guys suggest and what you guys share with
us if you guys would like more books on or more   videos on books and what i’m reading definitely
let me know in the comments below as well i   would love to put something together like this i’m
always reading something so yeah i kind of always   have a lot to talk about on the subject but again
if you enjoyed this video give this a thumbs up if   you haven’t subscribed already be sure to and i
will see you guys in my next video next tuesday peace