Five books for Christmas
It’s the time of the year when we remember our loved ones, family members and friends. We bear gifts we wear lovely clothes, we rest and make merry. We must also remember the reason for the season as we eat and drink all week long. Jesus Christ is the reason, his birth, his life, his […]
It’s the time of the year when we remember our loved ones, family members and friends. We bear gifts we wear lovely clothes, we rest and make merry. We must also remember the reason for the season as we eat and drink all week long. Jesus Christ is the reason, his birth, his life, his example.
Here are books to keep you firmly on your feet while merry making. Let us introspect and also remember those who may not be able to celebrate. Those in the areas where children and women are being abducted, those who live in fear daily, those who cannot eat three square meals or even one. Those in pain and those in the middle of war. Let’s not take our freedom for granted.
A Christmas Carol: A novella by Charles Dickens is an incredible book. This is the all-time Christmas book and the main character, Scrooge, is my favourite character. Unable to find anything to cheer about, he complains and is stingy until Christmas brings unforgettable lessons to him and to all those who are constantly complaining even in good times. Get a copy. Read it again.
Bring it on-Tough Questions Candid Answers by New York Times best selling author Pat Robertson. This book is devolved from his Television programme the 700Club where he invites millions of viewers to bring it on. They all ask questions and Evangelist Pat Robertson gives candid and unrehearsed answers to issues of morality, life and the scriptures. I just received this book as a gift from Dr. Felix Oisamoje, West African Director for CBN International. It’s a good book for this season.
As the insurgents continue to ravage populations and rule by fear, may we never succumb to fear this season. Instead may the spirit of God be around us all at this Christmas time and may the spirit of the season and the symbol of Jesus Christ bring us peace. As we pray, may we also remember that those who go out bombing people are not like you and I and its important to get into their heads in order to understand their modalities. Now we see female suicide bombers in Nigeria. Why do they do it? A good book to give you perspective is Army of Roses: Inside the World of Palestinian Women Suicide Bombers by Barbara Victor. Its time to get educated; see what leads to this tragedy, why women are used and how they are recruited. Making its second appearance on this page; Army of Roses was loaned to me by my former boss Alhaji Yakubu Ibn Mohammed. Find a copy.
Ex Green Eagle and Sports administrator Patrick Ekeji’s book, Odyssey of a Green Eagle: From the Pitch to the Summit should bring joy to every Nigerian particularly sports enthusiasts. The beautifully narrated book takes you on an inside journey of Patrick Ekeji from pitch to boardroom. He gives great insight on how to manage a team like ours and how to manage the National Sports Commission where he served as the Director General for many years.
Acclaimed author and Christian leader Kay Warren shares the path to soul fulfilling joy in spite of the tough times in her book Choose Joy Because Happiness isn’t Enough. We yearn so much to be happy as humans but we tend to forget that happiness comes only as a momentary often-transient phase but Joy tends to linger. Most people use the word happiness and joy interchangeable but Kay Warren sites fully in her book that both are two separate things. I can’t help but cull this from the blurb of the book: “When all your fondest hopes and wildest dreams come true and your heart nearly explodes with happiness, it’s easy to feel joyful. But what about the valleys? When nothing seems to go your way? When everything is falling apart? When God is silent, and you feel alone? Where does joy fit into those moments?” A must grab!
BONUS BOOKS
Read the Bible, read religious books, read all the big fat novels you have been meaning to read.
Read all the magazines lying by your bedside for six months. Enjoy reading. Its that time of the year when you slow down, breathe and smell the coffee.
Merry Christmas to you all!