The BFG

One night when Sophie can't sleep, she goes to the window of her orphanage and sees a giant walking down the street, blowing something into the windows. When the giant sees her, he grabs her and takes her back to his desert cave home.

There he explains, in his strange and garbled English, that he was blowing dreams into the minds of children, and that the other giants who live in the desert -- and are twice his size -- eat children all over the world. He, though, is the Big Friendly Giant (BFG), and eats nothing but disgusting snozzcumbers. But when the other giants head to England to eat children, Sophie hatches a plan, involving dreams, the Queen of England, and the BFG, to stop them once and for all.

The Christmas Sweater

#1 New York Times bestselling author and renowned radio and television host Glenn Beck delivers an instant holiday classic about boyhood memories, wrenching life lessons, and the true meaning of the gifts we give to one another in love.We weren't wealthy, we weren't poor -- we just were. We never wanted for anything, except maybe more time together....When Eddie was twelve years old, all he wanted for Christmas was a bike. Although his life had gotten harder -- and money tighter -- since his father died and the family bakery closed...Eddie dreamed that somehow his mother would find a way to have his dream bike gleaming beside their modest Christmas tree that magical morning.What he got from her instead was a sweater. "A stupid, handmade, ugly sweater" that young Eddie left in a crumpled ball in the corner of his room.Scarred deeply by the realization that kids don't always get what they want, and too young to understand that he already owned life's most valuable treasures, that Christmas morning was the beginning of Eddie's dark and painful journey on the road to manhood. It will take wrestling with himself, his faith, and his family -- and the guidance of a mysterious neighbor named Russell -- to help Eddie find his path through the storm clouds of life and finally see the real significance of that simple gift his mother had crafted by hand with love in her heart.Based on a deeply personal true story, The Christmas Sweater is a warm and poignant tale of family, faith and forgiveness that offers us a glimpse of our own lives -- while also making us question if we really know what's most important in them. 

My Dream of Heaven by Rebecca Ruter Springer

Have you ever tried to imagine what heaven will be like? Originally published in 1898, this classic offers one woman's vision of her eternal home. You'll find new confidence that God has prepared a place for you and excitement at a future reunion with loved ones who have gone on before

Rich Dad, Poor Dad

It is a SHORT, easy-reading financial book that helps us at least consider a few financial mentalities that could help us. It is a worthwhile read. Robert was raised with two different father figures, one that thought "poor" and had "poor" financial strategies. The other thought "rich", not just positive thinking, but smart. He brings out the point that sometimes we teach ourselves to think and act "poor" and therefore keep ourselves that way.

- Chad Morris

Undaunted Courage

Written by Stephen Ambrose, is a 1996 biography of Meriwether Lewis and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The book is based on journals written by Lewis and Clark, along with others in the expedition, and also offers additional insight into the travelers and their thoughts. The book outlines the expedition in great detail, from encounters with Native Americans, trading, wildlife, what the explorers ate, and the route the expedition took. The text is supplemented by maps, and illustrations drawn by Lewis himself. Brief biographies of the major members of the expedition (Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea, etc.) are also offered.

Left To Tell

Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza

Immaculée shares her miraculous story of how she survived during the Rwanda genocide in 1994 when she and seven other women huddled silently together in the cramped bathroom of a local pastor’s house for 91 days! In this captivating and inspiring book, Immaculée shows us how to embrace the power of prayer, forge a profound and lasting relationship with God, and discover the importance of forgiveness and the meaning of truly unconditional love and understanding—through our darkest hours. 

1776 by David McCullough

How do you bring seat-of-the-pants excitement to events that took place 229 years ago? And when the ending is known to all? Master historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough answers these questions emphatically by putting a human face to the events of 1776, when a valiant rag-tag bunch of American farmers, plumbers, and blacksmiths fought the British to secure independence for America. McCullough combed through mountains of historic documents on both sides of the Atlantic to write the narrative of this most important period in American history. His efforts pay off in spades because the reader is caught up with the people and the events, which are portrayed in such fine detail that the excitement is palpable until the very end, even though the outcome is known.

Colonial leaders in America were determined to free themselves of British rule. They charged George Washington to lead an army to force the British off American land. For Washington, the task was easier said than done. His army, if an untrained, underfunded group of people of varying age groups and physical ability can be called one, was up against arguably the greatest army in the world. The British had professional soldiers - well trained, well clothed and well fed - and a crack team of leaders who had fought many wars and were keen military strategists. Perhaps this is the genesis of America’s enduring love and support of the underdog, for the American army was definitely the underdog and few gave any chances for their success. King George III, the English ruler, considered the Americans’ fight for freedom a minor uprising by ingrates and did not see the necessity for a large army to fight them. What Washington’s troops did and did successfully is told in riveting detail by McCullough, who makes every attempt to be fair to both sides.

Heroes abound in McCullough’s telling. There is Henry Knox, a bookseller by trade, who braved the elements to trek three hundred miles in harsh winter to bring much needed ammunition from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston. There is Nathanael Greene, a Rhode Island Quaker, who was made a general at the young age of thirty-three and had to pit his brains against astute British strategists.

And above all, there is George Washington. McCullough does not deify this icon of the American revolution. Instead, he portrays him warts and all, and Washington emerges as a fallible human, full of self-doubts when his strategies fail quite miserably in thwarting the British and the morale of the Americans plummet. Yet in the end, we see Washington as a true hero, as he does not give up on the American cause and forces; by sheer will of his personality, his troops soldier on, eking out small victories that cumulatively break the British spirit.

The book is history at its very best. It is a compelling read as we are ushered into ground zero of this pivotal moment in American history.