Into the Headwinds: Why Belief Has Always Been Hard and Still Is, by Terryl Givens and Nathaniel Givens

  I was attracted to this book initially by the title. It has come to my attention that faith is very difficult for some people. They just can't believe. They often describe themselves as unbelievers. Yet from an observational perspective, they act a lot like believers. Conversely, there are some people for whom faith seems to come quite easily but their faith seems to have no impact on their actions. What's up with that?

This book goes quite far towards answering that question. It really helps.

Faith really is difficult. It is frustrating. I cannot know what I believe until I weigh the collection of decisions I have made over time. One or two decisions is not enough evidence. Faith is not about certainty. It is risky. It makes us vulnerable. It is a response to hope in something that is not certain.

Good stuff.

The book is a bit of a non-light read but well worth your time. 

Teaching Joshua, by Doug Johnson

 It is probably a good choice for preparing to teach the book of Joshua as long as you intend to accept the accounts of Joshua as historic facts and without question. That's probably the safest approach as long as your class is a bunch of white Southern Baptists. I can't use it. I need a guide that will help me read the text and still maintain my respect and admiration of God and God's character from a variety of cultural perspectives. This book ain't it.