Five Fall Favorites: Peace
Welcome back to the Five Fall Favorites blog party!
(Where my Canadian spelling is slowly but surely learning to leave the “u” out of “favorite” so our SEO is all on the same page!)
“The fruit of the Spirit is . . . peace . . .” – Galatians 5:22
I have to be honest here—I found this one hard to pick titles for! The whole art of story rests on the idea of tension. You resolve that tension—your take your characters from conflict to peace—and you’ve pretty much pacified yourself out of a story.
It’s been a valuable challenge, though.
And maybe a healthy reminder that God’s peace can coexist even with outward conflict. So here are my top five peace picks for today. Hope you enjoy!
Plus, we’ve got an exciting surprise waiting at the end of the post. No spoilers, but it just might include something to do with a free book . . .
The Prince of Peace
By Rebekah A. Morris
Christmas is the time of peace—but what about swirling emotions, past hurts, and family members whose actions are beyond our control?
This novella from the Homewood Christmas collection explores Jesus as a personal Prince of Peace, strong enough to bring healing and redemption not just to the world as a whole but to each of our individual hearts.
As you will notice, The Prince of Peace isn’t available as a standalone right now. You can, however, get it as part of Another Homewood Christmas—a collection of small-town Christmas novellas from seven different authors. (Of which, yes, I do happen to be one. But that doesn’t change the fact that The Prince of Peace would be on this list either way!)
Christmas Lights
By Christine Pisera Naman
There’s something about this novel—or collection of connected stories, I’m not sure which to call it!—that draws me back, even when it’s not Christmastime.
Each chapter follows the Christmas Eve adventure of a different woman, ranging from sixteen-year-old Julianna up to Katherine who is somewhere in her sixties or seventies. The story is written from a Catholic perspective and themes of God’s care over our life play a role in each of the narratives.
I picked this as a peace book more for the general tone than because peace is specifically singled out as a conscious theme. It just feels as if each lady’s journey begins with anxiety and uncertainty and then works its way through to resolution and peace by the end.
Trouble at Windy Acres
By Mary M. Landis
Is it possible to live a life of peace—even when your neighbour isn’t on the same page?
Trouble at Windy Acres does a great job of exploring the concept of peace in our relationships with others, especially those who many not be responding from a Christian worldview.
Ultimately, these characters demonstrate that peace-centered response.
What Peace Means
By Henry Van Dyke
Never read Van Dyke’s works before? Think again—whether you’ve ever come across his prose or not, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve sung his poetry. In 1907 Henry Van Dyke wrote a text to accompany Beethoven’s classic “Ode to Joy”—better known today as the familiar hymn “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee.” Twelve years—and a World War—later, in 1919, he penned a much lesser-known work, a collection of three Eastertide sermons titled What Peace Means.
I stumbled across this little work just recently while looking for a different book by the same author. It’s a quick read, but one I enjoyed. While I don’t agree with Van Dyke’s perspective on everything, (particularly his framing of war in the second sermon,) I still found it a challenging and inspiring read. Especially the first sermon on peace in the believer’s heart! I happened to sit down to it after a particularly stressful and not peaceful morning. It was a good reminder that outward circumstances don’t need to touch the peace inside.
You Are Special
By Max Lucado
And here we are again with another Max Lucado book. Yes, this is the classic stars and dots book! (Can you believe the author actually wrote it in 1997 before social media was playing a role in the world’s self-image???)
If you need a reminder to stop striving—to stop self-criticism—to stop tying your value to other people’s opinion—and just rest in the peace of being specially made by a special creator, then You Are Special is a book you need to read. Whether that means picking it up for the first—or the fiftieth—time!
Those are my Five Fall Favorites—What About Yours?
Peace is something all of us need and crave. Books that breathe peace can be a valuable instrument in our spiritual journey.
What are your top peace books? Fiction or nonfiction—I’d love to hear your titles in the comments section below.
After that, don’t forget to check out all the rest of the fun going on over at Once Upon an Ordinary.
And as promised, I am excited to be sharing a freebie with you today! My Victorian novella Old Ruddy’s Questions (which just happens to have some significant peace themes of its own!) is available from Amazon for free today.
You can grab your copy by clicking on graphic to the left!
Just a reminder, if you haven’t already signed up for our newsletter, subscribing this week will not only give you access to a sample chapter from three of our most popular novels—it will also mean you can enter for extra odds in the Five Fall Favorites giveaway!
