2 New Books and 12 Books I Recommend

Books of 2023. Of the making of books there is no end! And I wouldn’t have it any other way, although after launching seven books/resources over the past years, I’m taking a wee break. I’d love for you to read the books I’ve published and endorsed in 2023 – a baker’s dozen plus one! Also, don’t miss my favorite reads of 2023.

May 2023

Transforming Love: How Friendship with Jesus Changes Us

My heartfelt plea to find intimacy in friendship with Jesus, as modeled through the friendships of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in the gospels. A fresh look at these stories, which includes prayer practices to help you encounter our living, loving God. How to buy and a sneak peak at the introduction and first chapter.

From Sheridan Voysey’s foreword:

“With imaginative exploration of these biblical stories and sensitivity to overlooked cultural details, Amy teases out this unique relationship and the transformative effect it has on Mary, Martha and Lazarus…. Combined with Amy’s guiding prayers and creative spiritual practices, the result is a rich, graceful exploration of how Jesus befriends and changes us.”

November 2023

Holding onto Hope: 40 Days of God’s Encouragement through Art and Reflections

We all need our stores of hope renewed, especially in these wearying times. That’s why my dad and I have collaborated on our second project with his art and my reflections, this time on the theme of hope. Engage with biblical images of hope through word and image – trees clapping their hands, streams in the desert – as God fills you with hope in him. How to buy and sample the introduction and first chapter.

About it, popular author Sharon Garlough Brown said:

“In this beautiful pairing of words and art, Amy Boucher Pye and her father, Leo Boucher, invite us into a journey of hope by meditating on the steadfast faithfulness of a kind and trustworthy God. Amy’s insightful reflections on Scripture and poignant prayers bring the Word to life, while Leo’s gentle paintings provide visual opportunities to savour the goodness of God’s care for us. In a time when so many are weary and heavy-laden, Holding onto Hope bids us to come, rest, and be renewed in the Lord’s love.”

Following are the 12 books I endorsed in 2023, some of which came out last year and some of which will appear this year. I stand behind my words and hope you will pick them up.

January 2023

The God Who Sees You by Georgie Tennant

Join Georgie Tennant as she gracefully digs into Scripture and reveals the God who sees us and loves us. Bringing to life stories and key passages from the Old Testament and the New, she leads us in a thirty-day journey to the heart of God. With her as a guide we find ourselves encouraged and strengthened in our faith in God.

April 2023

Why Less Means More by Cathy Madavan

Could less really entail more? Cathy Madavan says yes, having experienced a season of winnowing over several years. She invites us to consider ten principles to choose less of what we don’t need in favour of more of what we desire. She’s encouraging and real, sharing from her failures and triumphs, while welcoming us to embrace the life we long for. We can have more by embracing less – more margin and rhythm, more relationships and joy, more significance and space. Don’t miss her authentic, compelling and freeing wisdom for winning at life. I loved it!

June 2023

Valuable: Why Your Worth Is Not Defined By How Useful You Feel by Liz Carter

A gentle and fierce call to eschew the falsehood that our worth depends on our usefulness. Liz writes with clarity, compassion and authenticity in words that will empower everyone, from those seen as ‘useful’ or broken, or anywhere in between.

September 2023

Knowing You, Jesus: 365 Devotional by Tony Horsfall, Mags Duggan et al

What a brilliant way to get to know Jesus better – spending time each day with his stories and teachings. With depth and insight, Tony Horsfall and crew lead us through a chronological account of the gospels to help us to understand and love Jesus more. Encouraging, powerful, transformative – don’t miss this life-changing devotional that enlarges our love for Jesus and helps us become more like him.

Waiting for Jedidiah: How to Experience Healing after a Miscarriage by Betty Ringeisen

Betty Ringeisen knows the pain of miscarriage. She’s also experienced the refreshing and renewing love of the Father. She welcomes those of us who have suffered this particular pain into a strong relationship with the One who knows and loves us and our babies. Read her book and find hope, peace, and healing.

October 2023

To the Ocean Floor by Kate Nicholas

A gripping account of Kate’s latest experience with cancer – how and why does someone manage to contract three different types of this mutating disease? With powerful writing, she describes the indescribable: the numinous; the Creator; the indwelling Christ; her loving God. Her poetic sharing of her experience on the ocean floor led me to wonder and awe. A memoir to ponder and consider; one to read while receiving from Kate’s deep sharing of herself and her journey while joining her in praise to the unknowable God who makes himself known.

November 2023

Winter Lights by Deborah Jenkins

Sink into this comforting and enjoyable collection of stories that will help you to relax and to hope. Unwrap them without fearing that you’ll encounter one that you won’t like, such as with a box of chocolates. Delightful.

January 2024

The Tangled Tale of the Woolgathering Castoffs by Sharon Mondragon

A novel that takes us beyond the meet-cute, showing us what tried and tested love looks like. I didn’t know that I’d so love and savor this story about the knitting adventures of septuagenarians and octogenarians! As the Woolgatherers create prayer shawls for the caregivers of loved ones with memory loss, they don’t realize that they too are on a journey of discovery with God. They receive and give God’s loving embrace as they respond to nudges of grace, one stitch at a time. Read, savor, and make a list of people you could bless with this enriching story; I loved it!

March 2024

Notes on Feminism by Lauren Windle

Funny, controversial, grace-filled, gritty, thought provoking. . . Notes on Feminism is all this and more. Lauren curates the open conversation that you’ll want to join, so read it and share how you agree, disagree, and all the in betweens.

April 2024

Peace through Prayer by James Banks

Reading Peace through Prayer feels like receiving an encircling hug from a safe and caring pastor—one who shares with you the life-changing, unconditional love of Jesus. Profound but accessible, this exploration into the gift of peace is one I recommend wholeheartedly.

May 2024

Shaped by the Spirit by Kate Pocklington

Kate invites us to pause and ponder, examining how God shapes us—not as a navel-gazing exercise, but one that helps us be outward-focused as we share God’s love with others. Her intertwining of various strands weaves together a Spirit-breathed creation that will challenge and inspire. I pray the Spirit uses her words as he shapes and forms you!

September 2024

Dwell: Inviting God’s Word to make a home in our lives, one verse at a time by Anne LeTissier

This book could change your life. Really. As week by week Anne LeTissier helps us to dive deeply into God’s life-giving words in Scripture, God will meet us and change us to be more like Jesus. Without reservation I recommend that you accept her gentle invitation, backed up by her embodied example, to dwell in God’s word. From a hesitant star giver, five stars.