2025 TOP TEN FICTION AND TOP TEN NON-FICTION

Promoting a book I enjoyed by a favorite author, as well as promoting one of my favorite bands.

Yes, I usually like posting my favorite lists BEFORE the new year, and I did manage to get my favorite songs list done Monday. Better late than never, in this January 3rd blog I'll be looking at my 20 favorite books, 10 each between fiction and non-fiction. Unlike yesterday, I'll be starting with #1 instead of counting down. And why am I doing both today? Just because I have other blogs for this week.

For those who want to read my review of 19 of these books, I'll be including them on the title. I'm a little behind and still have some reviews to write, including one of the fiction books.

So let me start with the fiction: 

1. "Gazing Into Darkness" (Queen City Heroes Book 1) by Heidi Glick.
2. "Colorado Conspiracy Ambush" by Jodie Bailey.
3. "Rhats Free!" (Muto Chronicles Book 4) by Kerry Nietz.
4. "Double Protection Duty" (Dakota K-9 Unit Book 7) by Sharon Dunn.
5. "Standing Watch" (Dakota K-9 Unit Book 3) by Terri Reed.
6. "Texas Smoke Screen" (Quantico Profilers Book 3) by Jessica Patch.
7. "Big Bluff" (Katy Russell Mystery Book 2) by Jackie Zack. NOTE - I also read books 3 and 4 in this four part series this year. Often, if I have read more than one book in a single author series, I'll just count those books as one. However, while I think all three are good, "Big Bluff" stood out as a favorite. 
8. "Hidden In The Canyon" by Jodie Bailey.
9. "K-9 Ranch Protection" by Darlene L. Turner. Review not done yet - it will be posted January 6, 2026.
10. "Tracing Killer Evidence" (Dakota K-9 Unit Book 5) by Jodie Bailey. 

Now, let me leap to non-fiction. Again, I'll update this with links. So here we go.

1. "A Year of Prayer: Appoaching God With an Open Heart Week After Week" by John MacArthur.
2. "Simplify Your Spiritual Life: Spritual Disciplines for the Overwhelmed" by Donald Whitney. Second time I read this book.
3. "Killing Calvinism: How To Destroy a Perfectly Good Theology from the Inside" by Greg Dutcher. And for those who see this title for the first time, it's not anti-Calvinist, but written by a Calvinist for Calvinists.
4. "Faithfully Different: Regaining Biblical Clarity in a Secular Culture" and "When Culture Hates You: Persevering for the Common Good as Christians in a Hostile Public Sqare" by Natasha Crain. I read both books this year, but I thought they were close enogugh to each other I'm including both. The first focuses on being a distinct light to the world by our beliefs, our thinking, and our living. The latter gives advice on dealing with those opposing us on worldview issues. I highly recommend both.
5. "The Indomitable Mr. O" by Norman Rohrer: the biography of Jessie Overholtzer, founder of Child Evangelism Fellowship. It also tells how CEF is fulfilling the vision since Overholzer's death.
6. "Transforming The Culture With Truth" by Les Munsil (President of Arizona Christian University, which is my alma mater).
7.  "Fritz and the Midnight Meet-up" by Megan Hill. Yes, this is a children's story book, but I'm including it because it tells a true story. Hill also has written a non-fiction book on the same subject (praying together).
8.  "A Clear and Present Word: The Clarity of Scripture" by Mark Thompson.
9.  "Jacob Arminius: The Man From Oudewater" by Rustin E. Brian. This is one I've read a second time.
10.  "Ask, Seek, Knock," a devotional by Josh Stone. Yes, devotionals make the top and bottom of the non-fiction list.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON 2025, AND HYMNS TO SING ON NEW YEAR'S DAY

From the 1st annual Missions Fair at Northside Baptist Church

Yes, I'm doing my look back at '25 on the first day of '26. Sorry. My original goal was to have my list of favorite books posted on Tuesday, Dec. 30th, this blog done yesterday, and part one of a two part look at '26. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough computer time to keep up with the plan. So the look back is today, the look ahead is now one part and will be tomorrow, and the favorite book lists will be on January 3rd.

This year had several things going on. I judged NCFCA speech and debate contests on-line and at a live location in Fishers, IN, and the year ended judging the first of three on-line tournaments in the '25-'26 cycle. I celebrated my 25th anniversary at MACL/Quest in March. I won the women's Final Four pool by having a perfect final four (meaning I correctly picked the four final teams, the two semi-final, and UConn winning it all). I got to attend my 3rd Kingdom Come Festival. I helped with the 1st Annual Missions Fair at Northside Baptist Church in September.

There are five people who went home to be with the Lord that saddened me. These were Author/Pastor/Lightning Rod John MacArthur, Chuck Girard of Love Song, Author/Pastor Voddie Baucham, Political Activist Charlie Kirk, and novelist Jackie Zack. Of course, Kirk got the most attention. Three weeks after his death, there were a trio of musicial tributes on my Spotify Release Radar. Jackie was the only one I had any interaction with, and in this case it was in on-line writing groups. 

But now, let's move to this year. Or more technically, let's move on to New Year's Day 2026. Becky and I have been singing hymns together since '98, and today, she suggested that we sing "Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus" every New Year's Day. I agreed that was a great choice, and suggested my all-time favorite hymn to join it: "I am Resolved." Becky agreed with me. After all, one is looking at great resolutions for any year and the other is looking at Christ's coming.

But what about what lies ahead? Well, I'll save that for tomorrow. Then, I'll have my book reviews on January 3rd.

 

TOP 20 FAVORITE SONGS OF 2025 (MY OPINION, OF COURSE)

XIII Minutes at Kingdom Come Festival, June 20, 2025. Lead vocalist Jerrod Cunningham also does vocals and guitar for I Am The Pendragon.

I am writing this on Sunday night, December 28th, for posting on Monday. Yes, that means 2025 is almost in the books, so it's time for me to give my year-ends posts. Year ends, because I'll not only be looking at my 20 favorite 2025 songs (posted on the 29th), favorite fiction and non-fiction (10 of each both posted on the 30th), and my look back at 2025 (31st), but also will give my thoughts on the new year (January 1st and 2nd).

This year, I debated on giving the list in alphabetic order plus revealing my number 1 (this refers both to songs and books), but decided to do something different, and give my favorites in order. 

I'll start by looking back. My previous favorite songs were "Truth" by Divine Martyr ('22), "WarCry" by TheoTerran ('23),  and "My Path To Walk by David Pataconi ('24). So you can say David, also being half of TheoTerran, has a two year streak going. Will he continue that streak? 

Like last year, I'll mark new artists to me from this year (marked with an asterisk). On the other side, there are groups I've followed for at least 20 years each: Amy Shreve (I met her and her husband Gary Wixtrom at a Voice of the Martyrs Conference in 2003), Mad at the World, and some obscure band called Petra - anybody heard of them? 

I'll include a link at the bottom for my Spotify list, in case you want to hear the songs on my list.  I would recommend that... but I'm biased.

Ready? Here we go.

20. "Summer Storm" by Rosalie Hovencamp.*

19. "Pain" by Sending68.*

18.  "King of Kings" by BibleWithLife*

17. "Deliver Us" by Petra.

16.  "The Storm" by End Of I.

15.  "Hope Found Hope" by Mad At The World.

14.  "How the Story Ends" by Amy Shreve.

13.  "All Things" by Sovereign Grace.

12.  "Reign Forever" by Citizen Crown.*

11.   "It Wasn't For Nothing" by The Band JAREN.*

10.  "Laodicea (Unplugged)" by Tierra Vacia.

9.   "Resistance" by Divine Martyr. 

8.  "Holy" by David Pataconi.

7.   "A Better Country" by Amy Shreve (though Gary Wixtrom sings lead on this one).

6.   "The Gospel" by Olivia Lane.*

5.   "Atonement" by I Am The Pendragon.

4.   "Enough" by TheoTerran.

3.   "War Cry" by The Band JAREN. 

2.   "Dear Martyr" by Behold the Beloved.

And now, may I have the drum roll? 

Any guess on who I put on top?

And my #1 song of 2025...

1.  "Stay" by XIII Minutes!

Here is the promised link in case you want to hear these songs.

Jeff's 2025 20 Favorites.

BOOK REVIEW - "THE INDOMITABLE MR. O: 75TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION" BY NORMAN ROHRER WITH YOLANDA DERSTENE AND BEATRICE LEVANOS

I have no idea how I ended up there (though it might have been through Sunday School at the church I attended in Prescott, AZ), but in sixth grade, I attended a group with fellow students where we sang songs and heard a Bible lesson taught with a flannel graph. During the summer, I moved to Cottonwood, AZ, where I was at a different denomination church, but there was an after school Bible study at that church, singing the same songs, also with flannelgraph lessons. I also was introduced to the wordless book. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was in two different Good News Clubs, a ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship (which will be referred to as CEF).

"The Indomitable Mr. O" by Norman Rohrer is a biography of CEF founder Jesse Overholtzer, following the direction of his life into the moment he realized children can understand the Gospel, at age 60. The edition I'm reading and reviewing was copywritten in 1970 and 2012.

The book starts with a preface by Rohrer and forewords by international evangelist and author Luis Palau and Reese Kaufmann, who was President of CEF from 1989 to 2022. Part One, "The Dream Begun," looks at the life of Jesse Overholtzer and how Child Evangelism fellowship came into being. Part Two, "The Dream Fulfilled," focuses on the expansion of the work of CEF into all the world. These events include the Supreme Court ruling that allows Bible clubs equal access to Public Schools after hours as other organizations like the Scouts. My hunch is that Yolanda Derstine and Beatrice Levanos wrote this part.

There are six appendixes following this second part, including "Child Evangelism as Taught in the Word of God," by Dr. Jesse Irvin Overholtzer, the statement of faith, the mission statement, the vision statement and strategy, "The Culture of Child Evangelism Fellowship," and CEF's trademarks.

I highly recommend this book. It shows the importance of evangelizing youth, from what happens when we do - such as when Overholtzer experimented on a quote of Charles Haddon Spurgeon that if presented properly a child of five can understand the Gospel - and when we don't - as in Overhotzer's pastor and parents telling him he was too young to be part of the church and how it affected his life.

 

BOOK REVIEW - "DOUBLE PROTECTION DUTY" (DAKOTA K-9 UNIT BOOK 7) BY SHARON DUNN

 Who kidnapped Beacon, one of K-9 officer Kenyon Graves' identical twin sons, and why is the kidnapper calling him Joey? Which is the greater danger to Raina McCord: her life threatened by the kidnapper or figuring out her relationship with Kenyon and his boys, who she took care of when Graves was MIA for several months? And can Kenyon with his gun-sniffing K-9 Peanut, along with the rest of the K-9 unit, capture the two rignleaders of a gun-running cartel that had almost killed Kenyon? 

This is the time of year that I get excited - the annual Love Inspired Suspense K-9 Unit multi-author series is about to end. In this case, the source of excitement is "Double Protection Duty" by Sharon Dunn, book 7 of 8 in the Dakota K-9 Unit collection. (Technically, there's a ninth book, but as usual it's a pair of novellas dealing with introduced characters after the continuing story lines of the series have been resolved in Book 8). And in case the above questions don't clinch it, this one has you hooked in both the romance and the suspense storylines.

If you haven't read the rest of the series and you don't want the story spoiled, please stop reading this review. IMMEDIATELY. In fact, it may be too late. Why? As typical, there is a major story line that runs through the series, and usually a minor thread as well. Most of the time, you can enjoy the story when you read it out of order, but not so in this case. So continue at your own risk, and better yet, get the rest of the series.

For those who have been reading the series and are ready for "Double Protection Duty," you are in for a thrill ride. Action starting at the beginning. Dealing with Kenyon Graves' dealing with memory issues and trying to figure out his relationship with his lifelong friend who has been caregiver to his boys. Also, the overarching story of the Gun Ring competes with the Kenyon/Raina/Kidnapper story of this book. I'm at where I can't wait till I get to book 8.

Or, in simpler terms, I highly recommend this series and this book.

ADVENT THOUGHTS, CHRISTMAS SONG DEVOTIONALS, AND A RELATED HIGHLIGHT OF MY LIFE.

 

Felix Mendelssohn and Charles Wesley, co-writers of "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing."

 Merry Christmas! 

In my previous blog, I mentioned the devotional "The Christmas We Didn't Expect" by David Mathis. I'd like to share thoughts that were either inspired by that book, confirmed previous thoughts, or made me think of something else.

1. Between the above mentioned book and an episode of CBN's cartoon Superbook I saw Saturday (Dec. 20), I was hit that the first Christmas was just an ordinary day. An ordinary man and an ordinary woman (both godly but still ordinary) came to town and had to find room in the stable to have what probably appeared to be a normal baby. To me, there is no Biblcal evidence nor a necessity of the Salvation story for the teachings of Mary's perpetual virginity or her immaculate (sinless) conception, nor is there any reason to think that God expcted Mary and Joseph to live different than any other married couple. The focus of the Bible is that in a world where man wants to be a god, God the Son (Jesus) became fully man without ceasing to be fully God in the process.
2. Back to Mathis' devotional. Chapter 9 was titled "Hark, the Long Lost Verses Sing." It happens to be my favorite with words by Charles Wesley (my favorite hymn lyrist) set to the music of Felix  Mendelssohn (my favorite classical composer). Most hymnals only have three of the original five verses; there's one we have which contains a fourth - technically, the first half of the fourth and fifth verses. I learned in this devotional that another of my church history heroes George Whitfield had influence on this song as well, revising the first couplet from Wesley's original to what we sing today, and making it a four verse hymn. 
3. Chapter 10 also has musical allusions, titled "We Three Kings From Orient Aren't." His focus is that this trio (actually, many say three is not the number of the Magi but rather the number of the gifts) weren't kings or political leaders, but pagan sorcerors who normally wouldn't be looking for a Jewish Savior.
4. I'm probably the only person reading Mathis' 11th devotional who would think of a connection to a third song. His focus was on the priests who knew where the Messiah was to be born but no interest in joining the Magi to see him. The song which was probably heard by less than 100 people was part of a musical called Viewpoints, where I asked several of my musician friends to write songs giving viewpoints of people in the Christmas story. One I had in mind were the above mentioned priests, and I wrote the lyrics and the music for the chorus - titled "Do I Really Care?" - while my friend Tod Moses wrote music for the verses. That experience in '93 was one of my highpoints. One of the participants - Barry Kay - included one of the two songs he wrote for that project on what I believe was his first album. If I made a list of my fovorite songs that I wrote, "Do I Really Care?" would be one of the top three. 

Hope this was a blessing, and I'm wishing you a Merry Christmas, or if you guys prefer, a Joseph Christmas.

ADVENT DEVOTIONAL BOOK REVIEWS: "PROMISED PRESENCE" BY NATHAN BROCK, "THE CHRISTMAS WE DIDN'T EXPECT" BY DAVID MATHIS

 

Last year, I read the Advent Devotional "Promised Presence" by my friend Nathan Brock (he was on staff at the church Becky and I attend before becoming joining a mission organization. By the time I finished, it was too late to review it at an appropriate time.

This year, each attender in our church received "The Christmas We Didn't Expect" by David Mathis. I finished it today, just in time for Christmas Eve. So for Christmas, I will review both of them. 

"Promised Presence" is Biblically centered: it mostly includes quotes from Scripture with a few poems in there, focusing on the first Advent. There's no commentary, no personal anecdotes, and just a few poems and other writings on the theme. It is letting Scripture speak for itself. 

"The Christmas We Didn't Expect" is more what one would expect with a devotional book. Well, maybe and maybe not. Most devotional books are focused on a reading for each day. David Mathis, Senior Teacher and Executive Editor for desiringGod.org, has a very well organized book. The 24 readings are set in eight sections of three each, focusing on certain things that are unexpected, such as "An Unexpected Birth," or "Unexpected Guests," I found this to be an uplifting and inspirational devotional set. 

I recommend both of them.