Now that we’re into December 2025 is almost over and on come the “year in review” sort of posts. Curious about how to summarize what I wrote in 2025 I loaded my 2025 Word doc into ChatGPT and asked for a 5-bullet-point summary of themes. I promise I would never write a “normal” post using Generative AI, and I definitely would never use it without letting my readers know. However, I am curious about the technology and find it has some helpful uses, like summarization. So, here’s how ChatGPT summarized the blog for 2025:
“Deepening Faith Through Struggle and Growth Many posts emphasize how God matures believers through trials, weak moments, and long seasons of slow spiritual growth (like the mustard seed and “blade–ear–full grain” parables). Even tiny faith is destined to grow by God’s power, not ours.
Living as Servants of God in Everyday Life A central idea is that everyone serves something, and Christians are called to consciously serve Christ in ordinary tasks, not only in formal ministry. Daily life—work, family, routine chores—can fully please God.
Obedience, Trust, and the Danger of Self-Reliance Several posts warn against the “however” we raise against God’s commands, the pride of Babel, or Pharaoh-like hardness. The call is to trust God’s ways over our own reasoning and resist drifting off the path.
Radical Grace, Forgiveness, and Loving Others Well From Philip welcoming the former persecutor Paul, to teaching on forgiveness and serving the poor, the posts highlight God’s enormous grace and the call for believers to extend that same radical, healing forgiveness to others.
Eternal Perspective: Investing in What Lasts The posts frequently encourage readers to prioritize heaven over earthly success—storing treasure in heaven, remembering God’s justice, recognizing the temporary nature of human achievements, and preparing for the world to come.”
And now back to me (instead of ChatGPT).
Overall, I think this is a good summary. What themes resonated with you in 2025? What would you like to hear more of? Less of? What’s most helpful for your walk with God?
Thank you for letting Driving Toward Morning be part of your routine in 2025 and looking forward to God’s blessings in 2026!
It’s become a tradition here to post what books I read during the year. This year’s total was 16, down from over 20 each of the last 3 years. A big part of the lower total was my struggle to get through The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah by Alfred Edersheim (1883). At over 900 dense pages, I still haven’t finished it even though I started in late 2023. It’s a fascinating biography of Jesus by one of the preeminent scholars of Jewish culture and literature of his time, but not an easy read sometimes. Maybe in 2025 I can “close the book” on that one.
So, what books did I finish reading this year?
Fiction books: Eight Tales of Terror by Edgar Allan Poe The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
I re-read Tolkien’s books every few years and they were as good as ever. The only problem is that Fellowship of the Ring is my favorite of the trilogy, especially the part from Weathertop to the bridge of Khazad-Dum, so the story peaks too soon for me, but the rest is great as well.
Poe I read because I was looking for something easy to read and found it on our bookshelves. It has some familiar and unfamiliar stories.
A few history books: The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson Last Hope Island by Lynne Olson A Holy Baptism of Fire and Blood by James P. Byrd The Pirate Coast by Richard Zachs
I’ll read anything by Erik Larson, and since he released a new one, I had to read it. The Demon of Unrest details the events before, during and after, the Battle of Fort Sumter and the start of the American Civil War. I knew very little about it so I learned a lot.
Last year I read Byrd’s book about how the Bible was used during the American Revolutionary War. This one is the same idea, but during the American Civil War (sensing a bit of theme here?). Both books are very interesting and full of examples of misuse of the Bible, particularly individual verses taken out of context and turned into slogans.
A couple non-fiction: Beyond Measure by James Vincent Rescuing Socrates by Roosevelt Montas
Vincent’s book is an interesting history of measurement, including how many of our units were started. One part I liked was why some countries use metric and others don’t. Montas’ book is a defense of the use of the “Great Books” for education, for all students regardless of race or background. He cycles through 4 authors – Plato, Augustine, Freud, and Gandhi – making a different case for each.
And one biography: Darwin: Portrait of a Genius by Paul Johnson
The late Paul Johnson was one of my favorite historians and this one had been on my shelves for a few years. Like with Larson, I’ll read anything by Johnson. This was a brief and well-done biography covering Charles Darwin’s achievements, strengths and weaknesses (the part we don’t hear as much about). Johnson is always opinionated and shares where he thinks Darwin’s theories are helpful and where they aren’t.
Plus several religious books: In addition to regular Bible and study Bible reading, in 2024 I read:
The Reason for God by Tim Keller 3 books by Warren Wiersbe covering the “minor” prophets: Be Heroic (Haggai – Ezra), Be Amazed (Hosea – Malachi), and Be Concerned (Amos – Zephaniah).
I picked up Wiersbe’s entire “Be” series in 2021 as part of a digital subscription and am working through it over time. A long time. I like his overall approach, and the books are a great source of thoughtful stories and quotes. I’ve covered 22 of the Bible’s 66 books so far!
In sum, 16 was less than usual for me in a year, but how many will I read in 2025? Will I finally finish Edersheim, which I’m reading chunks of between other books? Who knows…in the meantime, have you read any of these? What books did you enjoy in 2024?
And speaking of reading, I want to thank all of you who take the time to read my blog. I set a new high in views in 2024, passing 2022 (2023 was slightly down).
As 2023 ends, many are posting reflections on the year, including book lists. Figured I’d jump in again! In 2022, I managed to read 22 books, but topped that in 2023 with 26.
What books did I read this year?
Let’s start with the fun ones.
Fiction books:
Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
Mostly Harmless is the last of 5 books in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. The Silmarillion I tried to read way back in high school but couldn’t finish. I finally got it in this year.
Classics:
Each year I try to fit in a couple of “classics,” although what books belong in that category is debatable.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley The Chosen by Chaim Potok Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Chosen was my favorite of these. It’s a story of two Jewish teenagers in Brooklyn in and around the time of World War II. One of them was a strict Hasidic Jew, while the other was not, and the book follows their friendship over time.
A few history books:
In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson Christianity Through the Centuries by Earle Cairns Sacred Scripture, Sacred War by James P. Byrd
Erik Larson is one of my favorite authors, and this book covers the rise of Hitler, including why there wasn’t more opposition to him earlier, mostly through the eyes of the U.S. ambassador to Germany.
Byrd’s book is based on a study of hundreds of sermons delivered and/or published during the American Revolutionary War and covers the Bible verses and ideas that were used to motivate American soldiers. Most interesting were verses whose interpretations changed to fit the preacher’s objectives, not objectives changed to fit Scripture. For example, there were verses used to justify rebellion from England that were later used to justify submission to the new American government.
More non-fiction than usual:
Success Through Failure by Henry Petroski Force by Henry Petroski Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke The Elements of Style by Strunk & White
I read two by Petroski by accident. One was recommended by a relative and the other by a book review I read. Only when I started the second one did I realize it was the same author. Both were interesting descriptions of engineering ideas for laymen like myself.
I hope to not break any of Strunk & White’s rules in my blog in 2024. I initially read it during college, and finally came back to it for some light airplane reading.
Also more biography than usual:
Faithful Presence by Bill Haslam Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis Pulitzer by W.A. Swanberg
Reading about Tolkien and Lewis back-to-back was very interesting, and not just because they mention each other. I didn’t know much about Tolkien’s background and faith, and how those influenced his fiction, or much of Lewis’ journey of faith.
The Pulitzer biography was fascinating as background for why much of the media are the way they are today. Pulitzer as publisher was driven by a political agenda and used sensationalist methods to bring in readership. Pulitzer as man was a genius with an amazing memory, but also abusive of his staff and sometimes his family.
Plus a bunch of religious books and devotionals:
In addition to regular Bible and study Bible reading, in 2023 I read:
Is Europe Christian? By Olivier Roy Rediscovering Holiness by J.I. Packer 2 books by my former pastor Glenn Parkinson: A Larger Faith: the Book of Daniel and Peter’s Principles: Learning to Follow Jesus The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis 3 books by Warren Wiersbe: Be Committed (Ruth/Esther), Be Determined (Nehemiah), and Be Patient (Job). Morning by Morning by Charles Spurgeon
Roy’s book discusses different ideas of how a country or region can be considered Christian, then whether Europe meets his criteria. I found the parts about “what is a Christian country?” more interesting that the question asked in the title.
I read the Four Loves for the first time because someone recently compared one of my posts to the book. Much of the book isn’t theology, but more practical observations about human relationships.
I picked up Wiersbe’s entire “Be” series in 2021 as part of a digital subscription and am working through it over time. A long time. I like his overall approach and the books are a great source of thoughtful stories and quotes.
26 is lot for me, and how many will I read in 2024? Who knows…in the meantime, have you read any of these 26? What books did you enjoy in 2023?
As 2022 ends, many are posting reflections on the year, including book lists. Figured I’d jump in, even though I am a slow reader, prone to distraction, and have a job that requires multiple hours per day of reading. So, when I see others listing 70+ books read in 2022, I tell myself that 22 books is enough, since the year was 2022.
A range of history books: Clouds of Witnesses by Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom The Residence by Kate Andersen Brower The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne by David Starkey The Offshore Islanders: A History of the English People by Paul Johnson
The first two of these made appearances in the blog, referenced in the Bibliography. Clouds of Witnesses, which could be included in other categories, is an excellent collection of stories about Christians in Asia and Africa, giving a great perspective away from my local, American one. More history posts will be coming from that book. The Residence is a collection of stories from workers in the White House, from cooks and valets, and many other roles. It ranged multiple decades of presidents and their families, with interesting takes on these very real people.
The Devil in the White City is my favorite book by one of my favorite authors, and likely will be covered as the blog’s first book review soon. Erik Larson writes history that reads like a novel and picks amazing stories as topics.
With a family trip to England and Wales on the 2022 calendar, both history and fiction books on this list revolved around the U.K.
A range of fiction books: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John LeCarré The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams So Long and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams
It’s only now that I realize all of these books involve England. “Tinker” is one of my dad’s favorite books and I’d put off reading it for a long time but am glad I finally got to it. It’s a fascinating and complicated story about a mole in the British spy network, and I picked up great quotes like “All power corrupts, but some must govern,” and “Learn the facts…then try on the stories like clothes.” “Hound” is one I read as a teenager and picked back up for something quick and light to read, and the other 3 were new to me. This blog began with a Douglas Adams reference, and there will likely be more to come!
Only one non-fiction book: King’s X: The Oral History by Greg Prato
This ended up featured in two blogposts and tells the story of one of my favorite bands that never quite “made it big,” but gets a ton of respect from other musicians. Part of the problem was that they couldn’t be pigeon-holed as either a “Christian” band, or not.
Plus some Christian commentary and devotionals: In addition to regular Bible and study Bible reading, in 2022 I read:
4 books by Warren Wiersbe: Be Alive (John 1-12), Be Transformed (John 13-21), Be Wise (1 Corinthians), and Be Encouraged (2 Corinthians). 4 books by C.S. Lewis: That Hideous Strength, The Weight of Glory, The Abolition of Man, and The Great Divorce. Encouragement: The Key to Caring by Larry Crabb and Dan Allender Everyday Prayer with the Reformers by Donald McKim Tapestry: The Book of Revelation by Glenn Parkinson
A fan of C.S. Lewis from childhood, in 2022 I aimed to read several of his books I hadn’t before, which include the last 3 above. I love finding familiar Lewis quotes in their original context, which brings out even more meaning. A few of these ended up in the blog. In 2023, maybe I’ll get to Surprised by Joy, The Four Loves and all of God in the Dock.
I picked up Wiersbe’s entire “Be” series in 2021 as part of a digital subscription and am working through it over time. A long time. I like his overall approach and the books are a great source of thoughtful stories and quotes.
Encouragement and Everyday Prayer both ended up in the blog. The first I had read many years ago and rediscovered ideas in it that I had forgotten the source of. Everyday Prayer was a gift and is a short devotional covering segments of prayers from the Protestant Reformation, with related stories and Bible verses.
Lastly, I just finished Tapestry earlier today. Glenn Parkinson is the retired former pastor of my church, and the book provides a very helpful overview of the book of Revelation, making a great case that John “did not intend to give us a puzzle no one can solve,” but intended to reveal (as in a revelation) a tapestry of images designed to encourage Christian faithfulness and perseverance in the time between Jesus’ first and second comings.
Will I read 23 books in 2023? Who knows…in the meantime, have you read any of these 22? What books did you enjoy in 2022?
Driving Toward the Morning Sun 