Additional Resources – Books
WEEK 3 – THE ART OF LISTENING IN CAREGIVING
The Good Listener by James E. Sullivan
Readers learn the effects that their listening has on others and insight into the effects that the listening skills of others have upon them.
WEEK 5 – ASSERTIVENESS IN CAREGIVING
Speaking the Truth in Love: How to Be an Assertive Christian by Ruth N. Koch and Kenneth C. Haugk, Ph.D.
What does it mean to live assertively? What does it look like for us as Christians to be assertive in our daily lives? This book gives clear and helpful answers to these questions, explores the biblical foundation for assertiveness, and suggests practical ways to relate to others with honesty, compassion, and respect.
Caring Criticism: Building Bridges Instead of Walls by William J. Diehm
A natural follow-up to Speaking the Truth in Love, this book provides practical, down-to-earth advice on how to offer criticism in ways that are helpful and nonthreatening, how to receive criticism without taking offense or feeling crushed, and how to respond positively to criticism.
WEEK 6 – MAINTAINING BOUNDARIES IN CAREGIVING
Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Henry Cloud
Boundaries impact all areas of our lives: Physical boundaries help us determine who may touch us and under what circumstances — Mental boundaries give us the freedom to have our own thoughts and opinions — Emotional boundaries help us to deal with our own emotions and disengage from the harmful, manipulative emotions of others — Spiritual boundaries help us to distinguish God’s will from our own and give us renewed awe for our Creator — Often, Christians focus so much on being loving and unselfish that they forget their own limits and limitations.
BOOKS ON CAREGIVING
Bedside Manners: A Practical Guide to Visiting the Ill by Katie Maxwell
Ideas and insights for making caring visits to those who are ill. This book addresses difficult moments where good intentions need some practical guidance, gives helpful advice for how to be empathetic and sensitive to a patient’s needs and circumstances and offers guidelines for visiting patients, whether in hospitals, nursing homes, or at home.
Bible Readings for Caregivers by Betty Groth Syverson
Provides the spiritual replenishment for caregivers as they care for others. Each page is dedicated to a different topic related to the blessings and challenges of caregiving, such as “When Loving Is Difficult” and “Strength for the Weary.” Reflections, prayers, and questions based on Scripture quotations will strengthen, challenge, and encourage you as you offer companionship and hope to others.
Christian Caregiving – A Way of Life by Kenneth C. Haugk, Ph.D.
This book explores ways you can confidently talk about your faith, pray with others, share words from the Bible, and comfort a friend. It shows how to touch the deepest spiritual concerns of others and be an effective caregiver—while remembering that God is the curegiver.
Disappointment with God: Three Questions No One Asks Aloud by Philip Yancey
As the author digs into our disappointment with God, he poses three questions that Christians hesitate to ask aloud: “Is God unfair? Is God silent? Is God hidden?” He responds to these questions with his hallmark clarity and honesty, pointing us beyond life’s disappointments and the cynicism they can breed to a stronger and wiser faith—a confidence in God’s deep love for us and a thirst to reach not just for what God gives but for who God is.
Psalms for Healing: Praying with Those in Need by Gretchen Person
With the healing language of the Psalms, this compilation enhances the ministry of both clergy and laypersons. Each set of verses is followed by a prayer that can be personalized by the reader. This book speaks to great suffering and heartache and is a wonderful resource for caregivers, hurting individuals, and their families.
Second Forgetting: Remembering the Power of the Gospel during Alzheimer’s Disease by Dr. Benjamin Mast
This book walks the reader through the medical facts of the disease, answering common questions and providing practical advice for caregivers. Throughout, the author reaches out to readers with care, empathy, and compassion, sharing stories from people with Alzheimer’s and their loved ones and showing how the Bible speaks to them and their challenges. For those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, their loved ones, and others who provide care, it offers a message of hope for coping with the disease and staying connected to Christ.
BOOKS ON GRIEF
A Sacred Walk: Dispelling the Fear of Death and Caring for the Dying by Donna M. Authers
Perspectives of both the dying and those caring for the dying that provide practical advice to prepare yourself or a loved one for death as well as the lessons the living can learn from the dying—encouraging readers as they consider these challenging issues.
Don’t Sing Songs to a Heavy Heart: How to Relate to Those Who Are Suffering by Kenneth C. Haugk, Ph.D.
Practical, specific suggestions on how to care in ways that hurting people welcome—while avoiding common pitfalls that can add to their pain.
Empty Arms: Hope and Support for Those Who Have Suffered a Miscarriage, Stillbirth or Tubal Pregnancy (Second Edition) by Pam Vredevelt
The author acknowledges the well-meaning words and actions of relatives, friends, and medical personnel that sometimes make the pain of the loss even worse. She not only suggests ways to deal with those blunders but also recommends ways to help others respond appropriately. She also tends to the helplessness and grief experienced by fathers and provides a list of ways husbands can support their wives. There is also a chapter on helping children understand this type of loss.
Joy Comes in the Morning by William Kinnard
Affirms and encourages those who are facing a life crisis and those who are called to care. The author embraces readers who may be facing times of darkness themselves, and reassures them that Christ’s love is present with them in their experience. He also shows readers how they can become a source of hope and encouragement for others.
The Promise of Hope: Coping When Life Caves In by William Kinnard
Offers a message of encouragement to those who are struggling with life’s difficulties. The author assures readers that, no matter how lonely they feel or how deeply they grieve, they never walk alone: God is always there beside them. The author combines teachings from the Bible, his personal experience, and the thinking of great teachers such as C.S. Lewis and Paul Tournier to express powerful Christian truths.
BOOKS ON SPIRITUAL GROWTH
As We Forgive Those, How to Forgive Others, Ourselves and God by Charles F. Finck
Most of us have been taught the importance of forgiving. The problem is that no one taught us how to do it! Now we can learn how to forgive using a simple prayer that brings healing and restoration to the heart. This book reveals six uncomplicated steps to freedom in relationships with others and God.
The Believer’s Authority by Kenneth E. Hagin
The author explains that not only do we as Christians have authority, most of us do not know about it or even how to use it. Once we are aware of this authority, we will be able to do the work God has called us to do.