It’s that time of year again—graduation season! If you’re looking for thoughtful gift ideas beyond the customary cash gift, may we suggest an inspiring read? These books will help equip and encourage graduates to pursue God’s plan for their lives.
For Middle School Graduates
1. How to Stay Christian in High School by Steven Gerali
We know full well the pressures and stress that high school students experience today. As if it weren’t hard enough to try to pass A.P. English, make the varsity football team, and stay out of trouble, students are constantly hearing about how they need to be a “good Christian.” It’s not easy. Being a Christian might be tough, but it’s worth it. Now updated for the next generation of teenagers going through high school, this bestselling resource teaches teens how to handle the temptations and pressures they face every day. Through reading about teenagers in the Bible who also faced huge issues in their lives, teens will be encouraged to make a difference in their world today. How to Stay Christian in High School will help teen readers grapple with their faith and make it real for whatever circumstance they face.
Also check out How to Stay Christian in College by J. Budziszewski!
For High School Graduates
2. Make the Most of It by Barry H. Corey
From Biola president Barry Corey comes the perfect guide to making the college years count. It touches on everything from college romances to making friends, from getting sleep to embracing boredom, from your inner life to your social life.
In this slender volume, Barry Corey gives you wisdom that rings true but is rarely passed on. He serves up tips for survival, virtues to embrace, ideas to think about, and habits to cultivate for an enjoyable and flourishing journey through college.
After all, you will remember your college experience for the rest of your life. Make the most of it.
3. Thriving at College by Alex Chediak
Filled with wisdom and practical advice from a seasoned college professor and student mentor, Thriving at College covers the ten most common mistakes that college students make—and how to avoid them! Author Alex Chediak leaves no stone unturned—he discusses everything from choosing a major and discerning one’s vocation to balancing academics and fun, from cultivating relationships with peers and professors to helping students figure out what to do with their summers.
Most importantly, this book will help students not only keep their faith but build a vibrant faith and become the person God created them to be.
4. Follow Him by David Platt
In the first devotional from David Platt, Follow Him equips and empowers you to bring people to know Jesus Christ through your life.
Becoming a Christian involves responding to the gracious invitation of God in Christ. As we follow Christ, he transforms our will, mind, desires, relationships, and our ultimate reason for living. Every disciple of Jesus exists to make disciples of Jesus, here and among every people group on the planet.
Bestselling author and Bible teacher David Platt invites you to take a closer look over the next thirty-five days at what it means to be a true disciple; to become a fisher of men; and to give up your life, take up your cross, and Follow Him.
5. Another Gospel? by Alisa Childers
Another Gospel? describes the intellectual journey Alisa Childers took over several years as she wrestled with a series of questions that struck at the core of the Christian faith. After everything she had ever believed about God, Jesus, and the Bible had been picked apart, she found herself at the brink of despair . . . until God rescued her, helping her to rebuild her faith, one solid brick at a time.
In a culture of endless questions, you need solid answers. If you or someone you love has encountered the ideas of progressive Christianity and aren’t sure how to respond, Alisa’s journey will show you how to determine—and rest in—what’s unmistakably true.
For College Graduates
6. Find Your Way by Carly Fiorina
No matter where you are in life, you are not yet all you will be . . . Perhaps you’re just starting out and haven’t yet found your personal or professional path.
Carly Fiorina, who started as a secretary and later became the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company, can help. Drawing on her own remarkable journey, and empirical evidence accumulated over four decades in the workplace, Carly will show you how to
– choose a path over a plan
– overcome fear and procrastination
– make smart decisions, and
– reclaim your power and use it for good.
Carly Fiorina believes beyond a shadow of a doubt that your potential can be unleashed. In Find Your Way, she shows you the path to getting there.
