Chipper knew exactly what he needed and he knew the source. He had been coming almost every day throughout the summer, filling his cheek pockets and then scampering off to stash the treasure for the time when he knew food would be scarce. God created him with the instinct for survival, and that meant finding food.

Chipper didn’t waste any time on junk that wouldn’t nourish his tiny body. He didn’t bother much with food that wouldn’t store well. And we as his providers made sure we had a good supply of sunflower seeds on hand to feed him whenever we were sitting out on the patio.

But we, as human beings made in the image of God, are more than just animals, more than little chipmunks whose main goal is to keep their tiny bodies fed. For us, it is equally important to feed our souls. We do this by reading our Bibles and talking with our Heavenly Father, but of course everything else we do should also be focused on feeding the soul. And that applies especially to our reading habits.

My husband and I were Chipper’s main supplier of food. I tried throwing down some stale bird seed one day to get rid of it, expecting Chipper to collect it all up in his cheeks and stash it away. But no, he took one sniff and passed it up. He recognized the danger of what had been presented to him and would have none of it. I was ashamed of having even offered it to him.

As an author I have an even greater responsibility to my readers. Whatever they read is feeding their souls in one way or another. Sometimes readers don’t have quite as refined a pallet or sniffer as Chipper did. Sometimes it’s hard for them to know by looking at the cover or back of a book, what will nurture their souls.

I don’t write doctrinal books so I can’t really say much along those lines, but there are many readers who only read stories, either true stories such as biographies, or fiction. These are usually my readers. I have a God-given mandate to give them nourishing spiritual food whether I am writing true memoirs or fiction.

I hope this list which I have created for myself will help you whether you are a writer or one of our beloved readers.

1. Christian books should be birthed from a loving desire to help someone.
2. Christian books should not create pathways in the brain that include foul language.
3. Christian books should not stir up ungodly passions.
4. Christian books should follow the example of Jesus who used parables to teach. They should be able to be used as a teaching tools for children or adults.
5. Every word of a Christian book should be prayed over from start to finish.
6. Christian books should be shrouded in prayer for the cover designer, the printer, the seller and especially the reader.
7. Christian books should not be created for fame or fortune.
8. Christian books, whether fact or fiction, should actually be about Truth.
9. Christian books should cause the reader to think deeply and examine their own life.
10. Christian books should always leave the reader a better person and should stir up a passion for God.

This is the type of book we love to see on our Christian Indie Book site. If you are an author who follows these principles, we would love to list your books. If you are a reader who knows of independent authors who display these principles in their work, please direct us to them or them to us for their sake and the sake of our other readers. Thank you!