The Alabaster Jar

S6 E27 | Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson | Reading for the Love of God

In this episode of the Alabaster Jar Podcast, Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson joins Dr. Lynn Cohick to discuss her book, Reading for the Love of God: How to Read as a Spiritual Practice. Together, they explore the transformative power of reading as a spiritual practice and talk through how stories, both biblical and literary, shape our understanding of life and faith. They also discuss different types of readers, virtues to bring to our reading, and the rich traditions of scriptural interpretation throughout history.

Resources Mentioned:


The Visual Museum of Women in Christianity

Reading for the Love of God: How to Read as a Spiritual Practice by Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson

The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints by Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson

Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading by Eugene H. Peterson

My Friend Flicka by Mary O’Hara

Lord Peter: The Complete Lord Peter Wimsey Stories by Dorothy L. Sayers

The Man Born to Be King by Dorothy L. Sayers

The Mind of the Maker: The Expression of Faith through Creativity and Art by Dorothy L. Sayers

Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry

Cato: A Tragedy, and Selected Essays by Joseph Addison

Old Yeller by Fred Gipson

The Zeal of Thy House by Dorothy L. Sayers

Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich

The Odyssey by Homer

Episode Sponsor:

The Alabaster Jar is brought to you by The Center for Women in Leadership, a newly formed 501©3 nonprofit organization whose purpose is to equip women in a context that is biblically rooted, theologically robust, and ethnically diverse to thrive as leaders in the academy, the marketplace, and the Church. Follow them on Instagram @leadershipwithoutapology.