I Love Books!

I have read several dozen books the last six months. I don't even remember most of them. I usually read at least a book a week, sometimes three. It largely depends on the book. I've gone through my personal library (again) and usually have a book or two checked out from the library. I've read plenty of fiction, but some of the most poignant have been non-fiction.

**Please don't remind me that with all of this time to read I could have easily read through the Word...maybe twice. I lament the fact for both of us. My main excuse is that I like to read my Life Application with all the footnotes and...life application...that I don't always get with my tiny Bible, which is much more portable.**

Anyway, I think there are few that are worth noting.

#1. The Hole in Our Gospel by Rich Stearns. READ THIS BOOK. IT'LL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. I am not saying that lightly. The minute I finished the book, I literally got online and sponsored another World Vision child. I now get to help little Flavio from the Dominican Republic as well as continue to support Elaste in Rwanda. I'm not saying that to point out how great I am. I could not have NOT sponsored another child. That's just what this book does. It forces you to act. Rich Stearns is the current president of World Vision and I truly believe his story and experience could be any of ours if we actually followed God's lead. Nearly every day, as I walk past a wide spectrum of God's children--of whom I usually can't get past the stench, profanity, or uppity business suit--I am reminded of this book and how it re-shaped my entire world view. Do I fail at answering God's nudges or in some cases obvious urgings? Daily. I'm a giant scaredy cat. Going out of my bubble is really, really hard for me. Just riding the subway can often push me past my comfort zone. READ THIS BOOK. IT'LL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

#2. Raising Up Boys by Dr. James Dobson. This book has been around about a decade now but it had been on my reading to-do list for ages. No, I have no children, I'm not married, nor am I expecting. I don't even have a nephew. But we need good men in this world. How does a boy become a man? And what roles must each parent play in shaping who these little people will become? For me, this book is also a must read. We are living in a dangerous time when the very definition of a marriage and family is subjective and highly contested. From the structure of our education system to the fact that men are often seen as optional on-the-verge-of-irrelevant (or even detrimental), unnecessary from conception to college graduation. This book does not sugar coat topics and you may disagree with aspects of it but it will absolutely make you think (or re-think) about how you want to go about raising up your children. Totally worth it.
**Raising Up Girls by Dr. Dobson was recently released in hardcover, I believe.**

There are more books to comment on, but I'll leave you with an excerpt of a quote in the book I'm reading right now. Can you guess who wrote this? And who the subject of the book may be?

The people of the world still share...hope. The peoples of the world, despite differences in racial and ethnic origin, have very much in common. They want the dignity of having some control over their individual destiny. They want to work at the craft or trade of their own choosing and to be fairly rewarded. They want to raise their families in peace without harming anyone or suffering harm themselves. Government exists for their convenience, not the other way around. If they are incapable, as some would have us believe, of self-government, then where among them do we find any who are capable of governing others?


It makes me giddy :D