Yesterday a box arrived from Amazon. Sigh....can I just say, I loooooove Amazon? I have been crazy about books since I picked up my first Trixie Belden mystery in 5th grade, or maybe it began at age six when I held carefully a Christmas book handed down from a relative that is now over 100 years old and still is displayed in our home at Christmas. If I was ever stranded on an island I would miss books more than many other objects I can see around our home. Yeah....they are my delight and my temptation.
Speaking of temptation, yesterday's box held a book for Joel (Merry Christmas!) and a book for me(Merry Christmas again!). As we looked at the covers of the books we had been longing for and had a peek at beforehand, we decided not to wait until Christmas morning, but start reading right away. Last night we sat in the quiet with the fireplace warming the cold air, and turned the pages of our new gifts to each other. Periodically we would share something important...........my words came from Ann Voskamp's new book, "The Broken Way" and Joel's words came from a book our middle daughter had shown him this past weekend, "The Power of Habit: Smarter, Faster, Better" by Charles Duhigg. Joel was so intrigued with the book I ordered it ASAP and surprisingly the box arrived in record time....yay for us!
Book published in 1899
given to me in 1954....
If you are wondering why we don't go to the library for books, let me put your mind at rest.... we do. I prefer getting fiction books from our local library to read, but if there is a book I know I will go back to time and time again, I turn to Amazon or Barnes and Noble. I underline and fold down pages....Joel highlights. We both love books that teach us more about life and about God. Books that bring us closer to our Lord. Books that tell HIS story through our stories printed and held in our hands. There is just something about holding a book in your hands.
I have a niece that works in a college library. Can you imagine? She loves to read and there it is, all right around her......how fun to work in a place filled with what you love most! I used to dream about owning a bookstore.....like a kid in a candy store, I expect.
I am in the beginning pages of Voskamp's book, "The Broken Way". She is a lyrical writer and it takes me awhile to get into the rhythm of her words......they are savored and need to be carefully pondered....no speed reading here. She was speaking about how God meets us in our brokenness. And we are all broken in some way or another. At least if we are breathing, we are. And as Christ enters in us we are His only earthly body in the present. He uses our hands and feet to love on His people. How amazing is that!
Books educate us. Books enlighten us. Books inspire us. Books provide ways for our story to to told and ways for us to hear the stories of others. They help us remember and learn, and they provide a delightful escape. Among other assignments, I hope that when I get to Heaven I will be working in the library, or maybe the bakery. Or maybe it will be a library like ours that has it's own little cafe where you can buy baked goods, sandwiches and coffee. A place where we can be surrounded by books and the smell of baking bread! Nice......
This weekend would be a good time to pick up a book and a cup of what warms you, then settle in under a quilt. Temperatures are dipping down to -24 tonight with wind chills at -40 to -50 degrees. We are more than grateful for a warm house and the nourishment we need for our bodies and our souls. Stay warm friends.................
4 comments:
I'm also reading Ann Voskamp's new book, and yes - it must be read slowly and thoughtfully, but what a blessing it is! After I read her first book, I thought she was someone whose life had always been fairly "perfect", but in this new book, she talks so honestly about her struggles. It is through her transparency that God speaks to me.
I just finished the Broken Way....I like her once I get into the rhythm. I like what you are reading too. I enjoyed Hannah Colton by Wendal Barry very much too. I might be off with the spelling of the names....it's been awhile.
I'll have to look up Hannah Colton too. Merry Christmas Friend....
Nice of you to come by, Verlyn. Ann Voskamp has certainly not had an easy life....but she keeps getting back up and moving forward. Im enjoying her book, too...... God bless!!!
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