3 reasons to never read a book a second time

1. The book was bad and not worth the time it took to read it the first time.

2. The book was a good read but not gripping enough to re-read.

3. The book was a great read that connected to your own experiences and memories. It took you through such a range of thoughts and emotions that you were exhausted at the end; you doubt that you could do it again. 

What's your most re-read book?

Daily Light On The Daily Path

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I have more than 75 devotional books in my personal library. I own some really, really good ones (not counting those that are little more than a cute story or someone's personal experience/commentary with a line of Scripture attached). When I decided to follow through with a devotional book for this year I was torn about which one I should choose, until I flipped through this one and realized it was comprised of nothing but Scripture. That settled it for me; I feel that's just what I need: the maximum amount of Scripture content. In this case, that's 100% Scripture. 

This devotional is a classic by Samuel Bagster, compiled by his son Jonathan Bagster. It was first published in the 1800's and today you can read it in different Bible translations (such as KJV, NKJV, NIV, and ESV). The one I have is in the God's Word translation (GW). The strength of this devotional is that each reading is comprised only of various Scripture verses so Scripture speaks to Scripture. There is no commentary. 

It's so rich and yet so easy to read. I love to stop and reflect on the theme is being emphasized by each portion of reading. In that way, I can fully engage the reading and not just gloss over it like a story. I admit that I find myself getting into Bible study mode when I use this devotional so I wish I could also have it in NKJV version (which I prefer for delving deeper into the meaning of words and phrases). To end my reading, I can directly convert my readings into personalized prayers and know that it's all explicitly Bible based. I know this is one book I will be returning to no matter what else is in my library. 

Below are some other year-long devotionals I wish I also had the time to read in their entirety this year:

Holiness Day by Day: Transformational Thoughts for Your Spiritual Journey by Jerry Bridges

The Andrew Murray Daily Reader in Today's Language by Andrew Murray 

The Way by E. Stanley Jones

One Year Alone with God: 366 Devotions on the Names of God by Ava Pennington

Near to the Heart of God: Meditations on 366 Best-Loved Hymns by Robert J. Morgan

Designed for Devotion: A 365-Day Journey from Genesis to Revelation by Dianne Neal Matthews

Drawing Closer to God: 365 Daily Meditations on Questions from Scripture by Dianne Neal Matthews


Do you use a devotional? What's your pick for this month or year?

10 Things I Love About Christmas

In no particular order...

1. The air is cool and crisp and Chrismassy (the only time of the year where I am)
2. Laughing children, lighthearted conversation with family 
3. Presents and gift-wrapping paper
4. Movie parties with family
5. Playing games
6. Extra-special yummy things to eat
7. Christmas music 
8. The reflection and happy nostalgia it evokes
9. Joy and peace just seem to be easier to hold on to
10. That I get to belong to Jesus and everything else has new meaning!

It's The Simple Things In Life

It's an 'unwind-relax-and thank God for life and time-off' thing around here. It happens over the summer vacation, at special celebrations, and of course for the major holidays like Christmas. I find a crew of family members hunkered down with me for movie marathons which I have started to refer to as movie parties. People are welcome; snacks and finger foods, almost required. It's so much fun.

I love to step back and observe everyone in my domain just having fun. It's heartwarming to see the kids laughing and having fun, to hear the opinions and exclamations about the movie, to see everyone just spending that time there together. Of course, there are the moments when someone has to shout at someone else about their noise level (we all want to hear what's happening in the movie after all), or someone is plotting about how to get the last snack, or someone 'stole' someone else's seating place. But it's life, and it's family, and it's time together. It's very cool.

We had the first movie party of the holiday season yesterday. It was impromptu and we had no snacks...well one of my sisters had one bag of barbecue chips. But it was great. I just loved having them here, on my couch and upsetting my orderly and neat space for a while. A cleanup and/or straightening out process is always necessary in the aftermath but it's so worth it.

You know, before the semester ended, and before my holiday vacation began, I had been guilt-tripping about my social media visits (which did go on way too long when I should have been studying etcetera). I imagined I would be freely and lengthily catching up with the Twitter and Facebook worlds once the holidays officially began for me. Needless to say, from that time exactly, I have had little desire to spend my time browsing social media. I guess there is just some perspective right now. These precious moments and opportunities aren't there all the time. And they end all too soon. It really is the simple things in life that matter most. Simple things make the most authentic and happy memories. We should never be in a hurry to leave them behind, and never substitute them for anything else.

Start reading and giving

I am a hopeless book aficionado. That’s why my Kindle library never stops growing and my wooden bookshelf can’t hold many more titles. I am grateful to my father for making sure that my siblings and I had a varied and extensive library when we were younger. As a result I was reading theological works and non-fiction, as well as novels and classic fiction, that was considered way beyond my age from early childhood. In fact, when my father took me to the public library just out of my toddler years, not knowing the library had an age regulation and I was too young, the sympathetic librarian decided to give me an impromptu reading test which I impressed her by breezing through. I was thereafter a regular at the library.

I would wish that I worked at the library, or at least that I could get locked into it after closing hours and have the entire time to read and browse to my heart’s delight. As a college student I did have the opportunity to work at the library one summer. And much to my dismay, actually having to work did not leave time for reading on the job! Nevertheless, the influence of books has definitely had a big impact on my success at school at every level, as well as my general knowledge, and my ability to interact with a wide variety of people and topics of discussion. Encouraging a love for reading quality books is truly one of the greatest gifts you could ever give your child.

On that note, have you heard about the We Give Books initiative? We Give Books is a fantastic resource for parents, teachers, and anyone who loves to read children’s books. They have a free online library of over 150 outstanding children’s books available at www.wegivebooks.org, including well known titles your children are bound to love. The best part is, your reading will directly impact the great work of non-profit organizations around the world! At the time of writing this post, your reading can help bring relief to those affected by Hurricane Sandy which brought wide-scale devastation to Northeastern parts of the US in November 2012. Head over to www.wegivebooks.org to join for Free and find out more about this wonderful initiative. Start reading and giving!


I am publicizing We Give Books on my personal blog at my own initiative, simply because I believe in what they’re doing.