I love to read. I really do. One of my very favorite times is when I get to sit down for an hour or two and just read. And books are just about my very favorite things. Books are windows into a broader world. They can take me places, sometimes to explore and sometimes (to be honest) just to escape for a little while.
Fiction or nonfiction? Yes. I love them both.
From books I learn. I learn more about the world around me and more about myself. I learn what I agree with, and what I disagree with. I love to know what my friends are reading. (I’m on the site ‘GoodReads‘ to track books, see what my friends are reading and get suggestions on what to read next…if you’re on it, friend me there!)
Books are one of the ways that God speaks to me.
I’ve discovered that there are two ways that I read books. Perhaps this is the same for you. There are times I just sit down and read, absorbing information. I’m trying to learn. But there are other books, where I begin to read, and the words seem to go through my mind, and straight into my heart. These books speak to me in ways different than others.
There is head reading, and there is heart reading. There’s nothing wrong with either. But while the former is educational, the latter is transformational.
What makes reading one book a “head-exercise” and the other a “heart-exercise?” I’m not sure. It may be the kind of book…the purpose of the book or the way the book is written. Or, it may be the way I open myself up to reading when I open the book. When I open a book with the idea that there may be things in its pages that could change me, there is some excitement (and maybe a little bit of both anticipation and nervousness!) as I begin reading.
Do I open a book to learn? To grow? both?
When I do…when I set aside my ego and recognize that I have space inside of me to learn and grow, space to become something new, space for God’s Holy Spirit to work, then I am eager to read and to allow God to continue shaping me into who God calls me to be.
For me, books are a part of that process. They may be for you too. But if not books for you, then where? Where do you create space for God to work in and on you?
Find a way to make room! And if you’d like, pick up a book! If you’d like a recommendation, let me know. And I’d love your recommendations too!
God’s peace,
Pastor Todd
Test Driving Theology 