Complete in Thee: Too Much to Read!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Too Much to Read!

I have to laugh at myself when I think about all the many, many books I want to read. I LOVE to read-- especially books that are edifying to my walk with the Lord-- but there are really just too many to read! This winter shouldn't be boring or pointless, if I just limit too much wasted computer time!!

How about a pictorial guide?

* Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

* Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

* David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (I did actually already start this one, but set it aside for other books

* Sergeant York and the Great War by Alvin C. York/Tom Skeyhill/Richard Wheeler

* A Man Called Peter by Catherine Marshall

*Ellanor's Exchange by Linda Hayner

*Christy by Catherine Marshall

*Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

* A Chance To Die by Elisabeth Elliot (re-read)

*Bunyan's Blind Daughter Mary by S. R. Ford

*J. Hudson Taylor by Roger Steer

* Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose (re-read)

*Mountain Rain by Eileen Fraser Crossman

* Stones of Fire by Isobel Kuhn

*Green Leaf in Drought by Isobel Kuhn (re-read)

*North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (not pictured)

Big list, isn't it? (And there are many more re-reads in order which I have not indicated.) Please feel free to comment and tell me your rating on some of the above which you have read, so I know what is worth my time or not. :-)

Have you ever thought to evaluate what kind of entertainment is really worth your time? Does the book encourage you to seek to have your own way or learn to give up your own rights for God's glory and others' good? Does it promote worldly behaviors or Christlike living? Does it cause you to imagine all kinds of unrealistic romances adventures, etc., happening to yourself, or place in you a determination to serve God no matter what happens? Does it align with the guidelines in God's Word? If it was an animate person, would you spend time with it then? These are things to keep in mind as you and I choose which books to "befriend". 1 Corinthians sums it up well:

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31)

~*~*~*~*~

Here are the books I am currently reading:

The Practice of the Presence of God

by Brother Lawrence ~ Advice on how to make God the very center of your life, in all that you do

To The Golden Shore

by Courtney Anderson ~ A biography on the amazing life and work of missionary Adoniram Judson

The Journals of Jim Elliot edited by Elisabeth Elliot ~ Just what it says-- the journals of a man of God

Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford ~ An account of God's hand in the travels of the Pilgrims and the founding of Plymouth

Emma by Jane Austen ~ A delightful fictional story of early 19th-century England, and a high-ranked young woman with a love for matchmaking and much to learn, for all she thinks she knows!

8 comments:

Teddy said...: Looks like we're reading or have read the same books!; November 21, 2008 at 2:28 PM
Melanie said...: Which ones?

Remember when we went to your house, and you and I were both reading that book about the vanishing conscience, by John MacArthur, at the same time? That was funny. Did you ever finish it? I didn't. :-S The first chapter stressed me a little too much. But I would like to pick it up again some time here. I have WAY TOO MUCH to read!!! :-D (as you see)

~M; November 21, 2008 at 2:34 PM
Amanda said...: What a list!!! :S; November 21, 2008 at 3:47 PM
Melanie said...: LOL-- I know!; November 21, 2008 at 3:52 PM
Teddy said...: Yes, i did finish it. It was really good, but I can see why you would get stressed; I myself was furious at the way people bring God down on their level, and in turn convicted where i've done the same in a less noticable way. *BLAH*
Do ya'll own some of the classics? Such as: David Copperfield,Great Expectations, The Count of Monte Christo, etc. etc? if you do, may I be lent them? I'm trying to expand my library, but I don't know what all is good... you know? Or, if you don't, could you give me some ideas of what to read?; November 21, 2008 at 6:25 PM
Melanie said...: I am borrowing David Copperfield from "Marie" K. and I have Great Expectations. I really liked Great Expectations, even though it was a bit unusual. I love Dickens' writing style! It's so tasteful! Others that we own are some of the Jane Austens, A Tale of Two Cities, Jane Eyre, Little Women as well as some others by L. M. Alcott, lots of George MacDonald....
and of course lots of "non-classics": Christmas Carol Kaufman, A Life of Faith series, H. Rider Haggard.....
well, what kind of stuff are you wanting to read? I can lend you pretty much anything except what I am reading presently or plan to read next. :-); November 21, 2008 at 7:06 PM
Teddy said...: I have a lot of George MacDonalds (Yesss!) so I'm pretty set on those, but if you could spare Great Expectations, that would be great! I'd like to borrow Emma sometime too. But, no rush, I don't actually have time.... I'm working with my schedule to see if i can use my time better and maybe come up with a bit extra for reading and writing and stuff. Thanks!; November 21, 2008 at 9:39 PM
Melanie said...: Sure, I can lend you "Great Expectations". The copy of "Emma" that I am reading is actually not ours, so I can't lend that one to you. :-(; November 22, 2008 at 9:23 AM

PRAYER REQUESTS

"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints" (Ephesians 6:18)

PLEASE PRAY...

* That I would draw nearer to God every day and never allow my relationship to become stagnant ritual; particularly that I would grow in the area of submission, patience, 1 Corinthians 13 love, and wholehearted devotion

* That I might have wisdom as I edit "The Marquis' Daughter"; that the Lord would bless and work through it; and that I might find just the right publisher for it.

* That I would submit to the Lord's work in my life, whatever it may be; that I would take each opportunity He brings me (even the seemingly hard ones) to draw closer to Him and point others to Him

*That our Etsy shop might be successful and that it would be a means by which we can glorify God and share the Gospel

Ephesians 2:1-10

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

"The heart set to do the Father's will need never fear defeat. His promises of guidance may be fully counted upon. Does it make sense to believe that the Shepherd would care less about getting His sheep where He wants them to go than they care about getting there?"

"God is God. Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will, a will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to."

"If God, like a father, denies us what we want now it is in order to give us some far better thing later on. The will of God, we can rest assured, is invariably a better thing."

"Obedience to God's will is the secret of spiritual knowledge and insight. It is not willingness to know, but willingness to DO (obey) God's will that brings certainty."

"Victory over all the circumstances of life comes not by might, nor by power, but by a practical confidence in God and by allowing His Spirit to dwell in our hearts and control our actions and emotions. Learn in the days of ease and comfort, to think in terms of the prayer that follows, so that when the days of hardship come you will be fully prepared and equipped to meet them."

"And shall I pray, Oh, change Thy will, my Father,
Until it be according unto mine?
Ah no, Lord, no, that never could be, rather
I pray Thee, Blend my human will with Thine."

"A crucified life cannot be self-assertive. It cannot protect itself. It cannot be startled into resentful words. The cup that is full of sweet water cannot spill bitter-tasting drops, however sharply it is knocked."

"And as we rest our hearts upon what we know (the certainty of the ultimate triumph of good), leaving what we do not know to the Love that has led us all our life long, the peace of God enters into us and abides. And then we see our light."

[A Practicing Christian]...it means that every single act and feeling, every experience, whether pleasant or unpleasant, must be referred to God. It means looking at everything as something that comes from Him, and always looking to Him and asking His will first, and saying, "How would he wish me to deal with this?"

Christ says: "Give me all. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work. I want you."

"I was not born to be free. I was born to adore and to obey."

"What is saving but taking us out of the dark into the light? There is no salvation but to know God and grow like Him."

"I will not try to convince you of anything about God. I cannot. You must know Him. I only tell you I believe in Him with all my heart. You must ask Him to explain Himself to you, and not take it for granted that He has done you a wrong because He has done what you do not like. Whether you seek Him or not, He will do you justice. But He cannot explain Himself unless you seek Him."

"Sometimes a thunderbolt will shoot from a clear sky; and sometimes into the life of a peaceful individual, without warning of gathered storm, something terrible will fall. And from that moment everything is changed. That life is no more what it was. Better it ought to be, worse it may be. The result depends on the life itself and it's response to the invading storm of trouble. Forever after, it's spiritual weather is altered. But for the one who believes in God, such rending and frightful catastrophies never come but where they are turned around for good in his own life and in other lives he touches."