I Like Books...

...which take me places. Books which can transport me to a tiny diner for breakfast on a dark winter morning and make the scene so real that I even smell coffee, hear the clinking of plates and see the old men at the table near the door.

Books which sneak me into homes from 80 years ago, making me feel I am one of the big family of children as they sit around the dining room table or spend summers at their grandparents' farm. Books, when opened, are like a 'story pool' in which I can dive and visit Times and people I otherwise would never have known.

I used to like How-To books: How To Get Organized, How To Save Money and Time, How To Fulfill Your Dreams--but I don't anymore. Not much, not now.

I guess they grate against what I'm hearing in my heart. On my adventure these past ten years I've learned that God has a custom-made plan for my days and I prefer, now, to spend time hearing from Him how to carry out that plan. I want to hear the details from Him on how to get organized, save money and live my dreams because He knows me best.

Though yes, He can use books to teach me those things, also.

Yet perhaps I'm not as creative as I could be because I've too often copied someone else's creativity? Or their blueprint? Or the custom-made plan God made for them?

Oh, there is a place for those kinds of books, but only the ones which help me hear more clearly God's specific plan for me. Lately I've been discarding any book which was a help years ago, but would only be a hindrance now. As I change, my library changes, too. 

After all, there is no growth without change.

And I avoid books (and blogs) which are heavy with negative opinions, especially ones which concentrate only on what is going wrong. I want to be careful what I put into my head and heart--like Jesus' warning about a little leaven.

God is not into yelling to be heard so may I spend quiet time with Him and with the books/media/people He wishes me to spend time with, all that will aid me in knowing God, His voice, better. 

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