I did it!!

Sometime around the end of last year/beginning of this year my sister and my mom both decided to post about the "Top Ten Books I Read in 2009." Ha! I found myself completely appalled as I tried to remember the last time I read A book, let alone TEN, let alone within one year! And THEN they split the list into "Top Ten Fiction" and "Top Ten Non-Fiction" and I realized that my mind was a total wasteland.

It's not that I don't like to read. There was a time in my life that I devoured books by the day. There was a time that I CHOSE to read such monstrosities as Gone with the Wind and Ben Hur and the Brothers K (what was I thinking??). It's not as if I don't have a PILE of books on my bedside table of all varieties...just in case I'm in the mood for something different.

I just always seem to feel this plaguing sense of guilt every time I sit down to read. Like, "Hey, isn't there something you should be doing??" And whether it's housework or work work or exercise or preparing dinner or sleep or [insert here], the answer is almost always yes. And if I'm on vacation or away from all of those "must do's," then I feel somewhat anti-social for choosing to sit down with a book rather than a person.

Well, regardless of my personality or preferences, I still have had this nagging feeling that I need to start reading again this year. After my women's Bible Study wrapped up at the church this spring, I thought that it would be the perfect time to introduce a book back into my life, taking the time to read when I would have normally been doing my study. So I scoured the bookshelf waiting for inspiration to strike.

I ended up with "All of Grace," by Charles Spurgeon. Not because of the cool retro cover or the author, but because it was SMALL, and I knew I needed something I could definitely finish.


And today I DID.

It only took me two months, but here it is - I have finished my first book of 2010! (We won't divulge how long it's really been since I've finished an entire book...) And it was wonderful. One of the first pieces of literature I've encountered that is specifically written TO those who don't believe. I found it completely refreshing and compelling. It gave me not only a new perspective on those around me, but on my own faith as well.

The last page of the book holds a call to action for both parties. Here is mine:
"He who does not pine to lead others to Jesus has never been under the spell of love himself. Get busy doing the work of the Lord, the work of love. Begin at home. Visit your neighbors next. Enlighten the town or the street where you live. Scatter the Word of the Lord wherever your hand can reach."