Brain Food

  Today I wanted to do a little post on what I'm reading lately - you know, the stuff that has kept me from blogging very regularly.  The reading that has consumed the most of my time since the middle of January has been for the Bible study I'm participating in this semester.  It's a Beth Moore study called Living Beyond Yourself.

The study is based on Galatians 5, which examines the fruit of the Spirit.  We are only a few weeks into the study, but I'm riveted every week and can't wait to do my homework each day.  Even though it is an incredible blessing - a miracle, really - to have been raised in a God-honoring home and to have been a follower of Christ from an early age; some Scriptures are so familiar that I tend to breeze right through them without really thinking too much about them.  The fruit of the Spirit has kind of been like that in the past for me - a list I can quickly rattle off thanks to years of Bible memory through Awanas & Bible quizzing, but not a topic I've grappled with.  Finally grappling has been wonderful.  I've been so inspired to dream about what life can be like when truly lived in the Spirit, and I would HIGHLY recommend this study to anyone.  I know some people don't have access to the dvds to watch Beth's teaching, but if there is any way you can watch them along with the study it enhances the learning tremendously.  I'm so thankful for the gift of teaching God has given her.

I've also been plowing through this gem since the beginning of the year.

Josh's parents gave him this book for Christmas because he loves Bill Bryson, and I've confiscated it for a bit.  Using his aged home in England as a guide, of sorts, Bryson shares his extensive historical research behind all sorts of common things we tend to take for granted.  I've learned about things like why salt and pepper are the most common seasonings we use, how dining rooms came to exist, and why the commercial production of ice changed our diets.  I know ... a lot of questions that have really been bugging you lately, huh?  It isn't the sort of book I'd take to the beach and read for hours on end, but I like picking it up a few times a week and reading several pages at a time.  Some might find it a little tedious, but I've really enjoyed it.  When I was in grade school my best friend and I would play a sort of game every time we had a sleep over.  She would pick some random item (usually something she would see in one of our rooms) and I would make up some elaborate story about who invented that thing and how they thought of it.  This book is sort of like that, except true.

Finally, I've just recently started reading through Warren Wiersbe's '50 People Every Christian Should Know'.

Ever since I was little I have loved reading biographies of missionaries and other great heroes of the faith.  It is so encouraging and challenging to read about how God has worked through the lives of those who have gone before us.  I've only made it through about the first 10 people in this book, maybe not even that many, but one of the things I really enjoy about it is that I'm only familiar with a handful of the people he highlights.  Each individual has about five or six pages devoted to a brief biography of their life and work, and it has been interesting to learn about some of the men and women whose lives of faith helped shape the church as we know it.  I also appreciate that Wiersbe mentions one or two of his favorite resources regarding that individual so that if you are interested in learning more about them you have a few suggestions for where to start.

So, Liam's awake now and we have a walk to go on,  but now you know what I'll be reading the next time the weather's crummy!