So I’ve been doing a lot of thinking recently. A lot of reading & thinking. I’ve been intentionally trying to not turn my TV on in the evenings because I find that it’s either mindless entertainment or just makes me mad about the world & what’s acceptable. Not to say I hate TV. The shows I love, I really love. It’s just getting a little harder to find shows I love. Anyway, this is of no importance. Back to the point. So I’ve been filling my time with reading, some fiction & some non.
In fiction, I really like to read Christian fiction. Some may argue that it’s boring or cheesy or whatever, but I find that it’s really inspiring to me, plus relieving to know that it's basically already censored. I love reading the thoughts & situations of people. I love knowing that everyone is human & learning the struggles & victories of other believers (probably why i love reading blogs), or non-believers depending on where the story starts in the characters’ lives. It gives me a different perspective on things. I like when I can feel my mind being stretched. I often try to pull out important thoughts or lessons from the story & apply them to my life, or see where I may have made similar mistakes. I like to think about Jesus sitting next to me while I’m reading & kind of “discussing” my new thoughts in response to what I’m reading. This probably sounds stupid & I realize that not everyone thinks the way I do, but all of that to say, I think reading Christian fiction draws me closer to the Lord & expands my mind. Right now I’m in the middle of A Garden to Keep by Jamie Langston Turner. Love it. The protagonist is telling the whole story & her thoughts & memories are all over the place. I love the crazy way her mind works because, while I know it irritates & overwhelms people, I can completely relate.
Non-fiction, whether also a story or more like a life application book, makes me think in a different way. These I am reading solely for revelation about my personal life & how to improve or view it differently. Knowing my mind as I do, I have to read these books in smaller doses because I’m probably trying to absorb it a little too much. If it’s the kind of book that’s suggesting life changes, I sometimes catch myself getting bogged down with what I should be doing, which is obviously not productive. Right now I’m erring on the productive & encouraging side with What’s So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey. I started it a long time ago. I remember thinking it was amazing, no pun intended, but left it at a friends’ house for a long time & just got it back. I’m excited about picking it up again.
Sidenote about grace: a few weeks ago at church our pastor came to my small group. I think we were talking about revolutions or something, but somehow grace or giving came up & he made an interesting point I’m still absorbing: if there’s no end to the amount of grace that God extends to us, why are we willing to only extend a certain amount to other people? It’s like we feel like we’ve done our part to extend grace one time to one person in one week, but he was talking about how we should exhaust our “supply” over & over. And I guess we shouldn’t be worried about what it might do to us because there’s enough grace from God to keep filling us up. Hm. I like it. So none of this is what I meant to write about today, but I think it’s enough for one post.
In fiction, I really like to read Christian fiction. Some may argue that it’s boring or cheesy or whatever, but I find that it’s really inspiring to me, plus relieving to know that it's basically already censored. I love reading the thoughts & situations of people. I love knowing that everyone is human & learning the struggles & victories of other believers (probably why i love reading blogs), or non-believers depending on where the story starts in the characters’ lives. It gives me a different perspective on things. I like when I can feel my mind being stretched. I often try to pull out important thoughts or lessons from the story & apply them to my life, or see where I may have made similar mistakes. I like to think about Jesus sitting next to me while I’m reading & kind of “discussing” my new thoughts in response to what I’m reading. This probably sounds stupid & I realize that not everyone thinks the way I do, but all of that to say, I think reading Christian fiction draws me closer to the Lord & expands my mind. Right now I’m in the middle of A Garden to Keep by Jamie Langston Turner. Love it. The protagonist is telling the whole story & her thoughts & memories are all over the place. I love the crazy way her mind works because, while I know it irritates & overwhelms people, I can completely relate.
Non-fiction, whether also a story or more like a life application book, makes me think in a different way. These I am reading solely for revelation about my personal life & how to improve or view it differently. Knowing my mind as I do, I have to read these books in smaller doses because I’m probably trying to absorb it a little too much. If it’s the kind of book that’s suggesting life changes, I sometimes catch myself getting bogged down with what I should be doing, which is obviously not productive. Right now I’m erring on the productive & encouraging side with What’s So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey. I started it a long time ago. I remember thinking it was amazing, no pun intended, but left it at a friends’ house for a long time & just got it back. I’m excited about picking it up again.
Sidenote about grace: a few weeks ago at church our pastor came to my small group. I think we were talking about revolutions or something, but somehow grace or giving came up & he made an interesting point I’m still absorbing: if there’s no end to the amount of grace that God extends to us, why are we willing to only extend a certain amount to other people? It’s like we feel like we’ve done our part to extend grace one time to one person in one week, but he was talking about how we should exhaust our “supply” over & over. And I guess we shouldn’t be worried about what it might do to us because there’s enough grace from God to keep filling us up. Hm. I like it. So none of this is what I meant to write about today, but I think it’s enough for one post.
Key word to remind me what I meant to write & will next time: overreacting.
