The Uganda Team...

Hello Dear Friends...

This brief Selah hasn't ended all together... I'm just back to provide a brief update on the Uganda trip. We're down to single digits --- 9 days to go! And there is much to be taken of before we leave, but the Lord has been faithful thus far... and he will always be! So... I interrupt this Selah to ask you to remember us in your prayers. Our team of 11 from Resonate will join up with another 30-40 more (I have no idea what the final number is), and we have a few specific prayer requests. As the Lord brings us to your mind, please consider praying over the following:

• that above all God would be glorified by our words and actions and the posture of our hearts
  
• that God would protect us, keeping us safe and healthy, and that our travel will be efficient
• that He would cultivate in our hearts a deep desire to see His Name and His Word spread among the people we encounter
• that He would fuel our human efforts with his power so that others might taste and see His goodness and love
• that He would protect and bless the families we are leaving behind in Ohio and that He would sustain Mom and Dad as they care for Dylan and Brooklyn
• that He would richly bless the family, friends, and fellow church members who have graciously given money, supplies, and support to make this trip possible. Many of you have truly been co-laborers in this adventure and for what God has done through you, we are so very grateful!
  

The picture above is our prayer card that was passed out at church yesterday... just thought you may want to see what our team looks like. Also, there's one additional team member that is not technically part of Resonate, but is particularly dear to me --- my sister, Karen. Please remember her in your prayers as well.

Thanks for holding the rope for us...

Selah...

Selah: Term of unknown meaning appearing in psalms, outside of Psalms only in Habakkuk 3. Scholars have advanced various unprovable theories: a pause either for silence or musical interlude, a signal for the congregation to sing, recite, or fall prostrate on the ground, a cue for the cymbals to crash, a word to be shouted by the congregation, a sign to the choir to sing a higher pitch or louder.

For a period of time, I have decided to take a break from this blog. There are a number of things preciptating this decision... none which I will enumerate here. But I do hope to return as soon as possible... and with images to share with you from Uganda.

In the meantime, I will still be keeping up on Facebook.

Can we ever be "too serious" about studying the Word of God?

No... that is the simple answer.

Early this morning as I lie awake in my bed I listened to a sermon given by John Piper at the New Attitude Conference just earlier this week... on Memorial Day, to be exact. The title was William Tyndale: A Life Transformed by God's Word, and you can click here to listen or download the audio.

Piper recounts the story of the life and work of William Tyndale (c. 1494-1536) who was a Protestant Reformer and Bible Translator. He described Tyndale as having "one driving passion: he wanted to see the Bible in English to that ordinary folks would have access to it." Now, as one of those "ordinary folks" who can read and write in the single language of English, I have much to be thankful for as I learn about the great sacrifice that Tyndale gave so that today I might be in possession of not one, but several Bibles. Tyndale gave his life for the Word... he was strangled and burned at the stake at the age of 42.

But Tyndale's work lives on... According to Piper, Tyndale's work made its way into about 90% of the King James Version of the Bible, originally published in 1611. Listen to the sermon to hear some of the key passages that you know very well that are part of Tyndale's contribution.

And when you listen to the sermon, focus in on Piper's closing comments:

"Young people, you are the heirs of an amazing legacy...The Bible you hold in your hand cost William Tyndale and many others their lives, so don’t spare any effort in thought, any effort in work to know [your Bible]...And don’t ever think your hard work is the decisive key. The decisive key is the sovereign grace of God... I plead with you, don’t waste your life."

A few hours after listening to this sermon and thinking through it a bit, I remembered some comments I have heard over the past couple of days and my heart was broken. Comments like "we're just going to take the summer off (spiritually, that is)" or "let's do a bible study... nothing too serious" or "I just can't seem to find time to study God's Word." Heart broken.

God, as an heir to this amazing legacy, may I never treat your Word lightly. May I be "too serious" and "too intentional" about learning it, meditating upon it, applying it, proclaiming it, relying on it! May I spare no effort to work it into the fabric of my every day life... Through Your Word and the power of Your Spirit at work within me, will You transform this lowly , sinful, wretched life into one that brings glory to Your Name? Not for my sake, but for the sake of Your precious Son!

Friends... get serious about God's Word!

Multi-tasking is overrated!

Multi-tasking... yep! It's overrated! I prefer to focus on one thing at a time, but life as a Mom usually means that there are times when multi-tasking is imperative. Today has been one of those days --- a lot to get done in a little amount of time!

So... I went to the granddaddy of all "Stuff-marts"... yeah, you guessed it... W@l-m@$t! Not my favorite place in the world, but look at what I got done in one single trip and under one single roof...

1. Grocery shopping for both parties this weekend --- Uganda Celebration Dinner and Resonate's Memorial Day Cookout
2. New Windshield Wipers and an air filter --- installed on my car!!
3. Tons of mulch for getting the backyard ready for the parties this weekend --- not sure how we fit all of this in the car. We nearly had to perch young Dylan and his carseat on the roof!
4. And toilet paper --- the most essential reason for the trip!!!

Now that the kids detest me for making them hang out in Stuff-mart all morning, they are down for their naps, and I am going outside to focus on one single task --- planting my containers to make the deck a little more festive for this weekend!

Happy "we're-getting-really-close-to-a-holiday-weekend" Thursday! Have a good one!

Uganda: It's all paid...

Thanks be to God! I mailed in the packet full of our team's final payment towards the Uganda trip yesterday, and I feel a huge load lifted off of my shoulders --- not because I wondered whether we'd ever raise enough, but because it was a huge effort to keep up with everything that was literally "pouring" in!

Please continue to pray for the Resonate team and the rest of the people going to Uganda... we've had some twists and turns that have surfaced this week, and we don't exactly know what this means for the trip. God does, so we just need to go along with His will.

Conversations with Dylan: The Beautiful Cross

Just a few moments ago, Dylan and I were up in the kitchen experimenting with a strange cake we're attempting to make into the shapes of trains, space shuttles, and the state of Texas (don't ask!). We had some scraps of paper lying on the table from a previous project, and Dylan asked if he could play with them. He started making them into guitar strings and practicing his strumming. Then he made one into the shape of a cross...

Dylan: Mom... Look I made a cross!

Mom (while working on the cake): You sure did... it looks great!

Dylan: Mom... actually... it's beautiful!

Mom (utterly speechless and quite reflective): You bet it is. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

At 4, I know he doesn't understand the entire weight of that statement, but I pray that someday he will. I pray that as he grows up he will never cease to gaze upon the cross, amazed by the grace and love of God bled out for us and for His own glory.

Mom (speaking to Dylan in his own language because music gets through to him): Hey, Dylan, I know a song about that... want to hear it?

Dylan: Yeah! Yeah!

Mom: Listen to this... It's called The Wonderful Cross.

Dylan (after hearing the first verse): That's Matt Redman singing!

Dylan (after hearing the refrain): Hey, now Chris Tomlin's singing!

Mom (laughing to herself because Dylan can identify those two by their voices!): Sure is, kiddo!

Mom... Happy Mother's Day!

Dear Mom ---

I know this is a bit early, but I wanted to wish you a very Happy Mother's Day! You are an amazing mom... giving me much to live up to. And you're an amazing "Nana"... giving my kids much be thankful for. We will miss you this weekend... have a blessed mother's day!

Love,

the eldest

P.S. How do you like this old pic of us? Found this on my hard drive...

Uganda: Major Deadline Met

The deadlines for Uganda are upon us!! We submitted our first major payment this past week to secure airline tickets for the team. As of last Thursday (April 24th), we were in need of about $10,000 by May 1st to meet that deadline. We asked God to meet our needs, and in less than a week, he had exceeded them abundantly! I wish that I could recount to you all of the amazing stories of God's provision for this trip. I lack the time to do so (kids in the background today!), but I want you to know that He has been faithful to equip and prepare us for what He has already called us to do.

Continue to remember us in your prayers... our next deadline is coming up around the middle of May, and we have about $7,500 to go to meet that one. Fundraisers continue, including planting a million flowers for the Memorial Golf Tournament, the 4th installment of Parent's Night Out, lots of mulching, yard work, and babysitting jobs, and whatever else comes our way.

A Glimpse of Passion...

For those of you who have never been to a Passion event, have you ever just wondered what it might look like? Well... here's a little glimpse of the 9,500 young adults in Atlanta a couple of weekends ago... Watch your volume control because with that many young adults passionate about the Lord, it can get a little LOUD!!!

(HT: Francis Chan's Video Journal)

Bringing Your Heart to Christ's Love

“Bring your heart with its profoundest emptiness, its most startling discovery of sin, its lowest frame, its deepest sorrow, and sink it into the depths of the Saviour’s love… Christ’s love touching your hard heart, will dissolve it; touching your cold heart, will warm it; touching your sinful heart, will purify it; touching your sorrowful heart, will soothe it; touching your wandering heart, will draw it back to Jesus. Only bring your heart to Christ’s love.”

- Octavius Winslow, The Sympathy of Christ

(Harrisonburg, Va.: Sprinkle Publications, 1994), 165.

More like this on a daily basis, visit Of First Importance
Photo courtesy of Allposters.com

Payload of Pleasure or Spiritual Cavity?

If you dropped dead right now, would you take with you a payload of pleasure in God or would you stand before him with a spiritual cavity where covetousness used to be?

~ John Piper, Future Grace, p. 226.

More at Desiring God

Photo courtesy of allposters.com

Matt Maher... a new CD!

It's like a birthday gift for Brooklyn by the guy who recorded her favorite song!!

After Passion '07 (and a brief chance to meet him as he went up the "stairwell" that we were entrusted to be "doorkeepers" over that weekend), Brian downloaded Matt Maher's CD, Overflow, off of iTunes. Brooklyn somehow connected with the song "For Your Glory" and would squeal with delight when she and Brian would dance around the room to that song. It's a fantastic song... check out these lyrics:

There is a time to dance,
A time for joy's embrace,
And in all seasons, God
we humbly seek Your face.

This is our offering to You,
This is our offering.

Everything I am is for Your glory,
Everything, I am for You, Lord.
Everything I am is for Your glory,
Everything, I am for You, Lord.

And then I really love the bridge...

The earth stands still without You.
We could only move because You made us to.
The world is nothing without You.
We could only love you because You made us to.

I gotta give the kid credit... she's got great taste in music! You can click here to hear the entire song.

And the greater news is that if you are a blogger, you can click here to get a free copy of latest CD, Empty and Beautiful, which is due in stores TODAY!

Happy Birthday Bookends!

Then...

Now...

Happy Birthday Brooklyn!

He saves the crushed in spirit...

Psalm 34:17-19

When the righteous cry for help,

the LORD hears and delivers them

out of all their troubles.

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted

and saves the crushed in spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

Oh, how He does save the crushed in spirit! I'm off to pack my bags now, and I'll see y'all when I get back!

Lest you think that I think I am righteous on my own accord (how's that for a phrase!), might I remind you of Romans 5:19 and 2 Corinthians 5:21 which says that only by Christ are we made righteous.

Can I just be honest here?

Well… yes… technically, I can… I can write whatever I want to on my own blog, right?!

This week has been very full of discouraging and disappointing things for me, and to be perfectly honest with you, my spirits are down… way down. I’m not at all talking about a “loss of joy” here… joy resides much deeper than where these discouraging things fall. But I am talking about the kind of discouraging feelings that, if left unchecked, can lead to bitterness and a deterioration of active faith.

From discouraging comments made by a trusted leader to the ceasing of airline operations (read: a cancelled flight with no refund at this point) leaving us with no way to get home to Baton Rouge on Tuesday --- a trip that has been long anticipated, much looked forward to, and desperately in need of --- the discouragement has been piling up!

These are the kinds of things (as are all things) that simply must be given over to God because He alone is sovereign… He alone is truly loving… He alone works the details of our lives to maximize His glory (which as it turns out is always for our good)! But how do I really do that? I thought about an old hymn I love to sing… Count Your Blessings! So, I’m gonna count a few for you (but mostly for me!)…

• The flight was cancelled before we were en route. Imagine if everything would have ceased while we were already in Baton Rouge! The cost to get back home would have been pretty high, and with our Uganda Mission Trip deadline being only May 1st, that would have left us with a lot of extra costs.

• Though my real family is thousands of miles away and even though my heart is really aching right now to be with them, God has given me friends here who show God’s love to me everyday. They are family of a different kind… and they are one of the greatest blessings God has ever given me.

• Though some people think today’s generation of young adults are fickle, self-seeking, and in search of constant entertainment (and yes, some are), God has placed a few of them in my life who are proof that He is at work in the lives of this generation. They are evidence to me that God, through His Spirit, is enacting true transformation within this generation for His glory.

• Rather than travel alone to Atlanta for Passion next weekend, Brian might be able to travel with the guys from Resonate… imagine the abundant time of iron sharpening iron that can take place during their long drive!

• Brian, Dylan, and Brooklyn... my mom & dad... Lisa, Chuck, Katherine, and Audrey... Karen... Mawmaw... Bobbi... all who will also be affected by our flight cancellation

• Through our concert last night, we did raise a little bit of money to go towards the Uganda Mission Trip, and we experienced the generosity of local musicians who willingly gave of themselves.

Bottom line... my cup overfloweth with the goodness of the Lord in my life!

Count Your Blessings

Words by Johnson Oatman, Jr and Music by Edwin O. Excell

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings. Wealth can never buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be disheartened, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Glimpse of Spring...

There was a tiny glimpse of spring yesterday. Between the days of cold, rain, and wind, a little bit of sun and a smidgen of warmth found us yesterday. The ground is soft and wet, and the spring bulbs are just barely peeking through the dirt. It was just enough incentive to get out and run around the backyard...

Brooklyn is conviced summer is coming,

so she insists on wearing her new "beach" hat!

Dylan thinks he is a zoo keeper so he

wanted to be dressed from head to toe in khaki.

An observer of bugs, he is...

Me... I just love my new camera with it's convenient telephoto lens!

Words to Live By... Book #3

Book #3 --- Passion and Purity
by Elisabeth Elliot

I have to admit that this is one book even I didn't expect to be on my list, but after thinking about all the books I've read over the years, I realized the influence that Passion & Purity had on my life has been long-lasting. The concept of Christ’s Lordship over my life began to be an adult reality around the time I first read this book. So much so that many of the quotes from this book were posted over the walls of my dorm room, my cubicle at Eastman, and my little apartment in Longview.

I stumbled upon this book during the spring quarter of my junior year of college (I think... that was such a long time ago!), after a few of us from the BSU went down to New Orleans for a missions conference at NOBTS. We arrived late and walked into a huge room where everyone was already engrossed in a movie that I didn't recognize. We joined in and watched the tale end of the movie which involved the story of a group of missionaries who were killed in Ecuador. I never caught the name of the movie nor the names of the missionaries, but the story stuck with me and I couldn't get it out of my mind. Some time later, I encountered Passion and Purity, and as I read through this book, I began to put the pieces together.

So… yes… at a time when I began to truly accept and try to live out Christ’s Lordship over my life, this book left some serous footprints all over my life! While this book is often read for it’s insight into dating, courtship, and marriage, the lasting lessons have mostly to do with surrendering our will to the Lord’s and following Him whole-heartedly down whatever road He chooses to take us on. This is how the book is described on the back cover:

“In Passion and Purity, [Elisabeth Elliot] emphasizes the need to commit daily to Christ all matters of the heart and to wait upon Him. She teaches this often-painful, yet rewarding discipline by candidly tracing her love story with Jim Elliot to ‘serve as evidence that I’ve been there.’ Through letters, diary entries, and recollections, she shares the temptations, difficulties, victories, and sacrifices of two young people whose commitment to Christ takes priority over their love for each other. These revealing personal glimpses, combined with relevant biblical teaching, may help to remind you that only by putting your human passion and desire through His fire can God purify your love.”

But here are some of the quotes that made their way onto the “walls” in my life…

“Until the will and the affections are brought under the authority of Christ, we have not begun to understand, let alone to accept, His lordship.”

“I do know that waiting on God requires the willingness to bear uncertainty, to carry within oneself the unanswered question, lifting the heart to God about it whenever it intrudes upon one’s thoughts.”

“God’s time for further revelations of the heart might come later. Tomorrow was not our business; it was His. Letting it rest with Him was the discipline for the day, and it was enough.”

“But the things we feel most deeply about we ought to learn to be silent about, at least until we have talked them over thoroughly with God.”

“We are not meant to die merely in order to be dead. God could not want that for the creatures for whom He has given the breath of life. We die in order to live.”

“Wherever you are, be all there… Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.”
~ Jim Elliot

“Our vision is so limited we can hardly imagine a love that does not show itself in protection from suffering. The love of God is of a different nature altogether. It does not hate tragedy. It never denies reality. It stands in the very teeth of suffering. The love of God did not protect His own Son. That was the proof of His love --- that He gave that Son, that He let Him go to Calvary’s cross, though ‘legions of angels’ might have rescued Him. He will not necessarily protect us --- not from anything it takes to make us like His Son. A lot of hammering and chiseling and purifying by fire will have to go into the process.”

“The disposition… to leave the dearest objects of our hearts in the sublime keeping of the general and unspecific belief that God is now answering our prayers in his own time and way, and in the best manner, involves a present process of inward crucifixion which is not obviously favorable to the growth and even the existence of the life of self.”
~ T. C. Upham Inward Divine Guidance

Discouraged... then encouraged!

I'll just admit it... this post is a bit of a vent!

Yesterday while catching up on the writings of friends, family, and other bloggers that I read often, I came across a post that was so completely discouraging to me that I literally wept at my computer. To me, it was a rather personal post --- a post negatively targeted towards the generation that I love deeply and have invested in personally, yet it was written by someone I have admired and respected. I don't feel like going into details, but know that while I agreed with some of the points made, I was taken aback by the tone, the criticism, and the stereotyping. Oh, I have much to say in response, but will hold my tongue. God has softened my heart towards this generation, and I long to see them mature in their faith, assured of their salvation, and living passionately to proclaim Christ. Needless to say, that post brought great discouragement to me all day. At least until I opened the mail yesterday afternoon...

where I found a little postcard written to Brian and me by our newest pastor. It contained only a few sentences about his recent visit to our small groups, but it encouraged me so greatly that I smiled and all my frustrations and bitterness melted away...

Words matter! Whether they are spoken, written in a journal, or posted for the entire world to see, they matter!

"A soft answer turns away wrath,

but a harsh word stirs up anger."

~ Proverbs 15:1 ~

Photo courtesy of Christian Book Distributors.

Uganda: Yellow Fever, Fundraising, and Letters

We're pressing on... there are many things that need to be done in preparation for our trip to Uganda, but most urgent has been documentation and fundraising.

Last week, we sent our documentation packet to WH to continue the visa application process. We were required to first have yellow fever vaccinations before sending in our applications, and there seems to be a bit of a YF vaccine shortage in some areas of the country. So, we're thankful that God made a way for our entire team to get the vaccine on time! And it was just in time!!

Fundraising continues to move forward, although we still have a very long way to go before we reach the $3500 per person required. Our group has already hosted a couple of Parent's Night Outs, and this weekend is our benefit concert with One Life Lost and Richard Jordan. We're thinking about having a garage sale later this month, and my little neice has been hard at work selling cookies at her local bowling alley. We have also begun to send out support letters to friends and family and church members... we simply cannot reach our goals without God pouring out His favor on this trip through the generosity of those who hear about our trip and respond.

We are trying to be faithful by doing our part, but we are fully aware that our mere human efforts will prove useless unless the Lord pours out His favor on us.

"Some trust in chariots and some trust in horses,

but we trust in the name of the Lord our God."

Psalms 20:7

So as we come to mind, please pray that God will continue to meet our needs... that His favor would be upon our upcoming fundraisers... that He would continue to place our needs on the hearts of other church members, family members, and friends who will partner with us through prayer and giving.

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

~ Ephesians 3:20-21 ~

Words to Live By... Book #2

Book #2: Pride and Prejudice

by Jane Austen

Karen, you guessed it right! Pride & Prejudice is definitely on the list, but possibly not for the reasons you may suspect. Bear in mind that my list is not in order of greater influence, but in the order that I first read them.

If you haven’t already read this book, you simply must! The MW Encyclopedia of Literature describes it as a

Novel by Jane Austen, published anonymously in three volumes in 1813. The narrative, which Austen initially titled “First Impressions,” describes the clash between Elizabeth Bennet, the daughter of a country gentleman, and Fitzwilliam Darcy, a rich and aristocratic landowner. Austen reverses the convention of first impressions: "pride" of rank and fortune, and "prejudice" against Elizabeth's inferiority of family, hold Darcy aloof; while Elizabeth is equally fired both by the pride of self-respect and by prejudice against Darcy's snobbery. Ultimately, they come together in love and self-understanding.

I first read this book during my sophomore year of high school. My English teacher, whose name I can’t even remember at all, decided that the entire class was going to read a book together and report on it. For the life of me, I can’t remember what book we were asked to read --- neither the book nor the teacher left a lasting impression on me. My school (which was an engineering high school) seemed to attract quite good math and science teachers, but it was seriously lacking in English teachers who inspired anything more than just getting the basic, required work done. I digress… The book we were asked to read was appalling. I remember being absolutely disgusted by the first chapter because of its crude and indecent nature. My teacher agreed to let me select another book to read and report on, and I have no idea how I made my choice, but I somehow ended up with Pride and Prejudice. The decision proved serendipitous!

Pride and Prejudice remains a book that I love to read… and re-read. I think I read it about once a year! It was springtime in Louisiana the first time that I read it, and I can vividly remember lying facedown on my bed, windows thrown wide open to the gentle breeze with my feet kicked up into the air as I devoured the text.

Something about this book awakened in me a true love of books and of reading… a love that continues to this day and is evidenced by the stacks and stacks of books precariously balanced upon my night stand. For that, it finds its way onto my list of influential books.

So, what do you think of Pride and Prejudice? And what books top your list of influential reading?

Jesus Paid It All...

Happy Easter!


I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”

Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim,
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
"Jesus died my soul to save"
My lips shall still repeat!

Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

O praise the One who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead
I'll praise the One who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead

JESUS

Yeah!

Words to Live By... Book #1

Book #1: The Bible (the given!)

I'll start off with the easy one... the given I mentioned in the previous post. The Bible trumps all other books as the single most influential book in my life. Period. Amen. After all, there is no other book that I can actually use as an offensive weapon in the daily struggles and spiritual battles of my life... no other book that is "living and active"... no book whose words are truly worth "storing up in our hearts"... no other book that is "breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness". So the Bible stands as the first, last, and always most influential book in my life!

I do have some Bibles that are more meaningful to me than others, though ---

... like my very first Bible, the little pink New Testament someone gave me when I was born...

... or the Children's Living Bible that my parents gave me in 1982 on which I later wrote the date of my salvation in 1984 and on which my sister Karen decided to inscribe her own name (not sure why you did that, sis, but I treasure it!)...

... or the NIV Thinline that I carried to Merida, Mexico in 1996 on the trip where God rescued me from me...

...or the burgundy NASB Thinline that I took to Passion '98 where God awakened me to the understanding that "God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him"...

... or the black NASB Giant Print that Brian gave to Brother Steve to use in our wedding ceremony...

... or the little burgundy NASB that Brian gave me the first Christmas after we were married which I carried all over Europe as I read through the Psalms...

... or the Tiny Black ESV that Brian gave me one Valentine's Day that I carry in my purse today. I figure I better carry my sword with me everywhere I go, right!

... or the Bible recently given to us by The Seed Company that appears to be a normal Bible from the outside cover; however, upon opening this one, you will find the pages entirely blank. What a reminder to us that there are many people around the world who still do not have a Bible translated into their native language!

Most of you need no convincing that the Bible is the most influential book for everyone of us, so I will just leave it at that!

Words to Live By... a series of influential books!

"The worth of a book

is to be measured by what

you carry away from it."

~ James Bryce

A month or so ago I read a book that made a lasting impact on me... a long-lasting one! When I would describe it to others who had not already read it, the only way I could adequately communicate how much I got out of this book was to call it "one of the top 5 most influential books I've ever read." Books are best friends to me, but quite frankly, some books are just better than others! Some books are worth reading and some books profit me so little.

Emerson once wrote

"If we encounter a man of rare intellect we should ask him what books he reads."

And Abraham Lincoln once said

"The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who will get me a book I have not read."

I love to read and I read a fair amount, but what are the books that have really been the most influential to me? I've been thinking about this for a while, and I think I've finally narrowed it down to actually six books. Six because there is a "given" in this equation. So, here begins a new series...

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting the six books which I consider to be the ones that have had the greatest impact on my life. The titles may suprise you because some of them actually surprised me. I'll post them in chronological order rathern than in order of influence (that is way too hard to figure out!). I'll write a little bit about the book and why it's impact on my life has been long-lasting.

But I need more reading recommendations, so I want you to join in... will you? If you are reading this post, consider yourself "tagged!"

If you have a blog, please join me in posting the most influential books in your life. Then leave me a comment on this post so I can find your site. If you do not have a blog, just leave me your list as a series of comments. And for those of you who have been lurking around here, now's your time to 'fess up and help me create a new reading list!

Stay tuned... the first installment is coming shortly!