More Than Just A Good Read

It's no secret that I love to read, just ask my family and they will tell you! My dad likes to tell the story of being in the hay field when I was about 13 or 14 when he spotted my bailer stopped in the middle of a windrow of hay, he was sure that I was broke down and came over to see what the trouble was when he saw me sitting on a bale of hay reading a book! I don't need to tell you how much trouble I was in! Books are some of my most treasured possessions, and I am so blessed to have a fairly extensive library of my own as well as enjoying an incredible county library and an awesome library in our church. I will never run out of good reading material!

One of the new electronic gadgets that I just don't understand what all the fuss is about, is the electronic books, like the Kindle. I'm sorry, I know that a lot of people love these things, but I dont' believe that I am ever going to be one of them! There is something about holding a book in your hands, the smell of them, a beautiful book cover, the pages, the fact that it opens up a whole new world for me. There is something about turning the pages of a book that you miss if you are holding a hard piece of plastic and electronics! Give me a good book over today's newest technology!

I love books, I love them because they take me somewhere that I've never been, or they take me to old familiar places that make me feel at home. They take me back in time or they fly me to the future. I rarely read anything other than Christian novels because I have discovered in the last several years that I hunger for books that do more for my soul than just entertain me, I want a book that's more than just a good read. I want to read a novel that teaches me something, a story that helps me to grow, a book that encourages me and literature that strengthens my relationship with God. I realized some time back that there are too many good books and too little time, so I don't want to waste my time by reading something that isn't going to benefit my soul or glorify God.

I just finished a series of books by Lynn Austin entitled "Chronicles Of The Kings". These books were suggested to me by my best friend, Roxanne, who is as avid a reader as I am. The five books take place during the time of the Kings from about 735 B.C. to about 670 B.C., covering the reigns of King Ahaz, his son Hezekiah and his son Mannasseh. I think that God, through Roxy, brought these books to me at just the right time because they have been a huge source of encouragement, a wonderful history/bible lesson and God has used these books to convict my heart of a few things as well. I am always amazed at how God works. He's been trying to tell me a few things over the past several months, but until I read these books, and was able to relate to the characters, specifically King Hezekiah, I just wasn't able to hear what He was telling me.

King Hezekiah had a genuine love for the Lord, and would repeat the Shema (the Shema is the Jewish declaration of One God) throughout his life: "Hear, O Israel, Yahweh (the Lord) is God - Yahweh alone! Love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." The problem that Hezekiah had was that he lacked faith and trust in God. He wanted to trust God, but on his own terms, using man's wisdom instead of trusting that God would take care of him and the nation of Judah. One of the things that struck me the most is that God would prove Himself trustworthy over and over again, in really big and miraculous ways, and yet Hezekiah continually gave into fear and put his trust in his own wisdom and that of an ungodly counselor. This really made an impression on me because I do the same thing over and over again, choosing fear over faith and relying on my own strength and wisdom instead of just trusting God to work in the circumstances of my life. Hezekiah touched my heart and made such an impression on me that I've begun to daily (sometimes several times throughout the day) give over those circumstances to God in faith and I have made a conscience decision to choose to trust God with my and my family's life.

The other character that I was able to relate with was Joshua whose story was told in the last two books of the series. Joshua had grown up with and was best friends with King Manasseh until the King begins to mess with sorcery and witchcraft to guide him and he leads his nation into horrible idolatry and perversion. The King ends up executing Joshua's father and the prophet Isaiah for what he perceives to be conspiracy, and hunts Joshua and the rest of his family down, forcing them and all who followed the One True God to escape to Egypt. Joshua was filled with hate and the all consuming need for revenge and he was left to wonder why God was punishing his family when they had followed Him all their lives. One of my favorite parts of the series was in the 4th book entitled "Faith Of My Fathers" when Joshua was speaking with his old teacher, Rabbi Gershom, who was dying: "You've learned these words...say them with me 'Even though I walk....'" Rabbi Gershom began. "'Through the valley of the shadow of death,'"Joshua recited, "'I will fear no evil, for you are with me....'"

"Yes, Joshua. And now that you and I are walking through that valley, we will learn if it is true. Adversity is the testing ground of our faith. God has to risk losing you forever to your anger and bitterness in order to have you for His true son. Anyone can believe and sing praises on the Temple Mount when the sun is shining, but true praise is sung in the darkest valley when the Accuser tells you to curse God for making you suffer so much pain. If you can still praise your Father's goodness, even in the darkness, then you are His son indeed."

That's some good stuff! I can't quit thinking about the truth of it; how its in the adversities of life, the true testing ground of our faith, that we either find that we are true children of God, or children of this world. Or as I like to say, these are situations where the rubber meets the road in terms of our faith. Are we just going to talk a good talk about our relationship with the Lord, or are we truly going to live it?

I always know that I've read a really good book when I have a period of mourning after I've come to that last page & have read the last word. It's like I've lost a really good friend! And I basically have because I've really connected with the characters of the books, they've become real to me as I become immersed in their stories! Lynn Austin does such a marvelous job with telling these stories; I love historical fiction and have found in the last few years that biblical historical fiction is my absolute favorite because it brings to life men and women of the bible that I wouldn't give much thought to otherwise. I've read the stories of these three kings a few times over the years in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles, as well as the prophets Isaiah and Micah, but until I read these books they didn't seem real to me. Now I see them as real men with real struggles and fears.

Brock and Bodie Thoene have just finished a series of books called the "A.D. Chronicles" that are also biblical historical fiction. They take place during the 30 years that Jesus walked the earth. It's amazing how much I have learned about some minor characters from the New Testament from reading these books. Now, there is some fictional license here, some things that are products of the writer's imagination, but they are based on biblical truth and they give you such a good understanding of the culture and social issues of that time period.

Along with Christian fiction and non-fiction I also love a good western every now and then. Louise L'Amour is a legend and Elmer Kelton is my favorite western author, in fact I almost named my son "Kelton" in his honor. My mother thinks that the main reason for marrying Mike is because my all time favorite book is "Mrs. Mike" by Benedict and Nancy Freedman, the true story of Katherine Mary Flannigan. She always said that I wanted to be a "Mrs. Mike". And then there are Mary O'Hara's books, "Wyoming Summer", "My Friend Flicka" and "Green Grass of Wyoming". These are my classics!

I also really enjoy reading with my children. Kade and I love all of Max Lucado's children's books, "You Are Special", "The Oak Inside The Acorn", and "The Tallest of Smalls" have wonderful messages of affirmation and God's love for us. Hannah and I are taking turns reading to eachother. Right now we're reading "A Wrinkle in Time", which was a favorite of mine when I was her age.

My hope is that soon I will be writing more than reading and that my name will show up on someone's Favorite Book list! I can only pray that what I write will help to encourage, teach and glorify God as much as these books have done!