What I Read and Why

I find lately that I'm hungry to read. It comes in waves like my actual appetite. I have to have a craving for a good book. I'm not like some book lovers who are reading all the time. It comes, I read, I finish, and then I wait for the next inkling.

On rare occasions, I want fiction... something I can just get lost in, but the last few years have been filled with crisis that push me forward to wanting understanding and/or self improvement. 

Right now I am reading Longing for a Homeland by Lynn Anderson. It was a great steal at a local coffee shop, but its subject hit "home". After yearning to leave the west coast for nearly 25 years, I am sitting in the South and questioning, "Is this home?". The grass is greener here, but it isn't. I'm feeling displaced.

The other book I am reading (I switch off depending on my location or mood...) is The Mom I Want to Be by T.Suzanne Eller. This book was a gift from some one who knows my struggles better than any one. This is all about overcoming one's past and not repeating a family cycle of dysfunction... The story of my life. I'm eager to digest the whole thing.

During our trip across country, I found another book in a discount store that was a surprising treasure. It is called Lord Meet Me in the Laundry Room by Barbara Curtis. It was written by a recovering hippie who became a follower of Christ. Her submission to God caused her to turn from a life of destruction to become a blessed mother of 12 children (three adopted with Downs). What an awesome calling. She writes in simple, honest terms about her struggles... just my kind of gal. She was a good companion during our travels. She impacted me so much that I wrote her and told her so.

My fourth book in the stack is What Happens When Women Walk in Faith by Lysa TerKeurst. I started it right after Lord Meet Me... I finished one and slid right into the next. I sort of stole it. Well, lets just say I borrowed it, but I'm not sure when I'll give it back. My mother bought it for a relative and I asked to read it before she sent it. I think my mother forgot about it and I am a slow reader... or at least I take my time finishing books.

Mrs. TerKerust relates much of her book to the walk of the Israelites to the Promiseland as I did to our move across country. I struggled not to whine and doubt as they did, so I was curious to read her thoughts. I am in that very moment of my life practicing and being challenged in what it means to walk by faith... in the dark... without certainty... in the worst of circumstances... trusting God for my every need... really walking the talk. It is one thing to walk in the light and another thing to walk in the dark holding the hand of someone you've yet to meet face to face....and yet, 
He promises not to lead me to harm.

I value the wisdom of those who have gone before me. I am encouraged by their words and insights. That is why I read and it is a good thing. For now, these authors are my mentors, my friends, and my support group. I hope I will glean from their experiences and lessons learned and be able to encourage other women in their walks. 

When they too find themselves searching...
like that hunger in the night... that search in the fridge of life... with just a small beam of light...for that snack that hits the right spot... fills that need or answers that question... 
and gives a push toward a new day... hope for tomorrow... and allows them, you, me,...us 
to rest well knowing that we are not alone.  For there are many of us.... 
that read.