Books, Books, and More Books

This week I went through my many bookcases and packed up seven boxes of books I don’t need or no longer want. I donated the books to a church in Batesville who is having a book sale with the proceeds going to a shelter for abused women and children.

I love to read, but I have to admit that many of the books I donated have not been read. I’ve accumulated them over the years from conferences or from friends or from distributors who wanted me to preview their book.

I still have a couple hundred books – again, some of which I’ve not yet read. My problem is there are too many new books being published on subjects I’m interested in, so it seems I’m always behind. On top of that, there are books I just “have to read” recommended by friends and coworkers. Some times I relate to what King Solomon said, “Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.”

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get so caught up in books and studying and learning, that I forget to simply spend time with God. And that’s what Solomon was pointing out. He started by saying, “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth”… and he reminds us to pay attention to the words of our One Shepherd – Jesus.

Books are wonderful, and we should read – a lot. But we should never let reading get in the way of our relationship. God doesn’t want us just to read about him; he wants us to spend time with him, to talk with him, to enjoy being in his presence, to enjoy his creation and his love.

Reading that helps us see, understand or spend time with God is good, but it never replaces the relationship.

Every library is filled with books, books, and more books, but nothing beats simply sitting in God’s presence and enjoying him. – Rick

A Bit of Respect

 

Teaching a Little Respect

For years the children of the neighborhood have used our back yard as a shortcut to school. It didn’t bother us too much; our only rule was they had to walk their bikes through the yard. And we tried to keep them from walking through the garden, but that didn’t always work.

     But then my grandmother decided to move to Ohio and we knew we had to make a change. The children walk right past her bedroom window and with my grandmother’s anxiety issues, we knew that was not a good idea. So we had our backyard fenced in. 

     I actually felt badly that I was taking the short-cut away from the children, so I explained the change to as many children and parents as I could. The parents understood and the children simply adapted and walked through the neighbor’s yard.  This week, though, the neighbor got his yard fenced in. With no more access through backyards, the children have to walk three more blocks to school and have to go up a hill and then down a hill.

     Again, I started to feel badly for them, but then started to think about my childhood. Not only did I walk more than a mile to school each day, sometimes it was through more than a foot of snow, uphill both ways, with shoes that were too small. (Ok, I exaggerated about the uphill both ways and the shoes.)  But you get the point.

     Are we going overboard in making things easier for children? And have we slacked off in teaching children to respect the property of others? Many fences in our neighborhood have gone up because children don’t think twice about walking through people’s yards and gardens.

     I believe one of the responsibilities we have as adults is to teach the younger generation about respecting others and respecting the property of others. Teaching respect early leads to them understanding what it means to respect God. And one of the most effective ways to teach is through modeling. May God help me set a good example.  – Rick