Book Hog Fasts From Books

Challenged by Ruth Graham to compare the time I spent reading God's Word to the time I spent reading books, I took a day to fast from books. That's no small challenge for a book hog. I intentionally chose my day off. Fasting any other day would be like giving up iceberg lettuce for lent . . . not much sacrifice, and offering few benefits.

I hung out with Jeremiah for the day. With 3 translations available, I could read any or all, but no commentaries. In Jeremiah? What was I thinking? What I found profoundly interesting was how many times I ran across verses like, "The Word of the Lord has become a reproach to them -- they have not listened to My Words -- they rejected the Word of the Lord."

I could sigh with relief because "I," indeed was making a concerted effort to be in God's Word . . .

Or . . .

I could receive the conviction due me: Lonnie, it's not just about spending more "time" reading Scripture. Time speaks of priority.

As I ponder my day of fasting and ponder Jeremiah's words, I realize that priority isn't all about clock-time. It isn't about how long I read or how much I read of God's Word. That does little more than give birth to pride and self-righteousness.

Priority also speaks of heart-time. I wondered what that looked like. Asking myself, "Why?" helped me to see. Why should I spend more time in God's Word? The beginning of my list looks like this:

To know God
To understand His expectations and promises
To keep my armor in functioning condition -- to counteract the lies and discouragement that the world hands me every day
For comfort -- to realize that I'm not alone. Paul tells us that any temptation we face is common to man
To see how God deals with sin
To discover how God blesses the obedient
To know what's coming

Spending time in God's Word is a way to commune with Him. It's a place and time to feel His heart; to receive His instruction and encouragement.

Not unlike a retired smoker who misses his cigarette after a meal, I missed "my books" at bedtime. I told myself that I'd done well and that reading a book before going to sleep would be no big deal. Then I caught this verse running through my head: "Could you not keep watch with me for one hour? (Matt. 26:40 NIV)" I know there is no real connection, but it got my attention.

Good grief. I've made it through the day. What's 10 or 20 minutes more? I put my book down and picked up Jeremiah. And . . . the next night, I picked up Jeremiah again. I've, since, found myself reading Jeremiah during some of my breaks. God had whet my appetite and it felt good. He'd raised my curiosity. That felt good, too. He is working. I want to cooperate.

I'm considering a weekly fast, a day to read only God's Word. David tells us in the Psalms that God's Word is a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his path. May it be so for me. May God's Word become such a natural part of my thoughts, that It guides me step by step by step.

What part does God's Word play in your life? What could you add to my list? Have you fasted from books? From T.V.? The internet? Share your experience.

Loving God; Loving His Word,
Lonnie

Too Many Books

Too many booksales. Too may books. And once again, I'm reading too many at one time.

Please, someone, tell me you can relate.

I become aware, with my overindulgence, that I need to discern between what's truth and what's embellishment . . . between what is over-emphasized and what is under-emphasized. I need a greater knowledge of God's Word. I need to cherish His Word above those of man. For that reason, I often think I'll fast from books . . . from man's thoughts, in order to read more of the Bible . . . God's thoughts.

But . . .

I stumble the very first morning. I lay my Bible on the table, and right next to it, my devotion book. "Does that count?" I ask myself. Then I give up.

I guess my heart and mind need primed like an old-time water pump. The pumps needed a taste of water in order to give more water. My devotion books work that way. They, and their prescribed Scriptures, give me direction and sort of tune me in to God.

So while I'm entertaining these notions of a book fast, I read this: (in a book, of course) "Compare the amount of time you invest in reading books with the time you spend reading God's Word." *

I love studying the Bible, but compared to books, do I give it equal time? Not even close! So, I began to pray about how to actually fulfill my resolution of a book fast.

"How about one day at a time? Or two?"

Maybe that "is" the problem. I always determine to fast from books for a week, or a month. Frankly, that overwhelms.

I love to learn.

I can't sleep without reading.

I can't drink coffee without reading.

I can't eat without reading.

And yes, I keep reading material in the bathroom.

But, "a" day, with only the Bible? I could do that. And, I won't slap my hand for pulling out a devotion book; but that's the only allowance I'll give myself.

How about you? Will you accept the challenge with me? If so, let me know how it goes? What was hard? What was good?

Within the next week, I'm going to try "a" day. I'm excited to see what God has to teach me.

Ever Reading,
Lonnie

* Fear Not Tomorrow, God Is Already There by Ruth Graham, p. 26

Fully Present

"How true it is that unless we are involved with Jesus Christ in a loving and adoring relationship, we have nothing of eternal value to offer to a needy world . . . our worship of God must take priority over our work for God . . . In the atmosphere of worship we see more clearly what we should do and our work becomes a daily joy instead of a daily grind." (Light For The Path by Selwyn Hughes p. 359)

Hughes' devotion and Luke 10:42 took me back to the Mary-Martha challenge. Who am I?

In my journal, I claimed to have more Mary tendencies, more of a tendency to sit at Jesus feet. "Right! And the whole time you are sitting there, you are worrying about whether you're displeasing God and/or people by not "doing."

"Excuse me. Who's there? Who's speaking? God is that You?"

The picture is absolutely accurate. I love my morning quiet times, my times in the Scripture and learning from God. I enjoy times spent studying for and writing articles. But I also worry (lots) about what people think. My dad equated sitting with laziness. And understandably so; he grew up on a farm.

So, the Scriptures and I talked back and forth for a while.

"God, what are you trying to teach me?

"I know that I can't leave all the work to others.

"However, Scripture doesn't say that Mary never helped out. Martha doesn't even say that."

A couple of things come to mind: an anecdote where a young boy says, "I may be sitting down on the outside, but I'm standing up on the inside!" Trying to be Mary and Martha at the same time doesn't work.

And then there's the man James talks about who is double-minded and unstable in all his ways. Ouch! Don't much care for that. But doesn't that, too, describe me?

My pastor teaches us that, when with people, we need to be fully present. We need to listen, to give that person our attention, rather than thinking about what we want to say or thinking about the next task on our list. Perhaps, that's what God is asking of me. "When you're with Me, I'd like you to be fully present."

I believe Mary was fully present. And that, Jesus said, He would not take away from her.

I'm excited with Hughes' thoughts: that in my worship I will discover what God would have me to do and I will receive joy (the right heart) to do it.

I've much more to learn, and I'm excited to see where God will take me with this. Please, share your thoughts. When you're with God, are you fully present? Isn't it cool that when God's with us -- no matter when, no matter where -- HE IS FULLY PRESENT.

EverGrowing,
Lonnie

My Books Are Noisy

"in this modern age people seem to find it difficult to sit quietly for long. They must have a radio blaring or something else to drown the silence."

"The quiet time," writes Selwyn Hughes, "is where the soul grows receptive."

I want to be receptive -- to God's directions, His conviction, His comfort, His companionship. So, I determined to plan at least 10 minutes of quiet time into my days. Mind you, I consider it a fast when I leave the radio off driving five miles to and from work.

My First Attempt Failed! A coffee shop with dark roast and a fire. Hmmm. I could just sit, entertain silence, listen for God, and enjoy. Right? I lasted One Minute! That's when I found out that my books are noisy. They interrupt my silence.

I am a self-proclaimed Book Hog. If I must sit, and I can't have t.v. or music, then I MUST have a book, magazine -- something! When my husband and I eat out (McD's or Applebees; it doesn't matter) I take a book along. No, I'm not so rude as to read during our "date." But . . . if he goes to the bathroom, I pull out my reading material. And, oh, when I walk nature paths, I take a book or Bible and a pencil and notecards. You never know; bird song, waves lapping against the shore, and immeasurable beauty might not hold my attention for an hour. Good grief! Apparently silence and I have a couple issues.

"Our lives," writes Anne Graham Lotz, "can be like that radio dial. We can be so jammed with signals coming from every direction that even when we tune in to the voice of God, He can be drowned out by other voices crowding in. If we are to hear Him clearly and loudly, there must be times of quietness built into our daily lives."

God created me with an insatiable desire to learn and with a love of discovery. He understands. But . . . the story is yours from here. What do you think? Are "quiet" times important? Are "your" books noisy? How are "you" at sitting still?

I suspect I'm missing some peace, joy and incredible blessings by not taking a few minutes each day to just "hang out with God." What do you think? Any suggestions for pulling it off?

About to try 5 minutes,
Lonnie