Books.

Over the past few years I’ve realized my love for fiction.  Now, I know that most of the books I’ve been reading, which are mostly American Classics, should be books that I read in my formative years in school.  Well i’m sad to say back then reading wasn’t exactly a priority for me.  Skateboards, where to ride skateboards, music and how to get better at both were the Gods of my teenage years.  Don’t get me wrong, I did well enough in school.  I did what was necessary to get by and nothing more…something I don’t really regret.  Maybe I should but I just can’t find it in me.

High school was spent reading Cliff Notes and B.Sing my way through papers.  Music consumed me.  I spent all free time listen and imitating my heros.  I dabbled in theology a bit, but nothing grabbed me.  Post high school found me doing the very thing I longed to do, traveling and playing music.  I was blessed enough to have amazing people around me who pushed me to study and think for myself.  Willard, Piper, Bonhoeffer, Lewis, and Kierkegaard were the books I had with me at all times.  As you can imagine none of these are exactly compelling in a I-can’t-put-this-book-down kind of way.  These books changed me and made me who I am today, and for that they are priceless to me.

About three years ago my brother, Blake, who I’m pretty sure read “War of The Worlds” when he was in fifth grade, told me I should read “East of Eden” by John Steinbeck.  I looked at the 600 page book and then back at him with hesitation in my face.  He said ” Trust me, after the first few chapters you’ll love it.”  Blake is a trustworthy fellow, so I gave it a go not realizing what an effect it would have on me. One week later I’d finished the book.  The thing you need to understand is that I’m not some speed reader, the story just grabbed me and I couldn’t put it down.  I stayed up late and got up early just to see what would happen next.  It was refreshing to zip through a book, to get caught up in characters and themes, instead of trying to mentally process each in-depth paragraph of a Piper book.  

Over the past two years I’ve been obsessed with American Classics: All things Stienbeck, “Uncle Toms Cabin”, “To Kill A Mockingbird”, “Old Yeller”, “Catcher in the Rye” and so on…  Currently I’m reading “1984″ by George Orwell.  Its a negative utopia.  A bit of a depressing book, but I find the future described fascinating because it was written in 1949.  Most of the imagery is somewhat familiar to me, be it movies I’ve seen or television programs.  But for a writer in ‘49 to come up with these ideas amazes me.  I hope to finish it soon so life won’t look so gloomy.  I will then move on to a book by Ha Jin called “The Crazed” that a good friend gifted me.

Brevity of Life

I have quite a few close friends who, in the past few months, have had children or found out they are expecting. Each couple has a different story. Some friends had children so big I wonder how the cute little mother actually held them within. Others who have finally passed into that safety zone know as the 2nd trimester after painful loses that I can’t even begin to understand. Others still have had gut-wrenching, faith-testing heartaches from pre-mature children diagnosed with no hope. Its hard and I don’t understand it, but in all of these situations our God is Sovereign. He clothes the birds so surely He will care for these.

These stories cause me step back and realize how precious having a child is in a way that hasn’t hit me before. Being a newly married man (10 months) and having a Mom who reminds me often that “Your Dad and I got pregnant the first day we tried,” pregnancy is something my wife and I try to, in a sense, avoid. Feeling that at any moment we might “accidentally” find ourselves with child. I’m realizing now how much of a gift a child is and how presumptuous it is to assume my wife and I could get pregnant whenever we want. I know that if or when the Lord chooses to bless us with a child it will be the perfect time, no matter what stage of life we might be in.

A lot of this blog has been a reaction to the heart breaking situation my friend Wade and his wife Ferris are going through. For those of you reading who don’t know the situation, please check out their blogs to see how we can pray for them.  Wade’s blog is listed below.

where to begin…

I don’t really know where to start with this whole thing.  All I know is that I have dear friends who encourage me on a regular basis with how open they are with their hopes and dreams and fears…all of which they bare on their respective blogs.  I also believe you can learn something from everyone.  Everyone comes at life from different directions, so there is value in taking note of the unique ways people approach life.  I think too, that in someway, the writers themselves can find a strange type of therapy, a confessional if you will.  Because of these things I can now see the value of taking on the blog world.  My hope in all of this is that in some way I can encourage the few people that might actually read this.