Perhaps I read more in winter, when evenings are longer and I don't spend as much time outdoors. I rarely "plan" what I read... (which is why I have never joined a "book club" where everyone has to read the same book - then meet to discuss it...) But books come my way: sometimes I read about a book that tweaks my interest... sometimes I hear about one from a friend, then try to get a copy for myself.
Which is how I happen to be reading three different books at the moment! Two relate to Benedictine monastic life: The Rule of Benedict: A Spirituality for the 21st Century and The Cloister Walk. The other is Life with God, by Richard Foster, a Quaker, who has long been one of my favorite Christian writers.
How did I discover these books? My friend Janet told me about the first one - and I read about the other two.
But I find it interesting that some of the ideas I am currently reading are overlapping.
Just this morning, in The Rule of Benedict, I read Joan Chittister's comment that by beginning early morning Vigil prayer with the words "O Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall proclaim your praise" (from Psalm 51), Benedict teaches us that "Even the desire to pray is the grace to pray. The movement to pray is the movement of God in our souls." (p. 104)
A few days ago, in Life with God, I had read: 'Through Scripture... God ... [whispers] down through the centuries: "I am with you!" ... Then... God [asks] a question that searches a person to the depths: "Are you willing to be with Me?" '
It is exciting to be reminded (twice!) that God not only sustains us: He is the initiator of our faith. In other words, it's not all up to us!
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