Summer Reading

I have found alot of interesting blogs about summer reading opportunities. Lists and lists full of books to complete during the summer. I really wanted to start a list of my own and try to conquer it. But then I settled into my reality again and realized that about three books would be a good challenge.
I started off the summer with a book my friend Marc Gshwend gave me, "Surprised by the Voice of God" by Jack Deere. It is all about hearing the voice of God through visions, dreams, etc. It was a hefty read... close to 400 pages, and I finished it about 2-3 weeks ago. Now we are more than halfway through the summer and I am feeling rather depressed about my accomplishments in summer reading. But it is not really bugging me, as I would read that book all over again just to spend all the time thinking about the ways I wish I was hearing God's voice and interacting with Him day to day.
I have recently picked up a new book, "Three Cups of Tea", a story about Greg Mortenson and his efforts to build schools in North Eastern Pakistan (I believe) for children, specifically girls. I picked up this book awhile back and only finished the introduction which was extremely boring for me, so I put it down. However, this book that I received as a gift for my last birthday kept speaking to me from the shelves, "READ ME", so I picked it up and powered through the introduction again to get to the good stuff. It is really amazing to hear a real life story of how one many can make a difference. How, it is just as hard as you think to build a school in a random foreign country, yet all you have to do is try in order to succeed. Yes, it is inspiring, and touching, and shocking all at once. I'll keep you updated about this one.

I still have a few books that have been staring me down for up to a couple years. One of them is called "Radical Reformation". My good friend Dan Hynes gave that to me a little while back. The pastor that I interned for at Glendora Community Church back near Azusa gave me a book when I left called "Shaped by the Word." I think it is just about the power of reading Scripture and how to read it correctly, which could possibly be monotonous and i think that is why I haven't tried to tackle it yet. Finally, in addition to these books, I have at least 10 schoolbooks that I never actually completed at APU. I sold back all the books that I knew I would never read, but kept the ones that I knew had to be amazing.

I will keep you updated on Three Cups of Tea as I go through it. I am about 1/4 of the way done.

Reading is a very enticing hobby right now as I sit in the middle of summer down here in Santa Cruz, California and look out to a chilly, foggy morning. (Well, it was a chilly, foggy morning when I started this blog). It seems as peaceful and enjoyable as any other hobby right now. Regretfully (maybe), knitting seems to be taking up my time. Knitting, Reading, Beading, Beaching.... too much to do.

For whatever reason, I can't decide which I love more. So for now... I'll just continue to blog.