The Guess Who: "The Key" - Bruce Atchison

Summer reading? Who has time? I find that the only book I read with regularity is the Bible.

Holy Scripture is one wonderful place for inspiration. Canadian Group The Guess Who certainly felt inspired enough to sing about various characters in the Bible, as you can hear on this song.

In my personal life, I admire Gideon. He wasn't from any popular or mighty family and tribe. He was just a person chosen by God to liberate Israel during the time of the judges.

When the angel of the Lord came to Gideon, he felt inadequate for the task he was called to do. As Judges 6:15 (Bible in Basic English) says, "And he said to him, 'O Lord, how may I be the saviour of Israel? See, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.'"

But instead of chiding Gideon, the Angel said in verse sixteen, "Then the Lord said to him, Truly, I will be with you, and you will overcome the Midianites as if they were one man."

I relate to other misunderstood and underestimated people in Scripture too. Christians down through the ages called one Disciple "Doubting Thomas." But we read his declaration of Christ's divinity in John 20:27 and 28 (BBE). "Then he said to Thomas, 'Put out your finger, and see my hands; and put your hand here into my side: and be no longer in doubt but have belief.' And Thomas said in answer, 'My Lord and my God!'"

And having read the accounts of these faithful saints, I rejoice in the knowledge that we'll meet them in heaven. Revelation 19:9 (BBE) tells us, "And he (the angel) said to me, 'Put in the book, Happy are the guests at the bride-feast of the Lamb.' And he said to me, 'These are the true words of God.'" What a wonderful day that will be!

Revisiting Old Friends ~ Valerie Ronald

 Relaxing outside in a lawn chair, I watch a bumble bee buzz its way from colorful flower to flower in the nearby garden. It visits various blooms, lingering on some longer than others, gathering bright yellow dots of pollen on its legs as it goes. The way it meanders leisurely and randomly among the flowers reminds me of how I read my way through the summer. Dipping into this book, then that book ˗˗ reading all the way to the end of some, and just skimming through others, collecting treasures as I go. If my books could talk, they would say they are fine with my casual approach, because we are, after all, old friends.

Summer is my time for revisiting old book friends, those that are almost as dear to me as my human friends. Between their worn, familiar covers is a treasury of beloved stories, characters and wisdom I love to visit again and again. I’ve heard it said that readers can be divided into two camps: those who read a book just once and those who re-read a book, sometimes multiple times. My criteria for a book I will return to again is that it must engage my imagination, delight my love of language and teach me something about life, either through story or prose.

Following is a brief introduction to some of my old friends who have given me hours of summer reading pleasure. Perhaps some of them are already your friends too, or this may be your first encounter. I hope you will enjoy getting to know them.

Gentian Hill by Elizabeth Goudge 

This book was my first introduction to the author, who lived and wrote in rural England during the early 20th century. The novel’s quaint richness of language, fully rounded characters and picturesque settings delight my love of all things old and British. However, I am most entranced by the beautifully interwoven story lines with their themes of courage, history and love. I have read Gentian Hill often, finding new wisdom in old legends retold and authenticity in how the lives in each narrative ultimately grow together to make a stronger whole.

I wrote about Elizabeth Goudge in a previous InScribe blog post, linked below.

https://inscribewritersonline.blogspot.com/2020/09/learning-in-shadow-of-two-elizabeths_23.html
 

A Garden to Keep by Jamie Langston Turner 

This novelist’s writing is an acquired taste, with its “stream of consciousness” style jumping from thought to thought within the main character’s mind. Admittedly it took me a while to engage with the story, then I couldn’t put it down. The introspective journey of the main character as she experiences the breakdown of her marriage, resonates with me on many levels. As a writer I am intrigued by how the story moves along in incremental detail while still maintaining suspense and interest. I also appreciate how the main character’s process of coming to faith in Christ is handled in a believable way without being heavy-handed, and has much to do with the satisfying conclusion. I return to this book occasionally because it evokes an empathetic response I need to revisit, for my own heart’s sake.
 

Roots & Sky: a Journey Home in Four Seasons by Christie Purifoy

Reading this book is like coming home to a comfortable old chair by the fire after rambling in the wilderness. In evocative, poetic prose, Purifoy describes how the old house of her dreams becomes home for her heart as well as her family. Through each of the four seasons, she chronicles the first year of loving Maplehurst back to life. While restoring its Victorian farmhouse and overgrown gardens, she undergoes a personal interior restoration. God glows warm in the lowering sun creating rainbows through rippled old glass and in the age-old rituals of planting, weeding and harvesting. She finds a simple rhythm in the pared-down days of caring for her newborn daughter and watching her three older children bloom as she gently introduces them to the liturgy of unstructured play and imagination.

Since I discovered this book several years ago, I have read it through every autumn, the season where the book begins. It reminds me to look for God in the sacred of the ordinary and mark each moment on the pages of my spirit so I will always remember.

Enjoying the Presence of God by Jan Johnson

I confess I am not a fan of “how-to” books, although I will reference them when needed. Jan Johnson has the gift of instructing by coming alongside, saying “this is what I learned in my journey so I share it with you, hoping you will find it helpful.” Returning to her book is a regular habit in my spiritual life now, as it reminds me that being in God’s presence isn’t about duty but about enjoyment. She gives examples of thanksgiving being the atmosphere of our days, of talking to Him in “breath prayers” throughout routine activities, of discovering what His voice sounds like when He speaks to our spirit, and how obeying Him frees us from disappointingly trying to manage our own lives.

The book is Johnson’s own story of finding enjoyment in the presence of God after a long spiritual drought. Her insights, sprinkled with pertinent quotes and examples from other Christian authors, ring true and practical without sounding lofty. I come away from reading it, not overwhelmed by shoulds and musts but encouraged by how simple an enjoyable life with God can be.


These are only a few of my old book friends I love to revisit. There are many more on my bookshelves, waiting for me to peruse their familiar passages and discover new treasures. Like all genuine friendships, they only improve with age. 

 

Valerie Ronald lives in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. She is a graduate of Vancouver's Langara College journalism program, and has worked as a newspaper reporter, freelance writer, public speaker and bookstore employee. She writes devotionals for her home church bulletins and her online blog. Her current book project chronicles how God's faithfulness saw her through the dark valleys of divorce and cancer. Along with her husband, Valerie enjoys spending time with their blended family and six grandchildren. She is a nature photographer, water colorist, cat lover and Scrabble addict.
More of her devotionals can be read on her blog   https://scriptordeus.wordpress.com

What Are Your Best Summertime Reads? by Sandi Somers

 

Image by learningscientists.org on Pixabay

There Is Power in Reading!

What a better way to spend a summer afternoon relaxing and reading. Especially these days when Alberta and Western Canada have been sweltering in an unprecedented heat wave. As I finish this post, it’s 36 outside at 4:30 in the afternoon; this week we almost reached Calgary’s all-time high of 36.5 C.

This summer I’ve been grateful for a time away from responsibilities of volunteer activities of this past year. Instead, I’m relaxing as I putter in my garden and house. And I’m reading!

I begin reading in the early morning, spending long leisurely times in God’s Word, meditating more thoughtfully on the Triune God and on what God is saying to me. Currently I’m reading through the Book of Acts, a post-Gospel narrative I’ve read many times and could reread almost continuously. Add a praise Psalm and a devotional by David Wilkerson, God Is Faithful, or Lloyd John Ogilvie’s Lord of the Impossible, and a time of prayer, and the hours can fly by.

In my other reading, I’ve always been a non-fiction aficionado—biography, personal essay, prayer, creativity, and more. Our church library has been closed due to Covid and remodelling, and so I'm missing out on my usual faith-building books. However, I'm borrowing books out of my normal range from the public library. 

With Covid restrictions, I've missed my own travels to exotic places, and so I’m reading The Best Women’s Travel Writing series. These books are ideal for me to pick up now and again, choosing a shorter or longer essay depending on my time and attention span. In my imagination I revisit countries such as South Africa, Egypt, and Haiti, absorbing their stunning landscapes, bright colours, and wonderful people. Or other countries I’ve only read about: Mongolia, or Cambodia, or Bangladesh. Then I copy some of the essayists’ word nuggets in my “Quotes Journal”, to sharpen my own writing.

But not all my reading is nonfiction. This summer I rediscovered two novels with stunning detail, metaphors, and word images that are nourishing my senses: Fugitive Pieces by our Canadian Anne Michaels, and All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr. These two books on different aspects of World War II have challenged my intellect as well as my spirits. They had the power to grab and hold my interest until I finished—but I declined to read until 3 o’clock in the morning!  

I do take my reading seriously. As I absorb other author’s writings and plan ahead to impact my readers, I think of Annie Dillard’s words: "The writer studies literature...He is careful of what he reads, for that is what he will write....Only after the writer lets literature shape her can she perhaps shape literature."

I also respond with the words from the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 10:31): Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

*

Now over to you.

What genre(s) do you enjoy most? What books are you are reading this summer? What books are meeting your need of release and renewal? How has God used books and their genres to touch your heart and change your life? What has been the impact on your writing and purpose for your readers?

*

Thanks to Lynn Dove for inspiring this month's theme, as she described her love of reading. "I was an avid reader from a very young age, disappearing whole-heartedly into a book, where I lived, breathed and took on the persona of the main character."