Recent Reading and Quotes

I think I might have mentioned that I've been reading a lot recently. My general reading regimen for several years has been to read a Psalm and a chapter of Proverbs and part of a devotional book every morning. I just finished Future Grace, by John Piper, and have started The Cost of Discipleship, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, for my morning book. Until February I routinely listened to an audio book whenever I drove somewhere by myself. This year I decided to reserve that for long trips so I've mostly been listening to music in the car. I'm excited about my upcoming trip to Kentucky and Tennessee because I'll get to listen to audio books again (among other much more significant reasons, of course). For the last two-three years I've been reading epic poetry at lunch time. I've been following a more-or-less chronological path through the western epic poetry tradition. I'm about to reread Dante's Divine Comedy. Before going to bed I read the daily selection from the one year Bible and part of another book. Often my night book is something chosen seasonally. I read something about the incarnation or life of Jesus for Christmas. Something about the atonement and/or resurrection around Easter. I might read something about sin or holiness for Lent. For several years I've attempted to work a book on the Holy Spirit in for Pentecost, but I've only managed this once. Currently I'm reading Piper's book A Hunger for God as my bedtime book. I also try to read several other books as well. I usually have a fiction book I'm working on, The Two Towers currently. I try to read something work related fairly regularly. The last three months that has alternated between something about job searching/finding who you are and something related to libraries or information science. I've almost always got several reading projects up in the air.

Recently I started journaling thoughts and interesting quotations from my morning and evening readings. I write down a summary and a verse or thought that sticks out from whatever my scripture reading is and I write down significant quotes from my devotional books. I've also been keeping a journal of whatever else I did during the day and other things read or watched. That accounts somewhat for my absence from the poor neglected blog. I've really enjoyed this practice and am curious to see how it holds up when I get back to work.

Anyway since I'm doing all this reading and writing I thought I'd reinstitute my verse/quote of the day practice. I might also try again to put up short reviews of the books I read but that might be too much. If I do that I'll try to warn you so you can skip on to whatever interesting might happen around here. So without further ado, I give you...

Verse of the day:
"The fear of others lays a snare
But one who trusts in the LORD is secure." Prov. 29:25 (NRSV)

Double-dip Quote of the Day:
"When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave work and home to follow him, or it may be a death like Luther's, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time--death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at his call."

"The yoke and burden of Christ are his cross. To go one's way under the sign of the cross is not misery and desperation, but peace and refreshment for the soul, it is the highest joy. Then we do not walk under our self-made laws and burdens, but under the yoke of him who knows us and who walks under the yoke with us. Under his yoke we are certain of his nearness and communion. It is he whom the disciple finds as he lifts up his cross."

Both of those are from chapter 4 of The Cost of Discipleship, "Discipleship and the Cross". I really wanted to just quote the whole chapter.

In a completely unrelated note I took applications to several local bookstores today and had encouraging interactions at three of them (nothing wrong with the others, just no news). Between these and the registrar job I mentioned in the previous post, I might have good job news next week.