Oh another book shelf cleaning took place this morning, I decided to donate the many religious books that I have to our church library, I pray that they will offer comfort, guidance, and inspiration to others.
I have spent many years seeking the perfect book, the one that will show me how to live a christian life, the one that will inspire me and have all the answers, the one that I can say, "this is it, this is the one!!", and today I can say honestly say that I have found the perfect book, it is the one that all the other books I read took inspiration from, it is one that I have had all along, and of course you know the book I am speaking of because it is the Holy Bible, the Word of God.
I realized, oh if only I had sooner, that reading books written about the book is like drinking powdered milk, it is okay, it offers sustenance, but it really isn't at all like the real thing, and if offered a glass of fresh cold milk, or a cold glass of mixed powdered milk we all know what we would choose. So I have cleared my path, and really started to read the bible with open eyes and I am learning so much. At this time I am reading through the Acts of the Apostles, it is the beginning of Christianity, it is an exciting time, miracles are being performed, people are healed, thousands are baptized and committed to being Christian. The early church is forming, people are so on fire, they are selling their homes and possessions to live communally and they put the proceeds at the feet of the apostles to be distributed to each according to need. It wasn't perfect, the people needed guidance and correction, but boy did they have zeal. It is exciting to read. I have also been reading Proverbs, this book of the old testament has always been a favorite of mine, it is filled with wisdom, and most everything is applicable to 21st century living because people are still essentially the same, some wise, some foolish, some prudent, some lazy, some sinful, some diligent, some faithful, I often chuckle as I read through proverbs, some favorites:
Proverbs 28 19 "He who cultivates his land will have plenty of food, but from idle pursuits a man has his fill of poverty"
Proverbs 26 22 "The words of a talebearer are like dainty morsels that sink into one's inmost being"
Proverbs 25 17 "let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house lest he have more than enough of you, and hate you."
Proverbs 24 33-34 "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest--Then will poverty come upon you like a highwayman and want like an armed man"
What I am I trying to say this morning, well I think it is this, if you want to learn about how to live life as a Christian try reading the book that the Lord gave us, the bible.
I recently went to Shipshewana, while walking around a man was handing out tracts, I took one when offered, stuffed it in my bag and read it a little later. It was essentially an offer for a free bible study, so I thought why not, I have always wanted to do a bible study, but have never found one that seemed to be simply a study of the bible, so I went online and submitted my name and address and about a month later my study arrived. It was kind of exciting, in the envelope was a booklet of the Book of John, and lessons 1 and 2. Lesson 1 covered chapter 1 of John, and lesson 2 chapter 2. The questions in each lesson really took me verse by verse through each chapter, I feel as if I know the two chapters almost by heart. Once done with the lessons there is a test to take. The test is sealed and not to be opened until the lessons are done, I took the test this morning, it was probably 20 questions, mainly multiple choice, I now have to mail the test back and wait for my next lesson to arrive by mail.
If you are interested in doing this particular bible study you can sign up for it here, www.lamplight.info
I mentioned that I had not found a satisfactory bible study in the past, my main dislikes are that they are always for a specific group, for example for new moms, for old moms, for retired people, for working women, for stay at home moms, for dad, for single men, for teens, you name a group you can probably find a bible study aimed at them, perhaps there is one for left-handed basketball players??? Who knows. Anyway, I don't want to read/study the bible through the lens of a category, does that make sense? This mail order bible study, that is FREE, seems to simply be a bible study plain and simple.
And now for something completely different - WE HAVE HOT WATER AGAIN :) YEA!! Our water heater, we have a love hate relationship with it, is very temperamental. Our home was originally all electric when it was built in 1974, at some point natural gas was run to the house, thankfully, and the furnace and water heater are gas, we ran a gas line to the kitchen when we moved in because we prefer to cook with gas. Because the house was originally all electric we are stuck having to have a power vent gas water heater, there is a fan on top of the water heater to push fumes up and out of the basement to the outside. A power vent gas water heater costs almost twice as much as a conventional gas water heater. We replaced the water heater 6 years ago, and have had nothing but trouble with it, parts fail continually, we joke that there is nothing stock on the water heater anymore, every part has been replaced at least once. In reading reviews of our water heater our experience is not unique. Why do we keep this behemoth, well it is under warranty, and every time it breaks down you simple call the 800 number, explain the problem, and they ship overnight at not charge a free replacement part. We called on Thursday evening, they wanted my husband to check a couple of things, he did and called back on Saturday morning, they determined the part needed and said it would ship on Monday, it arrived yesterday, so last night Dave drained the water heater and installed new part, he then ate dinner at a rather late hour while waiting for the water to heat. After dinner he went upstairs and enjoyed a long, hot shower, a nice reward after a job well. done.
Blessings to you,
Bean
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