I love books. Which shouldn't be that surprising since I'm a writer after all. I will re-read a favourite book over and over again. For that reason, I do not give books away (lend yes, give away permanently, no). If I've lent a book out and it fails to come back, I will remember it for years afterwards and will feel as if I've lost a friend.
I'm not an e-book fan, although I have been known to purchase an e-book or two when the book I'm wanting is out of print. And I would resort to e-books if I were to go away for any length of time where one or even two books in my suitcase would not suffice.
But there's another kind of book I really love.
Journals.
Notebooks.
Softcover. Hardcover. Spiral bound. It doesn't matter. I love them all.
(For the record I hate diaries and even though I buy one every year for work I rarely write in it and never check to see if I have an appointment etc. I think next year I'll just get myself a pretty notebook and use that.)
All those blank pages just waiting to be filled. Storylines ... Characters ... Notes ... Ideas ... Patterns ... Recipes ... To Do Lists ... Planning For Special Events ... Birthdates And Anniversaries ... Anything My Heart Desires.
Yesterday I was given the gift of a very pretty and special book. With lots of blank pages. It even has my name in gold on the cover. I plan to put it aside for my next Prayer Journal. I have a number of these books - often gifted - that I have used for just that purpose over the years. Some time in the early years of marriage I decided to keep a Prayer Journal. Not because I'm a particularly good pray-er. Quite the opposite really. But I love to write and somehow it seems easier to pray if I've written something first. So into this Prayer Journal I write prayer requests, notes of praise, sermon notes, verses or passages that I've read during my quiet time that speak to me, and, occasionally, some thoughts or quotes on the Christian walk.
I often find it interesting to go back and read through these Prayer Journals at a later stage and to see how God answered prayer - and not always as we expected. Or to go over sermon notes at a later date and see how they are so applicable for where I'm at now. Or to reread verses that spoke to me and be blown away yet again by God's goodness and faithfulness.
I've only recently started a new Prayer Journal after having it sit on my dressing table for a number of years. It was a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law. It will likely be a year or more yet before I get to start this new journal but I can still enjoy it - and remember the giver - in the meantime.
Can you think of any better purpose for a special book?
I'm not an e-book fan, although I have been known to purchase an e-book or two when the book I'm wanting is out of print. And I would resort to e-books if I were to go away for any length of time where one or even two books in my suitcase would not suffice.
But there's another kind of book I really love.
Journals.
Notebooks.
Softcover. Hardcover. Spiral bound. It doesn't matter. I love them all.
(For the record I hate diaries and even though I buy one every year for work I rarely write in it and never check to see if I have an appointment etc. I think next year I'll just get myself a pretty notebook and use that.)
All those blank pages just waiting to be filled. Storylines ... Characters ... Notes ... Ideas ... Patterns ... Recipes ... To Do Lists ... Planning For Special Events ... Birthdates And Anniversaries ... Anything My Heart Desires.
Yesterday I was given the gift of a very pretty and special book. With lots of blank pages. It even has my name in gold on the cover. I plan to put it aside for my next Prayer Journal. I have a number of these books - often gifted - that I have used for just that purpose over the years. Some time in the early years of marriage I decided to keep a Prayer Journal. Not because I'm a particularly good pray-er. Quite the opposite really. But I love to write and somehow it seems easier to pray if I've written something first. So into this Prayer Journal I write prayer requests, notes of praise, sermon notes, verses or passages that I've read during my quiet time that speak to me, and, occasionally, some thoughts or quotes on the Christian walk.
I often find it interesting to go back and read through these Prayer Journals at a later stage and to see how God answered prayer - and not always as we expected. Or to go over sermon notes at a later date and see how they are so applicable for where I'm at now. Or to reread verses that spoke to me and be blown away yet again by God's goodness and faithfulness.
I've only recently started a new Prayer Journal after having it sit on my dressing table for a number of years. It was a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law. It will likely be a year or more yet before I get to start this new journal but I can still enjoy it - and remember the giver - in the meantime.
Can you think of any better purpose for a special book?
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