We need that book.

The other day I was listening to Dr. Dobson's program via podcast, and I heard about a book.  It wasn't very long before I knew, I knew.  We need that book.

I told my husband (who also listens to the program) about it, and his immediate response was "Buy it."  We're not usually so fast in deciding to make such purchases, so either it was my zeal or the program itself which influenced such fast agreement.  I'm frankly not sure, and I'm a little afraid to ask.

We do love books, though.  I've often said we should have a separate corner of the budget, just for books.  I love the feel of them in my hand, the smooth covers.  I love the sound of the pages being turned.  I love the soft tickle as I search for a certain part.  My husband and I have been known to come home from marriage conferences with a gorgeous stack of new, wonderful books.  Some area read right away, some end up sitting on a nightstand for months or even longer.  I suppose it's alright, though - we're helping to support likeminded writers, and if we start wandering around in search of reading material we've got a ready supply, yes?

I did call about the book, and last Sunday it came home to our house.  It is wonderful so far, and I hope it will make a big difference in our family.  But that's not really what this post is about...

See, when I am faced with something unknown, I usually seek out a book.  I'll go to a bookstore or pour over the library's website.  I'll search Amazon, ask my friends.  Something in my seems to believe that when I need an answer, it's likely to be found in a book.   I have books on romance, marriage, breastfeeding, baby signs, parenting, cooking, nourishing foods, family nights and yes, homeschooling. We even have a book on the best places to kiss in the Northwest.

It's a pretty thorough collection.

Yes, books are my default, my go-to.  I love books and have found them very helpful and enriching in my life.

And then my thoughts turn to the Good Book.  The B-I-B-L-E.  The Word.

Living.  Active.  Unchanging.  Powerful.
Truth.

The Bible is not a book for the faint of heart -- it is a book full of all the greed and glory and violence and tenderness and sex and betrayal that benefits mankind.  It is not the collection of pretty little anecdotes mouthed by pious little church mice -- it does not so much nibble at our shoe leather as it cuts to the heart and splits the marrow from the bone.  It does not give us answers fitted to our small-minded questions, but truth that goes beyond what we even know to ask.                           

             ~Rich Mullins, "The World as Best As I Remember It: Thoughts & Reflections" 

Oh, how we need that book...