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Apparently I’ve unintentionally given at least one of my friends the idea that I read a lot. Which I don’t. It’s just that every time I read a book I tell everyone I know about it, whether through this column or on my blog or at playdates. So it may seem that I’m tearing through books when in fact I’m just letting you all know about every single one that enters my life.
The truth is that I’m painstakingly slow when I read. I read a couple paragraphs then put down the book to mull over what I’ve read; or I have to walk away until I clumsily recount the story to my husband in hopes the act of repeating it will make the words coalesce into something more understandable in my head; or I read so late at night that I make it through only half a chapter before falling asleep.
What I need is to sit in on some college-level English Lit classes where I can pour over interesting novels with like-minded people. My husband and friends would probably appreciate it if I chewed over the finer points of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” with folks other than them, with people who’ve maybe even read it and enjoyed it themselves.
Now I am reading through the Bible. Our pastor has been pushing our church as a whole to do it for a while, and Hubby and I finally decided to jump in. It’s just such a commitment, you know? But youversion.com has made it gloriously easy with their different reading plans, and especially pre-allotting the number of chapters I need to read each day. Makes the process less overwhelming.
There’s even a place for people like me--people who obsessively analyze minute details--to take notes, where I can highlight certain verses and type my responses to them so that I can share them with my husband after he’s home from work.
And yes, I, too, don’t think my husband knew what he was getting into when we agreed to read through the Bible at the same time and discuss it.
But the fact that Eve does not have a name until after she sinned and the consequence was told to her fascinates me. A similar thing happened to Bathsheba. She became “the woman” or “Uriah’s wife” until the consequence of her sin came to pass. Why? These things fascinate me. God doesn’t throw away words, so His telling of events must have a reason.
Also: that God made coverings for Adam and Eve to survive in the harsh life outside of the Garden. He didn’t throw instructions at them so they could do it themselves, but He protected them even as they had to live out the consequence of their sin. It says something to His character, you know? That He loves us and wants to help us even after we’ve expressly done what He told us not to.
All of this fascinates me, I tell you. Even more than Charles Dickens or Nathaniel Hawthorne or Mary Karr. So real-life friends of mine, brace yourselves. I might chatter at you nonstop about what I’ve read that day.
Erin Fox is a weekly columnist for the Augusta Gazette and a busy mother and wife. Her popular blog - erin’s little corner of the world - is at http://erinslittlecorner.com.
Apparently I’ve unintentionally given at least one of my friends the idea that I read a lot. Which I don’t. It’s just that every time I read a book I tell everyone I know about it, whether through this column or on my blog or at playdates. So it may seem that I’m tearing through books when in fact I’m just letting you all know about every single one that enters my life.
The truth is that I’m painstakingly slow when I read. I read a couple paragraphs then put down the book to mull over what I’ve read; or I have to walk away until I clumsily recount the story to my husband in hopes the act of repeating it will make the words coalesce into something more understandable in my head; or I read so late at night that I make it through only half a chapter before falling asleep.
What I need is to sit in on some college-level English Lit classes where I can pour over interesting novels with like-minded people. My husband and friends would probably appreciate it if I chewed over the finer points of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” with folks other than them, with people who’ve maybe even read it and enjoyed it themselves.
Now I am reading through the Bible. Our pastor has been pushing our church as a whole to do it for a while, and Hubby and I finally decided to jump in. It’s just such a commitment, you know? But youversion.com has made it gloriously easy with their different reading plans, and especially pre-allotting the number of chapters I need to read each day. Makes the process less overwhelming.
There’s even a place for people like me--people who obsessively analyze minute details--to take notes, where I can highlight certain verses and type my responses to them so that I can share them with my husband after he’s home from work.
And yes, I, too, don’t think my husband knew what he was getting into when we agreed to read through the Bible at the same time and discuss it.
But the fact that Eve does not have a name until after she sinned and the consequence was told to her fascinates me. A similar thing happened to Bathsheba. She became “the woman” or “Uriah’s wife” until the consequence of her sin came to pass. Why? These things fascinate me. God doesn’t throw away words, so His telling of events must have a reason.
Also: that God made coverings for Adam and Eve to survive in the harsh life outside of the Garden. He didn’t throw instructions at them so they could do it themselves, but He protected them even as they had to live out the consequence of their sin. It says something to His character, you know? That He loves us and wants to help us even after we’ve expressly done what He told us not to.
All of this fascinates me, I tell you. Even more than Charles Dickens or Nathaniel Hawthorne or Mary Karr. So real-life friends of mine, brace yourselves. I might chatter at you nonstop about what I’ve read that day.
Erin Fox is a weekly columnist for the Augusta Gazette and a busy mother and wife. Her popular blog - erin’s little corner of the world - is at http://erinslittlecorner.com.
