"When this story begins, Elizabeth Ann, who is the heroine of it, was a little girl of nine, who lived with her Great-aunt Harriet in a medium-sized city in a medium-sized state in the middle of this country; and that's all you need to know about the place, for it's not the important thing in the story; and anyhow you know all about it because it was probably very much like the place you live in yourself." Thus begins one of my very favorite books ever, Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher, which I am reading again for the umpteenth time. My soul needs this book. I need to read it at least once a year. You probably should too.
Our daughter Amy has taught me to always read at least the first sentence in any book, and possibly the last as well, to find out if it's worth reading. For who doesn't know the first lines of Pride and Prejudice and A Tale of Two Cities? Case closed.
This week I want to tell you about my two favorite last books, not Understood Betsy, although you should probably read that one. But I want you to go first.
What have you read lately that is worth the time for the rest of us? What can you not wait to have others read? Well, here's your chance to tell all. Just post it in the comment section under anonymous, if the other options don't work.
Oh, and I know you're dying to know how Understood Betsy turns out. "That room was full to the brim of something beautiful, and Betsy knew what it was. Its name was Happiness."
I told you it was good.
I've read lots of good and great books lately. I'll mention a Books and Chocolate book as one of the great ones...The Bookends of the Christian Life by Jerry Bridges.
ReplyDeleteOne excellent book I read recently (the "Books and Chocolate" book for this month) is "Bookends of the Christian Life" by Jerry Bridges. It is a short book but masterfully and practically lays out the way that two "bookends," the righteousness of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, support our entire lives! (To read more about this little book, go to www.TheBookendsBook.com.)
ReplyDeleteA book I am sailing through right now (it is hard to put down!) is "Gray Matter," by David Levy. He is an acclaimed neurosurgeon who prays for and with his patients. I am amazed at the complexity of our brains and fascinated by the types of surgery that can be done on them. I am deeply touched to read how God uses this doctor's prayers in the lives of his patients and his coworkers.
It is very easy to read (in spite of the descriptions of complex brain surgeries) and truly inspiring!
Janet
We ought never to be bored with such amazing things as our brains! God has given us the world to explore and figure out!
DeleteI just finished reading, "Gladys Aylward: The Adventure of a Lifetime" by Janet and Geoff Benge. Oh dear sisters! Would any of us at 28 have made it through a Siberian wilderness in the middle of winter, walking alone for 1 1/2 days because we wanted to go to China to preach the gospel?
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I would have made it. But Gladys was very stubborn, and this was not the worst event in her life! She had to survive by her wits, which sometimes were not timed the best, like when she had to escape the Communist soldiers by jumping aboard a Japanese boat as their prisoner. She placed her bags on the ship and hesitated and was almost caught by the soldiers. God reminded her of a one-pound British note tucked into her corset, which she tossed at the six soldiers. It was enough of a distraction for her to jump aboard the departing ship.
Whew! I read this as I rocked Brianna to sleep this week, and each time I had to put her in her crib, I felt as if I was coming out of an adventure movie. Perhaps you have heard her story on "Stories of Great Christians" on WRVM radio 102.7. Amazing!
I thank God for Anita, who homeschools her four children and watches Brianna while I am at school, who recommended this book to me. I have always wanted to know Gladys' full story (did you know she was featured in TIME magazine back in the 1930's and that a movie was made about her life?), having only heard parts of it on "Stories of Great Christians".
After reading this book (I turned off the heat while reading so I could feel cold when Gladys was trekking across the mountains with 94 orphans), I will think twice before complaining!