I know in this digital age we are all supposed to embrace technology and all its wonderment, including the amazing ability of devises that instantly deliver enough books to keep us reading and enough songs to keep us singing until our final breath. I know it's amazing and I have a device for such purposes.  It astounds me that I can take not one or two books on vacation, but hundreds and without 5 suitcases to hold them all.  What an absolute thrill!!  One can only truly appreciate this  if one has had to take a two week road trip with their parents and grandparents and had to choose which books and cassette tapes they can and cannot live without over the duration of said road trip, but I digress.... 
Having established the beauty and blessing of unlimited glowing, electronic information, my confession is this.....I don't care how convenient it is because I LOVE BOOKS! And don't shake your head in agreement and say "Me too" because you don't understand; I buy a book (at least one) every time I am in a bookstore and when I travel I would rather bring home a book than a souvenir or trinket.  I can't walk by a bookstore without going in and touching as many books as possible.  I turn into a crazy person...I have to touch them, feel them in my hands, flip through their pages, smell them, buy them....Books about Scotland, books about art, books about history, museums, romance, tragedy, mystery, Jesus, heaven, hell, self-help, how to be a better Christian, how to be a better person, nutrition, exercise, classic literature, habits that will change your life, Shakespeare, you name it!  
So, I think I've established that I love books and have reached for them throughout my life for entertainment, enlightenment, guidance and humor.  I began reading at a young age and it has been a love affair ever since, but I have learned to be careful when I reach for a book that promises it contains untold truths that will trigger all my bad habits and issues to fall away and reveal the swan that lives within.  Don't get me wrong, I love self-help and Christian based books about discovering who I am and who I want to be and who everyone else thinks I should be, but I have also discovered that many of these books, which contain helpful ideas and thoughts, often make me feel inadequate and lacking, not only as a believer, but as a human being.  I am not saying they can't be helpful because I have read many that are full of great advice, but I have also found that if I begin feeling less than I am because I am not doing or saying "what I am supposed to", I put them away-life is too short!  The only book any of us should reach for to learn our worth and potential is God's word to us. It's got everything: adventure, absurdity, romance, tragedy, sarcasm (my favorite), darkness, light, hope...And it's best attribute....The truth,  Jesus!  
We are all searching....we want to turn a page and read something so enlightening it changes us and fixes us, but the cold hard truth is that as long as we draw breath, we will remain imperfect.  Attaining perfection on this earth just isn't possible, so the next time you reach for a book (even a good book, written with good intentions) remember that there aren't 10 steps to any type of perfection and all you really need is consistency in opening God's word to you.  Will it magically take away your problems? No, but it will provide light to your path (Psalm 119:105) and strength on your journey (2 Timothy 3:16) and purpose in your life (Hebrews 4:12).  This life is a marathon  to becoming who God wants us to be, not a sprint to the "perfect" person the world wants us to be.
Start today and just pick up the Bible and say a short prayer to the one who made you and loves you....ask that the Holy Spirit fill you and that God would speak to your heart.  Make it a part of every day and it will start singing to you, I promise. Thank you to Bill Gehm at Grace Church in Amarillo.  He is the pastor that taught me to look for Jesus in every word of the Bible and let it sing to me! Tears are streaming down my face as I write this because I know it is true...He speaks to me and He will speak to you if you turn off the world for just a little while and let Him into your heart.  Following Him and reading the Bible hasn't made my life easier, but every page of my life's story  has been fuller and more beautiful than I could have imagined because of its Author. 

I have struggled with my blog this week.  I wasn't sure what to write, so I told God I would wait for His guidance because that is what I want this blog to be-I wanted a place to share His voice, not my own.  And if you know me well, you know what a struggle it is for me to keep my mouth shut because all week I have fought against the urge to use this blog as a platform for my opinion about all that is wrong with our world....  and then it hit me this morning as I was writing in my journal, coffee in hand... the world is not more messed up that it ever has been; it has been messed up from the first time people decided their way was the right way. The struggle began in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve decided to do things their way (Genesis 3:6), instead of God's way and that set in motion a world of individuals who seek their own way instead of God's way.
My problem as a believer is that I want things my way, I want my voice heard, my opinion displayed in the headlines for all to see.  I often get caught up in my own little world, my own little kingdom, which always leads to frustration and disappointment. And why is that? Shouldn't I pursue what I want, totally focus on my hopes and dreams?  The world tells me I should do that, tells me that is what I should be doing, but the problem with my little kingdom is that the ruler is an emotional, opinionated, and flawed excuse for a ruler. Seeking perfection in an earthly kingdom or leader will always lead to disappointment, because where flawed people are in charge, there will be mistakes and corruption and selfishness and deceit, and....you get the idea.  People screw things up, even good people.  That's why we must listen to His voice over our own.  Let God's voice drown out the clashing, clanging noise of the world.  Hold onto Him because He is lasting and flawless, the only one in which we can find true and perfect hope! His kingdom is the one we should be pursuing, His voice the one listened to and spread to this hurting world.
This world does not need another opinion or tweet or riot or hate of anyone, it needs Jesus and His voice of love and salvation!  He created each of us and we all share one thing: the color of our souls is the color of eternity.  

Jesus commanded us to love (John 15:12).  He didn't suggest it or tell us it would be a good idea, He commanded it and He did this because He knew it would not come naturally or be easy or safe.  The easy stuff comes naturally and if you have ever been my passenger while I am driving, you know this to be true! I maintain regularly that Jesus gave this command to love before cars.....so....
I scream and curse and say I hate other drivers all the time and it's so easy to do it. The hard part is trying not to, the hard part is responding with love and patience and understanding.  It seems ever increasingly, that our world is choosing hate and fear over love and understanding. Our first instinct is to care for ourselves, jump to conclusions, mistrust what we don't understand, kill what we do not love, suppress what we do not agree with and seek our own comfort above all else.  
I had a conversation with my friend Karolyn just two days ago, and through tears she asked, "Why is the world so full of hate?"  And I gave her my nice, safe response that places blame justly, on the Devil..."Satan is alive and well in this world and you can tell."  This is true, and the Bible tells me he is a lion who is seeking prey (I Peter 5:8), but there is more to the story than that.  God has left believers here as lights to shine in the darkness of the world, but too many times I point my finger at the enemy instead of at myself.  Why am I not out loving the world?  We are being told everyday to stay home, stay safe, but Jesus didn't tell His disciples to stay at home and stay safe, He told them to go out and to take nothing with them (Luke 10:3-4) (and this was before antibiotics and vaccines and clean water).  Now, I know the world is a dangerous place and we should be cautious in it, but last time I checked, we are all in mortal bodies that are decaying and Jesus does not care if we are comfortable, He wants us working and continuing the mission He set forth!  
Love and hate are not feelings that are thrust upon us, they are choices we make everyday. Hate and mistrust are natural and easy but love and understanding require me to learn about others, seek truth and be vulnerable to others.  You do not have to look far to see a need for love in this world, just turn on the news and you will see that the world is desperately crying out for anything that makes sense.  It is clawing at the darkness, begging for some light, an answer to all that is misunderstood and the answer is Jesus!  He chose to die for us so that we could live a perfect and beautiful eternity with Him.  Dying on a cross for us was not a safe choice, but it was the ultimate display of love and Jesus is the only thing that will quell the darkness!