My Annual Dickens

Last year, having previously read A Tale of Two Cities, I read Great Expectations. It takes a lot of patience to get through Charles Dickens's books (never quit two-thirds of the way through, however much you may be tempted to), but, in the end, they are well worth reading. Having twice enjoyed Dickens's genius, I decided it might be worthwhile to continue reading his works--at the hopefully-not-too-demanding pace of one per year.

As summer rolled around, I began to consider which book of his to read next. I had the impression that A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations are his two best works (or is David Copperfield up there? I don't really know), so I wasn't sure which book to choose. Finally settling on Bleak House--though I myself am not sure why--I ordered it from the library. I had heard that it was lengthy (having been published as a serial), so I should have been warned. Nonetheless, I was not a little perturbed to find it come in at over 850 pages, with type that is none too large. Ask me sometime in the (somewhat distant) future how much I enjoyed it--and whether I ended up doing anything else this summer. Side note: why is it that summer, when no one wants to stay indoors, is the only time of year I have to read for enjoyment?

Books (for lack of a better post name)

I've thought of doing book reviews, both to help myself remember the content of each book and to recommend the really good ones to others. The following lists are all composed of non-fiction books. (I did not include the Bible in any of these lists).

Last 5 Books I Read:
Desiring God, by John Piper
Life As a Vapor, by John Piper
Orthodoxy, by G.K. Chesterton
Uniting Church and Home, by Eric Wallace
Jesus Among Other Gods, by Ravi Zacharias

Currently Reading:
When I Don't Desire God, by John Piper
Questioning Evangelism, by Randy Newman
The Abolition of Man, by C.S. Lewis

Next 5 Books I Plan to Read:
The Cost of Discipleship, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Growing Up Christian, by Karl Graustein
Living the Cross-Centered Life, by C.J. Mahaney
Future Grace, by John Piper
Holiness, by J.C. Ryle

Has anyone read some of these books? If so, which were your favorites (and why)?

Heart Indicators

Well, I decided to finish this post; it's been marked draft for a couple months.

Situation: Something just happened that really bothered me.
Time: Any time.
My Reaction: I bite my tongue (or try some other innocuous response).

Why is it that when I'm frustrated, the first words that come to mind are ones which I've never said (and pray I'll never say)? Why don't any other words or phrases, ones which I've said many other times, leap to the forefront of my mind?

For some time, I was perplexed by this question. Something would happen (say, for instance that I dropped something I was carrying), and my responses would come in something like the following order:
1. I'd nearly swear
2. I'd stop myself and breathe some other word of frustration
3. Realizing what I'd almost said, I'd think "Why, Lord? How did I almost say that? I'd never use words like that!"

Once again, Scripture speaks to the issue: "The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45). Contrary to what I'd like to think, it's not that my mouth nearly makes an inaccurate reflection on my righteous self; it's that my mouth nearly makes an accurate reflection on my sinful and self-righteous self. Next time this happens, I don't want to merely pray "Lord, help me to guard my mouth," but also "Lord, change my heart."

I'd be curious to learn whether anyone else has the same struggle, and if so, what they've learned through it. Thoughts anyone?