December 19 – “Books”

I miss books.  The computer is great and I use it pretty much every day.  But there is nothing like a book.  More than once since the storm I have been sitting at the desk in Omega Bay working on a sermon, and I have absent mindedly reached over to where there used to be a shelf full of reference books.  But it's not there any more.    Chris and I love to read Christian fiction.  The Ted Decker series is like a spider web.  He weaves a plot that not only carries forward into his next volume but also references little tidbits from earlier events in the lives of the characters that make you wonder what their life was like "back then."  Kind of like in Star Wars when Yoda says, "There is one other."  Master story teller.  We have his most recent two – Saint and Sinner – because we were reading them when we evacuated.  But several times we wanted to go back to an earlier book and look up something about a character.  But those books are gone.  The Harry Potter series is gone.  We usually read that whole series again whenever the next movie comes out.  The Chronicles of Narnia.  I know we have both read that series at least fifteen or twenty times.  Lemony Snicket.  Odd, but somehow compelling.  Frank Peretti.  Now there's another master storyteller.  Anybody who can write a story for kids and turn around and write something like Piercing the Darkness is amazing.  Lord of the Rings.  At least our DVD's of this one survived – although there has never been a movie made from a good book that has been better than the book.  Just doesn't happen.   An interesting thing happened today.  We had several visitors from Brownwood, Texas, who were checking out Galveston to see how they could help out down here.  As they toured my "House of Studs" they asked about my books.  I guess that's why I thought about missing them so much.  They even got specific and asked what commentary I used most.  That was easy.  Other than a few I check out from time to time online, the only commentary I use consistently is the New American.  It's pretty simple to understand, but still scholarly enough to answer some of the language and sociological questions I often have about a text.  It's also the one Kel always borrowed.    The guys left around noon, shortly after a quick visit to Seaside to look around.  We had to rush over to our babysitting assignment.  Kel had a doctor's appointment, and then they were going to do some Christmas shopping.  Anyway, we didn't leave there until around 8:30, and we still had to go by the house to check on the mail.  That's a big deal because not very many people have electricity in our neighborhood yet, so it gets dark when it gets dark.  When we got to the house there were several boxes on the front porch, so we loaded them into the truck and headed for Omega.    When I finally got them upstairs and settled down to see what they were, I remembered being encouraged by a fellow pastor to make a phone call to Lifeway and tell them I lost books in the storm.  Could this be the result of that call?  I was guardedly excited as I opened up the boxes.  Unbelievable.  They had sent me an entire set of the New American Commentary.  There were some other books included as well, but the only commentary I regularly use.  How specific can you get?  It's almost as if they knew what I needed before I asked.  Hmm.  Wait a minute.  That seems vaguely familiar.   Matthew 6:8 says, " … for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."   Father, it's you again, isn't it?  You know what I need before I can even catch up with you.  Once again, I am stunned.  Amen.