More about Books

In the meme about books, I purposely left out the spiritual books that have meant the most to me....they deserve a post of their own.
Naturally I love reading the Bible and have several translations I enjoy reading from. The Masoretic Text (Tanakh)and The Jewish New Testament are favorites. I have a really worn out purple leather bound NIV that has notes in just about every margin, notes in the front and back, and this Bible has been the one to see me through difficult times in life and very happy times. There are notes in there from the very day that Melanie lay dying in the hospital, promises underlined and praises next to them.
And then there are all my old Bibles that I treasure. I collect old Bibles. The small one in the picture is from the late 1700's. Its print so small its difficult to read, but when I sit in silence, glasses on, reading from those pages, I can imagine the history of this tiny book, I feel transported back in time. The large Bible is from 1802, it has survived two fires where just about everything in the town was destroyed. It was a gift from a very old lady that was the mother of my mothers friend, it was her family Bible, but she was certain no one in the family would love it and she knew I would and I do love it.
There are books here and there that have deeply touched my life, enriched my walk with God.
A little Mennonite story book, "Safe in His Care" is one, and "What Happens When Women Pray" by Evelyn Christenson is another book that I have read many times and even taught a class using that book. Another small book by the title, "Steps to Christ" will forever be with me, as at one point I set out to memorize as much of that book as possible and a dear friend of mine used to recite parts of it with me. "Nature and revelation alike testify of God's love. Our Father in heaven is the source of life, of wisdom, and of joy. Look at the wonderful and beautiful things of nature. Think of their marvelous adaptation to the needs and happiness, not only of man, but of all living creatures. The sunshine and the rain, that gladden and refresh the earth, the hills and seas and plains, all speak to us of the Creator's love. It is God who supplies the daily needs of all His creatures." So beautiful !
There are more "scholarly" books that have influenced me greatly, like Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi's "From Sabbath to Sunday".
There are many books that I have read that have shaken the very cornerstone of my faith for a bit. Books that make you question everything you have ever been taught. I may have been better off not reading those, but maybe they made me search out for myself what I find true and dear. At times I think I read too much, too broad a spectrum. A thirst for knowledge can be tricky business. You can learn way more than you really need to know for your own personal comfort zone and its hard for me to ever forget what I have read. "A New Earth" is probably in that category.
If you want to keep things simple, stick to religious books that hold to your beliefs only : )