Life by the Books

Sometimes I have to laugh at myself. I was cleaning last night and had to pick up books from all corners of my room. I stacked them on the bed so I could vacuum and when I turned around, this is what I saw.

If a stranger asked me for a list of what I was reading at any given moment, they would quickly be able to tell what my current season of life looks like. So here’s a peak at what I’m reading:

1. “The Word,” “The Greatest Love Story Ever Told,” “Holy Bible, the Pocket Version.” I mean there isn’t a lot of explaining to do here. I am about ready to love me some passages from Isaiah.
2. Spanish Complete Course– I’m obsessed with Spanish culture. Please don’t ask me where it came from because I have no idea myself. I have wanted to learn Spanish for years and never gave it effort when I had the chance. According to my list of things to accomplish in life, I have started to learn…again. (I cheated on every Spanish test in high school! Ahhh! There, I confessed! I feel so much better now that you know the truth…)
3. Crazy Love by Francis Chan. This book, my friends, is a reality check. It is a reminder that we are loved by a relentless God and that we deserve nothing. Yet He gives us grace and shows us compassion every single day. Are we doing the same for others? Are we showing others the love of God as the Bible tells us too? Or are we blurring the words to make ourselves comfortable? Ouch.
4. Linchpin by Seth Godin. This book makes my brain make a little more sense to me. A ball started rolling in book number three. Am I really giving back when I have been given so much? Book four is showing me how to do that from a business standpoint. It is helping me address my fear of failure. It is also validating why I felt like my own shirt was choking me when I was working in a cubicle for a white-collar factory. It is allowing me to own the fact that I am creative and that my creativity needs to be used to help others. It is encouraging me to make a move, even if that attempt fails. Because if it fails, I can say that I went down trying. You’ll hear this one come up again.
5. Digital Photography Masterclass by Tom Ang. This book is like giving candy to a child. I use it as a self-motivator for the book sitting under it. I get to read a chapter and complete an assignment in this book when I have studied what is currently a priority. It is why you see the occasional “Assignment” post. The next one is coming soon. I know you can’t wait to see me learn about exposure. I do want some credit because I am now shooting on manual setting. Now more autofocus for this little lady. Infact, all of the pictures from the previous post slideshow are on manual. Yay!
6. The GRE test for Dummies– I’m just going to take this time to be real. I hate this book. Every time I have to open it I want to throw it across the room and then take it outside and set it on fire. Am I being dramatic? I don’t think so. It is test that has nothing to do with ANYTHING that you study in graduate school. When the first paragraph of the entire books says, “ the GRE has no connection to the real world” you know you are about to read something stupid. November 5, 2010 is D-day. Bring it on.

7. Old spiral notebook of graph paper. This happy little notebook is holding the notes, sketches, lists, and thoughts on the fun new ideas that have been brewing while reading books, one, three, four, and five. I have started putting it in my study bag even if I know I’m not going to open it. It makes me smile when I flip through. I mean how often do you get to use graph paper for something fun? Almost never. But I am.

The other part of the life in the picture that I’m not reading is the quilt under all of the books. When I posted about it last time it was in a billion pieces. Now it’s finished and I want you to see the final result. When I brought it home I untied it and laid on it for a long time. It was the best I could do for bonding with a nonliving object. It makes me smile every time I walk in to my room. And I’ve already mapped out the next one. As for the powder blue room… you have to admit that it looks better than it did in the before pictures.

I hope you like my map taped to the wall and my chair with horrible material. In my current unemployed state framing and recovering are not high on my list of things that need to be paid for. Some day though. Happy Monday.