Reading Women

As far back as I can remember I have enjoyed reading. It began with the rhymes of Mother Goose and Dr. Seuss being read to me, and moved to the excitement of sounding out words in the Dick, Jane, and Sally primers (yes, I know, I'm revealing my age). From there I stepped into the world of the public library system and discovered "B is for Betsy" books. Then it was Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.

Then my reading time was devoted to finishing high school literature assignments. At the same time the Lord saved me and spending time in the scripture became a daily diet.

Once married - with children my reading was again for the most part limited to Mother Goose and Dr. Seuss. But eventually as my children grew, I grew with them and enjoyed their books along with them. I discovered this is one benefit to homeschooling!!

I tried over the years to fit in a book of my own here and there. These books were mainly about theology, biographies or biblical womanhood with a novel thrown in here and there. I wish I had kept a book diary.

Two weeks ago when I was at the SG leaders conference the women enjoyed a session with Carolyn Mahaney. In this session Carolyn encouraged us to devour good resources. As women called by God to be keepers of the home, to be home managers, and teachers of young women, we must be equipping ourselves for this role. In her book Feminine Appeal, Carolyn makes a valid point when she observes in most every profession there is an expectation that an individual will pursue a continuing education in his/her field. In today's fast paced and ever changing world people must stay current in their line of work. In a sense we never graduate from school. We are always to be learners. We are always to be readers.

May I challenge you today with Carolyn's call to be devouring good books? Let us be reading women. Let us be pursuing excellence in home management. Let us learn how to be good stewards of our time and resources. Let us learn how to be better wives and mothers. Let us be students of theology so that we might speak truth to those in our lives. You might think you do not have the time. You might be in a season where Dr. Seuss is the only author's name you can recall. You may have slipped into a habit of doing all your reading from short bits of info from the web. If this is true of you, I hope you will be encouraged as I was when Carolyn gave us these words from John Piper:

Suppose you read slowly like I do maybe about the same speed that you speak - 200 words a minute. If you read fifteen minutes a day for one year (say just before supper, or just before bed), you will read 5,475 minutes in the year. Multiply that by 200 words a minute, and you get 1,095,000 words that you would read in a year. Now an average serious book might have about 360 words per page. So you would have read 3,041 pages in one year. That's ten very substantial books. All in fifteen minutes a day. (When I Don't Desire God, p. 129)

I'm ready to accept that challenge. Whether it is fifty minutes a day or fifteen, let us become reading women. Later this week we'll share our suggestions for good books and excellent authors. What are you reading?