books

We had a good day yesterday.

As folk were leaving the morning service, one of the older ladies, as she greeted me, asked - "Do you do any writing?"

That can be a loaded sort of question, of course. When I was at school folk would come up and ask me "Can you whistle?"

The first time it happened I was flattered that they should have thought to ask, and proud that whistling had never been a problem for me.

"Yes," I'd say, "of course I can whistle - who can't?!"

"Well, please try the whistling then," they'd reply, "because you sure can't sing!"

Cruel. I know. Children can be very cruel. I should claim compensation or something for the scars I received from such cruel comments.

So, you can see I was on my guard when this lady asked that question - "Do you do any writing?" I was already anticipating her next line if I suggested that I did. "Well, please try writing .. because you sure can't preach!"

I was rather hesitant, therefore, in my reply - indicating, yes, I did from time to time do some writing. I didn't mention 'blogs' since I figured the word might not feature in her vocabulary - and I wasn't too sure just where the conversation might have gone beyond that.

Her response, though, was not along the lines I'd feared. "You should do more writing," she said. "You've got a way with words."

If nothing else, she reminded me that I've still got some writing to do for the next Big Picture we're putting out. (The Big Picture is our magazine).

So I've been trying to give some thought to that today. Though 'thought' more than any written product is probably the best description. These things take time.

What the lady said also got me thinking about the power of the written word.

Books in particular.

Give me a book over a film any day. Some of them (the books) have a lasting, and life-long, effect upon a person's life.

Here are some that have had a huge and continuing impact on my life.

'The Biography of James Hudson Taylor', by Dr Howard and Mrs Howard Taylor

'Mere Christianity', by C S Lewis

'Memoir and Remains of R M McCheyne', by Andrew Bonar

'Through Gates of Splendour', by Elisabeth Elliot

'Redemption Accomplished and Applied', by John Murray

'Pain - the gift that no one wants', by Paul Brand and Philip Yancey

'The Body', by Chuck Colson

'No Place for Truth', by David Wells

'What's so Amazing about Grace', by Philip Yancey

'Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places', by Eugene Peterson

There's ten for starters! Add in the countless volumes of sermons by Dr D M Lloyd Jones on Romans and Ephesians and you've got a reading list to keep you going 'til Christmas.

These are writers whose books have served to shape the way I think: a work that's still in progress!