Recovered from my old blog--this is from 9/2006
Nate and I have given each other summer reading assignments. (We admit that we’re huge dorks—but we're OK with that.) I told him he has to read The Scarlet Letter because I’m teaching it next year, but I haven’t read it in eleven years. He is being completely uncooperative because he thinks that my book choice surely must be boring. Can you believe that? The truth is I think our culture devalues fiction. If we take the time to read, we want to walk away with further knowledge. Besides the fact that one can gain knowledge from fiction, the experience of reading and the emotional attachment one develops from reading a story can be just as enlightening as gaining knowledge. The truth is that I’ve become an information snob myself. Somewhere in a fuzzy memory a curly headed little girl gulps down page after page safe in the boughs of an ancient oak tree draped with moss. The thought of saving the day or getting the girl or defeating the enemy consumed me, so the dishes went unwashed and the lawn went unmowed and the homework went undone until “The End.” Characters in novels became my dearest friends; I cried with them and celebrated with them and learned about life from them. Who are we kidding? I wanted to be them. I wore my hair in two braids for about a year because I wanted to be Laura Ingalls. Somewhere along the way though, a teacher assigned me a book report and made me analyze the light and dark imagery and forced me to count out the iambic pentameter, so the devouring stopped. Now I just snack.
I have started my summer reading assignment—Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson, and I’ve realized that the teacher in me is swallowing the reader in me. While the Bible is not fiction, it is a mono-story with the most amazaing protagonist ever. But when I read the Bible , I always do so tentatively like I’m eating crumpets and tea with a miniature fork and a dainty spoon. Pinkies up! I need a concordance and a Bible study book with fill in the blank answers and the little reference notes at the bottom of the page in my NIV. While these utensils may help me learn more about the holy scriptures, what about the encounter? So here’s to digging in, face down into the Word of God. Forget the manners; I’m going to bask in the refreshing stickiness and let the juices of divine inspiration run down my chin.
Nate and I have given each other summer reading assignments. (We admit that we’re huge dorks—but we're OK with that.) I told him he has to read The Scarlet Letter because I’m teaching it next year, but I haven’t read it in eleven years. He is being completely uncooperative because he thinks that my book choice surely must be boring. Can you believe that? The truth is I think our culture devalues fiction. If we take the time to read, we want to walk away with further knowledge. Besides the fact that one can gain knowledge from fiction, the experience of reading and the emotional attachment one develops from reading a story can be just as enlightening as gaining knowledge. The truth is that I’ve become an information snob myself. Somewhere in a fuzzy memory a curly headed little girl gulps down page after page safe in the boughs of an ancient oak tree draped with moss. The thought of saving the day or getting the girl or defeating the enemy consumed me, so the dishes went unwashed and the lawn went unmowed and the homework went undone until “The End.” Characters in novels became my dearest friends; I cried with them and celebrated with them and learned about life from them. Who are we kidding? I wanted to be them. I wore my hair in two braids for about a year because I wanted to be Laura Ingalls. Somewhere along the way though, a teacher assigned me a book report and made me analyze the light and dark imagery and forced me to count out the iambic pentameter, so the devouring stopped. Now I just snack.
I have started my summer reading assignment—Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson, and I’ve realized that the teacher in me is swallowing the reader in me. While the Bible is not fiction, it is a mono-story with the most amazaing protagonist ever. But when I read the Bible , I always do so tentatively like I’m eating crumpets and tea with a miniature fork and a dainty spoon. Pinkies up! I need a concordance and a Bible study book with fill in the blank answers and the little reference notes at the bottom of the page in my NIV. While these utensils may help me learn more about the holy scriptures, what about the encounter? So here’s to digging in, face down into the Word of God. Forget the manners; I’m going to bask in the refreshing stickiness and let the juices of divine inspiration run down my chin.
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