I've been writing this post for over a week now. In fact, I already have the NEXT post ready once this one is done. It is written on a scrap piece of paper that is stuffed in my bookshelf. I often write bits of this and that while I am running helter-skelter. Then all I have to do is add a bit of punctuation and WAA LAA...a blog post appears and another tid bit from the year 2011 is stored.
My love for books goes deep. Books speak to me. They encourage me. They challenge me. I'm not talking about fiction. No, I need a healthy dose of non-fiction every week for sustenance. I guess you could say some of my best friends are long departed saints, whom I have come to know and love through their work they left behind for other pilgrims. Over the past few years I have learned where to go for my various needs. For encouragement it's Spurgeon or Sibbes. For enlightenment it's Boston, Flavel or Brooks. When I have a question, I've had Manton, a'Brackel, Owen and Edwards answer it.
I have such fond memories of sitting and reading certain pieces. One night when Dan was working for Greyhound and wouldn't be home for a few days, I read Thomas Boston's 'Man in His Fourfold State.' I was so gripped by the way Thomas Boston explained God's gentle dealings with a soul who continually turns away from Him again and again. Page after page I turned, hour after hour I sat and read. I was so enthralled, so wrapped up into that mysterious, heavenly work. I would not have picked up the phone had it rung. At midnight, after reading for 4 hours I was filled with such an enthused delight that the only damper I felt was that there was nobody to share my joy with. Naturally, it took a long time to get to sleep that night. I do remember firing off an e-mail profusely thanking the lender for the use of the book.
Richard Sibbes made a significant impact on me when I first read him. I was at a low point in the walk of life. It was a sporadic, off topic question I asked that, providentially, landed me volume 1 of Richard Sibbes, 17th century Puritan, in my hand. The Lord knows exactly how to orchestrate events to lavish such blessing in people's lives. As I read from 'the heavenly doctor' as he is penned, my soul was lifted, my thoughts turned toward heavenly matters, and I was greatly encouraged. Again, the book spoke so much to me, that when I had read the piece earmarked for me, I kept reading...and reading...and reading. I read another treatise held within it's cover, and then another. I kept the book for 5 weeks and devoured all 400+ pages before returning it--with a resolve that soon Richard Sibbes would sit on my shelf. Well, today he does. And I still turn to him when life gets messy--when perspective and encouragement are necessary. He focuses my eyes and thoughts on Christ and has such a soothing salve for my soul. Indeed, he became the first of my 'dear friends.'
Thomas Brooks soon followed. I started reading his books and once again that thrill overtook me. His desciptions of what it meant to be in the presence of Christ kindled a fierce longing in me I did not know existed. It was like listening to dear friend I had never met--he spoke to me with such a tender fatherly tone. Using his typical allegorical style of writing, his word pictures of heaven filled me with such comfort, yet at the same time a hopeful trepidition came across me that drove me to ask the question 'Is he safe to read?' And indeed he is! When I read his treatise on the importance of private prayer I was sorely convicted at the patheticness of my own prayer life. It was when I read Brooks that I truly FELT like a pilgrim. I no longer felt as if I belonged to this world--just travelling through, biding my time, working at a post God entrusted to me until my 'tour of duty' was over and I could go HOME!
And I can't leave Spurgeon out. Spurgeon is my 30 minute encourager. If I can find a 30 minute pocket in my day, it's Spurgeon I run to. I have (on a nice day) locked the kids outside because I needed some time to focus my eyes heavenward. Spurgeon doesn't mince words. He doesn't make me dig for spiritual nuggets of gold. He spells out hope, encouragement and Christ on every page he writes--perfect for a tired, discouraged mom of 5. I have 6 years of sermons from him and am already planning out shelf space for more.
And I could go on. John Flavel showed me the beauty in Christ, and now I can only refer to Christ as precious. Thomas Manton gave me great insight on solitude. Edwards made me appreciate my congregation all the more when he wrote about heaven being a place of love between God and saints. John Owen taught me a great deal about the Spirit's work.
And then, I found the greatest gem of all--Thomas Goodwin. Of all my Puritan friends he is the dearest. From the very first page I read, his words brought the sorest of rebukes. The first lesson was not to fall in love with the sentiments of Christ in my heart, but to fall in love with Christ Himself. And when I willingly and prayerfully placed my soul in his able hands my eyes were truly opened to see the love Christ has for His chosen. Moved to tears, there were moments when the book had to be shut--so intense were the words. Yes, Thomas Goodwin is my very favorite.
If this blog post has encouraged anyone to pick up a good Puritan, then I would say that splaying my feelings out for everyone to analyze was worth it. Yes, I love books. I love my Puritans. I say that without shame or embarrasment. I have been blessed far too much by them to say otherwise. And these guys have so much to do with who I am today. The focus has been taken off myself. The focus is off others. But everything points to Christ--as it should.
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