Recent Reads

While traveling over the past couple of weeks, I've finished two books worthy of mentioning on this blog. The first is Running on Empty by Fil Anderson. The tag line of the book is "contemplative spirituality for overachievers." In this book, Fil Anderson reviews his lifelong struggle with staying incredibly busy in an attempt to hide the flawed relationship he had with God -- a story I can identify with. The first half of the book is recounting his life story and highlighting the struggle we have in this world that applauds productivity and efficiency -- so much so that we miss out on the experiences of now and are unable give God what he seeks most {a relationship} because we are so exhausted from our busy lives. Here are some excerpts from the book:

On prayer: "...but sometimes the simple act of being there in the moment is the greatest challenge. So much of my life is focused either on the past or the future. We must be present in the moment, because that's where God is."

On scripture: "Bottom line, I had read the Scriptures looking for anything that might support my own interests and desires and would allow me to live in the illusion that I was in control."

"To my dismay, I find that my interests in God often has more to do with the disappointing condition of my circumstances than my longing for intimacy with God. I'd rather have his healing and restoration than his friendship...there is one gift that God promises, and that gift is God. This gift is the only reality in the universe that completes us."

The other book I read was Long Lost by Harlan Coben -- it's far from a Christian novel, but was able to keep my attention and was intriguing. If you're not familiar with Harlan Coben, he writes suspense novels, all of which are very easy reads. This particular book involves one of his most common characters, Myron, who is on the search to help a long lost friend/lover find answers to some tricky questions. The end of this book was a little far-fetched for me, so I would rate this book 3/5 stars.