Book Challenge

Never one to refuse a fun challenge, I am doing that Book thing the Daughter ordered me to do if I want to. Like the daughter, at this time in my life, I am mostly into light reading; I have had so much heavy stuff in my life for the last while that I don't really need much heavy but I do have a few.

1. Name one book that changed your life: Would have to be the Bible! My whole Christian life I learned from there and that is who I am now though I don't follow it nearly well enough. But then most of my answers, like the Preacher Man's, would be The Bible so I guess I will have to come up with others. One of the best was How to Raise Children at Home in Your Spare Time by Dr. Marvin Gersh a pediatrician who says "Relax and let them grow." He gives very practical information and I raised my kids "by him" (more or less) and still have the book to this day. OK, so if you know my kids, you may not want to read it! Another one is How To Pray for Your Children by Quinn Shearrer ( NOT several of the others by that name). It, too, is very practical and good for praying for anyone else too. Evelynn Christenson also wrote some very good How to Pray books too that really helped me in my prayer life.

2. Name one book that you have read more than once: that would be impossible because I read ALL the books I love dozens of times! Right now, I am reading and re-reading all the Margaret Peterson Haddix books for about the 10th time since Christmas when the Daughter bought me Running Out of Time and I read it a couple of times as soon as I got home. I also read L'Engle books, C.S. Lewis, and Erma Bombeck books probably a million times--OK so I exaggerate. Dang! this blog thing doesn't have a space for underlining and I HAVE to underline book titles!

3. Name one book you would want on a desert island: Besides my cookbook? Definitely the Bible cause it has all the types of literature besides great comfort for my little spirit and direction for my behavior which i don't particularly like but if i am on a desert island I'd probably need.

4. Name one book that made you laugh: Well, the Bible has some pretty funny parts. But to laugh aloud, I would have to say most of Erma Bombeck's books and just lately I found Humor for Preaching and Teaching which is hilarious. If Chonda Pierce ever writes a book, I will certainly buy it for laughter!!

5. Name a book that made you cry: Ohmigosh, all of them. I cry at just thinking about some of them. The most recent, I think, is Don't You Dare Read This Mrs.Dunphrey a journal of an emotionally abused teenager. It is fiction but so real!! However, the Bible also has some most teary scenes also as I think of those last days of Jesus and the end times of all those who will NOT be joyful before the Lord. Also, Erma Bombeck's Family: The Ties that Bind and Gag, I believe is the name of it. It was not her usual humor though that was mixed it but it was kind of bittersweet.

6. Name a book that you wish had been written: The one Jenny and I never wrote on child-raising. It would have been very funny and practical.

7. Name one book that you wish had never been written: Right now, the book of Numbers--and Leviticus is right behind it (sorry, Kids). I get so bogged down by the numbering of Israel! Also, I read a book a few days ago that I don't even remember the name of the author or the book but it was about Where we go when we die. It was pretty scriptural and was pretty well researched and presented some ideas that I have had too, BUT was so poorly written-- grammar, syntax, etc. were so bad--that I threw it away. It was an embarrassment to Christianity. Now, my grammar isn't so great but for me to notice and be so bothered was a huge thing! Especially when he was using tense-agreement or lack thereof in a proof text and his own tense agreement was wrong in the same paragraph.

8. Name one book that you are currently reading: Like the rest of my family, except perhaps the Dad, I never have just one book I am currently reading but here goes: Leviticus!!, To Hell and Back by Maurice M. Rawlings M.D. about NDEs, Forgiving Our Parents, Forgiving Ourselves about healing of adult children of dysfunctional families, The Sylvia Game, a teen fiction, In the Eye of the Storm by Max Lucado which we were doing as a Bible Study in small group. I am very tired of it but, typical of our family, I can't just stop it. And many, many books to approve for our church library.

9. Name one book you have been meaning to read: All those boxes of books in the church library that are waiting patiently for me to read and approve to get on the shelves and I haven't because I am doing this crazy blog. Ireally don't have any because if I want to read one, I do!

10. Tag 5: I can't cause I don't have 5 people you haven't already tagged but I could add the Dunces as I don't see them on the Daughter's list. Now Daughter Dearest, is this OK? It was really fun.