The Fifteen (#2)

over the course of the final fifteen days of 2009,   i’m going to let you in on fifteen things that need to change in my life in the coming year.   fifteen decisions that i am making that reflect things that are important to me.

i’m going to go waaay out on a limb.   i’m going to give you my best shot at honest transparency, in an attempt to be held accountable.  some things will be  about my spiritual journey…others are simply improvements to the life i walk.   either way, they are important to me…and here’s the next one on the list:

change number two:

i’m going to start reading more books.  you know, those crazy collections of words printed on real paper!

over the past 4-5 years,  i have grown more and more dependent on the internet for my reading.  the internet is amazing.  i can locate just about any resource i could possibly need…and they are right at the tips of my fingers.  virtually any and every kind of information source is available online.  and boy do i take advantage of it!

and that is the source of my discontent, i suppose.

the more that i have invested in my ability to research quickly and thoroughly on the web,  the more i find myself missing the fulfillment of picking up real books with real paper pages and  real covers…and holding them in my hands and flipping the pages and inhaling the smell of the real printed word.

oh, i still read 8-10 books a year.  not bad…but not at all what it should be…or what i desire.

i want and need my senses…all of them…my sense of smell and touch and sight and intellect…to be stimulated by the act of reading books.  i’ve not carved out enough time, recently.  that is going to change!

i’m going to be actively reading some kind of book all the time.  i will keep 2-3 books that i am reading on my nightstand at all times.  i will carry a book that i am reading in my computer bag at all times.

i want to read some new books on leadership and theology and church growth and spiritual disciplines and philosophy and history and human interest…and a new book on baseball.

no more excuses.  it’s time to read.

#books #discipline #reading