I LOVE books! I could just devour them. I think books are one of the most worthwhile and wonderful creations man has come up with. Call me old-fasioned, or possibly odd, but I love the feel and texture of a good book in my hand! One of my favorite places to visit is a bookstore (I mourn the days of the quaint mom and pop stores) and my dream would be to have a library in my own home filled with rows of books in dark bookshelves and cumfy chairs. But alas, such is not meant to be at this time.
I also love that my children love to read. To me that is one of our greatest accomplishments as parents (if we can actually give ourselves credit) because it insures that their learning and pleasure will last a lifetime. If I would let them, they would sit for hours reading, tuning out the rest of the world, oblivious to the passing of time. But lets face it, balance is also important. My children see books and they just grab them up just to have them in their hot little hands. My pocketbook trembles when my kids show up after a search at a bookstore with a stack of books in their hands and eager, hopeful smiles on their faces. They know I'm a push-over where books are concerned.
To me books are the true source of learning...the fundamental teaching tool. Not only does reading expand your vocabulary naturally, improve your spelling without ever having to do a worksheet, and enrich your imagination, it creates a world you can enter into to escape the stresses of life and at the same time relax your mind, calm your nerves and soothe your spirit. Books can open up worlds you would otherwise never know or experience. They take you to far off places and distant times. They allow you to make friends with people you will never meet and live a life different from your own. Books stoke your natual curiosity by exploring any area of interest. It's like having the world and its experts at your finger tips. Anything you want to know you have access to and can learn about.
In books you come face to face with the perspectives of other people. They stretch your mind by causing you to think outside your own realm of ideas and biases and consider that of others.
Books also encourage and uplift you in your faith by sharing the knowledge, insights and experiences of others. Most significantly, God's written Word allows you to know and commune with the Creator of the universe. It grants you the priviledge or having a relationship with God and lets you in on the purpose for your life and the way to live it.
What I love about books is that unlike schooling, they allow your education to never end. You learn and grow, expand your mind and your outlook as long as you living. I never want to grow stale or stagnant and books afford me the opportunity to either go deeper within myself or just beyond myself. I wonder sometimes what would happen if we just gave our kids books to read, piles of them and a world of choices, and called that "school". Would they be worse for wear? Is that not how it has been done in the past by some great minds? Read and live, explore, experience and read some more. Or pehaps write about it, but that is another topic for another day.
In real life I do fall prey to treating books as a guilty pleasure. Something that can only be partaken once all my "work" is done. I'm striving to rid myself of this notion. I'm seeking to set aside time everyday for reading. Not just a few stolen moments here and there, as I have always done, but chunks of time. Why would I put last on my list, something so worthwhile? If it is so calming to my psyche, so enriching to my life, so stimulating to my mind, why would I not consider it as important as cleaning the floor, doing laundry or watching TV? It makes me who I am, allows me to be a better person, and keeps me forever growing. If I want this for my children, then surely I should set this example. Take time for yourself, reading is worth it!
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