#DesertedIslandReads

So, Joy at Fullness of Joy, tagged me for the #DesertedIslandReads tag. The idea is this: you’re on a deserted island. What ten books would you want to have with you? I’m terrible at picking favourites, but the challenge will be good for. So, here are ten books I might like with me on a deserted island:

1. The Bible. This is kind of obvious, but the more I read the Bible, the more I realize that it is amazing book. The best thing about it is that it’s exhaustless. You can read it all your life, and still find new things; perfect deserted island reading material.

2. A blank journal. This doesn’t really count but I wouldn’t want to be without it. I’m sure if I suddenly landed on a deserted island I would have a lot of thoughts to process, and adventures to record. I would also want to preserve all the memories of my left-behind family and friends. 

3. Steps to Christ. This is just a short devotional-type book, which I’ve recently found helpful and encouraging. It’s good both when I’m feeling low, unspiritual, and when I’m feeling on top of the world.

4. The Heavenly Man. I’ve only read this book once, and that a few years ago, but it was really amazing and inspiring; a reminder that even if we come to trials that are so, so hard, God will be with us through them. In that way, it’s encouraging. 

5. A holocaust story. I’m tossing up between Tales from the Secret Annexe, Ellie, and Between Shades of Gray. It’s weird to think I need a holocaust story. Of course I don’t, but they remind me that my life is not that hard, and it is possible to make it through even terrible circumstances.

6. Unbroken. The same reason goes for this one – it's a reminder of the resilience of the human spirit. Plus, it’s a riveting story.

7. Just Thirteen. Now you must really be questioning me: a children’s book? A far-too-ideal story? I know, but I have lots of memories attached to this book. It’s like my happy carefree childhood book. I got it before I was thirteen, and I’ve read it at least five times since then. I know the wording of what comes next in the story, and some sentences come to mind in everyday life. In a way, I guess it’s also the book that made me dream of wanting to write. 

8. Unspoken Love. Again, this one has memories connected to it. It was the first book that made me cry, it was the first book I shared with my Grandad, and it was the first book to prove to me that a true story could be just as well written, and even more compelling, than fiction.  

9. A book to really get me thinking, and challenge me, something deep and powerful. My favourite topics for these kind of books are: what makes people the way they are, and why things are the way they are, and psychological stuff, especially connected to the influences of the Bible and God, and just those books that explain everyday things in connection with everything else in a way that makes sense. (Quite unlike that sentence.) At the moment, The Book That Made Your World is doing that for me. It’s introduced new thoughts, and explained things I see all around.

10. Some new big fat volume. There’s nothing like old favourites, but there’s also something special about a book you haven’t read before. It’s an adventure into the unknown. Not knowing how long I’d be on this deserted island, it would be good to have a chunky new book.  

Anyway, that’s the ten that I came up with! It’s by no means conclusive, as I’m sure if you asked me in a few months’ time, I would give totally different answers. It’s a good exercise, but hopefully I'm never faced with having to live life on a deserted island with ten books to be my only companions. :)

So what do you think? Have you read any of the books I listed? What books should I pick for the last two? And, if you’re reading this, consider yourself tagged! I’d enjoy reading which books you can't live without! :)

YOU!

Okay, you should already suspect that something’s up, because I never use all caps lock, or post ridiculous photos. And something is up: I’m feeling really blessed by all the amazing people that read, follow, and comment on here! You guys blew me away the other day, after I posted "The People is Grass". I thought, I’ll just see if anyone has commented. I was expecting maybe one comment. So I scrolled down, and there were five comments. Five lovely thoughtful comments! I couldn’t believe it, and then later, even more people commented to add up to the most comments I've ever received on one post! I’ve been overwhelmed ever since. I wanted to scream a big thank-you at all of you, but when I write those words on a screen, they seem so trite. Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so grammer-ly correct (wait, is grammerly even a word?), and could exclaim “asdfghjkl, I can't even, just: YOU!!!”

So anyway, this post is to you, my friend. If you’re reading this, I mean you. If you’ve ever left a comment, I mean you. If you follow, I mean you. Seriously, thank you, thank you so much. Every single read, comment, and follow, makes me feel so honoured and humbled. You guys are the best. 

Keep pressing onward and being wonderful,

Jessica xxx :) 

The People is Grass

I noticed a yellow-y-green hue across the paddock, while I was busy taking photos of the bright blossoms on the fruit trees. Must be just those little yellow clover flowers, I thought. But I walked over to have a look, and it was not those common flowers. Instead, there were hundreds, or maybe thousands, of these tiny, intricate fly-catcher-type plants. They were so miniature, and so detailed, with perfectly round drops of sticky stuff on their many tips. 

(By this point you’ve probably realized that I’m not practiced at detailed descriptions, and I’ll leave you to study the photos to see what I’m talking about.)  

A couple of days later, as I was reading in Isaiah, I came upon these verses: “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth… surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” Isaiah 40:7-8 I’d always understood these verses as saying: life is fragile and short; we wither and fade just like flowers and grass. Of course, that’s still true, but on this particular morning, I saw something different. 

There’s a contrast presented between the short life of flowers and grass, and God’s word which lasts forever. It says the people is grass. So it could read: People will fail you. They will fade and wither, not be there for you anymore. Even friends you thought would be there always; they’re still grass, maybe they won’t. But, don’t worry, because God’s word is always going to be there for you; always, and forever, and for eternity. You can rely on it, you can build your hopes on it, you can live your life by it, because it will never change; it’s solid.

So many things in today’s world, even people, are like grass. They’re transitory, they don’t last, they’re there one moment, and gone the next. We’ve got to have an anchor, something we can grip on to when everything else we know is perishing, shaking and falling apart. There’s only One, and His immutable word that we can trust, that lasts forever, that we can hold on to and know with a surety that He won’t pass away like grass, or whither like flowers. “Lo,” He assures us, “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:20)

P.s Happy November! I can't believe it's here already. What have you got planned for this month?