My office is lined with bookcases. Some of the books I have read; many of the books I want to read someday. I found another one in a thrift store yesterday for $0.25 and added it to the must-read pile.
Then I debated putting it somewhere else. Packing it away. I certainly must read this one someday. But when? I remembered the other 20 or so on the shelf that have been in the process of being read for well over a year.
Suddenly I stopped myself. How on earth is it that I simply cannot seem to find time to read??
I used to manage to read a lot.
The answer was so obvious, clear... it was hard to believe that I hadn't thought of it before.
I write too much! That's it! I really don't ever have time to read anything (other than the Bible), because I'm constantly writing....
It has me re-considering. Maybe I should stop running my mouth (er, pen.. keyboard... whatever!) so much, and start putting some wisdom IN to my head!
Any suggestions on how to do that? I suppose I could just pick up a book the next time I'm tempted to start blogging...
The only thing is, reading only benefits me...
I try to blog to benefit you.
Whether I do or not is another topic!
Still thinking...
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7 comments:
You DO benefit me, Mary. You challenge me and encourage me as I seek to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus laid hold of me. And I know I'm not the only one. I definitely don't see stopping blogging as the answer.
At the same time, I see your quandary. It seems it's the issue of balance, doesn't it? I don't have any pat answers, but I will be praying for wisdom for you!
Love you,
L
By the way, I'd dearly love to see you sometime. I realize that your plate is overflowing, but if you are ever in the StL area and can carve out a couple hours (or days!), we would soooo love to have you in our home.
Thank you, Laurel! I'd love to see you, too! Maybe after August...
I'm certainly not ready to completely quit blogging. I wish I had time to blog AND read. Maybe I'll do a limited amount of both. :)
How do bestselling authors blog on such a tight schedule? I've often wondered. They speak of deadlines and their blogs have dry spells but mostly they blog on a consistent basis. And they still have time to do book reviews??
I want to know how they do it!! Because my bookshelves have been collecting more dust than usual as of late.
Hey Mary,
I recommend you give more time to reading. You are a great writer and it will greatly enhance your writing if you expand your horizon with reading more and also listening more. Charles Spurgeon is still a popular author today and his writing was greatly impacted by his large library.
And I think you will find that as you read...you will discover even more to write about. :) I have a feeling we'll still be seeing posts from Mary, even if she does give more time to reading then writing.
Go for it, girl. Read more. And if you run out of books...come visit my bookshelves. :-)
You and your readers will not be the poorer if you yourself give more time to reading.
:-)
Please, please don't stop blogging. Your posts are such a blessing! As to how to find time to read...um?
Are any of the "must read" books ones that you could find recorded? Librivox has a lot of older books and I'm sure there are many other places online too. But then again, midwifery books might be kind of hard to follow on audio!
My only piece of advice would be to try the Flylady approach. She loves to recommend doing things for 15 minutes at a time. And set a timer so you don't forget to stop. It really does make a big difference for me. I may not finish something in a day, but at least I have the satisfaction of knowing that I worked on it!
Definitely, you need to read, our minds tend to rot if we don't put new things into them occasionally. But finding time is difficult. I can't even quit writing in an effort to find time. I don't do enough of that either! :)
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