Turning the pages

After posting about cultivating a habit of reading a few days ago I figured I should do something about it for myself.

I found a few chunks of time to get stuck into a good book over the weekend. I even enjoyed some time yesterday afternoon propped up in bed with a coffee in one hand and a book in the other. It was cold and miserable outside so I thought I’d spoil myself.

Do you ever find yourself reading a book and wishing that everyone you know was reading it with you? You read something that strikes such a chord within you that you feel the whole world would benefit from reading what you’ve just read, or you find a passage in a book that you know would be of interest to a particular group of friends.

I’m currently reading through Mike Frost’s book, Exiles. You may remember that I interviewed Mike about the book some time back on 98.5 Sonshine FM. You can listen to the interview by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

There’s so much in the book that resonates with me and I’ve found myself reading a couple of bits out loud for Pauline over the past couple of days as well as talking about other sections of the book with a number of other people. I heartily recommend the book.

What about you? Do read books that you’d love to place on everyone else’s reading list? What are you reading at the moment? Do you have a favourite spot in your home or somewhere else that is more conducive to reading? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section of this post.



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Why does it always rain on me?

How do you feel about rain?

We had quite a bit of the wet stuff over the weekend and there’s more in store throughout this week.

I find myself feeling quite differently about rainy days to how I used to feel. I remember rain being such an inconvenience. I’d make plans and then have them ruined by a wet day. Wet days meant that I couldn’t do the things I wanted to do outside.

These days I find myself welcoming the rain, even at the most inconvenient times. I must admit that I was glad to have made it inside at work this morning before a heavy shower drenched the area but I wouldn’t have minded too much if I’d been still on my bike when it bucketed. As I cycled to wrk this morning I was enjoying a magnificent rainbow arching across the grey clouds. It reminded me that the rain would only be here for a short while. Change was coming.

My change in attitude about the rain comes from knowing just how precious the rain is for us in such a dry part of a dry country. Here in Perth we need the rain to top up the dams that have become so depleted. We’ve had water restrictions in place for quite a number of years now. The rain might be inconvenient but the water is essential for life. After the rain everything is different. There’s a freshness, there’s growth.

I guess there are a lot of things in life like that. We can find the struggles of life to be so inconvenient at times but when we realise how essential they are in helping us become who we should be, we tend to see things differently. When we learn to embrace the tough times we can let their lessons seep into our souls.

I still don’t always enjoy being in the middle of a rain storm but I now realise just how precious are those drops of water. I say let it rain.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

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