My Shelves.

For several years now I've been trying to get rid of books. Stacks of them, hoards of them. Because I love them. Because I always dreamed of having a huge library in my house with books lining the walls and one of those great ladders swirling the ceiling like Beauty (without the Beast) from enchanting shelf to enchanting shelf.

But as life as purposed on, so have my books. Because you can't move books very easily. And you can't store them and appreciate them in boxes, or have the space to display them in shared rooms. So I have dwindled my collecting by halves and fourths and halves again. The classic stay, the meaningful always endure, but my finger tips crawl across the bindings looking for others to discard or share away.

Until this year. For some reason, my book collection has grown, as has my desire for them. Little can hold me back from these precious souls, or their titled spines luring me back to the overflowed shelf.

So, I've decided to unravel, and to share. Not to share my books, or to give away. As I once again hoard them and hold them close, clutching them to my chest like a close friend (I really did sleep with my leather Bible bound to my chest earlier this year!). And the list of books added this year begins:

The First Drop of Rain by Leslie Parrott
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Van Ayken
Further Still by Beth Moore
Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall
My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
Streams in the Desert by L. Coleman
The Journey of Desire by John Eldridge
Why Do I Suffer by John Currid
The Practice of the Presence by Brother Lawrence
Keeping Hope Alive by Lewis Smedes
Listening for God by Marilyn Hontz
In the Meantime by Rob Brendle
Miracle At Tenwek by Gregg Lewis
Love & Respect by Emerson Eggrichs
Risking Church by Jim Kallam Jr.
The Valley of Vision by Arther Bennett
Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow
Motherless Daughters by Hope Edelman
A Grace Disguised by Jerry Sittser
A Time to Grieve by Carol Staudacher
Grieving the Loss of Someone You Love by Mitsch & Brookside
Prayers & Comfort for Those Who Hurt by Hope Lyda
Secrets by Kristen Hietzman
Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers
The Church Ladies by Lisa E. Samson
An Invitation to Tea
The Will of God As A Way of Life by Jerry Sittser
Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

And yes, I've read them all... just since last May... plus many others not purchased for my shelves... And the list continues... :)