Blessed By Books

Last night while I was reading I was suddenly overcome by an immense feeling of gratitude for the books God has placed in my life.  I knew that I wanted to post about it today, but then I remembered that today was Wordful Wednesday and I had wanted to participate this week. Lucky for me, the topic for today is: "I am Grateful".  The list of things I am grateful for is quite long, but today I will focus on this one.  I am grateful for books.  Books have been the catalyst for change in my life more than probably any other factor.  I love this quote about the work of books in our lives.

"A book must be an ice-axe to break the seas frozen inside our soul." ~Franz Kafka 

I have found this to be so true in my life.  Obviously, the books that have had the most profound influence on my life have been the scriptures.  The Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price are my foundation.  Reading from the scriptures daily gives me the strength and perspective I need to get through each day.  They center me.  I love the way that every time I read them, I can find something new, not because the words have changed, but because they have changed me, and I am now ready to receive additional light.  

"Books can be dangerous. The best ones should be labeled "This could change your life."" ~Helen Exley  

My life has been changed considerably by the reading of a book.  I was led to home school through the reading of a book.  I never would have considered it before I read "The Well Trained Mind".   Reading that book altered my perception of what my children needed versus what they were getting from their education, and helped me see how I could give them better. As doubts arose, I was led to read "Dumbing Us Down"  which helped me see the wisdom in keeping my children home, not just for the academic benefits, but for the social as well.  

"I suggest that the only books that influence us are those for which we are ready, and which have gone a little farther down our particular path than we have yet got ourselves." ~E.M. Forster, Two Cheers for Democracy, 1951

It has been amazing for me to recognize, that as my mind and heart have been prepared to receive the "next thing", God has placed the right book in my path.  With homeschooling I was led to "A Thomas Jefferson Education" when my children and I were beginning to burn-out with The Well Trained Mind.  Once I gained a greater perspective of making learning a more natural part of  home life, I was prepared and was led to read, "A Charlotte Mason Companion", and then Charlotte's own writing on education.  Her "gentle approach" to learning was just what we needed.  Just recently I have been feeling another push to get me moving out of my comfort zone.  I went to the library yesterday to pick up some books I had wanted to read, and happened upon a book I had never heard of before, but it was calling my name.  It is called "Help for the Harried Homeschooler".  I probably don't need to explain why it was calling my name, it has me written all over it, but what I found inside has been quite unexpected and just what I needed.  The section on Character Training has been very enlightening (I will share more about that in a later post). 

"How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book."  ~Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Homeschooling books aren't the only ones that have changed my life, there have been "spiritual books", like "Approaching Zion" and "Mere Christianity".   Although I consider every book that changes me to be spiritual on some level.  "All things are spiritual to God."  There have also been "political books" such as "An Enemy Hath Done This".  All of these books and many more have shaped me into the person I am today.  I am so grateful for the great minds that have gone before and have shared their wisdom in a book.  

"Books are the compasses and telescopes and sextants and charts which other men have prepared to help us navigate the dangerous seas of human life." ~Jesse Lee Bennett