We Love Fish Tacos

So by the way, fish tacos are more than just fish sticks on a regular taco.  Wish my sisters and I had thought that out a little better.  Fish tacos are one of my favorite foods, but I've never made them myself.  We should have googled it, because they just were kind of unassuming and boring.  And also, http://www.welovefishtacos.com/ is a website.  For real.




This is not what ours looked like, unfortunately


Wednesdays and Thursdays we watch So You Think You Can Dance together.  It's our favorite (well, behind NCIS).  That show amazes me with the amount of raw talent.  Maybe it's because I only took dance to straighten out my feet and posture (I had to wear braces on my feet when I was little even), or maybe it's because I can't get halfway close to the splits and even touching my toes is hard sometimes, but that show blows my mind.  Not only are the dancers amazing, but the choreographers and the costume designers as well.  I don't have a favorite yet, but my favorite dance of the night was Melanie and Marko. 

I've read a bunch of random books lately.  Most have been boring, but I did enjoy the first novel in the Sookie Stackhouse series.  The Gossip Girl prequel was pretty much the same as the actual show (with a few random changes), The Nine Lives of Chloe King was a teen novel that felt like a teen novel, and Deja Dead (the book on which the tv show Bones is based) was so totally different from the television show that I couldn't even begin to get into it.  And it was set in Canada.  I have The Shadow Thieves by Anne Ursu to read next.  What are you reading?  Do you have any suggestions? 

If you like to read, you really need to check out http://www.paperbackswap.com/.  Basically the concept of the site is that you post to your "bookshelf" any books you don't want anymore.  Someone requests the book and you send it to them via media mail (about $2.40).  They credit your account, and you are able to request any book on the site, which is then sent to you for free.  You also get two free credits just for posting your first ten books on the site.  I have loved using it so far and have had no problems.  I have received four books from the site and sent one.  (If that seems like bad math to you, it's because it is.  You can also buy three credits for $10).  The only issue I really see with it is that you have to have books people want to request.  Some of the ones I posted are kind of obscure, so it's possible no one will ever request them.  I guess that's where being able to purchase credits come in nicely.  Because $10 for three books is still pretty good.  Sister sites also exist for cds and dvds, though I haven't used them.

Leaders are Readers

As I waited for my sister to come over and work out with me this morning, I decided to read through some of the devotionals in my in-box.  Sometimes I don't get to those in a timely manner due to the fact that I am subscribed to four or five, and I usually do my actual time alone with God alone (meaning without the computer).

Today I had a really interesting article by Kenneth S Hemphill from one of the devotionals from crosswalk.com.  http://www.crosswalk.com/11580792/page0/  The basic gist of the article is that readers are leaders (hence my utterly creative blog title). I really liked this quote- "The effective read and grow. The apathetic think they already know." This explains the truth of many of the bland Christian walks I see (and am at times).  The article made me think of years gone by when I read any Christian literature that I could get my hands on.  I was hungry to understand the mysteries of Christ and discover more and more about the God I loved.  As time has worn on, I've found my passion covered by the habits of married life, college classes, and family time.  I haven't picked up a good book about the Lord in a long time.  That's sad.  I don't even know what books are even popular right now.  I feel energized to get out my library card and point my web browser to my local library's web page and request some books- both the classics of Christian literature and some of the new stuff.

My husband is mentored by a wise man in our church.  He actually gave Lee a list of books that he said changed his walk with the Lord.  Maybe I should start with those.

Here is the list:

DEVOTIONALS
The Imitation of Christ- Thomas a'Kempis
My Utmost for His Highest- Oswald Chambers
Renewed Day by Day- AW Tozer
The One Year Book of Christian Poetry- Philip Comfort and Daniel Partner

APOLOGETICS
Mere Christianity- CS Lewis

DOCTRINAL
The Sermon on the Mount- John RW Stott
Knowing God- JI Packer
Basic Christianity- John RW Stott
Holiness- JC Ryle

APPLICATION
The Practice of Godliness- Jerry Bridges
The Mark of a Christian- Francis A Schaeffer
Real Christianity- William Wilberforce
The Magnificent Obsession- David Swartz
The Cost of Discipleship- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Introduction to the Devout Life- St Francis de Sales
The Set of the Sail- AW Tozer
Triumph Over Temptation- John Owen (This is a trilogy)
The Quotable Tozer- An Anthology- AW Tozer
A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life- William Law
On Knowing Christ- Selected Sermons- Jonathon Edwards

TOPICAL STUDIES
The Knowledge of the Holy- AW Tozer
What's So Amazing About Grace?- Philip Yancey
Your God is Too Small- JB Phillips
The Problem of Pain- CS Lewis
Christian Reflections- CS Lewis

FICTION
The Great Divorce- CS Lewis
The Screwtape Letters- CS Lewis
In His Steps- Charles M Sheldon
The Chronicles of Narnia- CS Lewis

Do you read Christian literature?  Have you read any of the above? Do you have any suggestions?