Great Books

My children love to read, and before they can read they love to have me read books to them.  Often they want the same book read over and over to them.  I love to read to them.  Over the years, we have read some great books together:  The Chronicles of Narnia, The Tale of Despereaux, James and the Giant Peach, Harold and the Purple Crayon, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, ... and the list goes on.

I don't remember always loving to read.  I know I read books, but somehow as I got older I thought became too busy to immerse myself in anything other than scriptures or an occasional self-help book.  Then I rediscovered the love of reading.

This morning I finished a book by a lady that I love to read her words, Mary Ellen Edmunds.  She seems to be the kind of lady that it'd be fun to spend the day with her.  I think we would laugh a lot and I think I'd feel uplifted.  Do you have a friend like that?  One that even though you laugh and play all day, you still feel uplifted and like you're a better person for having spent the day with that friend?

I've read a few of her books.  This one is "Love is a Verb."  There is so many great little tidbits in this book.  I just want to share with you a few of my favorite things.

A great quote from President Ezra Taft Benson:  "Men and women who turn their lives over to God will find out that he can make a lot more out of their lives than they can.  He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends and pour out peace.  Whoever will lose his life to God will find he has eternal life." 

"Prayer is the preparation for miracles."

~Elder H. Burke Peterson

There is a list of suggestions of big and little things that we can do that might be helpful in increasing our love, compassion and responsiveness to the Spirit.  Some of the suggestions are:

• Visit someone who can't come to see you.
• Once a week, speak to someone whom you don't know (yet).
• Work to develop a countenance of love; strive to look at others in such a way that they know they are loved even if they have no idea who you are.

The list goes on, but it made me think -- Wouldn't it be fun to make a Bucket List of these types of things?  

 And, while I could go on and on, about my favorite things about this book, I'd just recommend that you read the book.   I think you will be captivated by the way this author so joyfully invites the reader to make love a verb.