For my few readers, you may have noticed I haven’t been writing much on here. This isn’t completely because of laziness (although, laziness certainly plays a large part!). I’ve been rethinking how I should use this blog in a way that’s helpful for myself, which can also bless others. For now, I’ll probably scale back in terms how much I write my own thoughts. Why? I’ve touched on it before in previous posts, but I have a bad habit of writing about insights, lessons, or theological truths before I’ve worked them out practically in my own life. For me, musing and thinking has always come easily; but bold faith-filled living often feels so hard I wonder if I’ll ever be able to. So, in short, even if I could write clever or profound things  here– and I don’t– what I really need to do is work them out in my own life and treasure them in my heart, otherwise there’s not much use for myself or my readers to be writing.

…But! I do want to continue writing here for my own heart and to bless the readers who follow my writing. So I’ve decided on a new series! Yes, I know, I always say I’ll write series…and I never have, but hear me out. My very-hastily-decided idea, at least, is to write about some of the things I’m reading. My main goal is for my own retainment. I’m a poor reader. Often times, success in reading for me is, well, just being able to sit down and read. Unfortunately, oftentimes I’ll find myself reading something profound or practical, but I won’t take much time to digest it, because I’m just concerned with finishing the book.

The first book I want to review– The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs– is one such book. I could tell when I started reading it that this was going to be an important  book for my soul– discontentment is sadly is often the state of my heart. But because it’s slightly dense and has older language I’ve just been plowing through. From the start, Burroughs rapid-fires on all cylinders about the utter stupidity of discontentment, its unfitness for the Christian, and how, by God’s grace, we might find peace and joy in this life in Christ. It’s definitely a book I want to remember and rehearse often to myself. After all,  what good is it if I serve God and others in the ministry, or in my future occupation and relationships if I don’t have contentment? Yet, how easy is it for us as Christians to serve God, and others in the ministry, in our work and in our relationships, full of discontentment, all the while looking respectable and pious?

So, hopefully this will help me take time to take the insights of this book and crystalize them in my own mind and heart. And, this way, my readers here can be blessed too by books that they might not have time to read. Let it be known, in terms of follow-up posts to intro-posts for a series, I have a perfect 100% track record of failure. So, keep me accountable, get on my case, bother me, so that I write. May this be a help to my own soul and to yours, for the glory of God and for our good. Amen!

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“Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment” (1 Timothy 6:6)