¯ ¯ ¯ Y O U T H   N E W S ¯ ¯ ¯

I love a good book – one that lasts a good long period of time even though I can’t put it down.  The last one I read like this was Andrew Peterson’s On The Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness.  As a Christian songwriter, Peterson is very good with words and his book almost sings you a song as it tells you the story.  The Lord of the Rings series that we’re doing on Thursday nights is going well.  Our study time is reaffirming my belief in this phrase: I like a good movie; but I love a good book!  As we watch the movies and as some of us are reading along in the books; it grows more and more evident at just how much better the stories are in the original books than they are in the movie.  Books tell tales that sweep up your imagination and let it fly (if they’re good)!  Tolkien’s Christian faith is much easier to find in the pages of the books as well; which is kind of the point!

The last two nights in Youth Groups all the 3^rd through 12^th graders actually met together and we talked about our favorite books.  Some kids like action-packed novels; some like fantasy, some like scary stuff (even the younger kids – which is kind of scary).  We talked a lot about what makes a good book good; and what the message might be in their favorite stories.  We gave them a challenge in the form of this quote, “If there’s a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet; you must write it.”  Maybe we have some future authors in there!  I wonder what we would write about, if we were given the time and opportunity to do so.  I wonder what it is we’re passionate about and what message we would try and communicate…

In 2^nd Peter 1:12-21 Peter shares with us why he was writing his letter; revealing how and why scripture came about.  He feels as though he is about to die and so he writes down his message so that it lives on long after he does!  He knew that God’s Spirit was leading him to contribute to what has become our Bible today!  He knew that people would need to know that the Bible is God’s Word for us. He doesn’t seem to use booming voices from the Heavens anymore and instead is teaching us with truth-filled stories that sink into our hearts and change us from the inside out.  I think it’s time to read a Good Book.