Saturday, November 10, 2012

Testimony of a Bookworm

How did I come to love Christian fiction?

Here's my story.....


I have always loved to read.  I remember getting “in trouble” when I was younger for bringing a book to the table and trying to read while eating dinner.   My parents were great about always making sure I had good books to read.  When I hit my early teen years, though, it was tough to find books that I enjoyed that were not too graphic for my age.  At that time, my Sunday School teacher introduced me to Janette Oke.  I devoured her whole Love Comes Softly series!  This was my first experience with Christian fiction, and it was a good one.  However, I didn’t have the benefit of a large church library and did not realize how much good Christian fiction was out there.  I kept reading secular books, but I was always bothered by some of the things I read.  

A few years ago, I was excited to see that the women's ministry of my church was offering a Christian fiction book club.  I loved all the books we read in the first few months and would read more by those authors.  I couldn’t believe all the wonderful and interesting Christian fiction that was out there—contemporary and historical, humorous and profound, thriller and romance. As time went on, I became the leader of that group.  I really enjoy researching books for us to read and finding new authors.  I continue to be amazed at the fantastic stories and characters, and how great it is to read books where God is recognized and praised! 

I still enjoy a secular novel now and then--I read three or so a year.  But reading Christian fiction has made me very aware of all the violence, sex, foul language, etc that is seen in the other books.  I love being able to read a great story without these elements.

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