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I'm not sure what to say. I could say a lot of things, but I don't think I want to tell them to you. ;)

I'm going to an India meeting tonight. Should be good.

I've read some good books lately!

I really liked Let Me Be a Woman and Quest for Love, both by Elisabeth Eliot. (I know, Quest for Love sounds like a really bad romance novel...but it isn't.) These books gave me a lot of insight on a Christian's perspective on relationships. I like Elisabeth Eliot because she is challenging, yet she never loses sight of the fact that people are people. Yes, Christians need to follow all of God's commands, but they have personalities and stories and strengths and weaknesses; they are people. God knows that we are dust, but some Christian authors like to ignore that fact and pretend that nothing in the Christian walk is hard. I don't like reading Christian authors who ignore that life is tough. It's like some authors don't live in the real world. They live in a world without problems, doubts, misgivings, uncertainty, pain, frustration, etc. So I, who lives in a very real world and deals with all of the things listed above, don't want to take those authors seriously because their theories just don't match anyone's reality. Elisabeth Eliot acknowledges and addresses the real facts of life in her books. She doesn't hide anything from her readers; she tells it like it is. It's uncomfortable sometimes ("oh, I really didn't want to read that...now I have to think about it and deal with it in my own life"), but at least she's REALISTIC, convicting, AND encouraging.

Anyway, I really liked these books. They helped me sort out some things that have been rolling around in my head. I think I read Let Me Be a Woman over two days. That is good for me. (I usually read pretty slowly.)

I also liked Come, Tell Me How You Live by Agatha Christie. Agatha Christie is famous for her murder mysteries. I remember watching a Poirot movie one night with some friends in college, but that was the extent of my exposure to this interesting author. Unlike most of her books, this book was about her time in Syria with her archaeologist husband, Max. Let me tell you, after having been to the Middle East, this book was hilarious! Even if you haven't been to the Middle East, I'm pretty sure you will still like it. (I sound like the guy on Reading Rainbow: "But don't take my word for it!")

Now I'm reading three books. I'm reading Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie, and From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas Friedman. They are all pretty good, but right now Thomas Friedman's book has the majority of my attention. Friedman is a journalist who was stationed in Lebanon during the 1970s and 80s to cover the conflicts for the New York Times. He writes about the crazy time he had as he worked first in Lebanon and then in Israel. It is interesting because he writes about the Middle East (one of my favorite regions of the world) as he is explaining the political situation and the reasons behind it. Don't tell my old professor, but I didn't learn much at all in my History of the Modern State of Israel class while I was at IBEX. I like this book a lot because it is explaining the recent (as in the last thirty-forty years) political situation in the Middle East, information that I probably should have picked up from the class. Ooops. Unlike my class, however, the information is presented in a personal and gripping way. It's more about the country, people, and situations in Lebanon than it is about boring, political statistics and timelines. Amos and I found the book at a Salvation Army the other day, and he bought it for me for $1.00 (list price is $12.95!). Score one for us! :)

Well, the time has come for me to leave for my India meeting. I hope you liked the post, even if it was about books...again.