Words From The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

It may be said of one who is contented in a Christian way that he is the most contented man in the world, and yet the most unsatisfied man in the world . . . . Though he is contented with God in a little, yet those things that would content other men will not content him.

The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs, p. 42.

An 8-track Mind?

As I moved my current and recent reading widgets to the top of the right sidebar, I realized that it looks like I read lots of books at the same time. In a way I do, but I thought I’d spend a few paragraphs explaining how my reading really works. (This post is also influenced by Al Mohler’s recent post on reading in multiple categories at the same time – I aspire to such a carefully balanced system.)

For purposes of this blog, I divide the books I am reading into fast track and slow track. The basic distinction is whether I anticipate reading the book quickly. Of course, there are unanticipated distractions that can drag a fast track book out over a longer period of time. The length and dificulty of the book also comes in to play. I’ll walk through the books currently in these categories and discuss the categorization.

Fast Track:

When Sinners Say “I Do” by Dave Harvey. I began this book over two months ago. There is nothing fast about that. I had anticipated reading it more quickly, but I’ve been reading it with my wife. Schedules, busyness, and forgetfulness have kept us from making much progress of late. We began reading between a third of a chapter to a full chapter about four nights a week. Hopefully, we’ll get back to it and make short work of the remaining four chapters or so.

The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs. Begun early this month and likely to be completed by the end of this month. I’m actually not that far into the book, but have recently cleared off a book that had a hard deadline attached. This is now my primary non-fiction book until I finish.

The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch. Begun about a week ago and likely to be finished late this month or early next. My Metro and waiting around in noisy places reading until I finish.

Slow Track:

The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made by Mark Dever. Begun over seventeen months ago, this definitely qualifies as slow track. Mark’s sermons are lengthy and I prefer to read an entire sermon in a sitting. If I also read the corresponding book of the Bible (or significant sections of it), I can easily require two or three hours to work my way through a chapter. It’s hard to find blocks of quiet time that large. I’m probably about a third of the way through the book. Don’t expect me to finish any time soon.  

Learn Chess: A Complete Course by C.H. O’D. Alexander and T.J. Beach. After nine months, the end is not yet in sight. This is actually two volumes published between a single set of covers. I completed the first volume in early 2007, but haven’t begun the second. And don’t anticipate doing so soon. 

Bible (ESV). I began at the beginning of this year and have Ezekiel through the end of the Old Testament to go. I should finish this up well before the end of the year. An example of a reading project planned to take some time.

The Birth of Christianity by John Dominic Crossan. I began reading this and discussing it on this blog with one of my brothers. His time didn’t permit him to continue to contribute to the discussion, so I set Crossan down. I’ll probably finish the book, but it’s not really at the top of my TBR stack. I’m only a couple of chapters in. 

The Iliad by Homer. A re-read after more than a decade without touching any classical mythology. I’m a bit over half way through and should finish it before the end of the year. Amazing, of course, but perhaps not as striking as when I read it in college.   

The Works of John Owen: Volume 1 by John Owen. Begun to match up with Mark Dever’s canon of theologians. Owen is simply too far ahead of me for me to read him quickly. I hope to finish this volume by the end of the year, but am not imposing any sort of false deadline on myself. 

Money, Possessions and Eternity by Randy Alcorn. My wife is reading this book and we’ve been talking about stewardship as she goes through. I had planned to catch up with her, but have pretty much let that slide for now. I’m just a couple of chapters in and will probably move through it pretty quickly when I focus on it.

So, maybe 2008 will see the introduction of a system (I do love systems) that keeps me working in several different areas at the same time. I’ll probably still break out slower and faster reads, but hopefully once I clear the backlog, there will be fewer books on which progress stalls.