For those awaiting pictures of 'bella, they're coming... but this is definitely not one of them!

I am reading a lot these days; yet, most items on the list are required reading, not nececissarly something for enjoyment. There are two books that have entered the long list that are capturing my attention. They've even been given a place on the the hallowed bedside table--a place where all Lucarelli owned books long to be.

The first book on the list is something I am reading with several other people, somewhat of a think tank. It is called Do Hard Things. Though I am only on chapter two of a book geared for teenagers, something is stirring. The book is a call to the next generation from two 18 year old twins. The call is to rebel against the low expectations that many have put on them... and to do hard things. One particular 16 year old I know is right there, living and breathing this message. I'll let you know how it goes.

The second book is more of a pamphlet. It is called Summons or Discerning the Summons. This whole "God, where we going?" question has really been gripping me lately. At times, I am totally a faith walker, with tons of joy. However, it is a roller-coaster when I don't combat those anxious thoughts that often paralyze my faith. Sovereign Grace Ministries offers the book on their website free of charge. The basic idea, are you called or summoned for ministry?

Summons starts off with the gospel call. The summon of God to enter into relationship with Him. The faith that He gives. The grace that He gives. The life that is changed. In expounding on the amazing passage in Ephesians 2, the author talks about another one of my heroes--Charles Spurgeon. Nineteenth-century
pastor Charles Spurgeon discovered this grace of God’s call in a
memorable manner. He writes,

One week-night, when I was sitting in the house of God, I was not
thinking much about the preacher’s sermon, for I did not believe it.
The thought struck me, How did you come to be a Christian? I sought the
Lord. But how did you come to seek the Lord? The truth flashed across my
mind in a moment—I should not have sought him unless there had
been some previous influence in my mind to make me seek him. I
prayed, thought I, but then I asked myself, How came I to pray? I was
induced to pray by reading the Scriptures. How came I to read the
Scriptures? I did read them, but what led me to do so? Then, in a
moment, I saw that God was at the bottom of it all, and that he was
the Author of my faith, and so the whole doctrine of grace opened up
to me, and from that doctrine I have not departed to this day, and I
desire to make this my constant confession, “I ascribe my change
wholly to God.”