A New Approach to Pleasure Reading

This past Christmas, my husband gave me a book called Every Moment Holy by Douglas Kaine McKelvey. The book is a collection of liturgies designed to help us recognize and invite God’s presence into every moment of our lives, even the mundane ones.

I don’t come from a liturgical background, but I’ve really enjoyed reading through these. He covers topics from gardening, to changing diapers, to waiting in line, to homesickness.

One of the things that struck me, in particular, is the author’s obvious love of books. He even has a liturgy for the writing of fiction! I can’t tell you how excited I was to find that one. I might not get much out of the liturgy for the keeping of bees, but I’m going to read that one for fiction writers over and over.

Not only does he have a liturgy for writers, but he has a couple for readers as well. I discovered his liturgy Before Beginning a Book this weekend and thought it particularly apropos for those of us who read Christian fiction. I’d like to share parts of it with you:

Author of Life and Author of My Life

As I begin the reading of this book,
give me a sensitivity to listen,
not just to the story told,
but to the response of my own heart
to what I encounter in these pages. . .

Let all things, and this book as well,
be as tools in your hands,
to shape me and make me more truly your own . . .

So let the honest responses
of my heart to this reading
grant new insight into the story
your grace is already telling in my own life
that I might be a more willing co-laborer
in that process.

Amen.

I’ll be the first to admit that when I read for pleasure, I read to be entertained and to escape into a world not my own. Yet one of the joys of reading Christian fiction, is that the stories do more than entertain. They contain a deeper message that can impact the soul. Whether that message is overt or subtly woven through imagery and metaphor, the aroma of Christ is there. However, if my only intention as a reader is to be entertained, how easy is it to miss the deeper message God intends for me? I love how this liturgy reminds my spirit to be awake through the reading process–awake and welcoming of what God wishes to teach.

How has God spoken to you through fiction?

Oh, and if you need a book to try out this liturgy on, I just happen to have one on sale this month. The first novel in my Patchwork Family series, More Than Meets the Eye (ebook) is on sale for only $0.99 through Feb. 29! Some retailers have it for only $0.79! Love, adventure, cowboys, and a pet hog. What could be more fun?

“More Than Meets the Eye captured my heart from the start.
This story is easily the best Inspirational romance I have read in years,
if not the best Inspirational romance I have ever read.” 
~ All About Romance

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