books

i had the day off today, so i went to a ktown cafe to sit, relax, and read~~ it was really relaxing. but unfortunately, sitting outside in a korean cafe also means that someone is inevitably going to start smoking. there are some cigarette smoke smells that i can tolerate, but some cigarette smells are just really bad. and today it was one of those bad ones that happened to be blowing directly into my face so i just had to move. it made me wonder what brands are the ones that i can stand. but smoking is one of those things i won't do for health reasons. it's sooooo bad for your health!! even second-hand smoking. although, sometimes, if i can tolerate the smoke, i won't move because i'm so lazy. :p

but anyways, i went to oregon last week, and of course, i had to visit one of my favorite places up there. powell's bookstore!! i love that bookstore. they have sooo much stuff. i ended up buying a couple of books there again. the same thing happened to me when i visited North Carolina. going there, my suitcase was pretty light, but coming back, my suitcase got exponentially heavier! =p

today, i was reading one of those books that i bought from powells.


what a good book! i'm beginning to really really enjoy alcorn's writings. i've been also reading another book of his (non-fiction) called Money, Possessions, and Eternity, which has also been really challenging. Deadline, although it is a fiction, is also really thought-provoking and challenging. Through fictitious characters, it talks critically about issues such as abortion, life in heaven, responsibilities and the "window of opportunities" that are here on earth for Christians. It's a novel, but it also seems like an essay or debate, and yet it's really easy to read and follow. Along with another novel of his entitled Lord Foulgrin's Letters, which is modeled after C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters, alcorn reminded me that my life is short here on earth. that i need to make every moment count for God's glory. it reminded me of one of my new year's resolutions as well, to live in the light of eternity, and how i haven't been really doing that lately.

Hebrews 12: 1
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnessess, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverence the race marked out for us."