Full Circle

I’ve now come full circle back to the religion section. I temporarily skipped part of the religion section to explore other library resources in front of it. Picking up where I left off, I resumed reading through the library in the 240’s and completed the rest of the religion section.  The following broad topics have been covered:  Christian Practices & Observance, Christian Order & Local Church, Social and Ecclesiastical Theology, History of Christianity, Christian Denominations, and Other Religions. As you can imagine, this was a lot of reading! There is no way I can cover in one blog post the many, many books I’ve read through.  Instead, I’ve chosen to share a few of the books that have really stood out to me in the remaining portion of the religion section and share a brief synopsis.

Going in shelving order of the books I’ve chosen, the first one up for comment is Heaven Has Blue Carpet by Sharon Niedzinski.

This is a delightful book about a woman and her family who left suburbia for the wide open spaces of country life. The story details how the Niedzinski family bought a run down centennial farmhouse and equally under cared for farmland.  This homestead was developed into a working sheep farm and a comfortable home. Throughout her description of this process Sharon describes being a shepherd and what it takes to look after a flock of sheep. True to her background in Christian ministries, Sharon draws some very interesting parallels to Jesus and his flock of followers.  This book has a conversational tone which is easy to read and is entertaining as well as challenging.

Next in this line up is Uncommon Marriage by Tony & Lauren Dungy with Nathan Whitaker.

To be honest, this wasn’t a book that I really thought I would enjoy. As most of you are aware, I’ve been reading my way through the entire Fulton County Public Library. No one could possibly read every single book in a library, so my strategy has been to read many representative books from each section. I usually will shelf browse-in order of the Dewey Decimal system-until I’ve selected 5 books at a time. I picked this book up for it’s title, Uncommon Marriage. At the time I had no idea who these people on the cover were. I had absolutely no idea that Tony Dungy was a professional football coach, the first African American head coach to win the Superbowl, or a sports reporter. If I had, I probably would have skipped this book altogether.  I know nothing about football! However, because of my commitment to read through the library and broaden my reading horizons, I read the book anyway. I am glad that I did. The Dungys are a wonderful example of what it takes to truly be committed to a marriage in the good times and the bad. The Dungys are a Christian couple committed both to each other and to helping others grow spiritually. They are an excellent team and share their ways of supporting each other in achieving goals and dreams. They talk about the importance of staying connected to each other and how they’ve managed to do that despite grueling schedules. They truly can help others to have an uncommon marriage.

Moving on we come to Weird Because normal isn’t working [sic] by Craig Groeschel.

This is a fairly easy read book. It talks about how normal people are stressed, overwhelmed, and exhausted. Relationships are stressed or nonexistant. Normal people are living pay check to pay check and just can’t seem to break out of a miserable cycle. Many people claim to believe in God, but are not living out Biblical teachings. This book is like a breath of confirmation that lets the reader know he or she is not alone in being caught in a style of living that just isn’t working. Written by a pastor, Christ-centered topics which cover diverse topics from money to scheduling to purity and many others which will help the normal person break out of the rut and live with God’s grace and truth.

Confession Brings Possession by Dr. Norvel Hayes is a tiny little quick read book.

There are powerful Scriptural truths contained in this little book. For this summary, I’ve chosen just to share what’s written on its back cover:

“All of the promises of God belong to the believing Christian. Whether we receive them or not is our choice. Learn how to affirm the Word of God in your hearts and release the power of God through your faith-filled words.”

and

“Confession Brings Possession is a powerful book that will give the reader insight into how to release the power of God in their life.”

Life Without Limits by Nick Vujicic is a very inspirational book.

Born without arms and legs, Nick shares his emotional and physical struggles related to his disability. Nick has found his passion in inspiring others and credits his faith in God as the source of his strength. Nick encourages others to accept what they can’t change and focus instead in what one does have control over. The reader is challenged to live a life without limits.

The last book I’ve chosen to share is Grieving a Suicide A Loved One’s Search for Comfort, Answers & Hope by Albert Hsu.

The author wrestles with his emotions and theological questions after the suicide of his father. Hsu acknowledges that there are no easy answers, but found hope in God Who comforts and offers hope for the future. Anyone who has been affected by suicide should read this book.

There are obviously many other books in the religion section and I encourage you to check them out!

 

 

200 Religion

Having finished the 100’s  I have now moved into the Religion section; 200 in the Dewey Decimal system. This section is slightly split up in the Fulton County Public Library’s main branch. The 000-100’s start along a back wall and then move in to the 200’s on the far end.

The Religion Section is a large section so it begins on the back wall after the 100’s

and then moves to a long shelving unit

and across the aisle.

As you can see from this last picture, there are other available library resources in front of where the Religion section moves to the long shelvling unit. Because of the way this section is divided up, I had to make a decision of how I was going to approach it.

Since my project is to read through the entire library and to take advantage of all available resources, I decided that I would begin the Religion section and finish the back wall (the first picture). After that, I would go to the front section and explore those resources before returning to the Religion section. So, that is what I did.

I am pleased to report that I’ve actually read through the entire back wall. The Religion books in this section go from 200 to approximately the 240’s. These numbers include such topics as Religion (of course), Philosophy & Theory of Religion, The Bible, Christianity, and some books on Christian Practices & Observance. Christian Practices & Observance continues on the long shelving unit.

In my next few posts, I will temporarily be leaving the Religion section to explore some other areas. Once the areas in front of the Religion section are explored and discussed, I will return to the Religion section (which is also the beginning of the adult nonfiction stacks).