Author Ellie Gustafson ~ A Devotional ~ An Unpresentable Glory

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Have you ever eaten a book?

Say ... what? 

Author Ellie Gustafson has some interesting things

to say about this ... and dogs. Everyone loves dogs, right?

Revelation10:8, 9a” NIV

"Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.

So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. . . ." 

Eugene Peterson, probably best known for The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language, tells of his dog dragging home a piece of carcass he’d found in the woods. After depositing it for all to see and admire, he hauls it away to chew in private. He crunches in pure delight, even growling his pleasure from time to time.

Peterson links his dog’s obvious pleasure to the angel’s command to eat the scroll—the Word of God. We are to consume the Word with similar pleasure.

Each of us has our own way of reading the Bible. Some open randomly and read whatever shows up. Others choose a book they’d like to study. A few begin at Genesis and take aim at Revelation. Some heroic folk opt for finishing the entire Bible in a single year, which requires reading several chapters per day. My style is reading through the Bible, but taking five or more years to get there.

HOW do we read the Bible? Dutifully? Sit down and DO this! Practically? Here’s my plan of action to which I am committing. Joyfully? A bone to gnaw on, to growl over.

Joyfully. That’s what I’m after, and my slow style of reading gives me shorter portions to really chew and digest.

I also feast on other devotional material—Peterson, Henri Nouwen, and David G. Benner being top shelf. The important thing, though, is finding spiritual nourishment that invites, as Peterson says, “soft purrs and low growls as we taste and savor, anticipate and take in the sweet and spicy, mouth-watering and soul-energizing morsels . . . O taste and see that the Lord is good!” [Eat This Book, Eugene Peterson, p. 2]

An Unpresentable Glory

Who is this half-dead man who shows up in Linda’s award-winning garden—too weak to tend to his own personal needs? She cares for him through an entire week, with no clue to his real identity. An investigative reporter uncovers the secret week, and both Linda and her guest are maligned.

From the mystery of the opening pages, through a myriad of twists and turns and surprises, to the tantalizing questions of the epilogue, an intricate plot draws the reader ever deeper into the lives of Linda, “Jay,” and a sprawling cast of lovingly-drawn supporting characters.  [Sally Wilkins]

About Ellie Gustafson:

Having lived a few years, Ellie has collected long-ago memories—playing cowboys and Indians, watching first-run Wizard of Oz, collecting tinfoil for the war effort, driving a pony to a red ribbon, getting married and pregnant, and finally, enjoying the pleasures of kids, grandkids, and authoring. Add to this list gardening, house construction, tree farming, and loving on people—all of which bring color and humor to her fiction. One of Ellie’s major writing goals has been to make scriptural principles understandable and relevant for today’s readers through the undeniable power of story.

I’d love to hear your plan for “eating” the Word of God.  egus@me.com

OR ... share some thoughts in the comment section below.

An Unpresentable Glory https://tinyurl.com/y9lpft6a

Dynamo  http://tinyurl.com/otdxwad

The Stones  http://tinyurl.com/nf5o63d

Email: egus@me.com

Website:  www.eleanorgustafson.com/

Blog www.eleanorgustafson.com/

Amazon Page: www.amazon.com/author/eleanorgustafson

Twitter: @EgusEllie

Facebook: Ellie Gustafson