Day 259- A Fond Memories First

I was in Birmingham with a friend who was having surgery today. Before they took my friend to surgery, I noticed that his doc was wearing rubber boots that came up to his knees.  That may have been a "first."  I asked the nurse if they were expecting such a large amount of blood loss that the doc needed rubber boots.  She said, "Yes."  Then she said no but that this surgery would mean they got a lot of water on the floor.  Somehow, that was not terribly reassuring.  Afterwards, the doc said the surgery went "fabulous."

While my friend was in surgery, I was sitting in the waiting room with his wife and Dad.  His wife started asking me about my "first" for the day. I did not have one picked out so we got on our phones and started searching for interesting things to do near the hospital.  We found something called "Fond Memories Museum and Bookstore."  That sounded like something fun to do.  I went to the Fond Memories Museum and Bookstore for my "first."

The store/museum is located near downtown.  This part of town does not resemble our town. I'm not used to using a parking meter.  I parked and walked down the street.  The sign outside said Reed Books. That's really a nice play on words for a bookstore that I assume is owned by Jim Reed. He is the main guy there anyway.  The website says, "Jim, a popular inspirational columnist and gentle gothic humorist, has authored several books, including DAD'S TWEED COAT: SMALL WISDOMS HIDDEN COMFORTS UNEXPECTED JOYS.

When I went in, I was greeted warmly by Jim. I did not know it was him because I had not visited the website yet, but I assumed it was.  He said this was the center of the universe.  I replied that I had always wanted to go to the center of the universe.  There is a place in South La. that's called the end of of the world.  It seems that the center of the universe and the end of the world are not that far apart. Actually, I would think God's throne is probably the center of the universe.

I looked around for a while.  It is mostly a bookstore of old and rare books. This man has a lot of books.  It would have been more fun if I had more time to look at the books and talk to Jim.  If I had known the website touted him as a popular inspirational columnist and gentle gothic humorist, I might have tried to talk a bit to him.  As it was, I ventured around the store and saw a ton of books on just about every subject imaginable.  There were things like old copies of Life magazine, pictures of cultural icons, pictures of old political campaign posters, a big Santa Claus figurine, old classic children's books, and things like that. 

 As I looked around at all those old books, I was reminded that there is one book above all others.  While I would love to read many of the books in his bookstore, there is no book like the Bible.  If I'm not careful, I will read books about the Bible instead of reading the Bible. Reading books about the Bible is not the same as reading the Bible.  Talking about how the Bible is true is not the same as reading the Bible.  Talking about how much people ought to believe the Bible is not the same as reading the Bible.  Even reading the Bible is not the same as obeying what God says in the
Bible and embracing His promises in the Bible by faith.

I loved the old bookstore.  I love God's old book much more. It tells me about Jesus.  God tells us what He's like and what He likes in the old book.  May the old book be fresh and new to us each time we read it.  May we encounter the author every time we open it.

Glad we have a book to encourage us in the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. The young man that told me Jesus loves me at the pizza shop yesterday
2. Mercyme's music
3. Successful knee replacements