In case you forgot, I love to read.  Stacks of books seem to pile up all over the house — most of them half read.  Other women buy shoes; I buy books.  For 2012,  I am purposing to be a bit more intentional about my reading plan.  I hope to read 12 books and post a “Net Out” here on the blog using a  format similar to Michael Hyatt’s.

God’s Story, Your Story:  When His Story Becomes Yours by Max Lucado beautifully unpacks the redemption story.  Lucado proposes that as our faith journey is colored by God’s grander plan — that the Master storyteller is weaving His eternal plot in and through our day to day temporal events to create a beautiful epic.

Here are some “take away” truths that captured my attention:

• Because Heaven is our home, we must ever pursue eternal things to satisfy our hungering hearts while here on earth:  “Those who are content with nothing more than joy in the journey are settling for to little satisfaction.  Our hearts tell us there is more to this life that this life.  We, like E.T., lift bent fingers to the sky” (p.60).
• God does not want us to live lives wracked with guilt and self condemnation: “When you make God’s story yours, He covers you in Christ.  You wear him like a vest.  Old labels no longer apply — only labels that would be appropriately worn by Jesus Christ” (p.87). 
• God works all things together for His good — every time.  You can count on it:  “Jesus transformed Paul, the card-carrying legalist, into a champion for mercy.  Who would have thought?  Yet who would be better qualified?  Paul could write epistles of grace by digging his pen into the inkwell of his own heart” (p.144).

Lucado is one of my all-time favorite authors, and this book does not disappoint.  The pages of this book hold sweet encouragement and create a beautiful portrait of Christ’s heart for us.  My heart hungers more for Him after reading this book, and that is a good thing, my friends. 

Up next will be Get Out of That Pit by Beth Moore, a book that unpacks the keys to securing deliverance from spiritual strongholds.   Want to read it with me?  I will be posting about it on May 25th.

I would love to hear about what you are reading.  Feel free to share in the comment section below to be entered in a Giveaway — I will be giving away a copy of each of these 2 great books.

One additional entry can be earned for each of these:

• Follow @3dLessons4Life on Twitter. Leave a comment indicating that you did.
• Tweet or Retweet about this contest giveaway.   Leave a comment indicating that you did.
• “Like” 3dLessons4Life’s Facebook page.
• Use the box on the top of the sidebar on this page to subscribe to this blog. Leave a comment indicating that you did.
• Grab the 3dLessons4Life button from the sidebar and add it to your blog. Leave a comment with a link to your blog so we can connect!

Just make sure to enter on or before May 4th to participate.  Thanks for stopping by!

UPDATE:  Congratulations to Michelle E. (Max Lucado) and Karen Sue (Beth Moore)!!!!