Re-engaging, Reinforcement, & Words that Change Us

I was thinking of skipping my post this week. I came up with several reasons: this is the first Father’s Day since my dad passed away, so the day feels especially heavy. I’ve spent the day cooking and baking a special dinner and dessert for my husband. I had a tiring week, adding cat sitting responsibilities that had me up extra early and out extra late. I could go on and on. It’s easy to make excuses. But then I thought of a line from the book I’m reading right now. In the YA book, Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach, the main character, Felton, doesn’t have many friends, considers himself an outcast and tends to isolate himself. His mother is constantly prodding him: “Felton needs to re-engage.”

Did I know I was making excuses this morning? Yes. Would I have sat down sooner to write this post if someone had told me to? Yes, again. It’s funny how reading (or hearing) something can reinforce what we already know. So with Felton’s fictional mother’s voice in my head, I’ve decided to re-engage. And write my blog post.

I think we all need reinforcement sometimes. When I send a story off to my critique partner and she comes back with advice, I’ll say to myself, I knew that line was unnecessary or  I knew that statement was didactic. But sometimes we need to hear it from someone else before we act. Reinforcement is good.

I'm re-reading a wonderful booklet by Jim Wilson called How to be Free From Bitterness. Years ago, this book changed my life. It made me a better person. The words shared are powerful. I knew at the time that I would need to read them again and again. And I wanted to share them with others. I ordered booklets for friends and family. This was probably twenty years ago. I've read it many times since. 

I had my copy out the other day when my sister stopped over. “Oh, you’re reading your bitterness book,” she said. Then she told me she still has hers as well. I wasn't surprised. Here is the blurb from Amazon:

Bitterness often grows out of a small offense: perhaps a passing word, an accidental shove, or a pair of dirty socks left in the middle of the living room floor. Yet when bitterness takes root in our hearts, its effects are anything but small.
In this collection of short articles, Jim Wilson and others discuss what it means to live as "imitators of God." As the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians, we have been called to leave the bitterness and anger of the world and instead embrace the love and compassion of our God. The authors remind us that we are to forgive others just as we have been forgiven, pointing to Scriptural admonitions and examples as they offer sound teaching on the trials and temptations of everyday life.

 It’s available here as a free PDF or here as a Kindle download for 1.99.  With sections like Forgiving Others, Taking Offense, Bridling the Tongue, and Saturation Love (to name a few) it could be the best 23 pages you ever read.

Have you ever read a book that helped you become a better person?