Oh, for the love of books!

I realized something about myself today. Not only do I like books, I love them! Sure, I like the way they look on my bookshelf. I like the weight of them in my hands, and the way a good hardback feels kind of cold against my stomach when I have to put it down and rest for a minute. I like seeing them stacked up on my desk, begging me to pick them up and leaf through a few pages.

I even like the way they smell...shh...don't tell.

So, what's the big deal? Right? Why would you write a blog about loving books? Who would really want to read that anyway? Well...um...I am asking myself those questions right now. Why would I?

I think the realization behind the realization is that my love of books stems from a love of information. I love having access to information...though books, through people, through the internet...I am infatuated with learning, but it doesn't stop there. It's not good enough to just learn something. It must be documented and filed in some sort of retrievable system.

Ah-ha! Now I remember where I was going with this! A few years ago we did the "Living Your Strengths" test. It is a souped-up personality test that helps you identify 5 major defining characteristics of your personality. I mean they are really right on. Of course, I ended up with all of the nerdy ones like "Learner, Intelligence...etc..." but the one that links me to the love of information is "Input." I learn it, I write it down, I catalogue it, and then I file it.  Sitting at my desk today...I realized I was surrounded by filing cabinets. I had to laugh out loud. At home, my journals and bibles have post-it note flags marking verses and notes from past sermons that I want to be able to find quickly.

Now, I sit at my desk in my apartment surrounded by stacks of books, journals, and photos. I sit with 4 tabs open on my internet browser (Amazon.com, Blogger, Flowerdust.net and Facebook). I sit in awe that God made me for this job. He knew that there would be a need for a person to collect information for HHGlobal and put it in a usable format for others. He knew that he had to create a person with all of the nerdy characteristics and just enough personality so people could stand to be around them (most of the time).

Detailed...our God is so very detailed. Lord please help me to use the characteristics you have given me. Help me put the energy in the right places. Keep me from getting lost in the details and the tedium, so I can see just enough of the big picture to move toward it. Help me realize that you've got it all under control, anyway. Thanks for letting me be apart of this... nerdy-ness and all.