discovering joy in reading

Discovering Joy in Reading July 14, 2013; that’s when everything changed. For months people had told me to just pick up a book and it will just come naturally. Some people have actually given me several books to read, but I never did. There was just something different about Jesus Is ________. by Judah Smith. The cover, the author and the title completely captured my attention. My long journey of stubbornness towards reading was slowly about to be defeated. I actually bought the book Jesus Is _______. all by myself, which that alone surprised me. I have read novels before, but they were all mandatory to read for a certain class or grade. I never thought I would buy myself a book to simply enjoy. I remember so vividly when my mentor, Amanda Guyer, told me that reading books had completely changed her life. “I had never thought I could learn and grow so much from a book until I simply just picked one up.”, Amanda told me. As time went on and people kept giving me books to read, I figured it was time to give it a try. Ordering Jesus Is _______. , was very hard for me. My mindset was “Why waste fifteen dollars on a book, when I am clearly not a reader.” When I finally brought myself to buy the book, Amanda was the first person I told. “This is an exciting day, the start of a new lifestyle.” Amanda told me. At first, I did not realize how big of a deal it was to become a reader. Slowly but surely, I learned why reading was important. So, the book came in through standard shipping and arrived on July 14, 2013. I was genuinely excited. It was time to dig into a book that had more than five simple chapters and had very valuable and important concepts in it. Before reading this book, I felt like I had to mentally prepare myself. “Ok, you are about to read a book Lynda, that can possibly change your hobbies and lifestyle,” I said to myself, “ Is it worth it or will you just keep living without reading?” The first thing I read out of this book is all