For the past couple of weeks I've been on vacation in Panama City Beach. I left there yesterday morning after sitting out on the beach and pool side the day before only to be greeted by a house registering 60 degrees on the thermostat. Although I was tired from the long drive, I was about ready to turn around and go back!
It was a great time away. We spent our vacation with our daughter and her family. I think the recent hurricanes down there had lowered the water temperature more than normal for this time of the year, but we still got to spend time in both the ocean and the pool and got plenty of nice Florida sun shine. I also enjoyed a nice round of golf and a couple of rounds of putt-putt with the grand kids.
We've been going there for vacation for several years and have several restaurants we enjoy. This year we did something a little different: we tried some new restaurants. Some had been around for a while, but we had just never gone to them while others had opened since we were there last year. I love fresh seafood and was not disappointed!
Surprisingly enough, I even had time to read. I took two books with me, and bought several more down there. I finished reading A New Kind of Apologist by Sean McDowell and read Deep and Wide by Andy Stanley. Some of the Goodwill stores down there always have a great selection of books and I bought several. The two I bought and read while there were The Time Keeper by Mitch Albon and The Radical Leap by Steve Farber. I really enjoyed all four books.
Books I bought there that have been added to my to-read list include Surprised by Hope by N. T. Wright, Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson and Fresh Air by Jack Levison.
I know I've mentioned this before, but my experience in the Goodwill stores made me want to remind you of something important. Many of you who read this blog are bivocational pastors or pastors of smaller churches who do not have a lot of money for your library. Each of these books cost me between 2.99 and 3.99. New books are expensive, but you don't have to spend a lot of money to build up a good pastoral library. For less than 20.00 I added six quality books to my library. BTW - These books list new for $115.90. They have no marks in them and each are in nearly new condition.
Your local library probably has an annual book sale. Flea markets and auctions are great places to find books. If you live near a seminary there may be a used bookstore nearby where students sell their text books when they finish a class. I bought a number of books in such a bookstore.
If you are in pastoral ministry or any leadership role in a church you need a good library, and it doesn't have to cost a fortune to own one. Oh, and don't forget to enjoy a vacation or two every year!
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