Toni posts on her blog, Wifely Steps, an interesting blog carnival that I have to be a part of! It’s called If Books Were Food…
What’s this carnival about?
It’s all about answering this question: If books were food, what would they taste like?
Write about the books you loved as a child. Write about your all-time favorite reads. Write about books that made you cry. Write about books you never finished reading. Write about books you’re curious about. Write about banned books.
But let’s not stop at just books. Connect them with food. If your favorite childhood book were food, what would it taste like? If your favorite books of all time were food, what would they be?
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For me, the Bible can be compared to a buffet, an eat-all-you-can experience with something for everyone.
I look at the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – as the buffet’s roast beef, prime rib, roast turkey, the main attraction, the indulgent meat that give me strength and extreme pleasure. When I read the words of Christ, it literally fills me up and encourages me to go on. It is my source of strength and the highlight of my buffet. I supplement these with delicious side dishes, usually taken from the letters of Paul, which add flavor and depth to the gospels.
Two of my favorite Bible books are the books of Esther and Job, which I can compare to the buffet’s Japanese spread. Job’s story is biting and fiery, like the sensual explosion of spicy wasabi with raw tuna flesh; Esther, on the other hand, has all the elements of California maki, with its sweet story of Esther’s triumph over adversity to become the queen of Persia, a touch of salty coarseness with Haman’s plot to kill the Jews, and a fine finish, with God’s angels defending His people against the king’s troops instructed to massacre them.
The Song of Solomon is the oyster spread, an aphrodisiac that can only prepare us for the night ahead returning home from the buffet. It is sensual, it is rich, it is a sinfully pleasurable read.
Ironically, my dessert – I return to it over and over – is Genesis, the first book. I love reading about how God creates the earth, about how man falls, and the stories of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob… they’re filling and they make me want to return again and again, which is how I feel about a buffet’s desserts. Abraham’s is like a rich chocolate cake, full of God’s promise and bursting with His goodness. Noah can be like a fruit plate, refreshing and encouraging. Adam is a bittersweet chocolate ganache, sweet at first then with a burst of bitterness that lingers in the palate but encourages you to search for something sweeter and deeper, like a relationship with God.
I look at Psalms and Proverbs like the little take-home candies. Life can get extremely difficult at times, turning up the stress factor and making it hard to focus and enjoy the company of friends, family, and alone time with God. Whether it is a refreshing one- to two-sentence bite of sweet wisdom, or a tangy sour warning against becoming complacent, Psalms is the ideal bit of God’s Word that sustains me throughout the day.
