"Spending time reading when going on trips is never a second wasted." I love this. The idea of reading when going on a trip always leaves me excited about taking this trip in the first place. (Yes I am one of those people who read as soon as they get vacation leave from work lol.)
Books have always played an important role for me, most especially during college years wherein, for the first time: I loved reading different kinds of genres! It was not just those books which are required by my teachers but even those that are about being financially wise. I have loved self-help books. In fact, I read the trilogy of Rhonda Byrne a couple of times: The Secret, The Power and The Magic.
The ideas I get from books have one way or another helped me shape how I view the world. During college days I honed being grateful - as it was gratitude that was "the magic" as per the author Byrne.
I get a little off topic when taking about books lol - anyway: whenever I travel, I carry with me a book or two. For the recent travel I did, I only bought one, because I know that there's not so much time I could have reading. I figured we will have lots of activities in the island, considering I traveled with my family.
I was so happy whenever we visit cafés there in Boracay. Finally I could have some "Me-Time" just reading and enjoying my book, while sipping my cup of coffee or my milkshake.
For this trip, I re-read "Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul". It is a book published in 2005 by John Eldredge and his wife Stasi. I read this book once in 2021 and now I am reading it again to remind me of its message.
Below is a little sneak peak/ summary of what this book is about, as per the world wide web:
Every woman was once a little girl. And every little girl holds in her heart her most precious dreams. She longs to be swept up into a romance, to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure, to" be" the Beauty of the story. And yet―how many women do you know who ever find that life?
Most women think they have to settle for a life of efficiency and duty, striving to be the women they "ought" to be but often feeling they have failed. Sadly, too many messages for Christian women add to the pressure. "Do these ten things, and you will be a godly woman." The effect has not been good on the feminine soul.
The message of "Captivating" is this: Your heart matters more than anything else in all creation. The desires you had as a little girl and the longings you still feel are telling you of the life God created you to live. He offers to rescue your heart and release you to live as a fully alive and feminine woman. A woman who is truly captivating.