I've decided to embark on a 40-day journey with God through reading and applying the teachings articulated by Pastor Rick Warren in his bestselling book "The Purpose Driven Life." I've been meaning to read this book for awhile now as it's been highly recommended by some of my acquaintances, and I finally got the chance to when someone was giving it away on a FB group that I'm in called Books Don't Throw (SG). My friend Gwen organises a weekly care group that goes through one chapter a week, finishing the entire book by the end of October. I'm going to join her as and when I can, but right now I plan on getting through at least 5 chapters by myself - there are 40 chapters altogether - because I'm already a few chapters behind everyone else.

Point to ponder: It's not about me.

Verse to remember: "Everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him."  Colossians 1:16

Question to consider: In spite of all the advertising around me, how can I remind myself that life is really about living for God, not myself?

In the introduction chapter of the book, Pastor Warren states that we should read only one chapter a day, so that we can really think about its implications for our life. He makes a statement about why most books don't transform us, saying that sometimes we're too eager to get to the next chapter that we fail to take the time we need to seriously consider what we've just read. 

I have to agree with that statement, especially nowadays, where we live in an era of instancy and immediacy. It almost feels as if attentions spans have shortened to accommodate the barrage of short-form content that's being hurled at us from every direction. Music has to catch our attention within the first 3 seconds or we'll just skip to the next song on our Spotify playlist, films have to move quicker through action sequences so that we don't start getting bored or zoning out, reading the newspaper has turned into watching a comedy segment on The Daily Show for updates on politics and current events, and reading books has turned into watching Netflix, scrolling through Facebook and following Instagram accounts that share 'quotable' quotes.

Personally, I love reading. There's just something about being able to immerse myself fully in another world that excites me and gets my imagination going. When I read non-fiction books (my favourite) I hear the author speaking to me through his or her words and enlightening me on things I might've never known and lessons that I might not have learnt before. It's like having a teacher and a guide to show you the ways of the world through their own experience of life. When I read fiction books (especially Murakami) I feel like I've suddenly teleported into a world where I can see, smell, taste, touch and feel everything as if I were someone else. For as long as I'm reading, I'm another version of myself — An observer, observing myself as I'm living.