Be honest. Do you have any idea what the title of this post means? Chances are, if I'd never stumbled on the conversion story of Augustine of Hippo (early church father, AD 354-430), I wouldn't either.

Tolle lege means "take up and read." While he was under conviction of sin, Augustine heard some children singing this phrase as they played -- and he concluded that God was telling him to "take up and read" the Scriptures. And the rest is history, as they say.

Every now and then we take a poll in our office to see what each other is reading, in addition to the Scripture (of course!). This poll is a helpful, interesting and encouraging exercise. It allows us to know a little more about each others' interests and reading habits, but it also spurs us on to keep reading and to read broadly. So, for what it is worth, here's what we are reading (or have recently read):

Micah Carter: Just finished "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan and just started "Scouting the Divine" by Margaret Feinberg. Soon to start "Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Tedd Tripp.

Polly House: "Devil Bones" by Jefferson Bass (CSI-type mystery set at UT Knoxville), "Truth and Beauty" by Ann Patchett (memoir by a Nashville author), "Home to Harmony" by Phillip Gulley (sort of a Mitford-type), and a couple of weeks ago finished "Leaving Church" by Barbara Taylor.

Brooklyn Lowery: Rereading "Spunk and Bite" by Arthur Plotnik (a writing tips book that sort of pokes fun at the age-old "Strunk and White" that every journalist knows and loves).

Rob Phillips: Just finished "Grace" by R.T. Kendall (addresses the 10 commandments) and recently started "Theology of the Reformers" by Timothy George.

Kelly Shrout: "The Prodigal God" by Tim Keller.

What are you reading? Would you recommend anything to us? Take a minute to leave us a comment to encourage us to tolle lege!

Entry by Micah Carter

The famous humanist Erasmus is credited for saying, "When I get a little money, I buy books; if any is left I buy food and clothes." If you're a bibliophile like the rest of us, you are shaking your head in agreement right now!

The building in the picture is called the Radcliffe Camera, which is part of the Bodleian Library system of Oxford University in England. I spent a couple of weeks at Oxford as a "reader" researching Puritan theology for my Masters thesis, and much of my time was spent here. There's something about old books and old libraries that foster a love for reading, for sure ...

I appreciate the fact that my colleagues in the communications department here at LifeWay are avid and broad readers. Every now and then it's fun to poll the office to see what people are reading. So here are the results for February 1, 2010:

Rob Phillips: I've just started Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond, edited by Darrell L. Bock. Just recently I finished Why You Can Have Confidence in the Bible by Harold J. Sala.

Jennifer Tramel: What I'm reading is called The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. My favorite types of fiction deal with negative utopias or post-apocalyptic situations. One of my other favorite authors recommended this, and I've been trying to find the time for about a year now.  When I got the Kindle for Christmas, I knew exactly what my first Kindle book would be!

Polly House: I'm reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan with my small group from church and A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink with the rest of communications staff.

Brooklyn Lowery: I'm taking an early American literature class right now (in this case, that means writings to 1800). At the moment, I'm working through some Native American creation myths and letters from early American explorers (Columbus, for instance). It's actually more interesting than it sounds, though I would be lying if I said I can't wait to get home and read more every night.

On a less academic, but more spiritual note, I'm reading The Holy Wild by Mark Buchanan. I read his Your God is Too Safe a few years ago (I highly recommend it) and have been trying to follow that up with The Holy Wild ever since -- finally making it happen, and I'm not disappointed. Thanks, Mark, for both of these books!

Kelly Shrout: A few months ago, I started reading Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens to my son. We will finish the novel in the year 2020 at the rate we're going. My grandmother, who is British, gave me the book years ago. Reading this book reminds me of her, which is truly special now that I'm reading it to my son.

Micah Carter: Right now I'm finishing up The End of Christianity by William Dembski, a thought-provoking work in speculative theology. At a snail's pace I'm working through Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp, well worth the time so far. Eventually, I'll be re-reading Margaret Kostenberger's Jesus and the Feminists for a book review I'm doing for the Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, coming out later this year.

Posted by Micah Carter

It's that time again! Each month, we in the communications department of LifeWay Christian Resources like to share a little about what has caused us to tolle lege! Here are this month's selections:

Rob Phillips: Just finished "A God Who Hates" by Wafa Sultan (a look at Islam from the perspective of a Syrian woman raised in the religion but who left it). Just started, "The Complete Infidel's Guide to the Koran" by Robert Spencer.

Polly House: Still on "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan in my small group from church, "Whole New Mind" by Daniel Pink with my co-workers, and "The Help" by Katharine Stockett for my neighborhood book group.

Brooklyn Lowery: Early American literature continues: Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography. I can almost definitely (only God knows the heart, after all) say that this particular founding father was a deist. He affirms the existence of one God who created the earth and everything in it, but he does not mention Jesus and refuses to make any particular statements to the effect that any one religious belief is better or more true than another. While I can't say what Franklin professed on his deathbed, I can report that the second and third parts of his autobiography were written only a couple of years before he died, and he expressed the above beliefs in those parts. Still, a very entertaining read and not altogether lacking in lessons to be learned (excepting the deism bit, of course).

Janet Sullivan: I'm reading Nicholas Sparks newest book, "The Last Song".  The new movie from the book is out in April. My husband Tim calls it one of my "girly books" -- but for light reading, Sparks' books are good.

Jennifer Tramel: I just finished the second book from The Hunger Games series. Whew! It was intense. "Catching Fire" focused on more of the political drama going on in the world of Panem. Suzanne Collins has a way of making a complex world almost tangible.  Intrigue, political discourse, battle, and a strong woman -- fiction here is at its best, my friends.  All I need now is a bow and arrow.

Micah Carter: I'm reading "Whosoever Will" by David Allen and Steve Lemke (editors). It promises to be THE scholarly standard critique of five-point Calvinism. We shall see. I'm also chipping away at "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer. Several people I know have recommended it, so I wanted to see what the hype was all about. We shall see. There are many other tomes I'd like to invest in, but -- you guessed it -- we shall see.

It's time again to take inventory of our staff reading selections and insights. This exercise is always informative -- and often humorous. Hopefully, these responses will provoke you to read and maybe, give you a chuckle.

Rob Phillips ~ I'm reading Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five-Point Calvinism. Although I made the decision to pick up this book, I can't escape the nagging conviction that it was somehow determined that I would read it.

Kelly Shrout ~ I'm working on Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson, and  52 Simple Ways to Say 'I Love You' by Stephen Arterburn. I'm just learning more about the importance of teaching my son well.

Katie Shull ~ I usually only read on vacation or something when I have a big block of time to do it -- mainly because I can't stand having to pick up a book and put it down all the time!  I DO, however, read the Bible & my Sunday school lesson & my Mission Friends book. :)

Brooklyn Lowery ~ All I've read over the last few weeks is a dissertation on BMP signaling and critical reviews/articles about Thomas Morton for my final paper. Let's be clear though, I only edited that dissertation for grammatical accuracy ... I have no idea what it actually said. :)

Polly House ~ I'm still reading Crazy Love with my church small group. We will finish this week! In addition, I'm reading Influencing like Jesus by Michael Zigarelli, which presents 15 ways to influence people and change their minds, even if they are resistant to change. For my neighborhood book group, I'm just starting Children of Men, a science fiction mystery, by P.D. James.

Jennfier Tramel ~ I'm reading through Kevin Leeman's The Birth Order Book. I was introduced to the book in college when I took interpersonal communications and psychology of gender. I'm the eldest of four in my home, and according to my interpersonal professor, I'm a classic, textbook people pleasing eldest female child. She often would use me as an example in class and yes, it was embarrassing. All fun aside though, this book really had a lot of truth to it.  It's taught understanding, not only in my siblings, but in every relationship in my life. I recommend highly.

Micah Carter ~ Just started The Exemplary Husband by Stuart Scott. Very good book so far ... challenging and encouraging. I'll take as much help and advice for being a godly husband as I can get!