Psst. Over here. I have a secret. You might love me for it. Or you might want to throw a book at me.
Okay, here it is … I don’t only write books. I also write in books. Both electronic books and (gulp) print books.
I can’t remember the first time I did it. I was probably in my early teens. After years of being told not to write in books, it felt wrong. But after I made that first mark, I was hooked. I had to keep writing, keep annotating, keep HIGHLIGHTING.
Oh the HIGHLIGHTING!
Yellow highlighters. Purple highlighters. Blue highlighters. Beautiful, beautiful highlighters!
So imagine my delight at seeing that other people are highlighting in my books. How did I find this out? Did I install spy cams and watch them read? Did I bug all the packages of highlighters at Walmart? Did I follow my books to their house?
Nope … nothing as creepy as that.
I opened my books on my Kindle and scrolled through the popular highlights.
I admit I was a little nervous at first. Maybe no one had highlighted in my books. And then I was curious. Would people highlight the parts I thought were highlight-worthy? Or would they have other favorite parts? Finally, in the end, I was delighted. Because it turns out that the most highlighted parts of my books aren’t the witty banter or the sweet declarations of love or even the first kisses. They’re the Scripture verses and sermons and prayers. (Picture my heart expanding a thousand times right now. Because as much as I love storytelling and all the lovey-dovey parts and the funny parts and the emotional parts, the Jesus parts are the reason I write what I write.)
I’ll share a few of the highlights from my Hope Springs series here, along with my own annotations about them.
Highlight from Not Until Forever: “You’ve always worked so hard to prove yourself, to earn everything, to be the best. But some things you don’t have to earn. They’re just . . . gifts.”
My notes: Another confession. I am such an “earner.” I don’t always like to be given things for no reason. Or I feel like I should pay the person back in some way. Like I “owe” them. But the thing Violet points out to Sophie here is that a gift is a gift. It’s not supposed to be earned or repaid. That’s true of gifts in this world. But it’s even more true of the gift of salvation that God gives to us through Jesus. And that’s what Sophie really has to learn here.
Highlight from Not Until Forever: I don’t know your plans, Lord, and it scares me to give over control of my life, my future. Help me to trust you to lead me to the life you know is right for me.
My notes: This prayer is me (I mean, it’s Sophie praying in the book, but it’s me praying it every day). I’m definitely a control freak, and the idea of surrendering that control is scary, even to a God who has proved himself faithful over and over again. He is the only One who can give me the strength to surrender that need for control.
Highlight from Not Until Us: “God would totally bomb a test where he had to name each one of our sins. Because when he looks at us, he sees Jesus. He sees the perfect life Jesus lived for us and the innocent death he died to pay for our sins. Jesus took them all away. They are gone. God can’t remember them because they don’t exist anymore.”
My notes: This is Pastor Dan’s answer when a young teen asks how David could plead with God not to remember the sins of his youth. The teen argues that God is perfect, so how can he forget anything? I think we all have things in our past that we’re ashamed of, that we wish we hadn’t done, that we maybe dwell on and think that God dwells on them too. But the truth is that he doesn’t. Because he sees that our sins have been washed clean in Jesus. Trying to wrap our human brains around that is tough. But God tells us in his Word that it’s true!
Highlight from Not Until Us: “We are all that woman caught in adultery. We’ve all been caught cheating on the One who loves us more than we can comprehend. Every time we sin, every time we choose our way over God’s way, every time we put something before him, we’re committing adultery against our God. We deserve to be stoned. Worse, we deserve hell…. But listen to what Jesus says to the woman: ‘Neither do I condemn you.’ Do you hear that? He’s saying that to you. To me. He does not condemn us. He frees us. He saves us.”
My notes: Pastor Dan gets right at the heart of the law and the Gospel here. We deserve nothing but eternal punishment for our sins. But God put that punishment on his Son to save us. It’s a message Jade needed to hear. And it’s a message we all need to hear every day.
Highlight from Not Until Christmas Morning: Faith isn’t faith if it only believes in God when he answers our prayers in the way we want him to. Faith is faith when we believe even if.
My notes: “Even if” is a big theme in this book. And it’s a hard one. Because when things don’t go the way we think they should (and, let’s be honest, the way we tell God they should), we can be tempted to doubt God and his love. But, as Austin reads in the margins of his deceased friend’s Bible, faith means believing “even if” we face hardships and trials we don’t understand.
Highlight from Not Until Christmas Morning: “God doesn’t see any of our problems as insignificant. He knows our hurts.”
My notes: I think sometimes we’re tempted to see our problems as “too little” for God. We don’t think we should bother him with them when he has the whole world to worry about. But there is beauty and comfort in knowing that God cares about every detail of our lives.
Highlight from Not Until This Day: “Worry only gives us the illusion of control. But it’s a lie. Because the only one in control is God. And somehow, he loves my boys even more than I do. So if he’s watching over them and he holds their lives in his hands, what good is my worrying going to do?”
My notes: Oh worry. One of my biggest struggles. Especially worry for my children. I wrote this reminder from Tyler to Isabel. But really it’s a reminder from God to me. Worry doesn’t give me control. But trusting in God soothes my worry.
Highlight from Not Until Someday: “Praying for God’s will to be done isn’t a cop-out. It’s not leaving some wiggle room for God, in case he can’t do what we asked. It’s saying, ‘God, I trust you. I trust that you know what’s best for me. Please do that in my life.’”
My notes: God is all-powerful. He can do anything. But that doesn’t mean he will always answer our prayers in the way we want. Not because he can’t but because he knows what is best for us. That’s why we pray for his will to be done. Not because he can’t do our will, but because he loves us enough not to when it’s for our good.
So, do you write/highlight/take notes in your books? Digital or print? Do you pay attention to other people’s highlights when you read on a Kindle?
Valerie M. Bodden has three great loves: Jesus, her family, and books. And chocolate (okay, four great loves). She writes emotion-filled Christian fiction that weaves real-life problems, real-life people, and real-life faith. Her characters may (okay, will) experience some heartache along the way, but true to her tendencies as a hopeless romantic, she will always give them a happy ending. Valerie is living out her happily ever after in Wisconsin with her high-school-sweetheart-turned-husband and their four children. Visit her at www.valeriembodden.com to get a free story.
I didn’t know you could highlight in a Kindle or that others could see what you highlight (Is this a thing that you have to agree others can see?) I also read on the computer more than the kindle itself.
While I have verses highlighted in my bible I had never thought to do this in a book (although though shorthand having the person the year before write the answer was a huge help). I guess we were always told do not write in books.
I don’t highlight myself but I do take special note when I see a passage that is highlighted.
I think “Not until Christmas Morning” is my favorite of your books – because since reading the book “even if” has become a very important part of my faith walk.
good morning. I do highlight/write in some of my books. I really dont know how to highlight in my kindle yet. someday maybe. my Bible for example is all highlighted and written in.
I don’t highlight in books—especially books in print. I just can’t!😊 I do highlight verses in the Bible on my app.
I do highlight in kindle, it’s very similar to the ones you’ve found in your books, Bible verse I want to remember to highlight in my app and passages I want to come back to. I like seeing what others have highlighted too, it feels a bit like reading along with a group.
I need to find time every so often to go back to the highlighted passaged though!
I highlight nonfiction, but haven’t done so with fiction.
I love to highlight! Sometimes I go back to a book and just read all the highlighted parts. I want to tell you how much I appreciate the real Jesus message you put in all your books. So much “Christian “ fiction is becoming less Christian lately. Your stories don’t just entertain me, they encourage my heart.
I’ve turned off the highlights on my Kindle because it distracts me :-) I do a lot of highlighting, especially if it’s a book I’m supposed to review, and I want to remember the best lines.
As someone else mentioned, I often highlight in non-fiction paperbacks – again to remember the good parts.
I don’t highlight in books, unless they’re Bible study books. I knew you could on the Kindle, but I don’t. I don’t look to see what someone else has highlighted, either. Partly because I didn’t know I could, but mostly because I don’t care. Just being honest!!!
That’s the thing! We spend years being told not to write in books, and it’s hard to overcome that! I use the Kindle app on an iPad, and all I have to do to highlight is tap and drag my finger, then click highlight. To see what other people are highlighting, you have to go into the settings (it’s under the menu labeled “Aa” on my Kindle app) and turn on Popular Highlights. Then whenever you come to something others have highlighted, it will be underlined on the screen. I’m not sure if you have to agree to let others see your highlights or not…but either way, the highlights are always anonymous. I love to highlight my Bible (print and electronic) too! :)
I know what you mean! I do take special note of what others have highlighted. And I’m so glad to know that the “even if” phrase has resonated with you. It’s been something that has stuck with me too. (I had to smile when we read the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and their bold “even if” statement last night in our family devotion!)
Oh yes! Bibles are great to highlight and write in! Depending on what kind of Kindle you have, you should be able to just tap and drag to highlight the text. It’s a lot of fun (or maybe that’s just the book nerd in me, lol!).
Oh, I understand! It takes a lot to undo all those years of being told not to write in books, lol. And there is something pretty about an unmarked page. :) Bible apps are great for highlighting. I love that mine has a highlight that is uneven, like an actual highlighter, rather than a perfect line. :)
That’s a good point! If you highlight something, it’s usually because you want to come back to it…but it can be hard to remember (or find time!) to do that. It’s fun to feel like you’re reading along with a group when you see others’ highlights.
That makes sense! I’d say I highlight nonfiction more than fiction too.
It’s great that you go back and read the highlighted parts! I need to remember to do that more often. :) Thank you so much for your kind words about my books. I feel so blessed that God has given me the opportunity to share his Word through my stories–and that he’s given me this Inspy community to discuss Christian books with!
I get that! It can be distracting to see what other people have highlighted when you want to read the book from your own perspective. It’s great that you highlight the best lines in books you’re reviewing! I know authors appreciate that. :)
Lol! Nothing wrong with that! It’s fun to see different people’s perspectives on the Popular Highlights feature.
Bible study books are great for marking up. :)
No I don’t .
That’s fair! Thanks for sharing!
don’t highlight
No. I cannot say that I do either. I have not highlighted in books except the Bible were college textbooks. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
Fair enough! :) Thanks for reading!
Oh yes, textbooks! Mine were always full of highlights. But I find highlighting the Bible much more enjoyable. :)
Hi Val, you always teach me something! Like some of the others I didn’t know you could highlight or see other’s highlights on Kindle. The program I use on my computer doesn’t allow any marks or copy/pasting (making editing a longer process). In college I wrote in all of my books, as well as notebooks. When it comes to my Bibles, devotionals & concordances I am constantly writing and highlighting in them. That’s one reason I like to use all the different versions when I study. I know which version each pastor used during services or classes. I have many notebooks I use for studies but can’t seem to let anything go. So many viewpoints depending on my age, maturity level, anyone I may have been studying with/under. There is so much I can learn from other people, along with my own ideas. I feel books are an extension to our ability to learn. Far too much not to mark & write what I want to remember! Reading, writing & learning just go together!
Hi Deb! These are great points! I definitely learn something better when I’m also making notes about it. I can’t say that I always go back and review those notes, depending what it is, but just the act of writing a note helps things stay in my brain. :) You make a good point that looking back at old notes also shows us where we were then, where we are now, and what we’ve learned in between. So interesting to think of it that way!
I loved this post! Thank you for sharing the highlights and your thoughts! I do highlight, but mostly digitally, and rarely write notes. However, I do use all the colors available to differentiate between the Jesus parts, the funny ones, and the lovey-dovey parts. Sometimes I’ll highlight typos, but only for ARCs and/or with authors I’m familiar enough with to point them out to them. I used to pay attention to other people’s highlights at first, but not anymore unless it’s something I also am about to highlight.
Thank you, Priscila! I love color-coding…although usually I either forget what color I was using for what, or I’m just too lazy to switch the colors, lol. But it sure does help when you go back through later if things are all organized by color. :)