Right now, I have half a dozen or so books on my table by my bed. I read a little from each of them, depending on the mood I am in, or if I am using them as devotional time. I have You on a Diet, by Oprah’s guru Dr. Oz, Self Talk, Soul Talk by Jennifer Rothschild, Having a Mary Spirit in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver, Fannie Flagg’s Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven, The Book of Common Prayer, One Year at His Feet Daily Devotional, The Saving Life of Christ, by Major Ian Thomas, and my new Holman student Bible. But the one I have on my heart today is called The Helper by Catherine Marshall. It is an old book, but new to me. One of my dear friends, and a woman I admire so much in the faith, said it was one of two Bible studies that changed her life, so I had to get my hands on it. To have her peace and joy amid the storms of life is the best testimony I could ever give. If she says it changed her life, I believe her totally. She so radiates Christ and His love. Back to the book, The Helper is all about the Holy Spirit. It started a little “iffy” for me as I read between the lines of that oft familiar theme–what the triune God can do for us is why we should pursue Him. I detest the invitation to have a relationship with Christ as the Santa God, as He’ll be the Great Gift Giver in the Sky if we come to Him. If everyone understood that His presence is the greatest Gift. . .(I have to admit that I have put down a book more than once just by reading a paragraph or page of things I believe are ulterior motivations.) Okay, jumping down off my little soapbox now. . .Because I respect my friend’s judgment on these matters implicitly, I reluctantly kept reading, thinking the book must not be what we get out of it, but why we need the Holy Spirit in our lives. The tone changed just as quickly and relieved my fears by saying, “There are those who wonder whether the present-day movement of the Spirit may not be placing too great an emphasis on this Third Person of the Trinity. We need not be troubled about that. For the Helper always sees to it that He acts as a spotlight, ever focused on Jesus, so that we are not aware of the spotlight itself, only of the One who stands bathed in the brilliant illumination.” I’m good with that. The book is broken down into very short chapters that use Scripture and prayer to introduce and reveal the Holy Spirit to the believer starting at square one. Being a bottom-line person, I like that in a book. Though it is simple at times, therein lies part of its beauty. As I became comfortable with the familiar, the book brought several powerful mind-boggling, heart-wrenching points to light that made me yearn for more of Him. On another favorite blog, there was a post of what PMS as an acronym might stand for (besides the obvious), and the one that grabbed me and has stuck, was Please More Spirit. And that is my prayer as I read this book for each of us–more of Him.