Reading and writing, ad infinitum

I think about writing all day long. I really do. But at the end of the day- after the kids are in bed and the majority of the chores are finished- I am so tired that simply opening my computer seems like an arduous task. However, there is a saying that keeps me from throwing in the towel altogether. What is it again? --Something like, "Never give up on something you can't go a day without thinking about." For me, that's writing. So I must, regardless of my narcoleptic threats.

Anyway, now that the school year is winding down, I have been trying to squeeze in some pleasure reading. The types of books I've read in the past few years generally fall into two categories: politics and religion (quite possibly the two most divisive topics on earth--go figure!) As much as I love a good novel, I feel as though if I am going to spend time reading, I may as well get smarter while doing so. Thus, I generally choose non-fiction.

I stumbled upon my latest read while perusing the Washington Post one morning. There was a link for an interview with Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health and leader of the Human Genome Project. The title of the interview mentioned God...and therefore piqued my interest. (After all, I thought, aren't most scientists atheists?) Immediately after watching the interview, I did what most people do when they want to know more about someone: Wikipedia'd him. (Yes, I turned Wikipedia into a verb. If we can do it with Google, we can do it with Wiki.) I was intrigued by what I read. This man, a geneticist and "one of the most accomplished scientists of our time," is an Evangelical Christian. But he wasn't always. By graduate school he considered himself an atheist, and only began to reconsider his views after witnessing the religious beliefs of dying patients. I also came to find out that he had highlighted his personal spiritual journey and the reconciliation of science and religion in a book entitled "The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief." I knew I had to buy it; I have always wondered how it is that the realms of science and religion can peacefully co-exist. (If evolution is true at all, can Genesis 1 & 2 also be true?) While I haven't quite finished the book, I can tell you that Collins answers this and many other questions.

Stay tuned, as my next post will undoubtedly address the most interesting tenets Collins sets forth. For now, however, my eyelids have a mind of their own.........