Visit a Christian Bookstore; Help Haiti

I love books. I know you know that if you've read the blog more than once or met me in person. Even when I try to swear off buying books for a season—"I'll use the library!" "I'll not buy a book until I read every book on my to-be-read shelves" (yes, it's way beyond a to-be-read pile)—the resolve only lasts until I enter the next bookstore or see the next book advertised.

So I'm thrilled to announce a compassionate reason to visit your local Christian bookstore on Saturday, October 23.

CBA, the Christian Booksellers Association, is hosting Christian Store Day to celebrate the service Christian stores provide to the community. The day will “include unique in-store product specials and appearance from authors and recording artists at a number of CBA retailers,” according to the website.

But rather than just celebrating themselves, they've teamed up with Compassion International, Operation Christmas Child and World Vision to raise awareness and funds for continued relief in Haiti. A special CD compilation will be sold in stores that day to raise money for Haitian relief. The artists on the CD have donated their royalties for the project, and music companies are foregoing profits to help support ministries in Haiti.

So you don’t even have to love books to help. Go buy some music. Show up and let your local Christian bookstore know you appreciate their business. And I suppose if you’re the type who can actually stay out of a bookstore, you can simply donate cash directly to Compassion, Operation Christmas Child or World Vision. Me? I'm off to buy a book. (Okay, a lot of books.)