I read this book because I was getting ready to preach a message on prayer and Phillip Yancey is one of my favorite authors.   When I got the book, I doubted that I would finish it simply because it was longer than most books I read.  One of the things I have discovered about developing the habit of reading, is to know your limits – know what you will and will not read and stay within those boundaries.   Even with all of that in mind, I bought the book.

I was right.  I did not finish the book but what I read was well worth it.  As always, Yancey inspired me spiritually.   I can’t say that I learned anything about prayer I did not know but the way he presented some of the aspects of praying, helped remind me of what it is all about.  Here are a few of my favorite lines from the book:

“Prayer allows me to admit my failures, weaknesses, and limitations to One who responds to human vulnerability with infinite mercy.”

“Prayer is the act of seeing reality from God’s point of view.”

“I am overwhelmed by the vastness of God, the imbalance of any creature’s relationship to such a being.  Since it is God we are speaking of, you do not understand it.  If you understood it, it would not be God.”

For those of you who have a longer attention span than I do,  you will read the whole book and enjoy it.  For those of you like me, you will read part of it and say it was worth it.

I guess I knew bits and pieces of Drew Brees story but reading his book I learned so much more about his life, challenges and the incredible story of the Saints march to the Super Bowl victory.   Brees is definitely one of the good guys in the sports world.   He has overcome the hurdles in his life including his parent’s divorce when he was a young boy, potential end of the career injuries, and his mothers suicide.  He has done it through faith in a God who is able to work all things out for His glory and our good.

Being from Louisiana (but a huge Cowboys fan) I rooted the Saints to win it all.   Having read this book I am even happier that they did.   Brees and his wife, chose to go to New Orleans because they felt they could make a difference there.   Their foundation has put $5 million into the rebuilding of the city.   I was inspired when I read about their commitment to helping children with cancer as well as the many other worthwhile causes in which they participate.

Anyone can enjoy this book.  However,  it is especially a good read for any football fan.  I highly recommend it.  

This is a simple, easy to read book.  No surprises here.  Resilient leaders act decisively and with integrity.  They also lead with optimistic vision.  I had difficulty with some of the people the author saw as resilient leaders.  On the other hand, reading about people like Civil War hero, Joshua Chamberlain was inspiring.

This book is a good book as far as leadership books go but not a must read.  I got some good illustrations and quotes by reading but not much new in terms of information.

We have all often heard it said that someone picked up a book and could not put it down, but I wonder how often that really, literally happens.   It happened for me last Thursday evening.   I went to Barnes and Noble to browse for a book and picked up Life In Spite of Me by Kristen Anderson.  I did not put it down.  I read the entire book (200 pages) while sitting in Barnes and Noble.  I bought the book and now my daughter has it with her on a trip she is on to your Europe.

Kristen Anderson was a 15 year old in a family that was much healthier in many ways than the average family.   She began to slip into a state of confusion and depression when she lost four close friends and her grandmother in a short time period.   She began to drink and lost interest in school.  Kristen was raped by a close friend.  She decided to take her life by lying down in front of an approaching train.  Miraculously she survived but lost her legs.

I was absolutely riveted to each page as I read about Kristen’s struggles after her failed suicide attempt.  In the midst of her recovery, a friend shared the gospel with her.  Even though Kristen had gone to church she really never understood what it meant to be a Christ follower.   All of that changed.   Even after beginning her spiritual journey the road to recovery was filled with pot holes including struggling with drugs and bouts with depression.

Today, Kristen has graduated from Wheaton College and has a ministry to people who want to take their lives.   She was interviewed by Oprah.   You can watch the interview at the link below.   As you watch, you will hear the audience gasp when she says that immediately following her suicide attempt she kept hearing the song amazing grace in her mind.   Right before Kristen comes out on the show, Oprah spots gospel singer Bebe Winans in the audience and has him come up and sing.   He sings Amazing Grace.

Watch the video.  Read the book.  Be inspired.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iRDt96Lu3Y

Hallinan is a former writer for the Wall Street Journal and winner of the Pulitzer Prize.  Like many books that I read, I was intrigued by the title.  As it turns out, this is a fairly informative and entertaining book.  It is somewhat of the flip side to the book Blink which showed how we can make fairly accurate assessments based on a sliver of information.  In this book, we are shown how easily we can make mistakes and often do.

One of my favorite sections of the book dealt airplane pilots and what is called CFIT – Controlled Flight Into Terrain.  CFIT refers to a completely operational aircraft that is flown into the ground.  The reason in most cases is simply a lack of focus.  The example that was cited had to do with an Easter Airlines flight which was flown into the Florida everglades simply because the pilot and flight crew got so focused on an indicator light that did not come on, that they lost sight of the most important task at hand, flying the plane.   As a result, 99 people died due to a light bulb that cost $12.

This was a good read for someone like me who speaks often and is fascinated with human behavior but would not be or much value to many people.

Dr. Marti Olsen Laney is well qualified to write this book since she herself is introverted.  According to her research only about 25% of us are introverted.   I am not one of those people.  My purpose in reading the book was to gain a greater appreciation for those who are and to learn to relate to introverts in a more effective manner.

The book includes a quickie quiz to help you determine if you are an introvert.  For instance introverts…

            Prefer to relax alone with a few close friends

            Consider only deep relationships as friends

            Appear calm, self contained and like to observe

            Don’t like feeling rushed

            Tend to think before they speak

There is a much more extensive self assessment in the book as well.

Part of the reason Dr. Olson wrote this book is to clear up some misconceptions about introverts.  For instance, we often think of introverts as being unsociable.  The fact is they are very sociable but in a different way.  They prefer close friendships and deep conversations over chit chat.

Introverts will discover that they are in good company.  Abraham Lincoln, Michael Jordan, Thomas Edison, Laura Bush, Bill Gates, Harrison Ford, and Diane Sawyer are just a few of the famous introverts.

I enjoyed reading The Introvert Advantage.  I can truly say that it helped me reach my intended goal of learning more about introverts and how to relate to them.

I had quoted Henri Nouwen so often, that I decided it was time I actually read a book that that he had written.  After skimming a few pages of this short book, I decided to give it a shot.  I do not regret that decision.

Nouwen takes the reader through five simple movements to serve as a guide through difficult times.  The five movements are:

From Our Little Selves to a Larger World – This helps us to see that everyone is hurting in some way and our pain is simply one part of the big picture.  In other words, we are not alone when we hurt.  He points out that most of our communities are organized to keep suffering at a distance.  Even though this is the case, he says the Dancer invites us to rise up and take the first step.  Jesus enters our sadness, takes us by the hand, pulls us gently up to stand and invites us to dance.  “You have turned my mourning into dancing (Psalm 30:11) because at the center of our grief we find the grace of God.

From Holding Tight to Letting Go – Nouwen states that we suffer from the great illusion that life is a property to be owned and people can be manipulated or managed.  The solution is found in letting go of the great illusion and turning to the God who waits to catch us.

From Fatalism to Hope – We can achieve this by reading life backwards and seeing a purpose in our pain.  We then allow this insight to give us hope as we face the future because we are reminded of the faithfulness of God in hard places.

From Manipulation to Love – If we relate to people as a conqueror, they will hide their real nature from us.   We must be willing to enter their pain with them.

From a Fearful Death to Joyous Life – While Nouwen gives us a picture of eternity that is possible because of Christ, he falls short in my opinion in helping people see their need for Christ as their savior.  For that reason, I would not recommend this book for someone who is not a Christ follower, hoping that would find their need for Christ in reading.  That said, it is an excellent book for those who are Christ followers and want to see their mourning turned into dancing.

My interest in this subject was sparked by an interview I saw on Good Morning America regarding the use of cognitive behavioral therapy in treating insomnia.  For years, I have struggled to get a good nights sleep.  I have tried many different solutions including sleeping pills and herbal formulas.

I did not read the book from cover to cover but read sections that seemed applicable to my situation.  I read it with great anticipation based on the claim that cognitive behavioral therapy has proven to be even more successful at treating insomnia than other alternatives each of which seem to have some serious side effects.

I was not disappointed.  While I cannot say that it was a miracle turn around, I would say I have been able to take my sleep situation from a 5 to an 8 in a short time simply by using some of the simple principles found in this book.

One of the things I had to come to grips with was that different people require different amounts of sleep.  I will probably never be a person who gets or needs 8 hours of sleep.  In fact if I can get 6 to 6.5 hours of restful sleep I am good to go.  That took some of the pressure off of the situation.

I then began to use a technique that the author calls sleep restriction which is simple restricting my time in bed to the amount of sleep I need which is about 6 hours or so.  I eliminated any napping during the day and began going to bed at 11.  I used to go to bed at 10:30 or even 10 some nights thinking that if I was in bed longer I would get more sleep.  It just did not work for me.  The sleep restriction has.  Actually, Dr. Silberman recommends restricting your sleep even more until you get a very restful sleep and then adding 15 minutes a night until you make it to your optimum time.

Another suggestion that has worked, is to simply get up if I wake up during the night and do something like read until I am sleepy again.  The key to making this work is that you cannot look at the clock.  I used to look at what time I woke up and went back to sleep and then the next day think about how much sleep I had lost.

I would love to be able to say that I am sleeping great every night and have experienced a miracle turn around.  I have not but the improvement I have seen in less than a week is well worth the time to read the book.

Mark Batterson is definitely one of my favorite authors.  When I finish one of his books, virtually every page has many sections underlined.  In fact, the biggest challenge is to digest all that is coming at you.

In Primal Batterson says it is time for a new Reformation.  This reformation is not about creeds but rather it is about deeds.  It is a movement based on being great at the Great Commandment – “You shall love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.”

He begins the book by looking at how the Romans had a habit of building things on top of things.  An emperor might tear down a predecessor’s palace and build his own palace on top of it.  He thin poses this assertion:   “I wonder, almost like the Roman effect of building things on top of things, if the accumulated layers of Christian traditions and institutions have unintentionally obscured what lies beneath.”

Batterson then devotes the book to looking at the four primal elements detailed in the Great Commandment:

The heart of Christianity is primal compassion.

The soul of Christianity is primal wonder.

The mind of Christianity is primal curiosity.

The strength of Christianity is primal energy.

He sees the problem with Christianity is that we are not good at the Great Commandment.  The solution is simply to become great at the Great Commandment. The book is that simple and yet it is filled with interesting facts, stories and insights that make it a joy to read.