Title: The Principle of The Path Author: Andy Stanley Publisher:Thomas Nelson Rating: ***** (5 Stars)
Self-help books are a dime a dozen. I’m sure this isn’t news to anyone, so wading through the useless, over-obvious or the more dangerous, complete fallacies, is a skill in and of itself. I can’t believe how often I hear about well meaning Christian friends who get caught up in the Eckhart Tolles or and take those concepts as an addendum to their Christian walk or completely disregard the faith of their childhood for a new more fashionable and less “restricting” faith fad.
This book will probably not become Oprah’s book-club pick, nor will it likely gain the worldwide attention that Eckhart Tolle’s books have, but it should. Andy Stanley has captured a principle so important and vital to our lives that it can’t be ignored and if you read this book, I’m pretty sure you’ll agree.
The thing about principles is this, a principle is a principle whether you know it (and how to apply it’s rules) or not. You don’t need to know a principle exists in order for it to work or to benefit or be affected by the outcome. The principle applies it’s rules to the situation regardless of how you respond. The best example of this in the book is when Andy refers to Archimedes’ principle that “…any object, wholly or partially immersed in a fluid is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.” This principle exists whether you know it or not, just ask any child who saw a pool full of people swimming, decided it looked like fun, jumped in and immediately sank to the bottom! The child hadn’t been taught the principle of buoyancy, but if he/she had learned what Archimedes knew about floatation AND (the most important part) applied it to his/her situation, their outcome would be much different and more enjoyable!
So, what if we could know the outcome of every situation and how to apply the principle of the path to every aspect of our lives. According to Stanley, we have already fallen victim or conquered situations in our lives by inadvertently applying the rules of the principle of the path or ignoring them. Andy Stanley’s conversational approach to this concept affords an easy (but no less informational) read about improving every aspect of our life by understanding that no matter what decision we make, we are on a path and our decision has the potential to alter that path for the good or the not-so-good.
Take the time, read the book and enjoy Andy’s relaxed and matter-of-fact writing style. You’ll learn a lot about yourself and I know you’ll be the better for it. A very highly recommended book.
Title: Couples Who Pray Author: Squire Rushnell & Louise DuART Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Couples Who Pray: The Most Intimate Act Between A Man and a Woman
This book intrigued me because it listed quite a few celebrity couples such as Denzel & Pauletta Washington, Donna Summer and Bruce Sudano as well as Scott and Tracie Hamilton. The reason for my intrigue was two-fold. I wanted to know how and why these people were involved in this book and secondly, and maybe even a little skeptically, I wanted to know if this book was just an attempt to cash in on the wave of pseudo spirituality that Oprah’s camp seems to capitalize on. Do you want to know my thoughts? Read on…
The book plain and simply makes a good case of the need for prayer in a marriage. I wholeheartedly agree. Although often repetitive, the book makes a good argument that not many could argue with even if you were looking at this from a purely “Spiritual” or worldly meditative perspective. At the very root of it all, the act of prayer is intimate; involving your marital partner in honest and heartfelt prayer can only improve your relationship.
If I have any issues with this book it would be that there were times I couldn’t relate to some of the stories from the couples. In particular, a story comes to mind where one couple talks about a discussion they had in a casino while they were on vacation. This bothered me slightly, as a born-again Christian, I was always taught that gambling is wrong so I left this story a little confused. My only other complaint about this book would be that it comes off just a little too watered down for my tastes. I understand the need to appeal to a mainstream audience, but I’m afraid there’s not enough meat for the Christian audience and quite possibly just a little too much for a complete non-Christian to stay engaged until the end.
The perfect audience for this book would be an engaged or newly wed couple with a background in the church. Maybe they’ve slipped away during their college years or haven’t really committed themselves to their faith. For those who have been married and grown up in the church, there are probably better places to spend your money.
Title: Jesus Calling 365 Devotions For Kids Author: Sarah Young Publisher:Thomas Nelson
Devotional books for kids are tricky. Where do you draw the line between age groups? What is appropriate for one age group isn’t always understood or even appropriate for children a few years younger or older. Jesus Calling is a beautiful hardcover modern book of brief but poignant devotionals for kids aged 10 and up. The tone is upbeat, funky and directed towards slowing down and listening to God speak. Some of the topics include; feeling afraid, the importance of prayer, Heaven, the beauty of creation and God’s unchanging love. The book is well designed in a web 2.0 style with sparse, but smart imagery and a great color scheme. Each daily devotion is dated and includes an opening scripture verse, a short dialogue and a few “read on your own” passages that pertain to the text. I suggest ages 10 years and up for this as the concepts (although they aren’t culturally advanced), may just go over the head of younger children. Writer Sarah Young does a great job putting concepts in terms for this age and it is refreshing to see a non-licensed, tie-in product that just exists for what it is. This would make a fanastic keep-sake devotional for Christmas, birthdays or an anytime gift!
Title: The Money Answer Book Author: David Ramsey Publisher:Thomas Nelson
In A Nutshell: Clear, concise questions and answers in a direct, no-nonsense approach from a renowned and well respected financial expert.
Ever had a question about your finances and wish someone you could actually trust was around to answer it? Not like a bank or credit advisor, often even family members or relatives have skewed advice or old fashioned wisdom for the way we should handle our own finances.
At 26 years of age, David Ramsey experienced fortune to the tune of a four million dollar real estate portfolio and lost it by the age of 30. Years later, he restored his financial status and now through his nationally syndicated call-in radio show, dispenses financial wisdom daily to millions of listeners. Now with his new book, the Money Answer Book, you can have Dave Ramsey’s sound financial advice in your purse, computer bag or backpack! Dave has taken all the toughest and most popular questions regarding money, budgeting, credit cards, mortgages, loans and bankruptcy and compiled them into an amazing little book. The most important aspect of this book is that it is written in short, question and answer style divided by topic and chapter. The delivery is what everyone comes to expect and love about Dave Ramsey, no nonsense, honest and to the point.
If there was ever a starting point to getting control of your money and beginning a better financial future, it’s with this new book by David Ramsey, The Money Answer Book.
Title: The Map Author: By David Murrow Publisher: Thomas Nelson
In A Nutshell: Death, Adventure and a sunday-school lesson thrown in for good measure from David Murrow, Author of Why Men Hate Going To Church. A roadmap is found that is said to contain the world's greatest discovery since the dead sea scrolls!
Although I haven't read Murrow's first book Why Men Hate Going To Church, I was familiar with the premise. The Map is a loosely based sequel, although it stands on it's own just fine.
From the first page, the book is a page turner giving the reader a quick briefing on what has happened to the author since the success of his previous book. Things take a quick turn when David meets an odd stranger while speaking at a small church in the UK. From here the book turns mysterious and you begin to wonder if what you are reading is reality or fiction. Without giving much away, I'll say that the adventure ends just over half-way through the book and the author confesses that his adventure was a made-up story. I felt that this detracted from the book in a BIG way and I must admit, I felt a little confused.
Murrow is a great writer in both fiction and non-fiction. But I just couldn't help but be confused by the design of this book. It's almost as if the author felt the need to make up a story so that we would accept his concept of a biblical map for men to follow. While I enjoyed both sides of the book, I would have much preferred The Map to be either a practical non-fiction book or a novel with a possible practical study guide. The split personality concept of this book was just too hard for me to accept.
A lot has been speculated about what Apple's next product announcement will reveal. Will it be a tablet, a new phone, both? Since Apple is very tight-lipped about it's announcements, no one really knows what will be shown at tomorrow's press event.
Here's my thoughts on what Apple will announce:
iLife 10 - It's time for an iLife update. At this stage in the game with the rumored tablet, iLife will need to be updated to work properly with the OS running on the tablet (which is reported to be a version of the iPhone OS). I also believe that we will see a version of iLife released to the App store (either for free or a small fee) for the iphone. Since we already have video editing and a decent camera on the iphone, I think Apple will take things to the next level and implement a version of iPhoto (replacing the camera roll) as well as a basic version of iMovie. This would line up with one aspect of the creative element to Apple's press for the announcement. iPhone OS 4.0 - A major iPhone OS update is needed in order to take advantage of the thousands of apps already available in the App store. To do this and to maintain continuity across their product family, Apple will need to make the tablet and the iPhone play nice together. It wouldn't make sense for them to build a new OS ONLY to exist on the tablet. This is also likely a cost cutting measure for Apple. If the tablet runs on the iPhone OS architecture, it can also utilize lower cost hardware, which in turn keeps the price low(er), which is essential for this product to be a success. E-BOOKS, E-MAGAZINES, E-NEWSPAPERS OH MY! - The iTunes Store will be updated to become more of an online outlet to sell all forms of Newspapers, magazines and digital books with subscription models for magazines and newspapers. So, you'll pick up your tablet in the morning and read the New York Times or your Time Magazine subscription will come full color (ads included) every other week to your device and be ready to read whenever you wish. The tablet will be front and center as the preferred device to read and view these publications on with it's large multi-touch screen, but more than likely this will also apply to the iPhone as well. If these new digital books, magazines and newspapers are in the iTunes store they will almost definitely be available on your iPhone with the ability to share between devices. Just one more reason for apple to make things universal across the iphone and tablet OS's.
The Tablet - So much has been said about this, I'm almost afraid to put my own opinion out there! I disagree with a lot of what TWIT and MacBreak Weekly are saying about this.
Here are my own opinions on what will make up the tablet.
Multiple Tablet Models - This product will be dead at the gate if it exists solely as a carrier subsidized product (meaning that you purchase it on a contract just like your cell phone.) Forums all over the internet are rife with people stating they will not purchase a product (no matter how great it is, if it requires a contract and monthly fee). So I believe there will be a high end model for 3G networks which makes for instant purchase and delivery of books/magazines/newspapers (see next bulletpoint), available on a subscription plan, likely with an OLED screen (which, is less battery intensive than traditional LCDs) as well as a more basic model with wifi and a traditional LCD screen offered as a one time purchase. NOW....Here's the clincher! I'm going to predict that the high end model of the tablet will be offered at a lower initial price than the basic model simply because the high end tablet will be subsidized by a Cellular company, so if you're paying for it over a 2 or 3 year contract, the initial price will be lower. This will make all the gadget freaks think long and hard about the extra bells and whistles that Apple may sink into this higher end tablet before they make their decision and may be the best way for Apple to persuade customers into another long term contract.
Stereo Speakers - This is a no brainer. Need I say more?
Single Docking Port - There have been rumours that the tablet will include two docking ports for landscape and portrait mode. I don't think Steve's minimalist personality would allow for two ports (which could potentially create repair issues down the road) I believe the tablet will feature a landscape docking port. My reason is that pictures in portrait mode will still be viewable, you can still turn the device sideways and view content in portrait mode, but I believe that 3rd party docks, and potentially any new devices that will utilize the tablet as a control interface (if this becomes a possibility) will use the tablet in native (landscape mode).
Two Wireless Receivers - Wifi (for the basic model) and 3G for the subsidized model.
Ports - No USB or firewire ports.
Web Access - There will be the same basic internet functionality available in the iPhone such as Youtube, Email, Safari etc. Apple will not make this device without the same internet functionality as the iPhone.
Style - The tablet will feature the same style as the iMacs and current line of Macbooks. Glass and metal with a glowing mac symbol on the back.
Whatever happens, It'll be a major milestone for the company and a huge game changer in a variety of ways. I'll be watching for sure. What are your thoughts?
Title: The Principle of The Path
