A Century Turn

A Century Turns, written by William Bennet, has the subtitle: “New Hopes, New Fears” on it. In today’s modern world of convenience, we can flip on the TV to see just about anything we want. We can bypass all the negative news straight to the night time comedy shows or live in our never ending drama filled sagas found in one of the many soap operas. But you would have to try really hard to totally miss out on what America is about these days. We are all feeling the economic crunch on our wallets. We see the cultural battles found in our own country. We even have issues of who is allowed to be in our country. All in all the U.S. is still a great place to live. But we are faced with many things…New hopes. And New fears. This book gives a detailed history of the past century in this great country, explaining how we got to be where we are today. Bennet has hands on experience that gives the book a credibility you can trust. You get a sense of the ins and outs of the political scene while seeing some of our leaders at their best, and at their worst. I highly recommend this book to anyone, voting with any party, as an informative read and if all else fails, it will bring up a discussion far better than one about your daily soap stars.

Buried Alive

In Buried Alive, Roy Hallums tells his personal story of how he was kidnapped while working in Iraq. He describes how gangs of kidnappers would snatch people from their daily lives, turning their worlds upside down and demand ransom money from their government, employers or families. The living conditions he dealt with for just under a year was horrible, unfit for even animals. The part that really got me was what his family was going through during this time. He didn’t want them to know he had taken a job in Iraq, so as far as they were concerned he was still working in Saudi Arabia. They lived in the constant unknown of what would or could be happening to their father. Hallums had been in the military before so he had some training to get him through it, but mostly it looks like he lived one day at a time and kept looking forward to seeing his family. It refers to his praying a few times here and there, but really I was expecting to walk away with a more spiritual aspect from this book, especially under the circumstances he was in. I think maybe he is targeting a whole different audience that otherwise wouldn’t read religious books? I think overall it was very interesting and a good read.

Obstacles Welcome

In Obstacles Welcome, Ralph de la Vega motivates you to not only take control of your professional life, but your personal life as well. De la Vega, President and CEO of AT&T Mobility, starts by telling the story of how he came alone to the U.S. from Cuba as a ten year old boy without his parents and how he worked from the bottom to the very top. This is not done with a “poor me” or “look at how great I am” manner. It is done with a simple mindset that whatever it is that you want, you can get it with hard work and a learning attitude. Throughout the book he uses real life examples from his company to show how straightforward strategies can point you in the direction of you goal. While de la Vega mentions things to do, he also lists things not to do. He inspires and motivates in an easy fashion, as if he were sitting across a table at Starbucks mentoring you through your thought process of how to get where you want to go. The thing I like best about his big idea is that to succeed in the work place, you must succeed personally. Leadership must be a part of who you are in every aspect in order to be a truly good leader. I was inspired by his life story and his determination to push past the very things that would normally be setbacks. I think that every person with a specific goal, whether in an office environment or at home, needs to read this book to work through and obtain a clear and concise road map to success.

In The Sweet By and By

In The Sweet By and By, Sara Evans, along with the help of Rachel Hauck, brings us a wonderful story of how a future can be made bright by the choices we make in the present regarding the past. In this account, a young bride to be, Jade, comes to terms with some events that happened in the past that she would rather no one in her new life would ever find out about. While her plans were to keep them hidden, God had another idea. He uses the people from her past and present to bring her to a new relationship with Him and mend some broken ties with those who have known her the longest. This is a heartwarming tale of the power of forgiveness. No matter how far you run, your choices will catch up with you someday, good and bad, and when they do, God is there with open arms waiting to grieve and celebrate. The Sweet By and By is well written in a fun format of bouncing between different times in multiple people’s lives. It keeps you wondering what exactly is Jade running from and will she ever come to terms with it and with her God.

The Language of Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

In The Language of Love & Respect, Dr. Emerson Eggerichs explains our individual needs as a person in a marriage relationship. Just in case you didn’t catch his first book, Love & Respect, he gives a brief history of it in the beginning of this book to make sure you are all up to speed. He gives his take on how God made us to respond to how our spouse feeds us in our needs. Women are designed to need love. Men are designed to need respect. Not only are we each designed to need one or the other, but we are commanded by God to fulfill this need for our spouse. This book shows you how to speak to this deep desire in your spouse by changing how you listen to everything around you. Eggerichs explains men and women see and listen in different colors (blue and pink) and though hearing the exact same words, they usually interpret very different meanings. He shows us the typical reason most of us get on the “Crazy Cycle” and demonstrates how we can not only get off of this cycle, but turn it into a “Reward Cycle”. Whether you have major communication problems in your marriage or the occasional misunderstanding, this book will open your eyes and heart to hear and see things in a way that will let you be closer to your spouse. I enjoyed reading it and recommend it to anyone wanting to step up their communication skills.

5 Cities that Ruled the World by Douglas Wilson

In his book 5 Cities that Ruled the World, Douglas Wilson creates an easy understanding of just how Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London and New York have created some lasting impressions on our current modern age. He breaks each city down, giving a condensed yet thorough history of how they were started, what kept them going, what was their downfall and what made them great. Wilson throws in more than a few little known facts which some day could come in very handy in your next game of trivial pursuit or should you star on Jeopardy. His witty writing makes it an easier read than one would think a book on history could be and quite frankly, you just feel smarter after reading it. From giving background information on wars to the importance of baseball in New York, Wilson shares his deep knowledge in many areas. He ties it closely with biblical teaching, and while I don’t agree with all of his theology, I do appreciate his ability to combine “world” history and “Bible” history as I have never really put it together before. I highly recommend this to anyone who has ever wondered how ancient Greek gods, the Reformation, and a man named Constantine could have any sort of influence on our culture here in America.

The Power of Respect

So I am doing something pretty cool, at least I think so.... I review books for Thomas Nelson and the deal is I get free books if I post reviews....so here is my first one - and a good one it is!!

The Power of Respect by Deborah Norville I have just finished reading The Power of Respect and not only could I not put it down, it has left me to think about the way our world is – lacking so much respect. The author Deborah Norville points out time and time again, while using many eye-opening statistics to back up her ideas, the sad state of our nation in this important area of everyday life that affects every person that has any contact with other humans. The shocking reports of the younger generation showing less and less respect seems to lead to more problems than we may think.

As a parent I am so thankful I found this book when I did, not only to learn how to teach our son the proper ways to show respect, but I find that I have ways I too need to grow in this area. As Norville points out, you can treat people with respect because it is the right thing to do, but it will pay you back in ways unexpected. I highly recommend this to anyone who is a parent, spouse, teacher, leader, businessperson and/or simply a person who interacts with others on a daily basis. We fall so short, but there is a simple solution: The Power or Respect.