I just got back from Haiti on Thursday. I had bought this book at the local library book sale this spring and found that I was drawn to this story more now because I had just experienced the adventures of a missionary life for a week.

She was 27 when she was dismissed from a missionary school. She was seen as too old and not good enough for the missionary lifestyle. Had she listened to them, thousands of people in China would have missed out on the Good News. She cared for almost two hundred orphan children.

Gladys Alyward's life is inspiring to me. She was a very strong woman who handled life difficulties gracefully. God was truly at work throughout her life.

Towards the beginning of the book, Gladys had taken a job in Wales rescuing girls on the street. "As much as she loved the job, though, something was missing. Yes, she was doing very useful work, but she wasn't doing it in China, where she knew God wanted her to be" (23).

Chazown

Craig Groeschel writes an easy-to-read book about discovering your purpose. The chapters are perfect for our Twitter-trained brains. Short chapters make it easy to take a break if you need to.

I read a book that was similar in the theme of finding purpose by Mark Batterson. I liked Batterson’s style of writing better, but that does not mean that others won’t connect with Groeschel’s style.

Groeschel’s book was a good reminder of Proverbs 29.18 KJV: Where there is no vision, the people perish.

“Are you willing to let God disturb you with dreams so big that you don’t know how they’ll be accomplished” (15)? That was a very challenging question for me. I am still pondering it.

“He sends you where you don’t want to go to learn what you thought you already knew” (21).

“Setbacks are often setups for God to act” (23).

Given where I am currently at in life, these few quotes from the book were really powerful to me.

I like that there was an online component that complimented the book. I took a spiritual gifts test online and it was really interesting to me to confirm how God has made me.

I would recommend this book.

I reviewed this book for Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers Blogging for Books. I received this book for free in exchange for a review of the book.

Radical

I started reading this book months ago. I picked it back up last week and finished it last night. It is not for the weak-hearted. If you are needing to be challenged in life, this is a great book.

Platt exposes the heart in a way to call into question our life choices. Are we seeing our abundance as a blessing and a chance to bless others? Are we giving away only what we can spare?

The American Dream is not necessarily bad, but Platt does call us to ask ourselves a few questions.

"This is how God works. He puts his people in positions where they are desperate for his power, and then he shows his provision in ways that display his greatness" (48).

"We take Jesus' command in Matthew 28 to make disciples of all nations, and we say, 'That means other people.' But we look at Jesus' command in Matthew 11.28, 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest,' and we say, 'Now, that means me.' We take Jesus' promise in Acts 1.8 that the Spirit will lead us to the ends of the earth, and we say, 'That means some people.' But we take Jesus' promise in John 10.10 that we will have abundant life, and we say, 'That means me.'" (73)

"To everyone wanting a safe, untroubled, comfortable life free from danger, stay away from Jesus" (165).

http://www.radicalthebook.com/

Relationships Unfiltered

This is a quick, easy read, but it also packs a powerful punch.

Chapter four was helpful for me because it contrasted Justin and Jan. "Justin could go into a school and attract kids to an event, but Jan could open her person to adolescents and invite them to be cared for in the love of Christ she represented with her presence" (66).

Chapter five talked about suffering. "It may be that we work with kids who've had every opportunity and advantage in life, but this doesn't mean they have not known suggering, they have not questioned their existence, or they have not felt (or been) betrayed, abandoned, or lost. We all have suffered" (87).

"A major element of our vocation is to suffer" (91). Ouch. Not words you really want to hear, but it is so true. Something they probably need to share more at Christian colleges preparing young people for ministry.

"Our job isn't to discover the next hot thing or craft our personalities to be hip but to watch for God's activity in our lives and to articulate it. This is being a theologian; it is to be deeply with others as we seek" (140).

Andrew Root is a former Young Life leader, so he addresses the invention of "relational ministry" and what that has become. It is a really interesting book that has challenged me to think deeper. There is a difference between relationship and connection. We can connect with a lot of kids without being in relationship with them. Root is definitely challenging us to get into their lives (life's ups and downs).

Definitely recommend this book to those in ministry.

Quiet...

Pros:
This is the third book I have read in the past couple of years on introversion. I am excited that it is a worthy subject for books. I am always interested to know more about how God has wired me as an introvert.

I appreciated Susan Cain's use of well-known historical figures to make her points. Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, and Ghandi were all introverts and discussed in Cain's book.

Cain addressed some large issues, such as environments in the workplace and school. America has an extrovert ideal, which I have seen not only written into job descriptions but also in the ways kids are forced to work together on almost every assignment.

My favorite chapter was Chapter 10: The Communication Gap. I am convinced that if people understood introversion/extroversion better, they would have better relationships. "This was a painfully common dynamic... the introverts desperately craving downtime and understanding from their partners, the extrovery longing for company, and resentful that others seemed to benefit from their partners' 'best' selves" (228).

Cons:
Cain addressed the 2008 stockmarket crash, one of the only chapters I was not really interested in reading. Maybe it was that I did not have anything invested that it did not capture my attention as much as the rest of the book, but it made the middle section of the book drag on for me.

I do not like it when authors constantly say "coming up in chapter xx", which Cain did quite a bit. Maybe it is my own personal displeasure, but I just want people to come out and say what they mean when they mean to say it.

Overall:
If you don't want to read it all, at least read Chapter 10 and the Conclusion. But I do recommend it for everyone. It will be insightful for both introverts and extroverts.

I reviewed this book for Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers Blogging for Books. I received this book for free in exchange for a review of the book.

To whet your appetite for the book/author: a TED talk by Susan Cain.

Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice is not my favorite book by Austen, but I did read it earlier in March. I think I have watched the Kierra Knightley version of that book hundreds of times. I am not a P&P snob thinking that the BBC version is better (I don't know that I have ever seen it, but I am perfectly happy with the 2 hour version).

I recently had a conversation with a friend about marriage. Usually it is either for love or money. Charlotte definitely chose a secure home over love. Very practical woman. I do not know if I could ever do that. Both Jane and Lizzie win out on this issue -- getting both the money and love of their lives.

I saw this commercial recently. Did not really make the connection until now that it is kind of like this story.

Reading this book made me want to go to England again. I love the Motherland. :)

reading fail

I just can't do it.

The Hunger Games don't capture my attention like the rest of the nation.

I've attempted this book twice. Once I got 40 pages in and stopped. This time I got to 180. But I just can't do it. It's kind of like the torture of watching New Moon. What a waste of two hours of my life.

Reading through the book I noticed some errors (and other errors were caught while listening to the cd -- they actually spoke different words than those in the book like lie vs. lay... i vs. me).

I went to see the movie last weekend with my stepbrother and his friend. I just wanted to see what all the hype is about. I know the premise is good that kids are realizing this is wrong, the lengths people go to in "reality tv". But I think it's morbid watching teens kill each other. I wanted to throw up watching the movie and even reading the book.

So there you have it.
My honest review of a book I read halfway.