All In

Since I started working at NCC two months ago, reading Mark's books have become personal. I have loved his writing style since I discovered his books years ago, but now I better understand what he is sharing because I see it in real life. His love and passion for his family, Jesus, and the Church are the real deal.

His latest book, All In, was quite the sucker punch (as described in his own review).

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

"We want everything God has to offer without giving anything up" (25).

"Which do you love more: the dream God gave to you or the God who gave you the dream? Is your dream a means of glorifying God? Or has the dream become the end goal and God is the means of fulfilling it" (45)? Ouch. This was the point of the book that I had to shut it and process.

"What got you to where you are may not get you to where God wants you to go next" (55).

In chapter six, Mark mentions the protege program (which I am now a part of!). "We have a protege program at National Community Church. It's a one-year unpaid internship, which presents a huge financial challenge given the cost of living in DC. Proteges have to raise their own support to come. But if they are willing to make the financial sacrifice, they will get a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And God has a way of honoring those who are willing to give up a paycheck to pursue His calling (61). God has been so faithful to provide for me.

"We Facebook more than we seek His face. We text more than we study The Text. And our eyes aren't fixed on Jesus. They're fixed on our iPhones and iPads -- emphasis on 'i' Then we wonder why God feels so distant" (77).

I feel like if I keep going, I will give away all the good stuff... So I recommend you grab a copy of it for yourself!

The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back

Sometimes you just need a of young adult fiction from your free Amazon kindle books, ya know?

I chose this because it was easy to read and a good story.

I like reading young adult fiction because it's clean (for the most part). This was a high school romance story that included interesting family dynamics.

I could relate to her jealousy of her stepsister's life, but seeing both sides helps to understand each other better. 

"I acknowledged my lack of fashion sense many years ago, and had stuck to basic black ever since" (kindle 3). The main character, Mattie, and I are kindred spirits. 

Good quick read. 

Sticking Points

I have always found the topic of the generations fascinating. Shaw compares the four that have entered the workplace and challenges us to see each other differently. There are reasons behind our behaviors and what causes friction right now can be used to understand each other and work together well in the future.

It was great to get more information on the four generations in the workplace: Traditionalists (born before 1943), Boomers (1944-1964), Gen Xers (1965-1981), Millennials (1982-2003) (kindle location 162).

Part one of the book covers the ghost stories from each generation. These are events that have happened that affect how we process the twelve sticking points. These events affect the way we think and act.

Part two covers the twelve sticking points: communication, decision-making, dress code, feedback, fun at work, knowledge transfer, loyalty, meetings, policies, respect, training, and work ethic. Each generations' view is covered as well as ways you can discuss with your employees the issue in that chapter.

It was an overall good book. If you are looking to understand people (and their behaviors) better, I recommend this book. It covers four different generations that are in the marketplace and is mainly for working through differences at work. I noticed a few things about family members and co-workers from this book.

In exchange for this review, Tyndale Publishing gave me the book for free.

Ragamuffin Gospel

Ragamuffin Gospel is quickly becoming my second favorite book (after Mike Yaconelli's Messy Spirituality), which means I will be rereading this book in the future. 

I really like Brennan Manning's style of writing and the way he connects with the reader throughout the book. You never feel like he is on a pedestal because he lumps himself together with everyone, even exposing some of his own weaknesses in this book. 

"Sadly, the meaning of meal sharing is largely lost in the Christian community today. In the NEar East, to share a meal with someone is a guarantee of peace, trust, fraternity , and forgiveness -- the shared table symbolizes a shared life" (Kindle location 630).

In chapter five, he talks about the loss of wonder in our lives. "Creation doesn't calm our troubled spirits, restore our perspective, or delight us in every part of our being" (Kindle location 1021).

I loved the section that talked about the power of media. "Grace abounds in contemporary movies, books, novels, films, and music.... Most people understand imagery and symbol better than doctrine and dogma. Images touch hearts and awaken imaginations.... Troubadours have always been more important and influential than theologians and bishops" (Kindle location 1075).

I highly 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.

Road Trip To Redemption

A struggling family decides to reconnect with each other through a road trip out west.

The first part of the book is explaining how they got into the situation they did. It was a little bit longer than it needed to be, but throughout this section, I could sense Brad's passion for reaching out to parents in similar situations. While it may seem like Brad is ignoring his other children in section one, section two starts out with a great explanation of his entire family. The second part was about their road trip, which was great to read about, but I would have rather seen it as a video!

"God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through. ~Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God" (137).

Each chapter begins with pictures from their trip. It is interesting to read how God came through for all of them on this journey.

At the end of the book, there are suggestions about planning your own road trip. This is not saying that a road trip is for everyone or that it is the answer to your family's problems. However, the suggestions for budgeting such a trip are great since he learned from his experiences on the road.

Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for this review.

Firsthand

This book was written for people like me who grew up in church who need to realize that our faith has to become our own. They talk about trashing the checklist of everything you should do to be a good Christian, finding true community, and being honest about our secret sins.

"Hand-me-down faith may work when things are going well, but when pressures and problems hit, what you thought you believed will crumble" (5).

In the chapter entitled "Sick of Secrets", they hit on something that I have experienced in church: "We are so ready to let the world know when God is doing great things. Yet when things take a turn for the worse, we keep it hidden. What are we so afraid of" (53)?

My favorite chapter was “Question Everything”. “Behind the ‘Where are You?’ questions often lies a more fundamental one: ‘Who are You?” (121). God is not afraid of your doubts or questions.

“It seems like modern society is striving to eliminate risk and make comfort and safety the ultimate goal” (145).

“It took us a long time to understand that church wasn’t a building or a pastor or a sermon series. It’s easy to point out everything wrong with the church when you stand outside it and approach it with a consumer mentality” (176).

Each chapter ended with testimonies from other young adults, questions to think about, and a few action step suggestions. 

You can check out more about the book (including a free download of the first chapter): firsthandbook.com.

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.

Life of the Beloved

Henri Nouwen makes me feel better about how God has created me. I would like to think that if he was still alive, we would be good friends. He was a Dutch Catholic priest who has several books published, three of which I picked up at B&N recently.

He wrote this book in response to a friend's request to write a book about the Spirit for him and his friends who are secular. 

This book was a great reminder about who I am: a child of God. Nouwen says there are four words that are important words in the Christian life: taken (chosen), blessed, broken, given.

His main point is that we are God's Beloved. Before we were even born, we were loved by God.

"When I know that I am chosen, I know that I have been seen as a special person. Someone has noticed me in my uniqueness and has expressed a desire to know me, to come closer to me, to love me" (53).

"Isn't it easier for us to believe that we are cursed than that we are blessed" (74-75)? 

"[T]he joy of life comes from the ways in which we live together and that the pain of life comes from the many ways we fail to do that" (89-90).

"[A]ll we live finds its final significance in its being lived for others" (105).

"Our brokenness opened us to a deeper way of sharing our lives and offering each other hope" (110).

"God not only says: 'You are my Beloved.' God also says: 'Do you love me?' and offers us countless chances to say 'Yes'" (133).

I recommend this book. It was a quick read but a great reminder of how much we are loved by God.