The book became very personal for me as I was reading.  I started reading it for content and knowledge, but I found myself really personalizing the information.  I know a lot about myself regarding my strengths, my spiritual gifts, etc.  The problem for me has been that I’m a perfectionist.  And being a learner / achiever who is a perfectionist, I get caught up in what I’m “supposed” to do regarding spiritual formation and disciplines.  I do what I think people expect of me rather that doing what I love most and what really connects me to God.  “Perfect” example: I’m not able to spend extended amounts of time in prayer.  My mind wanders.  I think of all the things that I need to get done.  This doesn’t mean that God doesn’t want me to spend time in prayer.  Of course he does!  But prayer for me looks different from prayer for someone else.  Prayer for me involves reading, learning, observation, and note taking / journaling.

I feel like reading this book gave me permission to be “me” and the encouragement to continue to discover who that “me” really is.

Conclusion: It is an easy, fast read.  I’ll be processing on this one for a while.  Excellent. Highly recommended read.

Like many churches and non-profits around the United States, our church has recently been affected by our nation’s economic downturn.  If Christ-followers understood and practiced tithing, churches wouldn’t be short on funds and we’d be able solve many of the world’s poverty related issues.  I believe and practice tithing.  As a church staff, we’re trying to help our church members take that step of faith.  When I saw this book on Thomas Nelson’s BookSneeze site, I thought it might be a great resource for teaching our members more about stewardship.  Although I was not thrilled with all of the interviews and stories, I liked the concept.  I would liked to have seen more discussion relating directly to the scriptural basis for tithing leading into or as a follow up to the testimonies.  Unfortunately, this book is not the resource that I’d hoped it would be.  It isn’t a bad book.  It is not what I was looking for or needed.

*** This book was review for Thomas Nelson’s BookSneeze.  This book was supplied to me for free through this program in exchange for a review of the book.  My review was not influenced by Thomas Nelson or the fact that the book was provided for free. ***

• Write a review of my pre-release copy of Switch by Chip and Dan Heath.
• Finish reading The Me I Want to Be by John Ortberg.
• Write a review of The Me I Want to Be by John Ortberg. (Edited 2/12 to show completion.)
• Read Tithing from the Thomas Nelson BookSneeze program. I read this whole book yesterday, Saturday.
• Write a review of Tithing for BookSneeze. (Edited on 2/8 to show completion.)
  
• Read Linchpin by Seth Godin. (I did buy this one for my Kindle so I can start soon. Edited 2/12: I’m in the middle of this book now.  Wow!)
• Write a review of Linchpin.
• Update the template on my blog. (Take a look if you’re reading this through a feed reader or email.  I’m almost done.  See next item…)
• Add custom header image that Josh is creating for me.

Not bad for having a 100 degree fever.

“I couldn’t help but wonder if we have accepted a form of Christianity that is more educated but less powerful, more civilized but less compassionate, more acceptable but less authentic than that which our spiritual ancestors practiced. …  What is the primal essence of Christianity?”
Mark Batterson in Primal

I received a free pre-release copy of Mark Batterson’s new book Primal (available 12/22) from Waterbrook Multnomah.  (Thank you to Liz Johnson and team!)  In exchange for the book, I was asked to write a review of it and if I liked the book to ask if you’d consider making Primal the first book that you read in 2010.  While I didn’t care much for Mark’s In A Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, his next book Wild Goose Chase was an excellent and thought provoking book on the Holy Spirit.  I read Mark’s blog and follow him on Twitter so I’ve been hearing about Primal for a while now and was excited to read it.  It kept me great company on my way to my friend’s wedding and back (including a short mechanical delay on my flight home).  I read the last page as the plane was touching down in Charlotte.

Primal refers to the thing of first importance.  So what is the most important thing in Christianity?  Mark strips Christianity down to this: “We’ve got to be great at the Great Commandment.”  In this, God calls us to love Him in 4 ways: heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Mark describes these 4 ways like this:

• Heart = Compassion
• Soul = Wonder
• Mind = Curiosity
• Strength = Energy

Mark asserts that we have a spiritual love language in the same way that we have a preferred love language with our spouse, family, and friends.  We tend to gravitate to one of these four dimensions of love when acting out our love of God.  We should all love in each of the four ways, but one is likely to rise to the top as our primary spiritual love language.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes and thoughts:

• “But minds often remain closed to truth until hearts have been opened by compassion.”
• “I want to work with people who don’t just care about the work but who care about the people they work with.”
• “Don’t let what you cannot do keep you from doing what you can do.”
• …”most of us become so tangled up in our own self-consciousness that we have a hard time experiencing the joy of just being ourselves.”
• Scripture is kaleidoscopic – it speaks to you in a difference way each time you read it.
• “The goal of knowing the Bible is knowing God.”
• There’s no distinction in Jewish thought between knowing and doing.
• We’re losing a love for learning; our educational system is more about cramming info in rather that drawing conclusions out.  This is force feeding rather than unleashing curiosity.
• “Holy curiosity isn’t satisfied by easy answers.”
• “God is always speaking.  The real question is whether we are listening.”
• Strength = servanthood, sacrifices, hard work.
• Our love for God is our reflection of His love for us.
• The reformation for our generation is “Amo Dei” (Love God); a return to the Great Commandment.

I believe that my spiritual love language is mind or curiosity.  Fits with my top strength of learner.

This is, in my opinion, Mark’s best written book so far.  I’m enjoying him as an author more and more with each book.  Primal is also challenging.  It is a reminder that we serve a multi-faceted God who wants us to love him in many ways.  At the same time, that God has created me with a certain bent and shape that I need to cultivate and nurture.

What is your spiritual love language?  How can you be great at the Great Commandment?  Find out!  Get this book and make it the first book that you read in 2010!

“I haven’t cared for much of what I’ve heard or seen – either on radio or television. Don’t get me wrong, I applaud the efforts of all the well intentioned people who believe in using the media to share a message of faith and hope with the culture. The problem is most of them just haven’t done it very well. …   I’ve discovered for the most part, these are good people with noble intentions, but held back by outdated and out of touch strategies that need to be ushered into the digital age.”

– Phil Cooke referring to Christian ministries usage of media in The Last TV Evangelist

I had the opportunity to watch the interview below live from ConversantLife.com with Brad Abare and Phil Cooke:

Church Marketing Gurus: Brad Abare & Phil Cooke from ConversantLife; on Vimeo.

Phil generously posted his most recent book, The Last TV Evangelist, online in a PDF format for free for 24 hours after the interview.  I’d read his previous book, Branding Faith, and found it very insightful and helpful with what I do at Southbrook.  I had this new book on my “want to read” list and this free copy came at the perfect time…  I settled in over the Thanksgiving holiday with several days off to read and plowed right through this book.

I’m a techie wanna-be.  I like trying out new software and hardware.  I like being an early adopter of new technology.  I like figuring out how we can “redeem” methods and ideas in our culture and use them to spread the Gospel.  It was almost like Phil was preaching to the choir.  I didn’t need to be convinced.  So, what made this book so great for me?

• Presentation of history of using media, specifically radio and TV, for the purpose of reaching our culture.
• Explanation of what “millenials” are looking for and how to reach this next generation.
• Well-formed reasoning for using new media in the context of the church and non-profits.

Here are some of my favorite and most thought-provoking quotes:

• If you want to reach a new generation, putting all your eggs in the traditional media basket is a mistake.
• The new media world is about connection, community, and conversation. It’s about being networked.
• If we don’t understand how to share our faith in the digital world, the church will continue its slide into irrelevance in the eyes of the culture.
  Back in those days, when radio and television – and even movies – were embraced by Christians, it was usually the preachers like Oral Roberts and Billy Graham that jumped into the deep end first. They didn’t really debate about the technology so much from a theological perspective, they just saw it as another opportunity for sharing the gospel. It was their vision for reaching mass audiences for evangelism that drove them to embrace radio and television with little hesitation.
• Take the time to teach your kids about life. Watch TV with them, see movies together, and help them discover how to navigate their place as a Christian in the culture.
• Remember the concept of common grace and start looking for God in the most unlikely places.
• You should reward innovation, not just success. …  If you manage your people by fear of failure, then failure is exactly what you’ll achieve.
  Every generation communicates in a dif erent way. It is no longer how we want to communicate with donors but rather how they want to communicate with us. And if we’re not ready, they’ll take their money elsewhere.
• Are we happy to sit back and watch other Christians damage our witness to the culture by producing lousy movies, or should we lovingly call them to a higher standard?
• How you present your message, and the medium you present it through has a significant impact on how that message is received.
• Yes, people turn away from the gospel. The rich young ruler walked away from Jesus. But just as with the rich young ruler, it would be better if the disconnect was because he couldn’t handle the message. Too often in religious media, the disconnect comes from well meaning but out of touch people whose inability to communicate creates an obstacle that’s impossible for the audience to overcome. They never even get to the message.  …  It’s not about compromising our message, it’s about respecting the audience enough to speak in a language and style they understand.
• No matter what happens, the content of the gospel should be the filter, not our poor or inept presentation of that content.
• In a media-driven culture, it’s not just who you are that counts, it’s how you are perceived. Further, if you don’t work to shape your perception, you’ll spend the rest of your life at the mercy of other people who will.
• This generation has seen the excess and rarely falls for it – a fact Christian media ministries are discovering right now.  …  It’s ultimately about authenticity, which in my experience is the defining characteristic of this generation.
• Be bold. Be innovative. Stop copying other people and explore the right format to showcase your gifts and talents – not look like someone else.
  But when the same thing is done over and over again, it simply loses its meaning.
• Our job as communicators is to see shifts in the culture and change and adapt accordingly so our message is as relevant now as it was yesterday – and will still be tomorrow.
• At the famous Cannes Advertising Festival in France in 2007, the hottest topic was programming content for mobile phones. Right now, that’s the most aggressively pursued media platform because of the sheer number of mobile devices throughout the world.
• Today, it’s not about how we communicate with the audience, it’s about how they communicate with us.
• Millenials want to discover the new, they want to start the trends – this is their unique difference.  …  This means that a new generation not only wants to respond, but they also want to create.
• Simplicity, clarity and lots of white space remain important elements of good design.
• If you don’t begin to control your perception, you’ll spend the rest of your life at the mercy of others who will.
• <Speaking of personality driven ministries>  But with the passing of that personality, some organizations are confronted with the need to change to a more corporate vision, where everything does not hinge on a single person.
• Today we’re dealing with a generation that tends to give, not to be noticed, but because it is the right thing to do.
• Right now, the digital media world isn’t about income, it’s about influence.
• Relate your message to something that matters to people. Keep it short. Find out the questions people are asking.
• From a communication perspective our world has transformed from a one-way model to a two-way, dynamic conversation.
• As the next generation searches for meaning, are we going to continue trying to control the message, or are we going to be more open – allowing the people a voice in how they communicate, relate, and respond?  …  Are you allowing your audience to influence your message? …  Are you acting on the feedback you’re hearing from your audience?  …  Today – media is about personalization.
• Stop thinking “mass” and start thinking “niche.” Small is the new big.
• It’s important to find the story that surrounds your life and ministry. What do people think of when they think of you? If you can pinpoint your own brand story – why you do what you do, who you really are, what your gifts and talents are, and what makes you different – then you can start to find the potential audience that would connect with your message.
• I’m shocked at the number of people that just keep doing the same thing year after year as if the direction of the ministry, audience numbers, response, income – whatever, will magically change. But getting from point A to point B doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by implementing a well thought out plan.
• Life is more about asking the right questions.
• Be open to change. Too many churches and ministries go through difficult times because they’re unwilling to experiment and try something new.
• Don’t chase trends, but study them to see where the culture is going.

This is a must read for anyone who leads a ministry, is involved in teaching in a ministry, or is involved in tech/communications in a ministry.  Well, what are you waiting for?  Go read this book!

At first this book felt like a Dr. Seuss wanna-be.  As I was reading this book to my son, I found myself tripping over phrases that didn’t feel well worded.  My son, who is two and a half, on the other hand has been hooked since the first read.  I think he’s made me or my husband read it at least five times in the last two days.  He loves it!  The more I read it, the more I like the book and the artwork is beautiful.

This is the first that I’d heard of Andy Andrews.  I’ve not read his previous book, The Traveler’s Gift.  To be up front, I’m not a big fan of fiction.  I’m much more of a non-fiction reader, but I thought I’d give this book a chance based on all the good reviews I’d read about it.  Andy has a very simple, story-telling writing style.  He carefully wraps timeless truths about life into the stories of the people in this little town.

If you enjoy fiction, I’d definitely recommend this book.  If you’re looking for a great example of brilliant storytelling, read this book.  If you’re not a big fan of fiction, well, there are plenty of other books to spend your time on.

——————————————————————

***  This book was reviewed for the Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers Program ***

For some of my favorite quotes from the book…  Keep reading!

• “Think with me here . . . everybody wants to be on the mountaintop, but if you’ll remember, mountaintops are rocky and cold. There is no growth on the top of a mountain. Sure, the view is great, but what’s a view for? A view just gives us a glimpse of our next destination—our next target. But to hit that target, we must come off the mountain, go through the valley, and begin to climb the next slope. It is in the valley that we slog through the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life’s next peak.

• “I say to you that, as you lay your head down tonight, you are sleeping on fertile ground. Think. Learn. Pray. Plan. Dream. For soon . . . you will become.”

• Experience is not the best teacher. Other people’s experience is the best teacher.

• “Your vision, my boy. It is incredibly cloudy at the moment, but I am certain we can clear a pathway from your head to your heart and into your future.”

• “Whatever you focus upon, increases.”

• “But a grateful perspective brings happiness and abundance into a person’s life.”

• ‘What is it about me that other people would change if they could?’”

• “But a true friend holds you to a higher standard. A true friend brings out the best in you.”

• “Worry . . . fear . . . is just a misuse of the creative imagination that has been placed in each of us.”

• “So those are the two things you need to know: one, that you think the way you do because you’re smart; and two, you have to defeat those thoughts with logic.”

• “A person consumed by worry can focus. Isn’t it obvious? Worry is focus! But it is focus on the wrong things.

• “Wisdom is the ability to see, into the future, the consequences of your choices in the present. That ability can give you a completely different perspective on what the future might look like.”

• “If you are breathing, you are still alive. If you are alive, then you are still here, physically, on this planet . If you are still here, then you have not completed what you were put on earth to do. If you have not completed what you were put on earth to do . . . that means your very purpose has not yet been fulfilled.”

• “If your purpose has not yet been fulfilled, then the most important part of your life has not yet been lived. And if the most important part of your life has not yet been lived . . .” Jones paused, waiting for Willow to follow his thought to conclusion. “That is my proof of hope,” Willow said softly.”

• “You’d be wise to sweat the small stuff. Little things do matter.”

• “Yet intention without action is an insult to those who expect the best from you.”

Marcus Buckingham uses his famous teaching on strengths to encourage women that there is a better way to live.  Through the stories of Anna and Charlie, one who is living in her strengths and one who journeys from living in the “shoulds” to discovering her strengths, Marcus encourages women to stop trying to have it all and learn to really enjoy those activities that make them feel strong.  Give up juggling and balance for cradling and imbalance.

I have learned so much about myself in reading Marcus’ books.  The great thing about Find Your Strongest Life is that it is a great follow up to his other books, but it is also a great stand alone book that you can pick up and understand the concepts without needing all the background from his previous books.  Highly recommended for not just women but anyone looking to give more detail to their passion, strengths, and life.

===============================

*** This book was reviewed for the Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers program.

Want more details?  Keep reading!

What does “having it all” really mean?  For so long, some women have thought that it means “having everything, all at once, all the time.”  What if we redefined it to mean taking yourself seriously, knowing yourself, and finding purpose in life?  The secret to this is living in your strengths.  The secret is not in figuring out how to juggle everything but in “knowing how to draw a few things in towards you.”  What we need is to learn to be discriminating, selective, and intentional in every area of our lives.

In Find Your Strongest Life, Marcus gives research to show that women today are not as happy as they were 40 years ago.  Women also find themselves less happy as they age.  Why?  It seems to be rooted in that too many choices can paralyze us.  Women have in fact become less happy, more anxious, and more stressed despite having greater opportunity, greater achievement, greater influence, and more money.

So what does a strong woman look like?  She’s successful, which means effective and capable.  Having no outlet for your strengths leads to losing your sense of self.  Being strong means: positively anticipating the future, learning and growing with a sense of focus and concentration, and feeling that you are filled up and your needs are met.

To show what a strong woman looks like and show how you can become a strong woman, Marcus tells the stories of two women, Anna and Charlie.  Anna knows who she is, what her strengths are, and is using her strengths.  Charlie is stuck in a job she doesn’t like and is letting “shoulds” overtake her life.  Strength is really in “your emotional reaction to specific moments in your life”.  Strong moments are those times when you experience strong, positive, authentic, emotional reactions.  Anna took these moments and her reactions seriously and used them to guide her choices in life.  Charlie didn’t and she found that you begin to feel empty when you take on activities and responsibilities because you feel like you should.  This is not about positive thinking.  It is about targeted optimism.  This is not about achieving balance, but intentionally striving for imbalance.  Balance is actually impossible to attain and is really unfulfilling.  It is about cradling, not juggling.  Cradling involves concentrating on something, accepting it, and nurturing it.  Allow these strong moments to determine what your priorities should be.

Marcus has developed test that you can take at www.stronglifetest.com.  The questions are designed to determine which of nine roles are your lead role and your supporting role.  These roles are more emotional that the strengths types that he teaches in his previous books.  These roles are what cause us to feel love, joy, fear, and pain.  They explain why we are patient in some areas and impatient in others as well as why we’re drawn to some persons and repelled by others.  Finally, they give shape to our dreams and desires.  Marcus says, “Always sweat the small stuff.  The details matter”.  These nine roles are: Advisor, Caretaker, Creator, Equalizer, Influencer, Motivator, Pioneer, Teacher, and Weaver.

I found that my leading role is “Advisor” and my support role is “Equalizer”.  An advisor is one who loves helping people make better decisions.  They ask lots of questions.  They love the details.  This is fed by my strengths traits of learner, achiever, input, and context.  An equalizer is one who wants to know the right thing to do.  They love deadlines and highly defined rules.  They strive to keep everything aligned and hold everyone together.  This role is fed by my strength traits of context and harmony as well as my personality type C (on the DISC profile) which makes me a rule following perfectionist.

Once you know what your roles are, you need to accept who you are and allow that to cure you of the problem of excess choice.  You need to trust that you are the best judge of your strengths.  Others may be able to better judge your performance, but only you can determine your strengths and weaknesses.  Using your strengths and roles requires boldness and gentleness with yourself.  You have to be deliberate and create strong moments in your life.  When you have strong moments, celebrate them and talk about them with others.  In the end, focusing on these strengths with give “exponential return”.  Following these cues leads to passion.  Passion is not really found.  It’s built.  And it needs detail.  “Passion is useless without precision.”

Marcus uses the last several chapters of the book to give advice for specific types of situations in a Q&A format.  There are some great questions and great advice found here on topics ranging from career to family, raising kids to communicating with your spouse.

This quote from the last page of the book really sums everything up so well: “The secret to success and happiness lies in your ability to know yourself well enough to make strong choices without regret, no matter what life bestows on you, or throws at you.”

Another must read Marcus Buckingham book.  A great place to start your journey in discovering your strengths and also a great next step for those women, or men, who have already started the discovery process.  Another great feature of this book is the online content which includes leader and participant guides for group study.  Check it out at http://marcusbuckingham.com/stronglife.

Anne Jackson’s book Mad Church Disease was a life saver for me earlier this year!  She’s passionate about seeing church leaders taking care of themselves and putting God before ministry.

• Does working in this church interfere with your communion with Christ?
• Is anything else interfering with your relationship with Christ?
• Jesus says, “Apart from me you can do nothing.”

First, there are three myths and truths that must be grasped:

Myth: As you grow, your personality changes.
Truth: As you grow, you become more of who you already are.

Myth: You will grow the most in your areas of greatest weakness.
Truth: You will grow the most in your areas of greatest strength.

Myth: A good team member does whatever it takes to help the team.
Truth: A good team member deliberately volunteers his strength to the team most of the time.

Using acronyms SIGN, FREE, and STOP, Marcus provides guidance and a plan for determining what your strengths are, how to find ways to use those strengths, and how to find ways to stop doing activities that require your weaknesses.  Included with the book is a code to be used at www.simplystrengths.com that unlocks a test that will help you see to what degree you’re currently using your strengths and to what degree you’re likely (or not likely) to use them in the future.  Also included are some short videos that really help drive the points in the book home.

I love reading Marcus’ books because they are so conversational and easy to read.  If you’ve ever heard him speak, you can almost hear him read the book!  He really has a way of capturing and keeping your attention.  Another great resource!

Even Jonathan got into reading this book while I was writing this review tonight: