A Blog Update and Some Quick Reviews

If you read our blog regularly, you know that we have a bit of a “set” schedule currently that works for us. Today marks a “part-time” addition to that schedule. If you don’t check in regularly, here is what we are currently doing each day, including the update:

Monday: Book Reviews. We used to put these on Wednesdays, but I am going to start reviewing books each  Monday, when I have completed a book or multiple books in the previous week.

Tuesday: Article. These are often about family or faith, but these are just brief and, hopefully, encouraging articles.

Wednesday: Lists. From 5 to 30, we’ve listed all sorts of things. These lists are about all sorts of topics.

Thursday: Hymn Reflections. Each Thursday (for about 30 more weeks), we look at a hymn requested by our readers and “reflect” on that song.

Friday: Links Roundup. The oldest series on our blog, we link to around five good posts or sites each Friday.

We hope you enjoy the blog, and that you keep coming back as we post. We also hope you tell others about our blog, so they can enjoy it and learn from it, too.

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I have finished five books since our last book reviews. One was the English Standard Version of the Bible. Here are the other four reviews.

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Marriage is for Those Who Love God–and One Another

Thomas B. Warren

Sain Publications, 1962 (144 pages)

This book contains a series of transcripts of sermons presented by brother Warren in Texas for a series of Gospel Meetings on the family.While the words were recorded 50 years ago, they are still relevant and needed. As I have presented our current series on the home at Lebanon Road, I have often used thoughts from this book.

The best part of this brief volume is brother Warren’s attention to those who are preparing for marriage. He is very serious and straightforward as he reminds his listeners (and the reader) of the extreme care that must be behind preparation for marriage.

The book is an easy read and will encourage you. While it might be dated a bit, preachers can find a wealth of help in preparing sermons. This might also be a good book for a teenage or college class to use as a basis for a “mini-series” on preparation for marriage. The difficulty is finding this book. Here is Amazon’s page for it, if you are interested.

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What Matters Now

edited by Seth Godin

Self-published e-book (82 pages)

What a refreshing read! What Matters Now is pure Godin. Each page is a very brief note from a noted person on his/her area of expertise, from money to leadership to attitude. While I certainly did not agree with each writer (and I didn’t appreciate those who chose to use curse words), the book is a quick and helpful read.

Authors include Dave Ramsey, Michael Hyatt, Ariana Huffington, and about 50 others. Each was asked to write in his/her own style, so the book is very much a compilation. If you like leadership materials, this is for you.

The best part is, this was a project that was to draw attention to a worthy charity through ads that are found about every 15 pages. Translation? the book is FREE! You can read it (in pdf format) here. I printed it out and took it with me on a holiday vacation, reading it when I had a chance.

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Parenting: from Surviving to Thriving

Charles Swindoll

Word Publishing, 2006 (272 pages)

If you read my blog often, you know I like Swindoll’s work…usually. Of all the books I’ve ever read by him, though, this was my least favorite. Of course, being a believer in Calvinism, the concept of original sin runs throughout the book. That “helped” my dislike quite a bit.

There are many principles in this book, especially the first half of it, that are helpful. I was able to gain a better understanding of some of the Bible’s texts about parenting due to the first 100 pages or so.

What caused me to not like this book as much, though, was that, in most of the second half, Swindoll seems to step away from his usual style. Instead of walking briefly through a text and then making good, solid applications, he seems to spend about 80% (or more) of some of the chapters on the text, only throwing a couple of quick applications for life at the end, almost as an afterthought. The textual work is good, but it’s almost as if the book changed focus part of the way through.

That being said, one of the highlights of this book is the 11th chapter (out of 12). Swindoll devotes a brief chapter to those parents who have to deal with special-needs children, a subject not discussed often in books with this focus. While brief, the reader will find that chapter to be helpful.

The paperback version of the book can be found on Amazon.com for $6.00 here.

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Saturday Shrines

The Sporting News, 2005 (223 pages)

If you like the tradition behind college football, this is an interesting read. The book gives quick stories and facts about some of the more well-known stadiums used for college football. While it mentions many stadiums, the best part of the book is the first half, where more space is devoted to the forty “best,” according to The Sporting News. This is a fun little book with lots of great photography.

You can find copies with several universities on the cover. Mine has the Nebraska Cornhuskers (of course). The Amazon.com page is here.