Not, going to lie, this book took me FOREVER to read. NOT because it was boring, I think I just needed to take the time to go through it so that everything would digest properly!! There was so many good nuggets in this book, I wish I could go through them all, (So that I can remind myself what I read!!!) but I won't, you really will just have to read this book. Another awesome part about this book was that in about EVERY paragraph there was a reference to scripture. I never knew there was so many passages that related to our words and how we treat others. 
Are you like me, do you find yourself rambling on with words in a conversation and then all of the sudden, you find yourself bitting your tongue, praying that what you just said, you really didn't say? Are you sometimes prone to gossip? To lie? To exaggerate? to murmur? to anger?  to boast? to flatter? to swear? to be sarcastic? As this book says, our culture, especially Christians need a transformation of our tongue! Stowell says that it should be a top priority for those committed to spiritual growth. WOW, really? I honestly never really thought about things I say having an effect on my relationship with God, let alone my spiritual growth. But it truly does. Like Jesus said in Matthew 15 :17-19, "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of  a person's mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.  For out of the heart come evil thoughts--murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person." If I am to have the Holy Spirit living in my heart, yet I have these things that defile me coming out of it, then do I truly have the Holy Sprit within me? (just a question to think on) Now, I understand no one is perfect, but I can't stop thinking of how much the things I do reflect upon my relationship with God and how in tune I am with the Holy Spirit. I know that I have the Holy Spirit within me, yet sometimes I feel I place him in a jar, screw the lid on top really tight so I can "say my few words" and in doing so I'm refusing to let Christ do his full work in me. Are my words, attitudes, actions always a reflection of the Holy Sprit in my heart? (I'll answer that for myself....no, they aren't)  Anyway, I just babbled on again, sorry, it's just a really great book that made me think a lot about the life I live, and the life I should be living. Feel free to comment or question what I just wrote, especially if you've read the book, I love to hear other's thoughts.  I'll post a few quotes from the book below just to spark your interest...Enjoy! 

--We tend to tolerate a bit of "fire" in our speech, thinking it can do no harm. But fire spreads quickly--often before we realize it. And after a raging fire has done it's damage, it doesn't matter whether or not it was intentional. (p.18)

--We need to pray for wisdom in our speech (James 1:5). We should train ourselves to search for the truth in every situation. (p.32)

--Rumors, whether true or false, are devastating for many reasons--one being that they are irretrievable. I recall the story of a young man during the middle ages who went to a monk and said, "I've sinned by telling slanderous tales about someone. What should I do?" The monk replied, "put a feather on every doorstep in town." The young man did just that. He then returned to the monk, wondering if there was anything else he should do. "Go back and pick up all those feathers," the monk told him. The young man replied excitedly, "Thats impossible! By now the wind will have blown them all over town!" Said the monk, "So have your slanderous words become impossible to retrieve."  (p.36)

--Galatians 5:13-15 "You were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another"

--Exaggeration erodes trust and credibility, two building blocks of successful relationships. It is a violation of God's will for us. (p. 55)

--Perhaps that the root of our problem [taking the Lord's name in vain]--we don't appreciate the real value of God's name. too often we interpret God from our limited point of view instead of conforming our thoughts to who God says He is. Our shortsighted perceptions of God insult Him by attempting to bring Him down to our level. the result is distorted thinking and idolatry. (p.68)

--(I'll end it here I promise!) All talk is really heart talk. Granted some people's spoken thoughts never seem to reach down to the heart (or up to the brain for that matter). But even empty flattery, thoughtless comments, automatic responses and mindless greetings are reflections of an insincere heart. Christ recognized that all talk is heart talk He said: Either make the tree good its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give and accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned. (Matthew 12:33-37) (p.77)

Betcha didn't think you'd be reading most of the book! LOL, sorry, but there was so many more verses, many more quotes that were so meaningful and helpful to myself, please read it for yourself, then tell me what you thought! Love to you all! Britt

This is a great story that anyone with a big dream will be able to relate with. I will not give the story away but if you are pursuing a dream or would like to pursue a dream of yours, then this book is for you! This quick read will help you understand the ups and downs of pursuing a dream, and how you can grow through it. 

One thing that I learned from this book is that no matter how big my dream seems to me, God is so much bigger and so much greater. He is the one who put this dream in my heart but if I try to accomplish it without him the dream will probably die or not have a very big impact. The reason that God gives people such great dreams that are so much bigger than themselves is because he wants to use that to show His power and greatness, and so that He will be glorified and praised. If we try to accomplish a dream for self praise then we take that praise away from God.  So be in prayer about how God will use you to accomplish such great things, but do it with your eyes on God, not on yourself.

God Bless,

Paul

This is a great book that gives explains the theory side of leadership in easy to understand concepts while also showing how those theories have been put into action by people in real situations throughout history. I will just hit on the two concepts that struck me the most.

Three traits that someone needs to enter into leadership: 
Hunger: Must have a willingness and eagerness to learn and grow
Honeable: Must be willing to be taught and seek counsel from those that have results
Honorable: Must maintain and grow good character, have things in the right prespective, and have an attitude to serve not to be served.



And then there are the three qualities to measure ones leadership ability:
Character: The more trustworthy and the more courage to do what is right, one possess the higher their level of leadership.
Task: Based on ability in their field, how hard they work, how smart they are about how they work, and are they willing to do any task, no matter how small.
Relationships: Based on how good they are at building and maintaining strong relationships, how good they are at resolving issues in relationships.

I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to lead in any field of life. Just going into detail on the two concepts I wrote about will change how one looks at leadership, and makes it well worth the read. -Paul

This new release from Robert Kiyosaki was one of his best yet. He has been known to provide timely information in his books to help people understand what is truly happening in the economy at that moment and the bigger picture of what is to come. This book goes into a little more detail than many previous books. He gives specific examples of some of the investments he makes and then goes over the principles he follows that led him to make those investments. The first part of the book is a lot of review from his best-selling books Rich Dad, Poor Dad and The Cashflow Quadrant but it is good review. Here are some great nuggets that I was able to get out of the book:





Education:
·         Schools change to slowly and the world is changing rapidly.
·         There needs to be three types of education: Academic, Professional, and Financial.

Financial Education:
·         If a person knows the tax laws they will not have to pay unnecessary taxes.
·         There are three types of legal income: Earned income, Portfolio income, and Passive income.
·         The most important investment you make is first investing in your financial education before you                invest in an asset.
·         Investors must know the difference between investing for capital gains and investing for cashflow.

Having a Plan:
·         First, sit down together with your spouse and make a list of the most important financial goals for          both of you.
·         Second, study and learn together what you need to do to achieve those goals.
·         Third, go out together and apply what you learned to attain those goals.

Other:
·         Residential real estate is only as valuable as the jobs in the area, so only invest where there are stable jobs.
·         Real estate can give you benefits through depreciation, amortization, and through appreciation in value.
·         The three objectives he has when investing are: Getting his money back out in one to three years, move his money to another investment, and have ownership and long-term cashflow from the initial investment. He goes into detail on how to achieve this all while paying little to no taxes. Because taxes are your single largest expense, figure out how to lower them legally.
·         Risk is related to control. Less control means you take on more risk.
·         Using debt to buy assets that generate positive cashflow can make you very wealthy, using debt to buy liabilities that do not make cashflow for you can make you very poor.
·         There are four different asset classes: Business, Real Estate, Paper Assets, and Commodities.
·         Use assets to buy liabilities. Rather than live below our means, we should expand our means by focusing on the asset column as a balance sheet.
·         Today all money is debt and is rapidly being devalued with more national debt.
·         Investors do not park their money anymore, they move their money, and this is called the “Velocity of money”.

I highly recommend this book to everyone that is interested in how to survive and thrive financially in the future. If you have read this book also leave a comment on what you thought of it.

This book was an interesting read. Throughout many parts of the book I rolled my eyes or thought of certain pages as fluff. In spite of this, I still did pick up a few good nuggets. Here are some of the things I thought would be worth sharing.

1.       The importance of a holistic approach to self-improvement: Physical, Mental, Spiritual, Relational

2.       Take time every day to be by yourself. Reflect on the day past to see what could be improved on, focus on the present and prioritize the tasks before you, and game plan and set goals for your future.

3.       When someone pays you a sincere compliment simply say “Thank you”, don’t belittle yourself if you feel uncomfortable and don’t blab how great you are either.

4.       Don’t compare yourself with others. Compare yourself with who you are in the present versus who you want to be in the future. Then figure out a way to grow to become that person.

5.       When winning individuals encounter fear, they admit it and go on despite of it.

6.       Scientists agree that the human nervous system cannot tell the difference between an actual experience and an experience imagined vividly, emotionally and in detail.

Chapter 7 is a good chapter to read for anyone that wants more details on goal setting. Also there is a good section about how our subconscious minds work, and how to use that in a way to grow yourself. This is not a book that I would say is a must read, although, I hope the nuggets that I did end up getting out of it will help you.

-Paul W.

This is a short little read that is a follow-up to the well known classic THE GREATEST SALESMAN IN THE WORLD. It is a neat story that I would recommend reading. Here is a list of the 10 things that the book portrays.

The 10 Vows to Myself:

1.      I will only talk highly of myself and use words without self-pity.

2.      I will always greet the dawn of a new day with a map (goal).

3.      Always will I bathe my days in the golden glow of enthusiasm.

4.      I will always have an agreeable attitude toward others.

5.      Always will I seek the seed of triumph in every adversity.

6.      I will always perform every task to my very best ability.

7.      I will through my whole self into the task at hand.

8.      I will always be proactive when opportunity comes and I will embrace it.

9.      Always will I examine, each night, my deeds of the passing day.

10.  Always will I be in prayer with my Creator.

In failure preserve my faith. In success, keep me humble.
-Paul W.

Quite a different read than the others on the blog so far, but I figured I would post a little blurb here. I'm very interested in learning more about the "classical education" method.  I'm planning on Homeschooling my future kiddos and I read a book a while ago called the Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille. I won't go into to full detail here, you really just have to read the book to learn more about it, and I HIGHLY recommend it. It doesn't just talk about homeschooling but it talks about our school system today and how all schools could improve if they adapted this classical/leadership education method.
If you want to learn more, pick up that book, it's an interesting and quick read!  
Part of learning more about the classical education approach is reading more classics! I have a list put out by DeMille of all the top classics out there and this was one of many on the list.
Well I can't go into every detail of the book or the plots or anything, but here's what I found interesting or "took from it." First off, Puritan culture is so unique and so much focus is put on being sinless on earth because for them, the earth is a sort of  pit stop on the way to heaven. So they try to rid their community of all sin. Hester Prynne, was forced to be publicly humiliated and forced to wear a letter "A" the rest of her life to remind herself, and everyone else, of her sin (Adultery). Yet, after that experience in her life, she continued on, remaining in the same community. She grew and became a better woman. She found she could now critically look at things in her culture that maybe weren't right. Whereas others never questioned the rule of the "governors." 

Now, I don't think that this was Hawthorns intent or one the "main themes of the book" but I couldn't help relating this story to sin in our life, and how we have a huge need for Jesus Christ. We all are sinners, every one of us, thankfully our culture doesn't put us on a platform and announce every one of our sin's to the whole world. But what if they did? What if someday we have to stand on a platform, not before our community, but before a God who has the authority to show mercy or give out justice?  Each of us must come to a point where we realize that there is nothing that we can personally do to allow us to be in the same company as a perfect God in Heaven.("...For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23) Hester had to stand up there and get mocked and jeered at before her whole community. We are dirty and filthy and some of our lives are in complete opposite of what God wants for our lives. We know we are sinning because we often go against what our conscience says is right, we break even the 10 laws that God set up for us to follow in his Holy Word.  That's why we must come to a point where we acknowledge we are sinners and are in need of a Savior. Then all we have to do is accept that Jesus Christ stood on that platform, perfect, for us, before God. 

John 3:16-18 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

*Attention* do we really understand that? Do you mean, that he died for me? That I don't have to stand on that platform and receive the punishment I deserve?????? YES!!!!! It's true! He was perfect and he took on our sin, was placed on a cross, crucified, humiliated, mocked, forsaken by his Father, by his own people, and even by some of his closest friends; and he did that all for us. For you. For me. And all we have to do is accept it. Grace, pure Grace at it's finest moment.( "The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 5:20-21)

I urge you to read more about this Savior Jesus.  Pick up the  Bible and if you don't know where to start, start at the Gospel of John. Dive into it, and realize that the man you read about did all that for you, and for anyone who chooses to accept His gift of grace. Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
I know some of you literary scholars out there, can not believe that I read The Scarlet Letter and that's all I "got" out of it. Now, that's not entirely true, there are many other interesting connections to sin, to Adam and Eve, the nature of sin and more nuggets like that. I think that it's probably because Easter is approaching and I can't stop thinking about the Grace given to me by Christ. I'm so thankful for His sacrifice. I love what John Newton said, "My memory is nearly gone but I remember two things. That I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior." I pray that if someday my memory fails me, that those are the two things I remember as well. Thanks for reading!

Hola! So it's been a while since I've updated about books I've read, and it's mainly because this book seemed to take me forever to get through!!!!
(which proved to be a blessing!)
If you are looking for a book to kindof smack you around a little bit and tell you how to be a better wife, this is the book for you! I felt like an infomercial right there but really, despite the bruises and scrapes I endured from the pages....I have learned sooo much from reading this and would recommend it to anyone who wants to have a more God-serving marriage. (: Debi Pearl is constantly using God's word to teach younger woman what their role is in the marriage, how to act, and what to do. I have read a decent amount of books on marriage...(maybe because I really really need them!) but this book was one that truly...hmmmm... is convicted the right word? yes, "convicted" me about my behaviors and actions as a wife. Well maybe more like, jabbed me in my heart.  It is a very straight forward book, entirely based on the God's word. Some may think, "oh that's so old fashioned..." Well God said it, and I'm pretty sure if we were to utilize and honor his Word through our actions, we just might have the most heavenly marriage ever. Just sayin....

It seems so easy in our culture to say, "I deserve this" or to play the victim and think we are being slighted. We see it in TV shows, in movies all the time. The woman is the victim, the men are the problem! right? Yet, this was not the way that God intended life to be when he created a woman to be a help meet to her husband. "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him." Gen 2:18KJV. He didn't say he would create a slave driving, biting, jealous, un-loving, un-respecting wretch for him, no....a HELP MEET! oh DUH!
I can't blame our culture for my failings as a wife, because it's my problems and usually my own self-centered thoughts that get in my way of being a good wife. We are all sinners and all have huge faults, whether we choose to acknowledge them or not, they are still huge planks in our eyes, preventing us to move forward and grow as wives. My biggest nugget from this book, is that I was created to Help Paul, not hinder him, and that through serving my husband and honoring him, I am doing so to God. What an amazing way that I can serve God! (Also a challenging one...but thats why I need to keep on-a readin'!)
That's all I will write about for now, mainly because I feel I'm not very qualified to give advice on the subject of marriage, because....I'm working on it!!! However, this book has helped me in sooo many ways, and I really would encourage all you wives out there to read it!!

P.S. for those of you who aren't married yet, she has also written a book called "Preparing to be His Help Meet" which I have heard from reliable sources is another great book for young ladies wanting to honor God by preparing for their future husbands.

I thought that most posts would be from Paul, but I guess he's slacking.....just kidding. (the books he is reading right now are twice as long, and probably a zillion times more complicated than these....oh well, I can feel more accomplished for just this once)
    Anyway, down to business! This book came recommended to me by my dear sister, who is a WONDERFUL mother, so I figured it would be a great start! The book was very very very interesting. Now before you all go crazy and think I'm pregnant, I'm not, sorry to burst your bubble of excitement. I feel that just because I don't have any kids doesn't mean I can't read about how to be a good parent right? I feel that If I started in just the nine months I was pregnant, there would be no way I could finish all the books I want to read before then, so I figured I would start now! Better sooner rather than too late.
    Michael and Debi Pearl have a very strict way of bringing up young children. The book includes real and practical examples of bringing up your children for the Lord. At times throughout the book I kept thinking, "whoa! that is WAY to harsh," or  "oh my I would never do that!" And yet, each story was backed by biblical principles about why he trains his children in such a way. I realized that I was viewing the methods as too harsh because I kept thinking a "switch" was a form of punishment. However, after getting in to the book, I discovered that a switch wasn't a punishment, but rather a way to reinforce correct training. After I jumped over that hurdle, the book began to make more and more sense. After all, when the teachings are parallel to that of the Bible, it is very hard to disregard them and ignore them.
    I will let you decide if you agree or disagree with the teachings, and practices and I will leave my thoughts on this matter to myself for now. Mainly because I don't really have the "mother" experience, and I would agree, it's a little silly to take advice from someone who has no real experience in the matter. So, go ahead, read and inquire, learn and grow!