"You Changed My Life"

Book Review: “You Changed My Life” by Max Lucado. This is a wonderful Christian book to give to someone who has truly made a difference in your life. It is filled with inspirational stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. God uses common people to show his love and compassion in all circumstances and situations. I especially enjoy Chapter 5, stories of “Hope”. The book is small and broken up in sections so you can take it with you anywhere and quickly read a short inspirational story. I highly recommend this book to both share with someone special or as an inspiration read to have at hand when life throws a curve ball. Love, Kindness, Commitment, Compassion, Hope, Courage, Wisdom and Friendship. It covers all the bases for a well rounded spiritual uplifting. Truly, any book that Max Lucado writes is a must read for anyone who is seeking spiritual support and guidance.

Book Review!

The Portable Patriot. Documents, Speeches, and Sermons That Compose the American Soul edited by Joel J. Miller and Kristen Parrish will get you hooked on the second story, “Mary Rowlandson Recounts Her Captivity”. This young woman, the wife a pastor, was unfortunate to witness first hand the brutality of war. I will never understand her strength as she held one of her children and tried to protect them only to be shot with a bullet and die in her arms. Over the course of several weeks, Mary was held captive and relied on her strong faith to sustain her. Reading her story made me feel like I was right there with her. The other stories in the book are a great collection of American History wrapped up in the strong Christian faith that this wonderful country was built on. A good read.

Mind Your Own Mortgage

This book is a must read for anyone interested in learning how to buy a house intelligently and pay it off early. There is detailed information on how to shop for a mortgage, how much money to put down and what the monthly mortgage payment should be in relation to household income. Even for those who already have a mortgage, the author explains how to manage any mortgage either by refinancing or paying it off early. Staying away from gimmicks is the key as well as reading the fine print and negotiating a better deal.

As an added bonus, the author explains why being debt free is the key to being wealthy. Much like Dave Ramsey in his Total Money Makeover book, Mr. Bernabé is also a believer of debt freedom. The author states, "Consumer debt has nothing to do with what you've purchased; it represents a current and future claim on your money." This is a foreign concept in our credit card using society but it is incredibly true. Financial freedom is powerful and attainable.

I will certainly be passing this book on to friends who are newly married and looking down the road to purchasing their own home. I only wish I had read this book 20 years ago.

Walk Like You Have Somewhere to Go - Book Review

This book is written by Lucille O'Neal who is the mother of the basketball star Shaquille O'Neal. Lucille tells the story of how she went from being a teenage unwed mother to a successful adult earning her master's degree in her fifties.

I enjoyed seeing the family pictures which made a nice touch. Overall, it was an easy book to read and made for a very interesting story as Lucille recalled her life journey.

I especially liked the bible verses as they pertained to each chapter of her life. However, I found a typo on chapter 32. Psalm 56:4. In the book it reads: "In God, whose word I praise in God I trust; I will not be not afraid." Too many "nots" in the quote...

Overall, I really admire Lucille and her courage to come out and tell her story. Although I can appreciate her dedication to her family and loved ones I was very disappointed that her marriage ended in divorce. Yes, life is hard and relationships go through trials and tribulations, but in the end it is harder to be alone than with someone you shared the majority of your life with. God is good and with his help anything is possible, including a renewed relationship with the one you committed yourself to.

Busy Busy Busy

Wow, I can't believe I haven't blogged since April 9th. I have been so busy lately with traveling and working that I haven't stopped to record it.

Here is what I've done over the past two weeks:

• Traveled to Charleston, SC to volunteer for Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover Live show and attend the full day EntreLeadership workshop. Both were fabulous!
• Attended my father in law's funeral at Arlington. It was over the top and a great tribute to his service.
• Worked, worked, worked
  

It's going down

It's time for the tree to come down. It is now a hazard to our house.

The tree cutters are coming at noon today and it will probably take them a few hours to cut and then the boys will be stacking it in the garden away from the house.

Sad day, it was a great tree.

It's here!!!

I just got my book in the mail and will be reading it today!

Stay tuned for my review!