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At the outset I must admit that this book belongs in the classroom. Not because it is boring, but because it deserves to be studied. This is one that I will return to after this exhausting year of “flying-through-books” a week at a time. So study it I did (and will return to again). The Read more

The last 2 years I have chosen a book like this one to walk through with our High School Worship Team. We have a group of talented musicians who are (thankfully) using their gifts to help people understand who God is. I want to keep it that way. To that end my goal is to Read more

I love the reality that this book demands I examine. Willard reminds me that careful attention to spiritual disciplines is only half of the enchilada – as they say. It is equally important that I know and understand why I am applying these disciplines to my spiritual life. Incidentally, I find Willard echoing the sentiments Read more

This book will obviously have a limited appeal. I actually received this book as a gift a couple years ago when John Piper was speaking at our district convention here in Michigan. I know it’s bad that I am just now reading it. This book is textbook Piper. These kinds of “hard” words are the Read more

The greatest invention of this century to date must be the mobile office. Today I am sitting in my other office (also known as Panera Bread) planning for another school year. There are few things I enjoy more than planning. Among them would be bamboo chutes under my fingernails, root canals and the sound of Read more

Simple. Refreshing. I need to stop… this is starting to sound like a Sprite commercial. In all seriousness this book is one that I will be buying several copies of to hand out to people on a regular basis. Recently I have had many discussions with students and adults alike that are seeking purpose in Read more

Mosquitos. Smoldering heat. Close quarters. All of these things certainly bring some less-than-positive images back to our minds… images of camp. Thankfully there are other images too! Recently in the summers I have had the privilege to be involved at Warner Camp in Grand Junction, Michigan. Through my participation there I have been reminded of Read more

I have always been drawn to the simplicity of Benjamin Franklin. Unlike many of our founding fathers, I have considered him to be human and practical. It was for these reasons that I purchased this well-written biography. The lessons I learn from Franklin are far less spiritual than they are sensible. There seems to me Read more

… or something like that. The busyness of summer has officially swallowed my ability to keep up with my blogging/journaling. Thankfully I have been able to keep up with my reading schedule. Now I just need to make time to sit down and report about what I’ve read. Thanks for staying tuned. Read more

This is a book for the skeptics. Strobel writes from an authoritative viewpoint because of his own journey. Once a professed atheist and also an excellent journalist with the Chicago Tribune, Lee Strobel came by his faith the “hard way”… through investigation. If you are looking for Sunday School answers and Christian cliches you will Read more

This book WILL be a textbook for me to use with my student leaders for years to come. In this case the subtitle was completely accurate… the overwhelming value of this compact tool is its practicality. Beginning immediately this book will be a must-read for all of my students who are in leadership positions. OK… Read more

The thing I love about McManus is that he can say the same things that someone else is saying and for some reason they sound different when he says them. Perhaps it’s the poet in me that resounds with this creative soul. Once again (my second McManus book of the year – see Week #10) Read more