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

Last week I did what any truly good person should do… I listened to the advice of a confidant who was telling me to do something I would NEVER have done on my own. The person happened to be my wife (it usually is in these types of moments). And the advice she gave was Read more

The first rule these authors break is the age-old myth that good leaders and managers need to be good at numerous and varied tasks. They contend that, in fact, we should do the hardest work to discover the things that are truly strengths for us and then accentuate those strengths. I will admit that this Read more

This great book was inspired by the modern-day business classic Good to Great by Jim Collins. In fact Rainer makes no bones about the fact that he has completely borrowed (with the appropriate permissions) the Good to Great model. And why should that be a problem on the face. Collins’ book was a well-researched and Read more