The Soulmate Secret

Okay, this book really was low for me in terms of being useful.  I had to weed through so much New Age crap, that I just couldn't handle it that much.  I got to the point I just had to skim the last half of the book because each story seemed to have someone turning to a psychic to get their direction.  That is demonic and just plain yucky.  How can any reasonable person turn to a psychic? 

Yes, I'm glad all those people got connected to their soulmates.  There isn't anything that it talks about that is all that different, just different words are used.  She uses the idea of creating specific lists for your soulmate, as well as doing a vision board type thing.  Then, there is forgiveness of yourself and others.  Let go of the past so you can move forward.  A lot of common sense stuff wrapped up in New Age mumbo jumbo.

Don't waste your money.

Making Sense of Men

Making Sense of Men was a book I heard about on the WISH (Women's International Summit on Health) teleseminar series for 2011.  Allison Armstrong was one of the guest speakers and I really liked her.  I checked out her book from the public library and it's a very small, short book.  This was a very easy read, however, it had a lot of good information.

I love in chapter 2 where she says "Men Are Not Hairy Women".  I think often I still expect men to think like me, the woman, and they just do not.  It's frustrating, but God did not make men like women or vice versa.  He made each to be as He purposed. 

Though this is not a biblical book, she has the point biblically.  She says that getting men's attention is through our sexuality is through 4 things:  1)  Sexual Energy; 2) Sensuality; 3) Shapely Body; 4) Shiny Hair.  The response from men is to have sex.  She starts off with what many men and women already know.

Having just that in a relationship isn't enough because men when they get that sex, it just ends there sooner or later.  There's no depth to that.

Allison then talks about when a man is "Charmed & Enchanted", that he wants more from the woman than just a superficial sexual type thing.  These are the 4 characteristics of women that cause them to be "Charmed & Enchanted":  1)  Self-Confidence; 2) Authenticity; 3) Passion; 4) Receptivity.  This produces the response in men to want to A) Spend time with us; B) Take Care Of Us; C) Protect; D) Contribute To; E) Make Happy; F) Fall In Love With

She talks about women not short-changing themselves with focusing on the things that attract sexually, rather do the things that charm & enchant a man.  She also talks about women not giving up ourselves sexually in any relationship, rather in marriage only and staying faithful there.

Anyway, she expounds succinctly in each of those things listed and is well-worth the read.

Project Everlasting

Project Everlasting is a delightful book that was written by 2 bachelors, one of whom is engaged to be married.  I heard about Mat Boggs when I attended online the WISH (Women's International Summit on Health) teleseminars and found Boggs humorous, but wise.  I learned a number of things about men that I did not realize.

Since Boggs is a man, it is helpful to hear from a man, rather than a woman on men.  This wasn't a book on these are the things men like or do not like and this is how women are to appease men, rather, this book had so many stories of couples' whose marriages have worked and been long, and in many cases, until death do us part.

I felt connected to these couples and LOVE how the book was formatted.  Each couple that they shared their story touched me, minus maybe 1 couple.  I honestly don't know how many couples' stories they shared, but it was probably 3-5 dozen stories.  They weren't long stories, and they weren't all stories where both the man and wife totally got along all the time, rather they were stories of how they kept their marriages to be long lasting and to the point that they could not live without their spouse.

Often, I was in tears or just touched by the love of each couple.  Growing old wasn't a bad thing, but it was almost like a flower that maybe first starts it's budding early in their relationship and doesn't reach the peak of the blossom until one spouse dies. 

What an incredible 4+ yr project, but I also appreciate Jason and Mat's honesty that doing the project wasn't "blissful" nor easy.  Their candor was refreshing and I found it more impactful than a book of to do's, rather it was a book of selflessness (putting the other person above yourself), commitment and respect.  Those are the 3 words that I think made each marriage successful.  Each story had a picture of the couple, their names, and how long they were married at the time they got put in the book. 

Loved the book!

Doing Virtuous Business

Doing Virtuous Business was a good book.  It took me a bit long to read, but I finally got through it.  This was not a book that was written by someone who was bashing capitalism or making money, lots of money, however, Malloch he talks about the virtues needed in order to virtuously do business. 

The book talks about some historical things as well as philosophical things.  I think there is a good meld of contemporary philosophies with God's philosophy.  This helps one understand better why our systems are as such in a capitalistic society.  He also goes into talking about companies that do have good virtues, and that begins from the top down.  If the top is corrupt, that infiltrates to the lower forms.

At the end of the book, he cites examples of companies that he considers are virtuous, that overall follow Biblical principles and how God has blessed them.  Sometimes our society considers godly spiritualism synonimous with being financially poor and down trodden, that you cannot have wealth and be spiritually aligned with God, which is totally incorrect.

Malloch goes in depth about the virtues of faith, hope & charity.  And, something I never heard about until reading his book were hard and soft virtues, but they make sense.  The hard virtues are considered:  leadership, courage, patience, perseverance, and discipline.  I was set straight and had a number of false beliefs here.  Each individual person owes these in their lives. 

Then, there are soft virtues:  justice, forgiveness, compassion, humility, and gratitude.  These are virtues I practice regularly in my life, but I found that the hard virtues I used to practice (albeit, askewed), that now I need to incorporate those back into my life.  Malloch discusses at length each of the soft virtues in how they relate to business.  As a Christian, it's not hard to see the soft virtues as things we need in our lives, but I got to see a clearer picture of this in how it relates to business.  And, it isn't always easy to do this in business when in a capitalistic society, can be ruthless and displaying these virtues can seem to be a sign of weakness.

I will need to reread this book more carefully and not extend it out to weeks, rather just a few days so I can get the full impact of the message, pray as to how God can help me to create businesses and have them be Virtuous Businesses.  I'm inspire by the book, and getting back up on the horse again, after my failures. God bless Malloch.

----------------------------------------
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Max On Life

Max On Life was not what I expected from a book or from Max Lucado.  Maybe I like his books that concentrate on one subject rather than a multitude of topics:  Hope, Hurt, Help, Him/Her, Home, Haves/Have-Nots, Hereafter.  That's a lot of "H" topics.

He answers 172 questions on these topics, which are topics that we face in life in many cultures.  Okay, that's all well and great, and I thought as I read on, I could get into the book, but I couldn't.

In Lucado's other books, characters are developed throughout the book, which I love.  There are no characters here, rather topics with questions and answers.  I've read of number of his books and can see where he's coming from, but maybe I put Lucado on a pedestal to wow me with each book.

This book did not wow me or even come close.  It was really hard to get through this book.  I guess I like the longer version to answering tough questions in life rather than the short 1-2 pages typically for each question.  It didn't do anything for me.  Some answers to the questions, he did use Scripture.  I just don't find his writing in these short spurts all that great.  Disappointing.
-----------------------------------------


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Final Summit

I'm not a fan on fiction, but there have been a few books that I absolutely LOVE.  The first fictional book I read in years was The Shack, by William Young.  Awesome book.  Then, I read The Traveler's Gift, by Andy Andrews.  Since both books were life changing and caused me to be moved in action, when Book Sneeze offered this book for review, I snatched it up.  The Final Summit is just in line with Andrews style of writing and is another hit with me.

David, the main character, has experienced great failure, as well as great success in life.  His greatest successes came after his biggest failures.  Gabriel, the arch angel (he is an arch angel and not just an angel), plays a vital role in this story.  The Final Summit is a summit comprised of incredible people throughout time where God brought revelation to these people to help them through life and impact a good portion of mankind.

Though David did not see himself as impactful like Winston Churchhill or Abraham Lincoln, because of the courage of David's life as he relied on God, he is considered just as great.  Without giving away the whole story, the summit is a gathering of these great people throughout all time, including King David & Solomon from Bible times.  Five people, called "Travelers", are called out to help David determine the correct answer to the question "WHAT SHOULD HUMANITY DO, INDIVIDUALLY AND COLLECTIVELY, IN ORDER TO RESTORE ITSELF TO THE PATHWAY TOWARD SUCCESSFUL CIVILIZATION?"

They were given 5 chances to get this right.  With each chance, David and Winston Churchill could call upon a pre-selected "Traveler" to help them figure out the answer.  With each addition of a Traveler and discussion, despite great wisdom & incredible discussions, each of the answers were wrong.  If they did not get it right by the 5th time, all of mankind would be doomed.

Anyway, I don't want to spoil the ending of the story, but it's a definite must read.  My guesses were wrong, but I learned a great deal in this book.  Failure isn't failure unless you give up.  Keep relying on God.

I hope you enjoy the book as I have.  Thank you again, Book Sneeze, for sending this book to me for free to review.
-----------------------------------------
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”