The Noticer

This is another book that I checked out at the local public library.  I wish they had all his books, but I was glad that I got to find 2 books that I had not read.  After reading The Lost Choice, I was anxious to read this.  Thought this book would be just as impactful, but it wasn't.

The premise of this book's message is about PERSPECTIVE.  How life can go for us, the choices we make, our attitudes all depend upon our perspective, regardless of the circumstances. 

The Noticer is an actual person named "Jones" or he could be "Garcia".  He's a man that notices a lot of things that most people don't.  He seems to come right in time in a person's life to help them change their perspective and get back on track by suggestions.  He does leave it up to each individual.

I'm not sure if part of the book is true, the part of Andy being the down & out person at the beginning of the book and is one of the main characters of the book.  If so, he came a long way from his homeless beginnings to author & speaker.  This book still referenced people briefly in history that made a big difference, like George Washington Carver.

Having read quite a few of Andy's books, he's used George Washington Carver's biography in a number of them.  Though I wasn't as entranced in this book, it's still a good, short read.  It has a good message, but I prefer the books where he really entertwines historical facts with his fictional story.  This one really didn't do it, so it just didn't touch me as much.

The Lost Choice

I did not get this book from Book Sneeze, rather from the public library.  I really loved this book.  Andy is really good with putting actual historical stuff into his fictional books.  So, there is a lot of truth in the fiction.

It did not take me really long to read this book, as it kept me mesmorized.  The chronology of the book seemed to be all over the place, but it's with regards to an ancient relic and though it holds no power in it of itself, it's the choice that someone makes to make a difference.

This relic was probably a couple thousand years from current day.  Loved how the storyline was.  So, it starts off a long time ago, but you don't really know when.  There is mystery as to what the relic is and there is tragedy at the beginning of the book, possibly.

This relic gets broken purposefully into 4 sections.  So, fast forward to current day when one of the pieces is found by a little boy.  But, then the mom (a journalist) and the dad (a detective) get involved with finding out the history of the piece that they had.  It leads them to this really old woman whose great grand uncle or something like that was George Washington Carver.  It goes through some of the choices Carver made while he had possession of one of the other parts of the relic.

Each part of the relic had a different "theme" and it seemed that all those who possessed the relic made a significant difference in history for whatever that "theme" for that specific piece of the relic was.  The book goes throughout history dating to probably before Christ.

Anyway, I found this book fascinating, but it showed the power of the choices we make.  It really shows "The Butterfly Effect".  Totally LOVED this book.  Very powerful message for me.

A must read!

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.
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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 Boy Who Changed The World

The illustrations in this book are so beautiful and the message is so sweet. It's regarding the Butterfly Effect, but made simpler so young kids can read and understand this.

The message is simple, "EVERY THING YOU DO MATTERS!"

This includes big things, small things, and everything in between. This reinforces that we are beautifully and wonderfully created for a purpose by God. Our lives are significant, they do matter.

The book is physically a nice big book. The pictures are like mini-paintings and thoughtful. The expressions on the people's faces are tender & loving.

There is great hope in this book. Both my kids read this book and loved it. It's a must to share with your children, grandchildren, young people. This book also gave me time to speak to book of my children about making wise choices and to know that nothing they do is insignificant.

This book helps greatly convey in a simple manner that a person does have great value & worth. Great job Andy Andrews!

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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 Butterfly Effect

This is the second book I've read by Andy Andrews. The first was the The Traveller's Gift, which was an wonderful fiction book that had a great message and has really changed how I view things. The Butterfly Effect also has the same poignant impact on me.

The jist of the book is to not place judgment on whether an event, something we do or say is of greater or lesser important, rather that ALL that we do has a consequence and is important. We do not know whether any consequence at any moment in time can result in something really impactful and significant or not occuring.

Sometimes seemingly insignificant events can ultimately result in HUGE things happening. He gives a couple examples in history that ONE person was able to impact the lives of millions and billions of people - countries, nations. However, when each person acted in whatever manner they deemed best in that moment, it set about a chain reaction that has greatly made a difference.

The conclusion of this is MY LIFE IS SIGNIFICANT. I really do matter. This isn't only for myself, but for every single person ever born.

When thinking about the impact of our words & actions can have for all eternity, it's a very sobering thought and makes me want to make wiser choices, be more courageous, be a person of integrity, a better person. Excellent book and very easy to read.

I had both my children read this book and they loved it.

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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.”