My Daily Pause

…be careful about giving a guarantee for somebody else’s loan, about promising to pay what someone else owes,You might get trapped by what you say; you might be caught by your own words. –NCV Proverbs 6:1-2

She rose to his requirement, dropped
The playthings of her life
To take the honorable work
Of woman and of wife.

If aught she missed in her new day
Of amplitude, or awe,
Or first prospective, or the gold
In using wore away,

It lay unmentioned, as the sea
Develops pearl and weed,
But only to himself is known
The fathoms they abide.

–Emily Dickinson

Bonus: Compare to Proverbs 31:10ff

It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible…. He is worse than an infidel who does not read his Bible and acknowledge his obligation to God.
–George Washington

• Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah – Genesis 18:16 to 19:29
• Crossing the Red sea – Exodus 14
• City of Jericho – Joshua 6
• Samson and Delilah – Judges 13-16
• David and Goliath – 1 Samuel 17

The Noticer by Andy Andrews

Need a little perspective in your life? Come spend a little time with Jones. With a length of only 156 pages, one might think of The Noticer as a ‘quick read’ – and certainly can be if one so chooses because it is hard to put down – but this story should be read in small doses with time spent savoring and reflecting upon each encounter. This talented writer is able to transport you to this gulf coast town in Alabama in a way that you almost feel personally affected by each of the characters and their situations. You will find yourself pulling for their success; you may even find yourself – and gain a perspective that surprises you too.

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

Being a big tough man might be the single biggest call to action from our peers growing up. It is painful to think what irreversible damage has been done in marriages, friendships and fatherhood by the macho attitudes. The inability to overcome this worldview could be a major roadblock to achieving excellence in life.

What if we told these young men that in order to be a real man, one has but to turn to God’s word and see the plan He has laid out for us? How many would respond positively and turn their lives around in the next few weeks because they sat down with a Bible and learned the truth? All things considered, I would guess the response to be limited to the very exceptional few.

We need a plan then. We need people that men can trust and look up to, to tell their stories. We need to build some new habits.

Living Life in the Zone takes this approach with a forty day exploration into the issues men face. Lots of sports lingo and an informal tone gives the book warmth that feels just right for a men’s devotional group. The layout is structured and easy to follow whether reading alone or in group study. Each day the same structure mostly repeats itself, so we have an easy to follow plan.

The Zone sets the tone for each day’s lesson by following a respected sportsman’s life through a difficult journey or situation and allows the reader to see how they allowed God to take them through the test. Emphasis is placed on consulting God first in difficult times, not as a last resort. Getting a glimpse of some of these men’s lives gives us the examples we need of trusted men.

The Zone uses forty days as its timeframe for change. When God took forty days to do something, it was important and changes of great magnitude happened, and the forty day schedule in this book pays tribute to that. Forty days is a reasonable time to devote to an effort to improve ourselves.

The Zone references lots of Bible passages in the New King James Version and each day points out Scripture that relates to the day’s topic in the form of “God wants you to…” The most excellent part of this book is that it doesn’t attempt to replace the Bible in the reader’s new daily devotional habit but points him towards it to verify what God says. I did not find any out of context use of Scripture. The Scriptures referenced were easily verified to mean what the Bible intended them to mean.

Overall this was an excellent book and I highly recommend its use for new Christians and mature ones alike as a means of centering their lives, developing devotional habits and growing their spirit.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://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