tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38195254237913381242024-03-12T21:19:49.084-07:00Readers' CouchLovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-14459818931157912092018-06-12T19:25:00.000-07:002018-06-26T22:02:44.389-07:003 Expeditions to Happiness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH19Sb11EVBe2S1L4QUnzC45fl0RwEzSLytmmToQqfbzWu43qmTGV68DCBhB9GgNEENnOEOV1GIyedRdKKGkQMExuutz93fRxDOtMUqt3gDQ0nVR9Fr3qt5JkEcxAw2_RPksqxeELH1TiO/s1600/3+HAPPY+BOOKS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH19Sb11EVBe2S1L4QUnzC45fl0RwEzSLytmmToQqfbzWu43qmTGV68DCBhB9GgNEENnOEOV1GIyedRdKKGkQMExuutz93fRxDOtMUqt3gDQ0nVR9Fr3qt5JkEcxAw2_RPksqxeELH1TiO/s640/3+HAPPY+BOOKS.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoHeader">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">Fight Back With Joy by Margaret Feinberg (2015)</span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">Happier Now by Natalya Kogan (2018)</span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">This Close to Happy by Daphne Merkin (2017)</span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
IN JUNE 2018, TWO CELEBRITY SUICIDES shocked fans of fashion and tv food shows and reignited the discourse on why people commit suicide. As usual, the reports claimed that the deceased gave no signs of their struggles as though they were reprehensible for not having visible symptoms and signs of distress. It should be pointed out that m<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129;">odern t</span><span style="background: white;">echnology has also given us the power to curate the impressions we want to project, as well as how much and where we are seen by others. As a result, vulnerability that creates a true connection between people has become a quality that is avoided in everyday face-to-face connections.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoHeader" style="font-family: sans-serif;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><b>Despair demands answers. Hope waits for it.</b> Despair drives people to suicide. Despair is being isolated in pain. Hope is someone stepping in uninvited with the authority of love.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">Living is also not the same as having something to live for.</span></b><span style="background: white; color: black;"> Even the most unimaginative of us get up each morning with a vague sense of mission in life and importance to people around us. But I imagine that for certain people, the only thing that keeps them going each day are new and exciting projects they keep taking on for a sense of purpose to justify staying on for another day. These become crutches that though necessary are still crutches. Over time, these high-functioning individuals become even better at driving multiple high-profile projects that become associated with their names but soon weaken as the compelling reason to live another day for. Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade took their own lives in the midst of impressive ongoing projects.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129;">Reactions to suicides invariably leads to people talking about the victim’s mental and emotional state. I’m certain that suicides are not a result of character failure but are psychosocial manifestations and social tragedies. Depression is term that is over-used as a simple cause of suicides. In reality, there are other D’s like death of a loved one, divorce and emotional desertion that can trigger a penetrating sense of loss and hopelessness.</span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129;">While I’m not sure if Jews have a greater propensity for intense sadness, three women from Jewish families, Nataly Kogan, Margaret Feinberg and Daphne Merkin, have written books about fighting persistent sadness and their quest for a happier state of being. Their books, Happier Now, Fight Back with Joy, and This Close to Happiness, are all written in a persuasive memoir style that attempts to authenticate their writing on such a subjective topic as happiness.</span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoHeader">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">FIGHT BACK WITH JOY by Margaret Feinberg<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">The stumper:</span></b><span style="background: white; color: black;"> I had physically survived (cancer). I was still breathing. My life had been spared, at least for now. So why did I feel sad? Why did I feel like I was still in mourning? Shouldn’t I be living in unspeakable, uncontrollable joy?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">The experience of crisis<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">:</i></span></b><span style="background: white; color: black;"> Ambulance chasers are a dime a dozen; rebuilders are hard to find. Our phones stopped vibrating. Knocks at the door grew further apart until they stopped altogether. Others we’d known for longer than a decade never spoke a word. Not even a “thinking of you” text message. Their absence stung.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">Bonus:</span></b><span style="background: white; color: black;"> 5 things to say when you don’t know what to say, and 5 things those facing crisis can’t tell you. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoHeader">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">HAPPIER NOW by Nataly Kogan<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">The stumper:</span></b><span style="background: white; color: black;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Launching Happier wasn’t the end of my fear, stress, and anxiety. In fact, it was the beginning of a heart-wrenching deep dive into a pile of pain that I had ignored for years and that I had been hoping to escape by achieving my way into a sense of peace and endless bliss by way of my “I’ll be happy when…” mantra.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: black;">I’m only two chapters in but Kogan establishes credibility with me by writing about the irony of happiness eluding her while she was running Happier workshops.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If you think I told anyone about the fear and doubt I felt, you’d be wrong. My husband and a few close friends knew, but not fully. I told no one else. I’d never met a leader who shared their doubts or anxieties as they were experiencing them. I thought to share it would make me weak, and I did not want anyone to think I wasn’t up to the job.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /><span style="background: white;">I’m in on this book.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoHeader">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">THIS CLOSE TO HAPPY by Daphne Merkin<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">The stumper</span></b><span style="background: white; color: black;">: (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Prologue, first sentence</i>) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lately I’ve been thinking about the allure of suicide again – the way it says basta! to life…No more rage at the circumstances that have brought you down. No more dread. Most of all, no more disguise, no more need to wear a mask: “What, you, depressed? I never would have known.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: black;">I find this so typical: when people are too detached, obtuse or fearful of intimacy to discern distress, they call it a disguise. I call it getting on with life till you don’t. Your desire to live doesn’t follow a schedule. You live till you don’t. </span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: black;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: black;">In Merkin’s words: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You have lost the thread that pulled the circumstances of your life together. Nothing adds up and all you can think about is the raw nerve of pain that your mind has become…and how merciful it would be to yourself and others to extinguish this pain... the truth is that no one is interested in why you want to kill yourself, no one really believes that you will, until you've done it, and then it becomes morbidly intriguing to try and map it backwards.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Merkin has clinical depression that she attributes more to environmental causes than biological. As a longtime columnist for the New York Times, she writes with a uniquely provocative yet personal style that feels like a friend sharing her uncensored yet well-processed deep thoughts. It’s an intensity and depth that exposes vulnerability and fears and precisely the qualities I look for in real people and relationships.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Although Merkin lets you into her rich and deep mind through the many phases of her life, there seems to be no ‘exit’ signs for her until the last chapter: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If I can’t quite declare victory over my depression, I am giving it a run for its money, navigating around it, reminding myself that the opposite of depression is not a state of unimaginable happiness but a state of approximate contentment, of relative all-right-ness. (Never lacking in material comforts her entire life with beautiful holiday homes, she found company in) friends I have invited for the weekend are reading on deck chairs…It is not an exceptional scene but it is one that I cannot imagine having arranged until relatively recently, one that reqires me to take the helm instead of hoping that someone else will manage things for me.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Whoever thought I'd be this close to happy?<o:p></o:p></i><br />
<div>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i>
Life is indeed always a little chaotic, a little mad, a little sad which makes it incomprehensible that we should want to wait till we are all sorted out into neat packages before we step out to connect with others. In the meantime, we are missing out on joyous moments that can be found only when we invite others into places where there is legitimacy to be less than happy, and where mourning turns into dancing with the music of compassion.</div>
</div>
Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-69173976709339928992018-01-06T22:47:00.002-08:002022-04-03T06:34:30.036-07:00SCARY CLOSE & A MILLION MILES IN A THOUSAND YEARS by Donald Miller<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5dTkMyxV6tXNoiebArmOPnweEKiau3jy9KDqkqRCAPqSAuNQxDRcPNDx4_AaqDUICo6gIhHwZ33jLUCx_ZZedmWpY7xiy2zXM7Bw3v7fHP-g7tbsGGQp8vLDACdczbAxPmnPephirtET/s1600/MILLER+BOOKS.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="507" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5dTkMyxV6tXNoiebArmOPnweEKiau3jy9KDqkqRCAPqSAuNQxDRcPNDx4_AaqDUICo6gIhHwZ33jLUCx_ZZedmWpY7xiy2zXM7Bw3v7fHP-g7tbsGGQp8vLDACdczbAxPmnPephirtET/s400/MILLER+BOOKS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">SCARY CLOSE</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I’m drawn to the title because
intimacy-avoidant people have played key roles in my life since young. I’ve
become fiercely independent largely because of our relationships. Being family
at some point or other, they are not people I can write off and close the door
on. So I want to understand their psyche better and to create a place for greater
honesty and responsibility from them in our relationships.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The crux of the book’s message is
to drop the act and to have the courage to reveal our true selves to the people
around us. There's even a chapter titled '<i>Performance Anxiety in Real Life</i>.' For this </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-weight: normal;">exposé of himself, </span> Miller stayed single and avoided
dating for almost a year.</span><o:p></o:p>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: normal;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“<i>I’d spent a good bit of my life
as an actor, getting people to clap - but the applause only made me want more
applause. I didn’t act in a theatre or anything. I’m talking about real life.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Can we really trust people to love us just as we are?</i> (I’d add: Not
hidden but known) <i>Nobody steps onto a
stage and gets a standing ovation for being human. You have to sing or dance or
something. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>I think that’s the difference between being loved and making people
clap, though. Love can’t be earned it can only be given. And it can only be exchanged
by people who are completely true with each other</i>.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Miller had good friends: <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span>Bob, the attorney friend who kept calling to check in on
him for a year when he was emotionally broken after a breakup.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span>David Price, who shared an office with him and loved him enough to suggest that he stopped dating for a
season and encouraged him that he was <i>not all bad</i> in relationships. “It might be
good for you to go through withdrawal…to detox from all the drama.” The result
was about a year without dating. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->His pastor, the late David Gentiles, who was like a
father to him. David was a gifted writer and orator who sought little earthly
validation while pursuing the stuff that really mattered. After his passing, Miller wrote, “<i>He had been driven
by what I was only beginning to experience: a deep sense of meaning.<b> It was his
love for me that created the chasm and the ache</b></i>.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Miller also has a fantastic
imagination that had negatively affected his relationships. From his dating
sabbatical, he emerged with the reality that fantasy changes nothing and
produces only a bankrupt story. I’ve personally found that optimistic people like
myself tend to have a greater imagination than the more negative types. We
imagine the loving parent while living with an emotionally closed-off one, we
imagine a spouse has deep loving intentions while raising a family alone almost
as a single parent, we believe that people are genuinely concerned and kind even when we go through painful
seasons in extreme loneliness with little contact from them. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
A safe person speaks the truth in
grace. I’d also add that a safe person operates in honesty and courage and does
not hold back out of fear of disagreement and offense. A safe person delivers the honesty that's needed and sticks around to help you pick yourself up. Measured against the biblical standard of love in 1 Corinthians 13:7
‘<i><span style="background: white;">It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres</span></i><span style="background: white;">’ – I’d say honesty
and courage binds people in love and see each other through the storms of life.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The ‘Author’s Note’ sets a tone of openness and unusual honesty throughout the book that I soon discovered also resides in Miller’s
earlier book, ‘<b><i>A Million Miles In A Thousand Years</i></b>’ which I have also reviewed below.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">A MILLION MILES IN A THOUSAND YEARS</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Miller inspired me to write a
better story to live out.</b> I know my
story is going to be as good as the quality of relationships involved. And
sometimes, that means ending the way I relate with some people so that the
relationship can get better. It hurts like hell but if things have been nowhere near heavenly and the way God intends for people to relate, any change is an improvement.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Here are my favourite Miller bites (<i>my comments in brackets</i>):</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Nobody remembers easy stories. <b>Characters have to face their greatest
fears with courage</b>. That’s what makes a story good. There is probably death
at stake, inner death or actual death, …polar charges of happy and sad things
in life that are like colours God uses to draw the world.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="color: #bf9000;">(Consider Isaiah 54 – it juxtaposes so much
promises of God in the place of painful barrenness. It makes a great story and
when lived out, a true testimony).</span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><b><i>The fact of life and the reality of death
give the human story its dramatic tension</i></b>. If you aren’t telling a good
story, nobody thinks you died too soon; they just think you died. But my uncle
died too soon. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="color: #bf9000;">(I believe some
people should have just do away with a funeral to save others the agony of
creating fictitious eulogies).</span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The elements that made a story meaningful were
the same that made a life meaningful. Most of our greatest fears are
relational. It’s all that stuff about forgiveness and risking rejection and
learning to love. We think stories are about getting money and security, but
the truth is, it all comes down to relationships. I knew a story was calling
me, I knew I was going to have to see if my father was alive. <b>And once you know what it takes to live a
better story, you don’t have a choice. <i>Not
living a better story would be like deciding to die, deciding to walk around
numb until you die, and it’s not natural to want to die</i>.</b> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> I b</span>elieved God was the Writer who was not me and
He could write a better story than I could, but I did not trust Him. I told God
no again, but He came back to me and asked me if I really believed He could
write a better story – and if I did, why didn’t I trust Him?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="color: #bf9000;">(Again, we go
back to the standard of love in 1 Corinthians 13:7 ‘</span></i><i><span style="background: white;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">It always protects,
always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres’)</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->It’s an odd feeling to be awakened from a life
of fantasy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="color: #bf9000;">(I know that,
but it frees your mind to be in the now.) </span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><b>The truth
about telling stories with your life…you’re not going to want to do it</b>.
It’s like that with writing books, and it’s like that with life. People love to
have lived a great story, but few people like the work it takes to make it
happen. But joy costs pain. People fear change, and tend to plant themselves in
what’s comfortable even if they secretly want for something better. But for
every good story, there is a force resisting the beautiful things in the world,
and too many of us are giving in. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="color: #bf9000;">(John 10:</span></i><i><span style="color: #bf9000;">10 <span style="background: white;">The
thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come
that they may have life, and have it to the full reminds us that God has a
better story for us to live out in full but the Enemy is just as intent to
short-circuit the narrative.)</span></span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">T</span>he most often repeated commandment in the Bible
is “Do not fear.” But <b>fear</b> isn’t
only a guide to keep us safe; it’s also <b>a
manipulative emotion that can trick us into living a boring life</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><u>About storytelling<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "wingdings"; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;">§<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Great stories are told in conflict, but we are
unwilling to embrace the potential greatness of the story we are actually in.
We think God is unjust, rather than a master storyteller.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "wingdings"; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;">§<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i>(Just look
at Isaiah 54 and other parables and stories in the four Gospels)<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "wingdings"; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;">§<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->An inciting incident is a doorway through which
the protagonist cannot return. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "wingdings"; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;">§<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->In <b><i>The War of Art</i></b>, Steven Pressfield
wrote, “The must honors the working stiff.” A writer has to sit down every day
and write, regardless of how he feels. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "wingdings"; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;">§<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Robert McKee’s <b><i>Story</i></b> is a manifesto on
all things story.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "wingdings"; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;">§<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i>Save the Cat</i></b> is a how-to book for
screenwriters writing for movies.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
From an accomplished author who
also struggled with feeling unlovable and immense pain of that, Miller left
readers with this encouragement: <i>I don’t
ever want to go back to believing life is meaningless. <b>We need to move our
thoughts beyond our own despondency into direct action that affirmed a greater
meaning in life.</b> Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the
right answers to its problems and to fulfil the tasks which it constantly sets
before each individual.</i> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
When he meets God, he’ll want to
ask if He remembers when he fell apart. But he has a feeling that God will
remind him instead of the parts he forgot, the parts that were His favourites. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>(I really like that!)<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #bf9000; font-weight: bold;">Without honesty, love is a hollow echo, relationships are devoid of
courage, character development is stunted, and life is meaningless. </span>Of course,
manipulative and controlling people have always called it <i>honesty</i> for all manner of abuse and rudeness. But that’s not what
I’m talking about. And Miller’s book offers a humbling reflection for those
craving honesty that builds up and desiring to take the first step of courage
to change their lives and relationships. <b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-70455522171345544072018-01-06T06:42:00.004-08:002018-01-06T21:10:14.787-08:00COURAGEOUS FAITH by Charles F Stanley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
THIS WAS AN UPLIFTING PRE-CHRISTMAS READ. It's an autobiography that traces
the well-known pastor's life circumstances from childhood to his painful divorce and the
death of his ex-wife. <span style="font-family: sans-serif;">A latchkey child, he was haunted by the thought that there would always be no one there for him. While his young widowed mother tried to get him the occasional adult company and supervision, he grew up with a “sinking feeling of abandonment”. From young, he took on menial low-paying jobs like newspaper delivery, car wash and though he made the grade, he could not afford college until a pastor who heard about it offered him a scholarship in the last minute. Throughout life and ministry, he experienced periods of intense anxiety when waiting for a provision that was needed or for a direction from God. Such are moments we tend to think that God has sovereignly changed His mind but Stanley always sticks it out to see God create something out of nothing or out of chaos.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i>“God will give you everything you require to accomplish what He’s
planned for you.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i>True to form, God was right on time, as He always is.”</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJZ-q5KknDF0ZRRNAYbcyXXazZ5RIoBjqKWcJF9bFOzYrFqMvwh4D0keP6_WTaL9iFnojYsEIHXOmD_tI2TTYyZte8EDOVjU__Q9Hhplj6cIORn0FuTCU2PFrwYfJrFe4VHHe9c8FMIBud/s1600/CHARLES+F+STANLEY+COURAGEOUS+FAITH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="817" data-original-width="521" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJZ-q5KknDF0ZRRNAYbcyXXazZ5RIoBjqKWcJF9bFOzYrFqMvwh4D0keP6_WTaL9iFnojYsEIHXOmD_tI2TTYyZte8EDOVjU__Q9Hhplj6cIORn0FuTCU2PFrwYfJrFe4VHHe9c8FMIBud/s400/CHARLES+F+STANLEY+COURAGEOUS+FAITH.jpg" width="255"></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
This book is written as much for new believers as it is for those who are discouraged and who find Him
distant and silent in times of private distress. Stanley knows and has
this word for those going through dark nights of the soul: <i>Take it from me, you can overcome anything that happens in your life – regardless
of how devastating or hopeless it may seem – by having faith in God. The same
is true for you. The enemy knows how to discourage you. The message may be
different, but the effect is the same: he makes you feel futile, unwanted, and
without hope. But don’t believe him. The Lord …has given you the storms you
experience for a purpose – to transform you and those around you. So obey Him,
turn in to the tempest and don’t be afraid.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It is clear from the book that Stanley
goes through life on his knees. I can testify to the power of crying on my
knees, calling out to Jesus on my knees, praying on my knees, listening on my knees,
and falling asleep on my knees. That posture of total surrender intimates to our
natural senses a total surrender to God.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Struggling with loss alone</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>“The truth of the
matter is that, eventually, a lack of encouragement and support from fellow
Christians always takes a toll on our spiritual lives and invariably leads us
to feelings of alienation and isolation. We become easy targets for the enemy.”
</i>As a well-known preacher who was not only mourning the loss of his marriage,
but also fearing how the separation would affect his ministry, God provided him
with friends who showed up for him even when dark clouds of gloom were overhead.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>When it’s tiring to
stand strong</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>“When we lose those closest to us to death, discord, or distance, it
strikes at the core of our worth, identity and security and injuring us down to
our innermost parts. I learnt that grief is not something that can or should be
cut short. All pious works in the world will never fill a grieving heart. Rather,
you and I must allow the pain to run its full course so that we can experience
the healing our heavenly Father intends.” <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stanley also learned that<i>
“God hasn’t called me to understand, but to obey Him, forgive others, and seek
forgiveness…Like many divorced people, I never dreamed that I would not be
married for my entire life. Friday nights used to be the most difficult.”</i> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i> </i> </div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>MY FAVOURITE QUOTES:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><br></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
“Earthly fathers may
be unreliable, but the Lord is absolutely faithful.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
“Our obedience is the
fruit of what Jesus has given us – not the prerequisite to having a
relationship with Him.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
“If the Father doesn’t
answer you immediately, that just means you don’t need to know yet.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
“It is always worthwhile
to trust God and do as He says, even when it means flying straight into the
storm.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
“Are you an oyster or
an eagle?”<o:p></o:p></div>
Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-87772416399088453882017-05-25T08:58:00.001-07:002017-09-15T11:48:04.293-07:00EYES WIDE OPEN by Isaac Lidsky<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqMq3F8ucWygmtyxdYURyWXMtWViprcOt9CGq3IzlpJXNFsYJhKKmrL6RGWbH4BG7JXR4c2gnkkciXSrwl_wXhp3FxIkUoItHPSJXIvDv0c6NRE2KSgpfhdsLWGJ6_4MOAJB3LNDgO-1G_/s1600/photo6140739640919959486.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqMq3F8ucWygmtyxdYURyWXMtWViprcOt9CGq3IzlpJXNFsYJhKKmrL6RGWbH4BG7JXR4c2gnkkciXSrwl_wXhp3FxIkUoItHPSJXIvDv0c6NRE2KSgpfhdsLWGJ6_4MOAJB3LNDgO-1G_/s320/photo6140739640919959486.jpg" width="240"></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lidsky writes withoutany grandiosity about the debilitating
visual degeneration he went through, or the total blindness that is now a daily
reality. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“With hard work comes strength; with practice, mastery,” he said without pretense about his struggles with the progression from seeing to the realities that a blind person encounters every moment. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Discouragement, disappointment, frustrations are compounded
when one goes through major life changes. At the back of your mind, you
wonder how long people will stick around a dejevted person, and how much they can bear to look
at what you are going through. Many don’t and that’s the only way they know how
to respond. Who can stand being around someone with no more laughter, no more
imagination, and when is there no more emotional and esteem benefits for sticking
around. Yet he wrote about his wife Dorothy, “She never doubted that I would
provide for our family. Decision by insane decision, she was there for me. It
was fine by her if her fancy lawyer husband wanted to reinvent himself as a
construction guy. Her reward? I turned our lives upside down. In New York we
had dreamed I would build a business empire. Last week I told her I would
likely file a personal bankruptcy.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And his Jewish mother stood by him. “Please be good to
yourself, tatele. (a Yiddish term of endearment or little boy) She heard the pain
in my voice. She wanted to save me.” Only mothers do that: some mothers. They
can hear pain, but you have to make the phone call. She gave him her entire
life savings of $350K in a duffel bag and walked back to her car. That’s what
some mums do because hope is priceless and they would do anything to bring that
back to life. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is not mentioned in the book but perhaps these two women
are walking by faith and not by sight, and it is a faith that rests not in a
man’s talents and abilities, but in God who is larger than the man they both love. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some people face debilitating diseases like Lidsky, some
face the unexpected death of a loved one, others battle life-long depression or
deal with crushing post-divorce realities. The world doesn’t need another ‘do
this and you’ll be fine’ book under self-help or Christian titles. Nothing in
this book claims that promise. If anything, it preaches vulnerability and urges
those going through their dreaded and irreversible D’s to breath and focus on
the flow of taking things one step at a time. For many of these on many days, those are
big steps: to focus and to keep moving. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">For a book titled “Eyes Wide Open”, he ends with chapter 8
titled “Heart Wide Open.” Lidsky says, “I’m a funny blind guy with an open
heart.” I think so too. </div>
</div>
Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-2952107656964347482016-12-06T02:55:00.003-08:002016-12-09T06:38:09.342-08:00THROUGH THE EYES OF A LION: Facing impossible pain, finding incredible power By Levi Lusko<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4XE7bUeZLqHftg5k2WJAv4OJ_pPunnE__-ZwnDByTrRs057551lt7innpkFDQ4GB-A45k0qLaXKeYFik-lVyNm0IJTqZTzbHGqK7pmPJ0EibCy5NlySvHqBInrA_m6Qnnu0BakWBWbc1/s1600/THROUGH+THE+EYES+OF+A+LION.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4XE7bUeZLqHftg5k2WJAv4OJ_pPunnE__-ZwnDByTrRs057551lt7innpkFDQ4GB-A45k0qLaXKeYFik-lVyNm0IJTqZTzbHGqK7pmPJ0EibCy5NlySvHqBInrA_m6Qnnu0BakWBWbc1/s320/THROUGH+THE+EYES+OF+A+LION.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
WHAT IF YOU’RE HAVING AN ACHING CHRISTMAS? <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Levi Lusko is a pastor – if you checked out his sermons on YouTube, you’d find a pretty regular looking young pastor but one who is passionate and straightforward about obeying God. He and his wife also found themselves in the throes of deep grief when they suddenly lost their fiesty 5-year-old second born, nicknamed Lenya Lion, to a sudden asthma attack a few days before Christmas in 2012. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><b>This book is about facing pain instead of running away from it.</b> </span>You can imagine the anguish and agony of what Lusko went through. But he roared back, and through his encounter with raw pain, he analogized facing it with how one should run to the roar of a lion. Picture the way a pride of lions powerfully attack and overcome its victims - the tactic lies on the ferocious roar of male lions to intimidate and scare their victims to run away from the roar but only to be trapped by female lions who have by now silently surrounded the victim. In other words, Lusko urged us to make the counter-intuitive move towards the roar instead of running away from it. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">“If you fail to face your fears,
they will always be right there behind you.” </span></b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
ABOUT PAIN, Lusko writes, “There is a disorienting endlessness to suffering that makes it easy to lose your bearings. It’s like being lost in the woods of your own soul. Initially, just surviving each moment without hyperventilating is so all-consuming that minutes tick by slower than years. But then one day you poke your head out from your hibernation of hurting, and it can be shocking to find that actual time has passed.” </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But what if the pain someone is experiencing is something they can’t quite put a finger on? What if there is no casket that people can see, or a loss that creates a vacuum in life that money and material comfort cannot fill? <b>Lusko offers this advice</b>: “Perhaps for you running toward the roar isn’t about something you’re supposed to do but rather something difficult you have to go through: painful chemotherapy treatments, a divorce, a move across the country that will dislocate you from friendships that mean the world to you….(or Henri Nouwen might have also added – someone not coming through for you in the way you expected). Sometimes there is no other alternative but to face it.” </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Gold standard advice</b>: <span style="color: #134f5c;"><b><i>“Remember this:</i> </b></span><i><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">God isn’t scared of what you’re scared of.</span></b></i> <i><span style="color: #134f5c;"><b>But you don’t have to pretend like you’re not frightened. Naming your fear is part of getting through it.”</b></span></i> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But I thought he added too soon the warning: “try to shine the light and turn off the dark for as many people as possible – myself in the process.” Personally, I feel that trying to use personal tragedies as an inspiration to others is warped if done prematurely before one has sufficiently allowed God to deal with all manners of escapism and avoidance of the root issue. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><b>What I like best from LION:</b></span>
<b>It is possible to go into eternity with a saved soul and a wasted life.</b>
(Even in grief) You must make the choice to walk by faith and
see what can’t be seen with the naked eye. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>My take-away</b>: Pain is not just a feeling, but a season of dealing with disappointment for some, or personal loss for others. A season of pain includes but is not all about crying and grieving: life can go on pretty much the same with work, studies, family, meetings, catching with friends, serving in church, etc except it takes much more out of you to just keep up the normalcy. Like physical pain, emotional pain drains you physically and mentally. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My approach for self and others going through seasons of pain – put in small celebrations to disrupt the cycle of grief even for short moments the way old friends had brought up the most trivial reasons just to meet up with me when I was going through my season of brokenness that really touched my heart. And in turn, I do the same for others. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is pretty much like the book ‘Shattered Dreams’ reviewed in this blog. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>Where you can get it:</i></b> Kinokuniya $28.35, Book Depository from $12.86, Open Trolley $23.20</div>
Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-73325314190720977502016-12-05T07:28:00.000-08:002017-02-24T18:43:30.123-08:00ALL TOO MUCH FOR OLIVER by Leila Boukarim<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxtPIeYuFwIl-zm-uI7qMpLm0fAiFQHirVQqJLVusDYr7EtS60YmPYb_BJd4-CVY6aTgvWM7XknUXGEfnevBwb8xoRAodqgpy51fJNSoIRCwlb7wIlSEUtudBRsHgdrcXyu7F8pOud-XI/s1600/ALL+TOO+MUCH+FOR+OLIVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxtPIeYuFwIl-zm-uI7qMpLm0fAiFQHirVQqJLVusDYr7EtS60YmPYb_BJd4-CVY6aTgvWM7XknUXGEfnevBwb8xoRAodqgpy51fJNSoIRCwlb7wIlSEUtudBRsHgdrcXyu7F8pOud-XI/s320/ALL+TOO+MUCH+FOR+OLIVER.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I met Leila recently at the
Singapore Writers’ Festival. She was there to introduce another speaker and not really for her own book. But I found her
illustrated children’s book <i><b>‘All Too Much For Oliver’</b></i> on the speaker’s book
table, and asked who the writer was. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I was immediately drawn to her
book that describes a highly sensitive child who prefers a quiet world without
too much stimulation...most of the time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Young Oliver likes going to the
park. He likes playing in the playground. He likes swimming. He likes parties.
But only if there aren't too many kids around, if it isn’t too noisy, and if there
is one person he likes that could take his attention away from everything else
around him. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>I can identify with that right
away. </b>During almost my entire school life, I hardly joined classmates in crowded tuckshops during recess time but preferred slow walks with just one friend in quieter
places further out in the school compound. We would eat only when others were finishing
and clearing out of the school canteen. I was used to friends feeling abandoned and asking,
‘Where have you been?’ but it felt weird to tell them that I needed to get away
to recharge after four lessons of morning class with them! I didn’t even know how to
describe the need for solitude. So I never did. Though I started conversations with others easily, I usually had only one friend at a time and that was totally normal. Any more would
simply wear me out. Yet, I’ve thrown more parties than most people I know. I just need enough time alone to reflect, recharge and enjoy company.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>So in short, the book means a lot
to me</b>. And I felt comfortable enough to ask Leila if she was also a highly-sensitive
person (HSP) and she said yes. It was the first time in my life that I could be so
open with another human about this without feeling like an anomaly. It was
liberating!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I snapped up two copies of the book without a second thought!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>Where you can get i</i></b><b><i>t</i></b>: Leila says her book is available at Kinokuniya.</div>
Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-57064209258053708572016-12-04T07:22:00.000-08:002016-12-05T21:32:11.344-08:00SHY by Deborah Freedman <div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBogVwANHMvurQVDawYWpaVDMSZKMictZwWRlY5iEALfm2tHmjwPMLf63zNUxVEMS3X51JHwoV7lO8U7KFCHWsTUy7SPw5EWZ-73xebbUtJEO90_0mR-0BrNGFfFR1lo7obHhdiZU8taEW/s1600/SHY+by+Deborah+Freedman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBogVwANHMvurQVDawYWpaVDMSZKMictZwWRlY5iEALfm2tHmjwPMLf63zNUxVEMS3X51JHwoV7lO8U7KFCHWsTUy7SPw5EWZ-73xebbUtJEO90_0mR-0BrNGFfFR1lo7obHhdiZU8taEW/s320/SHY+by+Deborah+Freedman.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I believe in having a childlike
attitude towards life, and enjoy popping into children’s bookstores to sniff
out good books with the intensity of a dog sniffing the ground on its walk. Children’s
books have a way of telling us much with great simplicity and it takes a gifted
storyteller to deliver a story that has different layers of meaning for both children and adults.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
SHY caught my attention one
afternoon. Something about its size and hard cover belies its demure title – it
is bigger than most books. As a book lover, I was immediately drawn to the
first sentence: <b><i>“Shy was happiest between the pages of a book.”</i></b> It goes on to
describe a giraffe who, in spite its build and bearing, liked to read about
birds but never got to befriend any because it was too shy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>“But Shy had never actually heard
a bird.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>
None of his books could sing.”<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To younger children, the books talks about getting to know
someone of different ethnicity or ability.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To preteens, it can introduce the topic of having friends
of the opposite sex.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For adults, we can reflect on meaningful friendships that we can open up to without fear.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most children books have no page number and it took me just
a short time to browse through the book at the store. So I will not give away
the ending. But it is one that rewards opening the windows of our lives to let
others in – whatever our age.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>Where
you can get i</i></b><b><i>t</i></b>: Books
Ahoy! at Forum Galleria (about $31), and Book Depository (about $21).<o:p></o:p></div>
Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-26792797149725905912016-11-01T21:02:00.000-07:002016-12-05T07:22:56.896-08:00BRAVE ENOUGH by Nicole Unice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimqEQZ40fORnq4ySQyhdXkQt5sKwCuaJRcqEguXS1KOXLrJ8Fat3hl-0TI0qhLmbWkf1ltBNJK3zjCJ3EHXuJMARbuaLfNaTrTABMnDA8sbGelFl5-7CDwtlvdXzRsDUq7plstfFMnwEo-/s1600/BRAVE+ENOUGH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimqEQZ40fORnq4ySQyhdXkQt5sKwCuaJRcqEguXS1KOXLrJ8Fat3hl-0TI0qhLmbWkf1ltBNJK3zjCJ3EHXuJMARbuaLfNaTrTABMnDA8sbGelFl5-7CDwtlvdXzRsDUq7plstfFMnwEo-/s320/BRAVE+ENOUGH.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
There are times in life that you face more than one major upheaval
without anyone by your side. It’s like a slow drown while everyone on-shore go
about their everyday lives. It’s hard to scream when you are drowning so nobody hears your distress. Perhaps many don’t like to get wet, or held back by
their own fear of water or the inability to swim themselves, they prefer to think that all is well and you will re-appear one day. And you do know that <b>one day you will make
it back on shore </b>to join everyone else.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Question is: will you be in a better or worse condition then?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>I know of people who have gone through life-changing shipwrecks. Though the storms are long over, they have become storm avoidant, and stone
cold. </b></span></i>I was drawn to BRAVE ENOUGH to investigate storm survivors who live to
tell not of how they have learnt to avoid storms or not to trust people which
is tragic because it shows that although they came through the storm, something
has drowned inside them. I want to know how people face the storm and still not
lose courage.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In today's digital age, many of us are not very
sensitized to pain, whether it's our own or another's. Courage seems to be a quality that is
hard to find, even inside churches. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><i>"Courage seems to be a quality </i></span><i style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-large;">that is hard to find ..."</i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>WHAT'S INSIDE ‘BE BRAVE’ </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The INTRODUCTION begins with, ‘We are all a little scared. We’re
often afraid of being irrelevant, worthless, or forgotten. We worry about what
will happen if we speak up, or what will happen if we stay quiet and rest for
even a moment…scared into stillness but vibrating with anxiety.’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
But the point of having courage, she argued, is to face what
is making us scared and anxious rather than the rightness or wrongness of doing
or not doing something. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Interestingly, the first chapter of the book touched on
courage needed to write a note to a friend. Compared to facing life changes
after losing a loved one or a divorce, this is a cinch. But if we would hold
back a little on snap judgment, aren’t the little hard things in relationships
the ones that need the most courage to sort out?<br />
<br />
But before we protest that it's another self-help book, we are quickly reminded that God is in the business of restoring courage and Unice highlighted poignant moments in the Bible when Jesus
knew someone nearby had lost the strength of courage.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
To the paralytic man brought to Him by friends, He said ‘<b><i>Take
heart</i></b>, son’. Matthew 9:2</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
To the woman who came uninvited and alone, He said ‘<b><i>Take
heart</i></b>, daughter’. Matthew 9:22</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
To His disciples who saw Him walking on water, He said ‘<b><i><span style="background: white;">Take courage</span></i></b><span style="background: white;">! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’</span>
Matthew 14:27</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;">To us all, He
said ‘In this world you will have trouble. But<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><b style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i>take heart</i></b>! I have overcome the world.’ John 16:33</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
There are only four mentions of Greek <b><i>tharseo</i></b> in the Bible. It
means courage, or be encouraged.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
“Despite all the ways that you feel you are too much for anyone…you are never too much for Him. When we are n the tumultuous waters of our past, we are not free! We are just trying to survive.” – God is serious about what hinders us.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 1</b> - “Courage cuts across circumstances. Sometimes we
need courage to write notes, to get out of bed, to say hard tings.” It is when
God calls us to endure.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 9</b> – God’s grace can offend our sensibilities and our
perception of how things should work. “It was hard for Peter to accept when
Jesus stooped low to wash his feet. It’s personal and intimate, and it requires
us to let Jesus invade our personal space, our rights, and our understanding of
how the world should work.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
This book is for believer of all levels of maturity. To
those facing the first storms of life with Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, it
encourages you to come through stronger. To seasoned leaders and pastors, it
takes us away from giving pat answers to life complexities that we are facing,
or throwing ourselves into a state of defeat. We won’t know how to help others go
through their storms if we can’t even face our own pain. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Whether for yourself or someone going through a stormy
season, this book is a good companion for the ride. And as always, also be
there in person for them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>Where you can get i</i></b>t: I got it on OpenTrolley. It's not available on Book Depository, Kinokuniya or even SKS Bookstore which stocks books by Christian authors.</div>
Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-62662488234348980252013-01-08T00:55:00.006-08:002013-01-08T06:41:58.207-08:00HUNGRY FOR PARIS & HUMBLE PIE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidXRSS2N1wUj-pbcfSOFpOd5WhUDUjnMIr5dgND-0suKp9ts7on0OK6RBT4T50kjilHjA3irTqiHsjZTF-XIb0iFdwxaxcG6gmvZ2fcxu_OGLenmAW5tACX0MQFSy9q136UdZHt8gmn3Bv/s1600/HUNGRY+FOR+PARIS+AND+HUMBLE+PIE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidXRSS2N1wUj-pbcfSOFpOd5WhUDUjnMIr5dgND-0suKp9ts7on0OK6RBT4T50kjilHjA3irTqiHsjZTF-XIb0iFdwxaxcG6gmvZ2fcxu_OGLenmAW5tACX0MQFSy9q136UdZHt8gmn3Bv/s400/HUNGRY+FOR+PARIS+AND+HUMBLE+PIE.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-SG</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
HUMBLE PIE <i>by Gordon Ramsay</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
HUNGRY FOR PARIS <i>by Alexander Lobrano</i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
For the most part, restaurant reviews are as interesting to me as traffic reports in that I do not expect the reporter to reveal if he had a fight with his wife on a morning he faced bad traffic. Contrast
this with good food writing that exudes soul, and offers as much insight on
food as it does the diner and the dining experience. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In Singapore, any culture created
by a chef or owner is limited to the food and decor, and diluted by untrained wait
staff. Although we are not short of good dining venues, it’s hard to really differentiate
one place from another in terms of service and culture. Thanks to our diverse ethnic
melting pot, cultural clashes are increasingly common in restaurants. I’ve had
to speak Mandarin to a Chinese waiter at an Indian restaurant, struggled to
understand the heavy accent of a Filipino server at a Korean BBQ restaurant who
also could not explain the many varied small dishes laid out on my table, and stumped
many wait staff by simply asking them to describe a dish.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Familiarity with returning customers
also seem to be a thing of the past with high staff turnover. Nobody remembers
you on your second visit. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
For this reason, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">HUNGRY FOR PARIS</b> (2008) restored my belief
that it takes more than good food for a good dining experience. The book consists of reviews of 102 Parisian restaurants by American food writer, Alexander
Lobrano, who lives in the city. Personalized with true anecdotes, his relationships
with the restaurants reviewed go beyond mere acquaintanceship, and above pallid
perfunctory observations.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
If the way to a man’s heart is
through his stomach, it is not surprising then that this book offers heart-warming
glimpses into Lobrano’s life in Paris. Start at <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Preface</b> as he recounts what stoked his passion for Paris and French
food. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">‘The Happy Eater’s Almanac’ </b>is
a must-read if all you have ever heard about dining in Paris are about haughty wait
staff. You will discover that having a meal in a Parisian establishment is more
than a means to relieve hunger. There is a high degree of respect between the
server and the diner, and the diner for the chef that is often misunderstood by
non-natives as cold and distant. According to the author, you can expect
servers to know what they are serving without dashing back to the kitchen to
ask!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Indeed, bigotry will soon spoil
anything that could be enjoyed from a Parisian dining experience. It's best to leave
rigid opinions to starve at home.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">HUMBLE PIE (2006) </b>is a Christmas gift from a daughter who knows I
enjoy food writing that has soul. Ramsay is a true disciple of the kitchen –
bearing up its heat and rigors the same way he does life.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
He has the same strong opinions
about food and running a restaurant as he does about drug addicts. Rejecting
the notion that addiction is a disease and that he is part responsible for his
brother’s addiction, he said: ‘Addicts are selfish, the most selfish people you’ll
ever meet. And self-pitying. And manipulative. Always making promises they’ll
never keep. They disgust me. If I’m part of the problem I’d like to know why it’s
me that picks up the bill every time Ronnie visits the clinic.’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
That is a rare aseptic statement from
a book richly peppered with the non-food related f-word.<br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
His advice to loss-making
high-end restaurants: ‘Your location decides a menu. It’s really all about the
customer. No one should ever forget that, no matter how great their sauces are.’<br />
<br />
<i><b>Where you can get it: </b></i>Loan from NLB<i><b>. </b></i>S$27.81 Kinokuniya [ISBN : 9780812976830] </div>
Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-2451153173635102592012-10-11T10:55:00.001-07:002016-12-05T16:08:05.262-08:00Shattered Dreams - God's Unexpected Path to Joy<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-SG</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">by Dr Larry Crabb</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There
are people who <i>don’t want to talk about God</i> when <b>they are in pain</b>,
and others who <i>don’t want to hear you talk about God</i> when <b>you are in
pain</b>. Indeed, pain is a precious but precarious journey to take with God
that confounds many, especially when we romanticize the view that God should
permit only pleasure, <i>not pain</i>. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">SHATTERED
DREAMS is as difficult to read as the verse ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Consider it pure joy ...when you face trials of many kinds</i>.’ The
verse suggests that not only is it not problematic for pain to co-exist with
God, but if we would persevere and not give up on Him, we are promised that we
would not lack anything to get on with a meaningful life.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Drawing
illustrations from Naomi’s life through the book of Ruth, Crabb [don’t be deceived
by the name, he’s deep] shows us that we can really get crabby when no longer
in control [sorry, can’t help the pun]. How about losing a spouse and two sons
in the span of a decade? Naomi’s dream of walking into the sunset with her
husband died when he did. The sounds of laughter she would imagine while
playing with her own grandchildren were silenced forever when her sons
died. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It is hard to
review a book about finding God while living with the pain of uncertainty or
loss without sounding glib and presumptuous in offering solutions. In fact,
this book offers no quick fixes, or formulas for a problem-free life. Rather, it
persuades any reader not to run away from facing anguish and agony, and the
place of intense loneliness. It reminds me that God always creates a safe place
to receive me with my raw, unmentionable thoughts and emotions. The reward of
such honest encounters with Him often is comfort, hope and yes...<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sustaining</i> joy – a quiet and calm
contentment, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not euphoria</i> - that is
hard to generate on my own. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I’ll highlight
below what I feel are 3 key chapters of the book for me:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">[chapter 10 The Elusive God]</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Naturally, we
demand to know why God doesn’t show up on demand and respond to our needs so
that what we fear will never saddle us with misery. However, even when our
world collapse, we can still find God in the rubble... if we dig in. ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">An honest look will first reveal the rubble
of our efforts to make life work without God, of our terror that keeps us from
naked vulnerability to anyone, of our construction project that has create a
false self that we hope will stay together through life.’</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">‘If we’re to encounter the divine Presence, we must enter the
interior sanctuary of our heart and, like Jesus in the temple, become indignant
over what we find. The process is what spiritual people call brokenness and
repentance.’</span></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The result is
a release of heaviness and hurt that frees us to love and worship Him, even
when our dreams are crushed.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">[chapter 11 Abandonment and Confidence]</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A newborn
depends on and trusts its parents for love, protection, feeding and care. It
rests in this dependence as it has many needs it cannot meet on its own. To
me, this is a gift: to abandon or surrender to God when circumstances that are
beyond our control cave in on us. True abandonment involves ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">giving ourselves to God in utter dependence
on His willingness to give Himself to us... It allows no room for control. It
includes no claim on God that obligates Him to do anything. Only suffering has
the power to bring us to this point</i>.’ </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">How is that a
good deal? Well, ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Presence of God is
not naturally discerned. It involves an experience that takes us beyond the
realm of our five senses. It calls on our capacity to experience spiritual, not
material, reality. ...a beyond-words awareness of unseen reality, an awareness
of a presence that is not sensually felt...an awareness that emerges out of
deep pain as Warm Truth, and becomes more real as pain grows deep</i>er.’ </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We usually
come to this private place of meeting God to vent our bitterness, anger and
frustration. But the upshot is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the
likelihood of ending up on cloud nine even on a cloudless day</b>. That has
been my experience when I would throw myself to encounter God instead of spending
days stonewalling Him.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Finally, I’d
like to go back to an earlier chapter at the start of the book. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">[Chapter 2 We need a good story]</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“<b>Pity kills
people. Sometimes, it is self-pity, sometimes it is pity from other people</b>.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“When life
throws an unexpected curve our way, when the second shoe drops soon after the
first...a more visible <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">self-concern</b>
surfaces as the strongest passion we feel. It takes many forms - often <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">self-pity</b>, sometimes a hardened <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">determination to survive</b>, perhaps a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">relentless demand</b> that someone see our
pain and care. More often it’s a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">decision
to hide</b>, to let no one see our real struggles. A few commit suicide. Many <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">renounce all responsibilities</b> that
require them to put someone else's needs above their own. Most of us just get
on. Whatever way we can, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">we live to dull
the pain</b>. Whatever the means, the goal is the same: Handle pain!”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">However “<i>as
long as the goal is to handle pain, relationships suffer. We pull back.
Sometimes, all that separates Christians from non-Christians is our understanding
of how to produce ...good feelings. The pursuit of soul-pleasure remains
primary. We contribute to want something or someone more than God. We don’t
think that’s our biggest problem, but it is. </i>(Why? Because) <i>when the One
we depend on to give us a good time doesn’t do His job, we feel betrayed, let
down, thoroughly disillusioned. He neither reverses the tragedy nor fills us
with peace and joy. Eventually, we may learn to hate Him. </i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">How do we
trust a sometimes disappointing, seemingly fickle God who fails to do for us
what good friends, if they could, would do?"</span></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Naomi’s life
story teaches us that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“shattered dreams
open the door to better dreams, dreams that we do not properly value until the
dreams that we improperly value are destroyed. Shattered dreams destroy false
expectations, such as the ‘victorious’ Christian life with no real struggle or
failure. They help us discover true hope...it moves us away from demanding
what’s good...toward desiring what’s better...until heaven provides what’s best.”</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">THIS BOOK DELIVERS A FRESH REMINDER that when things
are going well, God is just a passing thought; but when bad things happen, He is immediately blamed. Ultimately,<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b style="font-style: italic;"> </b>persuades </span></span>the author, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘we are not defined by the things
we suffer</i></b>’, we can surely be refined by the experience if we do not lose heart and our faith in a loving God who has the final say.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">If you're
going through an exceptionally trying time and need a good challenge to stay
the course, pick up this book! </span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></div>
Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-78303331707835890212012-08-06T05:25:00.001-07:002013-01-08T00:56:46.822-08:00When Broken Glass Floats<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdg2PaAOLoWWYFEr5dy_qIUaqc-JksXEGqe3NNT4578if42HeU3OIxkeOBKbPsPIxS7z4gW2h55oiAxgn8pMJg1B_-GkeiIGlk0eUWUGD5uOV_SnPRJCbDyZ3evl-YDoMp5OQGRRt-2eGI/s1600/WHEN+BROKEN+GLASS+FLOATS+APR+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdg2PaAOLoWWYFEr5dy_qIUaqc-JksXEGqe3NNT4578if42HeU3OIxkeOBKbPsPIxS7z4gW2h55oiAxgn8pMJg1B_-GkeiIGlk0eUWUGD5uOV_SnPRJCbDyZ3evl-YDoMp5OQGRRt-2eGI/s320/WHEN+BROKEN+GLASS+FLOATS+APR+2012.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
<div>
<b><i>by</i><i> Chanrithy Him</i></b></div>
<b><i> </i></b> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Increasingly, recent news have highlighted</span> students from disadvantaged backgrounds who topped their
classes and earned scholarships.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From observing
people in my life, those who grew up with less privileges seemed more determined
to do well than those who did not experience prolonged hardships.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Perhaps adversities are not as
pernicious as they appear though they are always known for poor timing.</b> Often described as
metaphorical waves that sweep over us and render us powerless, to wave riders, board and wind surfers, they are gifts of nature for learning tricky manoeuvres and new overcoming tactics. Perhaps we too could learn much through adversities to emerge with new life
skills and aspirations. Therefore, <b>to adjust is merely learning how to ride the episodic wave
and surf on its power – what you certainly could not do on calm waters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
For about four years from April
of 1975, the Khmer Rouge brought intensive waves of human displacement and
unthinkable suffering throughout Cambodia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Seen through the innocence and resilience of a 10-year-old, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">When
Broken Glass Floats</i></b> chronicles life before and after the Khmer
Rouge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a child, her innocence sees
the outcome of cruel inhumanity rather than the gory processes and details that
are kept away from children, and her resilience makes the renewability of the
human spirit admirable.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Deprived of family contact and food, and shrivelling with
untreated infection from drinking undrinkable water and eating inedible food in
the harsh fields of forced labour, she wrote:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" normal="normal">
<i>Hunger doesn’t make me modest. I continue to gorge on the food. I feel
Pok’s eyes watching us – I don’t care. I’ve unlearned Cambodian table manners,
all the cultural rules. Today these things don’t apply to me. I’ve learned to
well, adjusting to today’s scarcity...one must adapt to one’s situation in
order to survive. And I’m adjusting to my new environment, a world where
formality and politeness are not a necessity – indeed are banned. Instead,
cruelty is the law by which the people are ruled, a law designed to break our
spirits. In the name of padewat (the revolution). Even though he works for the
Khmer Rouge, Pok doesn’t have a heart of stone like them. The goodness in him
has lifted my spirit.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What I like about this memoir is that it’s not just another survivor’s
account of hardship under the Khmer Rouge, using words as an ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">incantation to make things right in my soul</i>’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">There are times when I’ve
denied my own memories, when I’ve neglected the little girl in me. There would
always be time to grieve, I told myself. I pushed down memories in pursuit of important
things. Education. Medical school. I wanted to make a difference in the world,
to do good deeds, fulfil a child’s wish. There would be a time for memories, but
I never anticipated it, never sought it out. There would be a time.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">As I sit in the eerie
glow of my computer screen summoning up the past, I know that it is time. I
invite the memories back in, apprehensive but hungry for them. In trying to
understand my drive to tell others what was scorched in my mind, I recognize my
fortitude and ambition, which are rooted in the people who gave me life – my parents.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Convinced that good must come through even painful
experiences, Chanrithy Him emerges with dignity, compassion and continues to
champion for the treatment of post traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] for
children of war.</div>
Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-84535694579756780322012-05-11T11:28:00.003-07:002012-10-11T10:40:44.949-07:00The Sandwich Swap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifkdP1SY4dvLtN7kLFlXI6pLwPmUd3gLQN4xQmGA3mMw-Z3Duxp8II03KkgUSuZEmuIIMvrGwwc5nG9tcONeK9p-FcgZkaqwwmUFXtkepdfQi0LGz2nAVJU5law23Na4ydyChFBhgFQ4w-/s1600/Sandwich+Swap.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifkdP1SY4dvLtN7kLFlXI6pLwPmUd3gLQN4xQmGA3mMw-Z3Duxp8II03KkgUSuZEmuIIMvrGwwc5nG9tcONeK9p-FcgZkaqwwmUFXtkepdfQi0LGz2nAVJU5law23Na4ydyChFBhgFQ4w-/s320/Sandwich+Swap.JPG" width="232" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>by</i><i> Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah</i></b> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
For a book to have blurps by a
US President, a First Lady <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i> a
billionaire philanthropist, it is unusual. For a children’s book to bear such pre-eminence,
it must be authored by a royalty no less! And so it is: <i><b>‘The Sandwich Swap’</b></i> is penned by<i><b> </b></i>none other than<i><b> </b></i>Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah. It is a
simple and meaningful story about a cross-cultural friendship between
Lily, who is Caucasian, and Salma, of Middle
eastern descent. They are best friends and inseparable . </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
But where humanity and
personality bring them together, tragically, the food that epitomize their distinct
cultural backgrounds would divide them. Lily swears
by peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch, while Salma holds unflinching
loyalty to hummus and pita sandwich. Each
girl esteems her sandwich because of the parent who has lovingly prepared it.
And each one thinks the world of her parent and therefore, about her
sandwich. Any criticism of the sandwich is an inexcusable insult and
fiercely defended. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In reality though, a brown paste of
ground roasted peanuts is really <i>not that different</i> from a paste of mashed chickpeas.
Both are mushy: their palatability determined only by exposure and experience. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
But the showdown comes when one
exerts superiority of preference over another. (Reminiscent of the story circulating here around a Chinese family's complaint of the smell of curry coming from their Indian neighbors' house everyday.) <b>Bigotry in any form is impolite and
distasteful. </b>There are no winners in this tug-of-war: whether it’s between
Europeans, Americans, Chinese, Indians, Vietnamese, Latinos or Middle-easterners. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The two girls become estranged and
lonely. Stories of their dispute spread and trigger an
all-out food fight at the canteen! Through it they begin to see the absurdity of it
all, and bravely, they start to make
conciliatory moves to appreciate each others' cultural heritage...beginning with
a simple exchange of sandwiches. And they are once again friends.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
However, when they discover how
enriched they are to have tasted each others’ sandwich and pita [called <i>falafel</i> in Israel], they just know that
they must take the message to the masses and organize an international lunch buffet for the other students to spread the good news and the peace agenda!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;">BIGOTRY really is like sticking to one
type of lunch and exerting its superiority over other choices. In the end, it’s
isolating and lonely, and short-changes one of tremendous enjoyment that
comes from being open to other cultural experiences just because you can.</span></b></div>
Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-37621476038302915422012-04-23T09:48:00.002-07:002013-01-08T00:57:10.695-08:00Masterful Living<b><i>by Kevin Mannoia</i></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT5T7QiLWCmZ_V1pRdR5Mwc_c_6iTjXl-OAsN-QwRMYVzH0QGl8Ms3UFbfgugEkZLICmw9oDTzMDvPOHaamuvs44Njm4GlOq3kAzvpfl2j9N1OrQ9xytrulrvbGkfZqL8Q-GIzvXkyyI6f/s1600/MASTERFUL+LIVING.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT5T7QiLWCmZ_V1pRdR5Mwc_c_6iTjXl-OAsN-QwRMYVzH0QGl8Ms3UFbfgugEkZLICmw9oDTzMDvPOHaamuvs44Njm4GlOq3kAzvpfl2j9N1OrQ9xytrulrvbGkfZqL8Q-GIzvXkyyI6f/s320/MASTERFUL+LIVING.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On first impression, the title has the vernacular of martial arts or some new age ideology, but the idea is not congruent with the person who lent it to me. <b>Masterful Living</b>, as it turns out, is simply about living full of God as our Master. It sounds simple, but this book is best read slowly for deep and investigative self-reflection. You may want to mark some chapters as favourites for ongoing reference according to what God is doing in your life.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Here are my favourite chapters.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
[Chapter 2] <span style="font-size: large;"><b>Responsible
engagement</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
This is an interesting chapter that talks about <b>social
engagement as a result of a transformed character.</b> While an overemphasis on character
transformation can cause a believer to be isolated and alienated from those
outside his/her holy fortress [<i>my expression</i>], a sense of responsible engagement that is driven
by character transformation causes us to spring into action ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">for engaging the hurt, the broken, the disenfranchised
in order to make a difference here and now</i>.’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: white; text-align: justify;">
<i>Located at the end of this chapter: </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Theological idea to meditate on</i>: <b>Incarnation of God in Jesus</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Danger to Avoid</i>: <b>Social Gospel/activism alone</b> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
[Chapter 3]<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Healthy
relationships</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Masterful Living</b> postulates that when we are truly living
in the Spirit of God, we will begin to understand the true nature of unity,
and healthy relationships become the natural outcome. Such relationships are rooted in unity with God, and allow for
differences in personality, ability, functions, role, circumstances, etc. These are very liberating relationships that have some qualities of uniformity and unanimity. Unfortunately, because ‘<i>abuses of power, manipulation,
dysfunctional relationships...and coercion' </i>some <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">'may impose uniformity or unanimity
where unity does not exist</i>’. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Mannoia exerts that <b>God does not dichotomize His love
</b>but offers a universal love for all mankind that is vulnerable to rejection, criticism and hurt. <b>He cannot be one thing to those who love Him,
and another to those who reject Him.</b> God is faithful to His nature, and He cannot deny who He is. With God as our Master, we’ll find it hard not
to be the same. While this is not to say
that we should be pushovers for bullies, what it means is that
increasingly, it’ll be hard to operate love with a bias.<b> Surely, it's easy to treat those who are amiable towards us with a </b><b>Type
A attitude, and guard ourselves with a Type B behaviour
towards the bull-dozers. </b>But mastered by God's love, it'll be hard to withhold kindness and mercy even to the bulldozers. While
I’m not saying that one should invite a troublesome person to lunch with open arms or to continue
to be manipulated, being consistently gracious is a happier way to live. And <span style="font-size: large;"><b>life is more relaxed when you have only one
side to show, whether it's valued or not. </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: cyan; text-align: justify;">
<div style="color: white;">
<i>Located at the end of this chapter: </i></div>
<span style="color: black;"><i>Theological idea to meditate on:</i> <b>The kingdom principle of
mutuality</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Danger to Avoid:</i> <b>Group relativism </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
[Chapter 7]<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Servant
Leadership</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Masterful Living</b> dispels all notions that servant leadership
is a leadership model, or a smart way to get people on your side by mimicking
servanthood. Rather, it postulates that ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you
may be an autocratic leader, or a collaborative leader, or a directing leader,
or a theory X leader – and still be a servant leader. The real issue is not the
style but the inner condition of your
life and how that condition is reflected in whatever style of leadership you
apply</i>.’ </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
My best part is where it talks about the servant/master
construct: that <b>we reflect the nature and priorities of who our master is. Money, self, position, power, others [<i>ie other
people</i>] or God can be our master, and we will invariably reflect the one who
masters us. </b>Serving money, for example, will bring a different alignment of all
the other priorities in our lives eg relationship with others and God.
Naturally, one who is mastered by money will place position, power and self
above all else to succeed. This makes it
really very telling who anyone’s master is. <br />
<br />
Don't we often allow ourselves to be hoodwinked
by what a person claims to be, and the tell-tale signs we so compassionately
want to ignore. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div style="color: white;">
<i>Located at the end of this chapter:</i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Theological idea to meditate on</i>: <b>The servant mind of Christ</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Danger to Avoid</i>: <b>Style of leadership only </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Every chapter ends with a Scripture reference, a theological
idea to meditate on, a danger to avoid, questions to ask yourself, and a
prayer. I have to say that the questions and prayers are not the usual
run-of-the-mill ho-hums at the end of a chapter and that makes this book good for
private journalling to develop your thoughts, monitor
your commitments [<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">after all, every prayer
is really a commitment</i>] and note the changes God will bring about.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">SIMPLY A SUPERB PERSONAL GUIDEBOOK towards <b>Masterful Living</b>.</span></div>
<br />
<i><b>Where you can get it:</b></i> Bookstore at Trinity @ PL, tel 6749-9639</div>
Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-90826358044630228222012-04-15T01:03:00.009-07:002012-10-11T10:42:09.596-07:00The Carrot Seed<i><b>by Ruth Krauss</b></i><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJMrCFUtcGT812yaqwZs7XSanQ0GmG2t-RAZ4JH8ufoThiULe-QlY9CrNoA9ZaZX_LKaXBP8HW4oPXK8Hq0fEF6flFGAS3MgWm_1Smgmxwreew_dp2GBw3QR4DV7tUi2ekDcTAiO7EBNFH/s1600/THE+CARROT+SEED.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJMrCFUtcGT812yaqwZs7XSanQ0GmG2t-RAZ4JH8ufoThiULe-QlY9CrNoA9ZaZX_LKaXBP8HW4oPXK8Hq0fEF6flFGAS3MgWm_1Smgmxwreew_dp2GBw3QR4DV7tUi2ekDcTAiO7EBNFH/s320/THE+CARROT+SEED.JPG" width="249px" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>This 1945 children's classic</b></span></span> came to mind in the other day and I was pleased to find it safely nestled on the shelf. Some stories have the capacity to come alive in different ways and this is one of them - a simple story about waiting and the simple concept of allowing due process. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Yet even the simplest ambition or aspiration becomes really hard when it involves mental endurance and the fine art of preserving relationships with close ones who do not sign up to wait with you [<i>and they have every right not to</i>]. It also illustrates the importance of keeping busy while staying the course, with actions that promote the cause that is close to the heart . Often, worthy pursuits are sabotaged by counter-productive actions that bring them to premature end.<br />
<br />
The little boy in the story believed that his carrot seed would yield a carrot, dug his heels in to guard the seed, and tactfully stood his ground against all disparaging influences. Eventually, he was rewarded for what he believed. Drawing on the theory of Erik Eriksen - the father of psychosocial development - if he had aborted his endeavour, the disappointment would surely bring upon him a sense of inferiority children his age are so susceptible to. He would not have discovered the fruit of his diligence. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The story has only 101 words [<i>I counted</i>] - some pages only four words - and throughout, the little boy uttered not a word. From the time I was 10, my father made me memorize and recite books to him during the school holidays [<i>maybe a way to keep me from pestering him to take me out</i>]. I hated the process but liked the sense of achievement after my turn was over [<i>and I was liberated from this imposition on my idyllic existence</i>]. In retrospect, he imbued in me a propensity for hard work. The Carrot Seed would have been such an easy assignment, but no he never gave it to me that easy! By contrast, this short review already has 334 words.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Where you can get it:</b></i> Try the better children's bookstores or Kinokuniya [It's still in print]<br />
<b><i>Level of impact:</i></b> Refreshing reminder and illustration of faith and attitude</div>
Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-579898211076147372012-04-13T00:51:00.010-07:002012-10-11T10:42:30.887-07:00Bittersweet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4GPnufeYxI4Aj0uHTOUZcDU1OWabNjOwifC1nO2xQRBfwQf5k5NKJrk6Bl2OPtXQTGD9xevF5dBI2fCdaV48N2Z5BBvN-VEBUeYB14xiJbuyyEnz2SYn02jzApeTE1Fus7V50rTPWNLFP/s1600/BITTERSWEET+APR+2012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283px" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4GPnufeYxI4Aj0uHTOUZcDU1OWabNjOwifC1nO2xQRBfwQf5k5NKJrk6Bl2OPtXQTGD9xevF5dBI2fCdaV48N2Z5BBvN-VEBUeYB14xiJbuyyEnz2SYn02jzApeTE1Fus7V50rTPWNLFP/s320/BITTERSWEET+APR+2012.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div>
<b><i>By Shauna Niequist</i></b><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Not in the mood for instructions on Christian living, I found <b>‘Bittersweet’</b> among piles of books on the bare cement floor of the bookstore, looking more like a misplaced cookbook! <span style="font-size: large;">Like the cover, this book is as delectable a read as sipping latte on a quiet afternoon with a good friend telling you her story.</span> It's so precious it never left my bedside - just one of those books that make me look forward to curling up in bed at night when the girls are in their rooms. Incidently, the word ‘bittersweet’ came to my mind the night before, so it was a natural pick. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Never heard of Shauna Niequist before, but two paragraphs into the proloque tells me that she is a rare contemporary wordsmith. <span style="font-size: large;"><i>‘<b>Bittersweet is the practice of believing that we really do need both the bitter and the sweet, and that a life of nothing but sweetness rots both your teeth and your soul. Bitter is what makes us strong, what forces us to push through, what helps us earn the lines on our faces and the calluses on our hands. Sweet is nice enough, but bitter sweet is beautiful, nuanced, full of depth and complexity. Bittersweet is courageous, gutsy, earthy.’</b></i> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Don't you already love this?</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A collection of non-pretentious, non-cynical ramblings about day-to-day happenings written at a time of the author’s life that was fraught with uncertainties and unknown outcomes. In the process, she writes about the food that mark each experience, the friends and parties that provide comfort and normalcy, and her bare emotions not couched in Christian jargon or politesse. She has a security in Jesus that’s not contingent on good outcomes. <b>I see vibrancy in her soul that eludes many people who have it far better than her in their circumstances.</b> Through her memoirs, you connect with her tears, her anguish, her exasperation, and still see that hurtful reality is not something you can just slam the door on. Chapter closed. Life goes on. [Such delusional thinking about life only leads people to seek escape through transcendental meditations, positive thinking, and even using pseudo-faith in God to hope for better outcomes.] </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Talking about unhappiness makes people uncomfortable but it’s a lop-sided life and friendship that only dwells on the happy days and shows the happy face.</span> The author had a miscarriage when she started writing, but she suffered an even sadder loss of a double miscarriage in the concluding chapters. In the chapter '<i>your story must be told'</i>, she wrote, <i><b>“When we tell the truth about our lives – the broken parts, the secret parts, the beautiful parts – then the gospel comes to life, an actual story about redemption ...”</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
About sweet endings, this is her conclusion in the epilogue, <b><i>“I wanted, of course, for this bittersweet season to be over. I felt so strongly that when I finished the book, I’d be free to move into another season, one of life and celebration. But this is what I know now: they’re the same thing, and that’s all there is. The most bittersweet season of my life so far is still life, still beautiful, still sparkling with celebration. This season wasn’t bittersweet. Life itself is bittersweet. There’s always life and death, always beauty and blood.’</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I couldn’t agree more. Those who think they are doing their loved ones a favour by staying away during bad times, or avoiding any talk about hard issues are truly missing out on precious opportunities to see God in their lives that will help them immeasurably when their time comes.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><b>Where you can get it:</b></i> SKS Books S$26.50<br />
<i><b>Level of impact:</b></i> Immediately comforting, putting down is like hanging up on a friend.<br />
<i><b>Timing of book:</b></i> Sad is the life without a book as a guidepost; glad God sent me this for the journey.</div>
Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-82228060562143316742012-04-09T23:27:00.013-07:002014-11-17T07:45:55.337-08:00The Joy of Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgT3mB5USGVmmOrw53YiRlmyv01Brg1P2PiviZ2-JVLXM8UM0ZWJQxkJq-bb3TSwzwDuOpVdEMLz3tvG2Wt38072XPb1dQknOxg9IFVlNZg229qBaSTnl-3Hpw6FQ57k_83VxCiYInxI7x/s1600/joy+of+home+color+no+border.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgT3mB5USGVmmOrw53YiRlmyv01Brg1P2PiviZ2-JVLXM8UM0ZWJQxkJq-bb3TSwzwDuOpVdEMLz3tvG2Wt38072XPb1dQknOxg9IFVlNZg229qBaSTnl-3Hpw6FQ57k_83VxCiYInxI7x/s320/joy+of+home+color+no+border.JPG" height="175px" nda="true" width="320px" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Calibri;"><b><i>by Naomi Cleaver</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Naomi Cleaver brilliantly frames her interior designs with an equal mastery of words</b> </span>and knowledge of materials, processes and project demands. She is all at once comfortable with the different media of creative expressions – through her designs, writing, and broadcast. She articulately describes designs in a way that frees you to appreciate them without the burden of interpretation, much like art that is made simple and enjoyable. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I love reading an ID book that harmonizes visual feasts and luxuriant narratives to provide an indulgent read that is visceral, sensorial and intellectual. <b>Much like the Word of God which we hear, which we see with our eyes, which we look at and our hands touch [1 John 1:1]. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here’s a sample of her plush lyrical narrations that bring home the message of what a home truly is.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>bathing</b></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Over recent years the bathroom has been contrived as a ‘home spa’, a place of refuge and relaxation, as well as somewhere to brush your teeth. Bathing has been liberated from the shackles of dreary utility to realize its potential for pleasure. This places even greater demands on the design process, because the places where we bathe – which are usually confined areas – are now expected to be dream spaces as well as highly practical and hardworking.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>comfortable</b></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The comfortable home is the generous home, enfolding and forgiving. There is a tangible feeling of cosseting, invitation and accessibility.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>cooking</b></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">An abiding cliché is that the kitchen is the heart of the home. And as households become more fragmented – with more people living alone, more single-parent families, fewer elders living with their adult children and declining birth rates – it is notable just how much more tempting new kitchen designs have become. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>resting</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rest is not simply relaxation. Certain activities can be relaxing – hiking or computer gaming, for example – but thy are not necessarily restful. Nor does rest mean sleep, though the effects can be similar. Resting is when our minds and bodies are passive, though not inactive. Reading is one passive activity that can be restful, though perhaps the ultimate kind of rest is when we allow our minds to wander. We may have some of our best ideas when we least expect them – in the bath or sitting on a train, perhaps. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Naomi went on to quote an account when clients of the acclaimed painter Leonardo da Vinci complained that he was wasting time by resting on his bed, the artiest retorted, ‘<i>If i don’t do this, you don’t get the work</i>.’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I love that this book combines home design, writing, social awareness, philosophy, expert knowledge and a glossary of practical tips that makes for good reading and referencing. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<i><b>Where you can get it:</b> Kinokuniya Singapore, <b>S$65.03</b></i>Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-23166611666880803342012-02-28T20:49:00.050-08:002020-10-26T20:12:00.186-07:00HOW TO ACT RIGHT WHEN YOUR SPOUSE ACTS WRONG<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>by Leslie Vernick</i></b><br>
<br>
<b>MY SECOND <strike>FIRST</strike> READ OF 2012.</b> Someone gave it to me on 14th January. I must admit I was amused by the simple bias of the title that assumes a sense of spousal superiority. But I soon discovered that it is written by a social worker who is also trained in biblical counselling, CBT and working with abusers and their victims. Now, I’m paying attention because this is an area of special interest. [I had recently done an assignment on legal protection for foreign spouses who are victims of domestic violence and the applicability of the Duluth Model for community intervention]. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Admittedly, the common concept of marriage I have observed has been rather warped to the extent that though photos are taken together, many even live together, few married couples are truly happy. How can one be happy when you can’t honestly confront your own fears and unhappiness, and take responsibility for them? Until we do so, we cannot be honest with our spouse about their behaviour.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The truth seems to be that too many married folks are afraid to accept and acknowledge the faultlines and jarring differences between them and their spouse, too many are afraid of confronting unreasonable behaviour and unhealthy habits, too many are really afraid of their spouse walking out. Operating out of such fears will stop us from experiencing a meaningful relationship with an equal balance of power and a healthy respect for each other’s separate identity. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I read the book through once on 14th January and then again, more than a month later. What was merely a pleasant read became a powerful reminder the second time round, thanks to changing circumstances and perceptions in the intervening period. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This book covers spousal abuse, addictions, Viagra and pornography, and is a good guide and resource for those whose first instinct for themselves or their loved ones is to call a divorce lawyer. Too many have indeed left with bags of bitterness. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Interestingly, many in my block have sold their flats once the MRT construction was under way at Farrer Road. Perhaps living with the chaos and pollution of construction far outweighed any good that would come out of the longterm project. Leaving would give them immediate respite and relief without disturbing their equilibrium.This is not unlike walking out of a marriage at the first signs of problem.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Choosing to act right when you don’t feel like it isn’t hypocrisy; it’s obedience.</b></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
[Chp 1 – Why Bother to Act Right?’]</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
'They try hard, often with marathon efforts, but their spouse doesn’t respond the way they hope. Their marriage is still distant, painful, full of conflict and superficially pleasant but emotionally cold....(believing that) God would change his spouse if only he learned to act right.’ </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This book has no place for thinking like ‘<i>as long as you continue to endure and be kind, he/she will be touched'</i>, or the persuasion that quiet tolerance of wrong behaviour produces peace. It is not supportive of doing anything that enables dysfunctional, destructive and downright rude and abusive behaviour in a spouse. There are too many who become ENABLERS in their marriage and wonder why their spouse does not change when simply doing more of the same wrong thing will not produce a different result. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Our spouse’s wrongs reveal the negative or inaccurate way we interpret life.</b></i> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
[Chp 2 – What Do My Spouse’s Wrongs Reveal in Me?’]</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘God may use the very actions of your spouse ... to reveal the contents of your heart to you so that you can grow and change. Honesty about this is necessary for those of us who want to clearly see what or who we rely on for our happiness, security, and well-being. Is it God? Or is our welfare more dependent upon getting what we want?’</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">THE CHAPTER EVERY MARRIED PERSON SHOULD READ – <b><i><br>
Chp 9: Gifts of Love</i></b></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><u>Gift of ACCEPTANCE</u></b> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘Mature love involves a full knowledge of another person, including his or her weak areas.’ Yet it ‘doesn’t mean we like a fault we see...not does it imply that we resign ourselves to a hopeless situation. For it to be a true gift, we must stop resenting it...all the while still asking God to mature him or her.’</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><u>Gift of TRUTH</u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘At times in our marriage we do not face reality. We wish for the best in spite of evidence to the contrary. We close our eyes to information that will help us make better decisions. We are not honest with ourselves, let alone our spouse. We also rob ourselves of the growth that comes from facing our feelings and dealing with them. Everybody loses and our marriage will suffer. Blurting out angry or destructive feelings is not a gift of truth [while we pretend and defend it to be honesty!]. The gift of truth is always motivated by love.’</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><u>Gift of KINDNESS</u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘When our mate has hurt us...most of us react by treating him or her with contempt. Through acts of kindness, we are empowered not overcome. [In the book, Adam’s] drug use was so out of control that Joan finally asked him to move out until he could get help for his problem. Being kind toward your enemy means that whatever happens to you doesn’t define you. It doesn’t shape you or turn you into something evil. <b><i>They are gifts of love, not rewards for good behaviour</i></b>.’ </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It’s seeing that how you will let God change you through distressing circumstances is more definitive of who you are than being a victim of your circumstances. Too many people I know are ashamed to experience suffering because of how bad it makes them look.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><u>Gift of FORGIVENESS</u></b> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is not the same as reconciliation simply because forgiveness [as God’s forgiveness to us] is unilaterally given, but reconciliation is only possible when the offending party sees wrong in his/her behaviour and desires to reconcile. ‘Forgiveness doesn’t guarantee an absence of pain. Sometimes, we confuse forgiveness and reconciliation. Forgiveness means choosing not to cling to our right for justice or vengeance.’ We cancel the debt of offence. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘<i><b>Part of seeing what God is up to in our life when our spouse acts wrong requires our understanding that God teaches us how to become more like Jesus through the process of being wounded...we become a reflection of who he is IN us rather than a reflection of what others have done TO us</b></i>.’ Amen!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><u>Gift of CONSEQUENCES</u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘In some circumstances, we may need to implement painful consequences as a way of preventing our spouse from inflicting further harm.’ Yet, to check that this is not merely another way to cover up vengeance or intent to hurt back, it is important to work through our course of action with at least one qualified third party. I would suggest a pastor, a social worker and/or a trusted mature friend. [Thank the Lord if you have all three!]</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This book is a crucial, credible and comforting resource to anyone who is going through distressing challenges in his/her marriage or is walking with one through similar situations. Loaded with examples of marital conflicts and outcomes makes it easy to read. I like it that each chapter concludes with a prayer that takes you from knowledge to commitment to allow God to change you.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br>
Our commitment to the purity and integrity of our marriage is without doubt most tested and evident where there wrong is done to us. But there is hope when we would let God's ways refine and define us rather than gripe about being victimized by the wrong done, pulverize our spouse with vengence and damaging actions, or deep-freeze the marriage and family in delusional denial.<br>
<br>
<i><b>Where you can get it:</b> SKS Books</i><br>
<i><b>Level of impact:</b> Will change those who have become Enablers to their poorly behaving spouse into Empowerers who empower themselves and their spouse.</i><br>
<i><b>Timing of book:</b> </i></div>
Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-41739272710754606902012-01-09T21:55:00.001-08:002012-02-28T21:12:05.660-08:00In A Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPiRXgamijC8WJZg1aLqiHuhbAjWUqG484p0Cj7JY6-MDl3qWchVnukBkvzTqgaB-h3joPvVRJxSiZ72JzcN1y4YMbA9RaQbCC15CJqN82pTtAFIXNbVf7h5XDo7jZ3JKdrQIYuLGJNsK8/s1600/IN+A+PIT+WITH+A+LION.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200px" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPiRXgamijC8WJZg1aLqiHuhbAjWUqG484p0Cj7JY6-MDl3qWchVnukBkvzTqgaB-h3joPvVRJxSiZ72JzcN1y4YMbA9RaQbCC15CJqN82pTtAFIXNbVf7h5XDo7jZ3JKdrQIYuLGJNsK8/s200/IN+A+PIT+WITH+A+LION.JPG" width="154px" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em><strong>By Mark Batterson</strong></em><br />
<br />
This book is about risk-taking. All risk-taking behaviour require consistent practice. Everyday, we take occupational risks, relational risks, and risks with God. We risk displeasing a loved one by being honest about how we feel about bad behaviour. We risk making lunch buddies feel uncomfortable when we spontaneously help a visually handicapped person cross the road. We risk being seen as a Jesus freak when we tell others how He makes life worth living. Risk-takers are often despised by those who embrace the confidence of certitude, and considered an enigma by those whose lives are safe and predictable. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">From biblical accounts, Benaiah, who took on a lion in a pit on a snowy day, and Queen Esther who declared ‘<em>If I perish, I perish</em>’ were in a quagmire with a lion and a king. Both stoically took risks and faced opponents with bite. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For Benaiah, neither <em>the place</em> [pit], <em>the company</em> [lion] nor <em>the conditions</em> [snow outdoor] were conducive or comfortable. They were extremely undesirable. But there was another crucial element to the setup – the person Benaiah had become up to the point of confrontation with the hostile lion. Often, we forget to consider ourselves in the whole scheme of things and that through us, God wants to displace the lion, change the conditions and transform a problematic place into a purposeful place. Not surprisingly, that’s the last place we want to be in or consider home ground for victory. Afterall, isn't it much easier to think of victory when the people are nice, the place is scenic and the conditions are perfect?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have a notebook that says ‘<em><strong>Do something each day that scares you</strong></em>.’ I like it. Aversion to risks is avoidance to allow God to unwrap your potential and undo your problem areas for a better life. </div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Batterson wrote [pg 164]: <em>Lion chasers aren’t afraid of conflict. They aren’t afraid of risking their reputation by chasing snakes out of the temple. And they aren’t afraid of risking their lives chasing a lion into a pit. They often look foolish while in the act. It almost seems like they have a death wish. But lion chasers have a life wish. They live life to the fullest because they are willing to look foolish.</em><br />
<br />
<em><strong>Where you can get it</strong>:</em> SKS Books<br />
<em><strong>Level of impact</strong>:</em> Will change your view of the lions in your life.<br />
<em><strong>Timing of book</strong>:</em> Perennial relevance for those who are averse to trusting Jesus and encouragement for those who are facing bigger lions.</div>Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-58974963548725105882011-11-28T04:30:00.000-08:002011-12-02T20:20:23.342-08:00In Sheep's Clothing - Understanding and Dealing with Manipulative People<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvKO9IYcHIr1la6A9Tv0XV4YjFK57IZWCQ7Tn5rpJPymS6WL3GYm31YaXTxCkHNI1wKPV13NebL1N1lZtzjlJikczWgGLBNkHk4ENpud6xVxQRhMf7A5d57e7WKZD9q0AOWW6xxdJTnVq/s1600/IN+SHEEP+CLOTHING+NOV+2011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="320px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvKO9IYcHIr1la6A9Tv0XV4YjFK57IZWCQ7Tn5rpJPymS6WL3GYm31YaXTxCkHNI1wKPV13NebL1N1lZtzjlJikczWgGLBNkHk4ENpud6xVxQRhMf7A5d57e7WKZD9q0AOWW6xxdJTnVq/s320/IN+SHEEP+CLOTHING+NOV+2011.JPG" width="235px" /></a></div><strong><em>By George Simon, Jr, Ph.D</em></strong><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Does a cat prey on a mouse because the cat has some unresolved issues from the past, or is a victim of abuse, or the mouse has antagonized it and it’s responding in self-defence? If the mouse is the victim, imagine if help and support is given to the cat while the mouse is told to look at the cat’s virtues. Sounds preposterous? Well, such predators lurk in families, workplaces and yes, churches and they are experts at pulling the wool over the eyes of those around them and taking them in. While it is much easier to recognize aggressive behaviour when it's 'open, direct and physical', it's much harder to put a finger on the tactics of covert-aggression.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This book makes a distinction between assertive and aggressive behaviour, and between victim and victimizer where conventional thinking tends to focus only on overt behaviour and overlook under-handed manipulation that hoodwinks victims and people around.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you feel that you are always defending the goodness of someone’s actions and intentions while feeling helpless and oppressed inside, or if you’re always second-guessing yourself to uphold the integrity of another person in your life - read this book.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are some professions and places that attract covertly manipulative people including counselling and church work because they can hide behind the mask of nobility of the organisation’s mission.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This book addresses covert-aggression which the author believes is ‘at the heart of most interpersonal manipulation.’ He describes the covert-aggressive individual as one who is conscious of ‘concealing overt displays of aggression while simultaneously intimidating others into backing-off, backing-down, or giving-in. These covert-aggressive personalities can have their way with you and look good in the process. They vary in their degree of ruthlessness and character pathology.’ </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The victim feels stifled and choked but can’t put a finger on anything to identify the crime. The end result is a feeling of worthlessness and helplessness. To me, it's not much different from what victims of abuse go through both with the abuser and with those who try to help. The author’s argument for a new psychological perspective on this personality dysfunction stems from the failure of mental health professionals and lay persons to recognize the aggressive agendas and actions for what they really are. According to him, this is largely attributed to the belief that <em>'people only exhibit problem behaviours when they’re “troubled” inside or anxious about something ...that people aggress only when they’re attacked in some way. So, even when our gut tells us that somebody is attacking us and for no good reason, or merely trying to overpower us, we don’t readily accept the notions. We try to analyze the situation to death instead of simply responding to the attack</em>.’ As a result, the victim leaves and nobody really knows the real reason.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em>Where you can get it:</em></strong> S$28.15 Kinokuniya </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em>Level of impact:</em></strong> A must-read for all.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em>Timing of book:</em></strong> Impeccable</div>Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-66086731873520431722011-10-13T20:07:00.000-07:002011-11-30T20:04:47.617-08:00Bad Childhood Good Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGBr8-YubmLenjiu7_e7VltKfXShkBkKgQNctujDLRGBMiy9IJ9oDxsJbkvPmgTZSsht8i-Ujvjjw9w7qJGjhxpCiOCIQhs1_VlR3h2d45ZQrAiWGHBu_8NLRFtQxB_HC7tlIQ9tL9xlRI/s1600/BAD+CHILDHOOD+1+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="279px" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGBr8-YubmLenjiu7_e7VltKfXShkBkKgQNctujDLRGBMiy9IJ9oDxsJbkvPmgTZSsht8i-Ujvjjw9w7qJGjhxpCiOCIQhs1_VlR3h2d45ZQrAiWGHBu_8NLRFtQxB_HC7tlIQ9tL9xlRI/s320/BAD+CHILDHOOD+1+%25281%2529.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I recently told some lecturers that social services often involve the crippled helping the crippled (<em>not least because social service workers are often overwhelmed and undercared for by the organisations where they work</em>). They nodded in unison: perhaps I articulated an obvious point. It has crossed my mind that TV programmes like <em>'The Naked Chef'</em>, and <em>'How to Look Good Naked'</em> could spin off a possible reality TV show about social workers that could be titled <em>'The Naked People Helper'</em>. It would show how, apart from being employed and better educated, the line that divides the social service helper and client is precarious.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There's no place that makes one feel more naked and vulnerable than the path of childhood reminiscence that involves parents who are frankly, incompetent, even abusive. <strong>Bad Childhood Good Life</strong> is filled with on-air advice given by the straight-talking Dr Laura Schlessinger to men and women who still hold onto some childish ideals about their parents and families in a way that hinder their own lives and families. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many callers share similar struggles of trying harder to please and appease a difficult and abusive parent, hoping that one day, they will succeed in being the good child, approved by their parents. Others hang on to highly dysfunctional relationships because they transfer their early experiences with unloving parents to all other relationships and keep themselves locked in a victim's role.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This book hands out the promise <em><strong>'How to Blossom and Thrive in Spite of an Unhappy Childhood'</strong></em> and delivers it well! The chapter <em><strong>'Closure Versus Resilience'</strong></em> debunks the popular myth that every conflict requires a closure when some closures can be more harmful than the conflict itself. Another chapter, <strong><em>'Never Seek Love from the Devil'</em></strong>, deals with the illusions adult children have about their maladjusted parents who simply can never love them back. <strong><em>'About Your Parents'</em></strong> tackles the uncomfortable topic of honouring parents who are simply unfit to be parents. It includes letters from two adult children who have come through bad childhood with wounds to show but without the pus of bitterness and unforgiveness - crippled but healed. Clearly, dealing with a painful truth is more liberating than holding onto fallacies to resolve the disparity between ideals and experiences. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><strong><em>Where you can get it</em></strong>: S$24.00 Kinokuniya</span><br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><em><strong>Level of impact:</strong></em> It is being circulated among family and friends.</span><br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><em><strong>Timing of book:</strong></em> Perennially relevant!</span></div>Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-88297843349146369902011-07-05T10:23:00.000-07:002011-07-25T22:58:53.580-07:00The Story of the Litte Mole who knew it was NONE of his Business<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgt1BdehEk8Bdjf-3tYybz5fYHzpeA1GDG2aVSrdgG8VIeDaeWEV2Ziu02v__OGa-hbpI5KhwXtOEINTrm2iscIlwyezt-_K98XTp2TYMOuQNOiU5BsLj6m9CQY99lAI0t9aaKGG6p1Bj/s1600/MOLE+BOOK+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257px" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgt1BdehEk8Bdjf-3tYybz5fYHzpeA1GDG2aVSrdgG8VIeDaeWEV2Ziu02v__OGa-hbpI5KhwXtOEINTrm2iscIlwyezt-_K98XTp2TYMOuQNOiU5BsLj6m9CQY99lAI0t9aaKGG6p1Bj/s320/MOLE+BOOK+2.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><em><strong>by Werner Holzwarth</strong></em><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">For any book, having 34 editions in 22 years says a lot about its success. The first version of this book was published in German in 1989.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
I've always loved children stories that contain wit and a twist of fate. Life, after all, deals us with a fair amount of unfair treatments. In this story, a mole woke up and emerged from his hole one day, only to be dealt with foul play. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"How mean!" cried the little mole. "Who has done this on my head?" He decided to investigate and to find the source of offence. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the process, he approached a dove, a horse, a rabbit, a goat, a cow, a pig and two flies with forensic expertise with dung. Things came to a head, <em>literally</em>, when he finally found the odious culprit and duly issued an equal measure of revenge!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em><strong><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Really Simple Morals of the story:</span></strong></em></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Some people will move around with shit sitting over their heads till they find justice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Some people will move around with foulness just to get to the bottom of something!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Retaliation is not measured by size: case in point, the villain and victim have excrements of disparate sizes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><strong><em>Where you can get it</em></strong>: S$17.40 Kinokuniya</span><br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><em><strong>Level of impact:</strong></em> I saw a copy from a friend and immediately ordered four from the store.</span><br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><em><strong>Timing of book:</strong></em> Perennially relevant!</span></div>Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-23590382102854915812011-05-10T09:33:00.000-07:002011-07-05T07:55:29.052-07:00THE POWER OF A WHISPER<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeGGvwqiDQ-rgLwi2iV0OMULMgUHyISzziAmp7wROx0XTSzGTj1E4waKRpvOv2DsqdzsC3GN3wikstvy_i5RAvAKgLP5dQt_nHAELAgzTsjmVoJSTjzE2UtB3HgjH7S6wwxBE7eUK1W9ym/s1600/WHISPER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeGGvwqiDQ-rgLwi2iV0OMULMgUHyISzziAmp7wROx0XTSzGTj1E4waKRpvOv2DsqdzsC3GN3wikstvy_i5RAvAKgLP5dQt_nHAELAgzTsjmVoJSTjzE2UtB3HgjH7S6wwxBE7eUK1W9ym/s320/WHISPER.jpg" width="217px" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><em><strong>by Bill Hybels</strong></em><br />
<br />
Some authors are so wired and fired up that they are able to bring life to words and elevate them to titles in a way that eludes others. Bill Hybels is one such communicator with a trail of book titles that include <em>'Becoming a Contagious Christian'</em> [the first Hybels' book I read years ago], <em>'Holy Discontent'</em>, '<em>Axiom'</em>, and <em>'Just Walk Across the Room'</em> - the kind that appeal to readers who like them provocative. <em>'Whisper'</em> should attract the kind of readers who range from those who know the value of well-timed whispers from friends to others who, like myself, are tone-deaf to every well-placed whisper and are thus, intrigued.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">From the Bible, 1 Kings 19 recorded that when the prophet Elijah was running in the storm of deep despair, God came to him - not in a tumultuous whirlwind, a devastating earthquake, or a consuming fire - but a <em><strong>barely audible gentle whisper</strong></em>. That's the catch: man hears God not with his ears, but with a discerning heart that is yielded to Him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hybels recounts countless moments of such yieldedness and bending his spiritual ears to the divine God that have added value to his parenting, relationships, ministry and the work of running a large church. In short, God's whispers become the driving force beyond his God-given intelligence, experience, skills and competence.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">While whispers are characteristically gentle - <em>I'd imagine that</em> <em>it's hard to deliver whispers without gentleness? They would not be called whispers otherwise - w</em>aiting upon a whisper from God involves intensity and requires intentionality. I especially like the following chapters:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Light for Dark Nights of the Soul</em> - I have a few stories of my own of how God's whispers saved the night, and I know He will take me through others when they come.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Promptings for Parenthood</em> - I can honestly say that I have not read a Christian parenting book that teaches parenting the way it is laid out in this chapter. A must-read for all parents who know that <em><strong>parenting means to change parents - not our children</strong></em>. That's why it's called parenting! Even psychologists, counsellors, social workers and Erik Erikson will tell you the same thing. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Whispers that Change the World</em> - where God shows us what breaks His heart about the sufferings in the world. But He'd rock your world first as He prepares you to touch His precious ones who are suffering.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Just Say the Word</em> - at an age where education and capitalism has socialized many of us to <em>'seek achievement, upward mobility, that sense of "rising above</em>" [pp 252 para 1], God's ways are antitheses requiring <em>'downsizing and downscaling'</em>. I'd say that God desires that we <strong><em>be led not by brilliant strategies, but by a broken heart</em></strong>. Hybels calls it a <em>'demotion-laden life'</em>. He further persuades, <em>'You can choose to live with an increased awareness of those whispers, an expanded heart to follow through and an enhanced eternity because of it</em>.' Beautifully said. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><em><strong>Where you can get it</strong></em>: S$16.50 [sale price] <a href="http://www.sksbooks.com/">SKS Books</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><strong><em>Level of impact</em></strong>: Lead you running to God and be quiet.</span><br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><strong><em>Timing of book</em></strong>: reminds me, again, to turn down the volume in my mind.</span></div>Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-39969649406077854312011-04-30T20:59:00.000-07:002011-05-10T09:39:03.037-07:00WTF ABC<em><strong>by Mo</strong></em> [<em>that's what it says one one of the three title pages</em>]<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">What kind of people would pay S$15 for a book merely the size of a men's wallet with crisp pages of sometimes imperfect English? I would imagine it's the kind of people who dream of putting out 68-page [excluding cover count] booklets without proofreading that people would pay S$15 for. Or the kind of people who love the play on words - even in non-standard formats.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Cover of the 14x10cm booklet, two heads represent Volume 2</em></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIQmfP4SomOMsdxvQief8MkMX4dSyoVD3Tsgt6YFhmXuxFOqfj_KcUt1a70CYo9htnG4QSSniqD8r-eooaAZylsADwuqn8irpc_EI9xtJheNaTpOcODDhmf6oP5MudsoMRYg05q799GMGp/s1600/1+MAY+WTFABC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIQmfP4SomOMsdxvQief8MkMX4dSyoVD3Tsgt6YFhmXuxFOqfj_KcUt1a70CYo9htnG4QSSniqD8r-eooaAZylsADwuqn8irpc_EI9xtJheNaTpOcODDhmf6oP5MudsoMRYg05q799GMGp/s320/1+MAY+WTFABC.jpg" width="242px" /></a></div> <br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Title page in Chinese</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">[first line says, 'An English book';</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">second line is sadly beyond my grasp of Chinese]</span></em></div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHy5RAJxyRhZRs_OyVlnWuWbl-X7Sxod1AySDys7AEbK020H-bqEnPxCZmlU1cFFlKp5F2S4xY86hYoc8r38Z0WkjEyXYrHy8q8oOBlYhfbUnmm1re16Mv1AuUHGyZGMhtSXsRHGDUTI0M/s1600/1+MAY+WTFABC+TITLE+PAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHy5RAJxyRhZRs_OyVlnWuWbl-X7Sxod1AySDys7AEbK020H-bqEnPxCZmlU1cFFlKp5F2S4xY86hYoc8r38Z0WkjEyXYrHy8q8oOBlYhfbUnmm1re16Mv1AuUHGyZGMhtSXsRHGDUTI0M/s320/1+MAY+WTFABC+TITLE+PAGE.jpg" width="246px" /></a></div> <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The booklet contain short verses that give the meaning of words - not in the usual way a dictionary would explain it. It treat every word as a character capable of thoughts, plots and hidden agenda that is so mutated in our thoughts that when we think we are picking words to fit our expressions and give meaning to what we want to say, the words we choose actually take on a behaviour and meaning of their own beyond what we want to say.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just look at when we use the words 'someone', 'same', 'us', and 'give and take'.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Someone</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Someone is always stirring shit.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>It's never you, me, him, her, us or whoever.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>It's always Someone.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Really.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Same</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Same is lame.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>As lame as fame.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>As fame is quite a game.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Same shouldn't take the blame.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;">[<em>Couch blogger's thoughts</em>: 'same' is the keyword and driver of insidious groupthink: nobody's wrong if everybody thinks the same.]</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Us</strong></div><em>Us preferred his name spelt in lowercase.</em><br />
<em>He's just not that overrated.</em><br />
<em>Just like us.</em><br />
[<em>Couch blogger's thoughts</em>: 'us' is often used to replace 'I' when <em><u>we</u></em> [I] want to avoid standing out with <u><em>our</em></u> [my] independent thoughts. As illustrated here.]<strong><br />
</strong><br />
<strong>Give & Take</strong><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Give cares for her son, Take.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>She gives everything she's got.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>He takes everything he's given.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>And they're still fighting all night long.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;">[<em>Couch blogger's thoughts:</em> the expression 'give and take' is usually used where there's conflict.]</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #93c47d;"><em><strong>Where you can get it:</strong></em> S$15.00 <a href="http://www.booksactually.com/">Books Actually</a> [an independent bookstore located at 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru. Tel: 6222-9195]</span><br />
<span style="color: #93c47d;"><em><strong>Level of impact:</strong></em> Enjoyable easy read for young and old who enjoy word puns. Every word is presented with a hand-drawn illustration on the facing page.</span><br />
<span style="color: #93c47d;"><em><strong>Timing of book:</strong></em> Good for conversation and laughter over a cuppa at Forty Hands cafe, right opposite the bookstore. </span></div>Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-68188930148622860482011-02-15T21:17:00.000-08:002011-05-29T09:48:31.228-07:00The Wisdom of Whores<em>by Elizabeth Pisani</em><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><em><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">'Gripping and surprisingly entertaining... an important and wise book.'</span></em> </span><strong>Sunday Times</strong><br />
<br />
<em><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">'A wonderful book'</span></em> <strong>Daily Telegraph</strong><br />
<br />
From blurps like these, it's hard to surmise what lies between the covers. Is the provocative title to be taken seriously, or is it shallow seduction? <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">HOW TO FIND A GOOD READ?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Tip #1 </em></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, I found this rebel sitting on the shelf in the sociology section of Kinokuniya. When you find a non-academic title on <em>those</em> shelves, you kinda feel that somebody has a deviant point of view - the ingredient for an interesting read. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Tip #2</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If a book holds your interest for five minutes, put your money down for a good read.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pisani is first of all, an American now based in Singapore. As a teenager, she was so impressed with the Chinese culture while holidaying in Hong Kong that she pursued a degree in classical Chinese and subsequently worked as a foreign correspondent with Reuters covering Asia. Even as she discovered that she loves being paid to travel and chat with people (research and investigate), she soon got frustrated with '<em>trying</em> <em>to reduce human experience to 600 words on a two-hour deadline</em>.' I always like a woman who knows what she doesn't like and even put it in words! She took a critical look at her life and knew she wanted to do more research to help improve lives. [<em>Writing and research? We could have been separated at birth</em>.] So armed with the desire to learn more about the politics of population control and biology at junior high level, she signed up for a Masters degree in medical demography and sat among doctors, virologists, lab technicians and of course, statisticians, from around the world. It's good when you jump that you don't know how deep the water is.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a non-fiction graphic report on the spread of AIDS in Indonesia in a style that moves away from academic writing, making it a totally pleasurable read. The details, I was to find out, did not make for good dinner conversation because the mechanics of spreading HIV from man to man to woman to man to man... doesn't particularly aid digestion. That again, it depends on who you're eating with. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I would love to have dinner with Pisani. I'm inspired by her gusto, her investigative streak, her writing, her degree of concern for humanity and her sense of humour. Makes a great dining companion.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #93c47d;"><em><strong>Where you can get it:</strong></em> S$22.47 <a href="http://www.kinokuniya.com.sg/">Kinokuniya </a></span><br />
<span style="color: #93c47d;"><strong><em>Level of impact:</em></strong> Good motivational read on research. The author herself is an inspiration to live a progressive life based on what you have, what you know and what you can be. </span><br />
<span style="color: #93c47d;"><strong><em>Timing of book:</em></strong> Affirms my belief in the good of research plus action.</span></div>Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819525423791338124.post-89502010868298510922010-11-30T21:32:00.000-08:002012-04-25T08:15:33.556-07:00Stones into Schools<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvZXAXPeFCouEk3vAThyfQu7Q8iTTIAhikXTtkYRUqFPPAO3jW4JZys_gqlmaqQqsG_GaES7yuKNXoaZ1HiSFuvSboDoNt9Fe7BTvyB27u3SwrREY-SpGM_PIkFOgw6SX3bZ8fUkZ3rrX/s1600/STONES+TO+SCHOOL+NOV+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvZXAXPeFCouEk3vAThyfQu7Q8iTTIAhikXTtkYRUqFPPAO3jW4JZys_gqlmaqQqsG_GaES7yuKNXoaZ1HiSFuvSboDoNt9Fe7BTvyB27u3SwrREY-SpGM_PIkFOgw6SX3bZ8fUkZ3rrX/s320/STONES+TO+SCHOOL+NOV+10.jpg" width="225px" /></a></div>
<span style="color: white;">by Greg Mortenson</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Determined to find a non-fiction on humanitarian projects, I was delighted to find this title at the Changi airport on the way to Hong Kong for a short break. I had needed some inspiration for an upcoming exam that involved presenting a social service organisation. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Mortenson's drive and determination to set up schools in remote villages in Pakistan is beyond noble. Even reading about his arduous inland travels on dirt roads has a nauseating effect on me. His cultural competency is imperative, admirable and worth emulating. <br />
<br />
I didn't finish the book only because I wanted inspiration and not full facts on the negotiation and development process for each school project. And I was inspired whatever critics may say of Mortenson's authenticity. For those looking for a <i>how-to guide on </i>exploiting educational opportunities for girls in Pakistan or other impoverished countries, this should be an indispensable read. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The dedication page of the book aptly says <i>'To the noble people of Afghanistan and Pakistan and to the 120 million school-age children in the world who are deprived of their right of education</i>.' According to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Report
2010, education remains out of reach for girls in impoverished nations. <br />
<br />
Khaled Hosseini [<i>author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns</i>] included this wise African proverb in his Foreword, '<b><i>If you educate a boy, you educate an individual, but if you educate a girl, you educate a community</i></b>.'<br />
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #93c47d;"><i><b>Where you can get it:</b></i> S$22.47 <a href="http://www.timesbookstores.com.sg/">Times</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #93c47d;"><b><i>Level of impact:</i></b> Good insightful descriptions of cultural inroads to Pakistan. </span><br />
<span style="color: #93c47d;"><i><b>Timing of book</b></i>: Impeccable.</span>Lovin the Wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846812501059715972noreply@blogger.com