I HATE running. Never enjoyed it. But after reading this book, I really wanted to like running. In fact, since I finished this book, I've gone running THREE times. That is a big deal for me.
This is a great book and a very fun one to read. It's about a tribe of people in Mexico, the Tamahumara, known as the "running people", who live among the most dangerous terrain on earth, wear nothing but sandals, and run more than 30 miles daily. Yes, I said daily. That's a marathon plus some every day. On top of that, they never get hurt. How is this possible? This book goes into their story, as well as the stories of a bunch of other people, and brings them all together for one extraordinary race you've never heard of.
I never used to be able to say - for sure - if I had read the entire Bible or not. Like most people, I've read the New Testament several times, and large chunks of the Old Testament. But I was never sure if I had read through the entire books of Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, I and II Chronicles, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and all the Minor Prophets. Because of this, late last year I decided that I needed to do this, so, starting in Job, I read through the rest of the Old Testament, and then I started in Leviticus (because I knew for sure I had knocked out Genesis and Exodus) and read on until I got to Job. Don't ask me why I did it that way. I can't remember now. But it worked. NOW I can say with certainty that I have read the entire Bible.
There aren't many books that change the way you think. And of those that do, there are even fewer that change the way you act. This is one of those books. I picked it up on a whim, and I literally couldn't put it down. Since it looked and sounded so scientific, I thought it was going to be difficult to read. But it was totally NOT. In fact, it was so easy to read, my MOM even read it. In one week!
The question this book seeks to answer is: why do countries with western diets have significantly higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, autoimmune disease, and cancer than countries that don't have western diets? The China Study is a compilation of over 20 years of research on the relationship between nutrition and health. And its findings are eye-opening, to say the least. Do you want to know what really causes cancer, in addition to all those other health problems mentioned above? Pause here for dramatic effect...
This was another super interesting book by Mr. Gladwell. The basic premise is that our preconcieved assumptions about what it takes to succeed (blood + sweat + tears + determination + grit + whatever) is rarely, if ever, the entire story. He goes through many fascinating examples of "success" and what was really the cause behind it. I like reading this kind of stuff because it offers a better and more believable reason for why things happened the way they did, and why people were able to achieve what they were able to achieve vs. the stock answer of "they simply worked their butts off" or "they were really smart".
On an unrelated note, I was number 63 on the waiting list for this book at the library and it took almost two months before it was available! It's gonna be hard to beat that one...
It's amazing how much there is to learn from the stories of the Bible. Even though we've heard them since we were children, there is always so much depth to their instruction. The story of the Prodigal Son, for example, is so much more than a story about the prodigal son. Several years ago, I learned that it is actually a story about the Father (i.e. God), who rejoices when any of his children repent from their ways and turn back to Him. No matter how we have offended Him in the past, He is gracious to forgive and accept us back into His family. Even if you ended it right there, that's a pretty awesome truth! But one thing always bothered me about this story - the part at the end when the older brother is upset about his father's graciousness to his younger brother. Doesn't he have a right to be upset? Hasn't he done "the right thing" his entire life? How come he isn't rewarded with the fattened calf?
I always wondered about these things, I've never heard a teacher or preacher talk about the older brother. And then I read this book... And that's when I realized that the older brother was ME...
Imagine my surprise when I found out that the Left Behind series did NOT end with Glorious Appearing! Somehow, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins felt like 12 books were not enough, and that they should end with one more. Most people, like myself, were ready for the series to end by book #10. But being the "finishers" we are, we faithfully read the rest of the series so we could say we read them all. So, of course, when I found out that I hadn't really completed the series, I was determined to finish it - and be done with it forever!
What In The World Is Going On - Dr. David Jeremiah
Thursday, 07 May 2009 01:12
It should be pretty obvious by now that I've been very interested in End Times prophecy for the last year or so. I've been reading the works of primarily one author, so I thought I would branch out and read the second most popular author (according to Amazon). Of course the always-reliable Austin Public Library had this book too! APL continues to rock my face off.
I'm glad to report that both authors are similar in their views and interpretation of Biblical prophecy. Here are Dr. Jeremiah's 10 prophetic clues we cannot ignore:
1. The Israel Connection - Why is this tiny nation with a population of less than 6 million always the center of attention? Why does so much of the world hate Israel? If you study the Israel's history, it's amazing that its people are still in existence today. Compare them to their neighbors in ancient history: have you ever met a Moabite? A Hittite? What about an Ammonite? Edomite? The fact that Israel is a sovereign state is even more incredible. It is truly nothing short of a miracle, an incredible act of God. There is one reason alone that Israel is so important and in the center of History - God's covenant with its founder, Abraham: to bless him and make his name great, to make him into a great nation, to make him a blessing to all peoples, and to bless those who bless Israel and to curse those who curse her.
I was really looking forward to the release of this book, and I was pleasantly surprised when the Austin Public Library had a few copies of it soon after it was published. APL rocks like that. It rocks my face off.
This book talks about three movements that are going on in the Middle East today: (1) Radicals: "Islam is the answer, and jihad is the way." (2) Reformers: "Islam is the answer, but jihad is not the way." (3) Revivalists: "Islam is not the answer, and jihad is not the way; Jesus is the Way." Each section describes who these people are, and what they want. I was especially interested in the first two groups of people, the Radicals and the Reformers, since I knew the least about them.
I HATE running. Never enjoyed it. But after reading this book, I really wanted to like running. In fact, since I finished this book, I've gone running THREE times. That is a big deal for me.
I never used to be able to say - for sure - if I had read the entire Bible or not. Like most people, I've read the New Testament several times, and large chunks of the Old Testament. But I was never sure if I had read through the entire books of Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, I and II Chronicles, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and all the Minor Prophets. Because of this, late last year I decided that I needed to do this, so, starting in Job, I read through the rest of the Old Testament, and then I started in Leviticus (because I knew for sure I had knocked out Genesis and Exodus) and read on until I got to Job. Don't ask me why I did it that way. I can't remember now. But it worked. NOW I can say with certainty that I have read the entire Bible. 
There aren't many books that change the way you think. And of those that do, there are even fewer that change the way you act. This is one of those books. I picked it up on a whim, and I literally couldn't put it down. Since it looked and sounded so scientific, I thought it was going to be difficult to read. But it was totally NOT. In fact, it was so easy to read, my MOM even read it. In one week!
This was another super interesting book by Mr. Gladwell. The basic premise is that our preconcieved assumptions about what it takes to succeed (blood + sweat + tears + determination + grit + whatever) is rarely, if ever, the entire story. He goes through many fascinating examples of "success" and what was really the cause behind it. I like reading this kind of stuff because it offers a better and more believable reason for why things happened the way they did, and why people were able to achieve what they were able to achieve vs. the stock answer of "they simply worked their butts off" or "they were really smart". 
Will I get around to reviewing this book? Probably not. But I DID read it. So it goes on the list.
Will I get around to reviewing this book? Probably not. But I DID read it. So it goes on the list.
