Book Review: No Wonder They Call Him The Savior by Max Lucado
December 18th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
I’ve always enjoyed Max Lucado’s books. There is something very conversational in Max’s writings. His writings aren’t dry theological tomes that require significant mental gymnastics to understand. His books are more like a conversation with a friend over a cup of coffee. Don’t get me wrong, there is often profound theology in his books. But it’s easily approachable which is likely part of Max’s wide appeal.
In his book “No Wonder They Call Him The Savior” there are no surprises regarding his style. It’s a conversation about the cross made up of little sketches. This book is broken down into three parts: Part One is about the crucifixion narrative found in the Bible. Part Two is about the witnesses to the crucifixion. While Part Three is about the lessons that we should learn from the crucifixion.
Another thing I like about this book, as well as other Lucado books is that the chapters are short. They make nice bite sized chunks to ruminate over. To go back to the analogy of a conversation over coffee, these short chapters are the equivalent of a pastry to go with it. They aren’t a huge meal as that would get in the way of the conversation but instead are just enough for a nosh while the conversation between friends flows.
The book includes a reader’s guide with discussion questions that corresponds to the chapters and topics in the book. This guide would make the book a good one to use in a Bible study or small group.
I reviewed a Kindle ebook version. The table of contents, chapter division and page formatting were spot on. Something that is often lacking in ebooks. This is an additional plus for the book.
On my handy book review scale of:
1 – Skip This Turkey
2 – Mediocre
3 – Worth your time
4 – Great
5 – Life changing
No Wonder They Call Him The Savior by Max Lucado rates a 3.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Was Iraq Really Worth The Cost?
December 16th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
After nearly nine years, 4,500 American dead, 32,000 wounded and more than $800 billion, U.S. officials prepared Thursday to formally shut down the war in Iraq — a conflict that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said was worth the price in blood and money, as it set Iraq on a path to democracy.
via Panetta To Formally Shut Down U.S. War In Iraq : NPR.
I once heard it said “how ironic it is that fat old men in Washington are so eager to send young men out to do the dying for them”.
I don’t think it was worth the cost.
As Marriage Goes, What Does This Mean For Society?
December 15th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
NPR recently had a story about how the rate of marriage in the US is dropping to an all time low of 51%. In the story was this bit I thought was interesting:
“But what it does bring home to us is that we can no longer pretend that marriage is the central organizing principle of society. We have to take account of the many, many social networks and relationships that people cycle through, marriage being just one of them,” Coontz says.
via When It Comes To Marriage, Many More Say ‘I Don’t’ : NPR.
You have to wonder what the future will hold. Unfortunately, I think that if the trend continues, it will be bad for women and children. Women and children benefit significantly from stable two parent homes. You only have to look to the chaos found in minority communities that have a lower incidence of marriage to get a glimpse of what the future could hold for society at large.
It’s also not good for men either. Men who don’t marry are seemingly stuck in a perpetual state of boyhood, regardless of their chronological age.
Should Serial Philandering Disqualify You From Political Office?
December 14th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich recently made the news with this bit:
Gingrich, who has been married three times, specifically said he would “uphold the institution of marriage through personal fidelity to my spouse and respect for the marital bonds of others.”
via Gingrich promises ‘personal fidelity’ in pledge – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs.
I must admit I am really struggling with who to support in this presidential election. I really don’t think I could bring myself to support a candidate who cheated on his first wife, with the woman who later became his second wife, and then cheated on her with the woman who later became his third wife. It would seem to me that to someone like that, oaths or vows don’t mean much.
How are we to know if he “really means it” this time? If you can’t keep your promises in that most intimate of relationships, how can we expect you to keep any other promises you made? In the Bible marriage is often used as a picture of our relationship with God. Accordingly, we should value the marriage relationship highly.
What I find saddest is that it is likely that many American Christians are going to give Gingrich a pass on his adultery because they agree with his politics, whether or not those politics are rooted in any Biblical truth.
I Blew My Shot At 15 Minutes Of Fame
December 13th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
One of my all time favorite books is Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. The book has the subtitle of “Non-Religious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality”. The book’s unique perspective on Christianity really resonates with me.
Back in 2010 Donald Miller and Steve Taylor began work on turning the book into a movie. In spite of a great start, the movie project was put on hold because of a lack of funding.
Several fans of the project decided to use Kickstarter as a vehicle to raise some of the cash needed to get the movie project off the ground. The goal was to raise $125,000 dollars. By the end of the Kickstarter campaign, 4,495 people had pledged $345,992 to see the book turned into a movie.
Depending on how much you pledged, you got different bits of swag. One of the things that everyone who pledged was promised was a personal phone call from Steve to thank us for pledging/donating money to the project.
To be honest, I’d kind of forgotten about the phone call. On Sunday night, I got my call from Steve. You gotta admire someone who wants to make a movie so bad he’s willing to personally call nearly 5,000 people to thank them for supporting the project.
Of course, the call kind of caught me off guard. If I’d have been expecting it, I’d have practiced something more profound to say to a movie director. Instead I mumbled something about how I was looking forward to seeing the movie. Nothing that was going to be memorable enough for Steve to remember, nor to give him a reason to invite me to come hang out with him and movie stars. I guess I blew my shot at my 15 minutes of fame.
The movie is set for release on April 13, 2012. You can see the trailer for it here.
Christmas Trees As Psychological Warfare
December 12th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
In case you needed another demonstration that North Korea’s government is bat sh*t crazy:
South Korea will allow Christians to light three Christmas tree-shaped towers near its tense border with North Korea despite strong opposition from Pyongyang, an official said.
On Sunday, the North’s state-run Uriminzokkiri website called the plan “a mean attempt for psychological warfare” and threatened that lighting the trees would trigger an “unexpected consequence”.
via North Korea warns South over Christmas lights – Asia-Pacific – Al Jazeera English.
The sad part is that as poor as the North Koreans are, a lump of coal in their stockings would seem like a lavish gift.
Vibram Five Fingers Update – Stress Fracture
December 10th, 2011 § 2 Comments
About a month ago, I got a pair of Vibram Five Finger Bikilas. I’d always wanted to try the minimalist/barefoot running thing. I eased into running in them over the past month and was just about up to my normal mileage.
On Monday, I set out for a run and got a cramp in my calf. I stopped and kneaded my calf for a bit and then began running again when I suddenly felt a sharp pain in the top of my right foot. I was still about a mile and a half from home so I managed to run/hobble back home.
I took a few days off and then on Thursday I headed out the door for an easy run wearing my regular Nike Air Pegasus shoes. By the end of the run, the pain was back.
Unfortunately, the verdict is that I likely have a stress fracture in my foot. I’m going to take some time off from running till the pain goes away. I’m also going to revert back to my normal Nike Air Pegasus shoes and put the transition to Vibrams on hold for now.
I did learn a few things from running in my Vibrams. One, I do like having more ground feel in my shoes. Also, the Vibrams are so light it’s hard not to run fast in them. My last run back in my old Nikes just felt weird. It was like my legs were tied to cinderblocks, and squishy ones at that.
I think that I’ll relegate the Vibrams to the occasional training run rather than to my full time shoes, at least for a while. I also think it’d be nice to find something a little more than Vibrams but less than regular running shoes.
Who Needs Cereal When There Are Twinkies?
December 8th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
NPR had a piece on the sugar content in breakfast cereals. In it was this bit:
To many a mom, you can’t go much lower than a Twinkie. The famous snack sort of epitomizes nutritional bankruptcy.
So now we learn that breakfast cereals such as Kellogg’s Honey Smacks are even worse — in terms of sugar content — than a Twinkie. One cup of the cereal has 20 grams of sugar, compared with 18 grams in the cake. (The recommended serving size on the label is three-fourths of a cup.) Well, that gets our attention.
via Bonbons For Breakfast? Most Kid Cereals Pack Enough Sugar To Be Dessert : The Salt : NPR.
I’m sure that as a child I would have gone for the Twinkie. Now, I’m not so sure. I love the quote from the Kellogs spokesperson where she said:
Plus, she says Honey Smacks are not marketed to kids and are “seldom eaten by them.”
Yeah, right…
Today Is Pearl Harbor Day
December 7th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Today marks the 70th Anniversary of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. This event marked the beginning of the U.S. involvement in World War 2.
The US Navy History & Heritage Command has a collection of materials relating to the attacks here.
God bless the Pearl Harbor vets.
One Christmas Tree Just Not Enough Nowadays
December 6th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
In another reason for the Scrooge in me to come out, there’s this piece over at Time Magazine highlighting the trend for retailers is to push consumers to buying and displaying more than one tree.
What, you only buy one Christmas tree? How un-festive. That’s barely celebrating the holiday at all. Haven’t you heard that everybody gets two (or more) trees nowadays?
Bah Freaking Hum Bug!
