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The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card

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Summary Review: Best Card book in years. He is always best when writing about gifted young teens. Purchase Links: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook Over the years I have read many of Orson Scott Cards book (if my count based on wikipedia is right, then this is the 29th book.)  Based on my original … Read more

When Two Become One: Enhancing Sexual Intimacy in Marriage by Christopher and Rachel McCluskey

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When Two Become One: Enhancing Sexual Intimacy in MarriageTakeaway: Sex is too important to ignore and too important to just read about.  We need more mentors for couples.

Purchase Links: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle Edition

My wife and I have been leading a small group for newly married couples for the past seven months.  We are just finishing up 8 weeks of discussion on sex in marriage.

I have read through several books on sex and marriage recently and this is one of the better ones I have read.  That is not to say it is perfect.  I still have yet to find a book that I can strongly recommend on the topic of sex in marriage.

There are several things I like about this book.  One, it has a clinical background.  So there are lots of stories of people seeking help.  And I think that saying that it is OK to seek out help is very important.  Second, there are many Christian books that do not really get into the actual activity of sex.  This book does in an appropriate way.  There are five chapters on the stages of sex (atmosphere, arousal, apex and afterglow).  These five chapters were the meat of the book and what we focused on in our small group.

I do appreciate the attempt at a big picture of what Christian sexuality is all about at the beginning of the book, but I think the book missed it.  Partially the problem is addressing a diverse audience.  You are going to offend or turn off someone no matter what you say, so I think it is hard to address sexuality in modern Evangelical world.  Honestly, I thought Washed and Waiting (an perspective on celibate homosexuality within the church) did a better job talking about the big picture of sexuality.

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Quantum: Einstein, Bohr, and the Great Debate about the Nature of Reality by Manjit Kumar

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Takeaway: There is a reason that the concept of paradigm shifts was originated in science history. Purchase Links: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook Science is a weak area for me.  I only had one science class in college and it was one of the weakest teachers I had in college.  And my high school science was … Read more

The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World by David Kirkpatrick

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Guest Post by David Sawyer Purchase Links: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook Undoubtedly the most exhaustive book on Facebook’s history, development, and future going forward. If you’re just looking for a quick read in the form of a novel, check out Mezrich’s The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook: A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius … Read more

Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between the Rich and the Poor in an Interconnected World by Jacqueline Novogratz

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Takeaway: It is easy to do more harm than good when working among the poor. Developing people and infrastructure is usually harder, but more important for the long term. Purchase Links: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook This is a book that has been on my to read list since it first came out about … Read more

The Grace of God by Andy Stanley

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The Grace of God

My Takeaway: Grace really is the central message of the Gospel.

I have been meandering through this book for a while.  I bought it pre-release when it was sold at church (full disclosure, I go to Buckhead Church, Andy Stanley is my pastor.)  Then Thomas Nelson gave away the ebook if you signed up on the Facebook page.  So I waited for the ebook to come out.  Thomas Nelson only distributed it in PDF (they really should know better).  So I tried converting it to kindle format using Calibre and it did not look that great.  I eventually finished the book by reading it as a pdf on the iPad, a far from perfect experience.

This is my first of Andy Stanley’s explicitly theological books.  I have read some of his leadership books and I think leadership is where he really shines.  He is a great preacher and having attended the church for a while I can recall some of the sermons this was based on.  It is not a sermon series turned to book form.  But there are a few things that I recognize from earlier sermons.  I think there is just as much that will be in future sermons.  In fact, I recognize a couple quotes from the book as being in the last two week’s sermons and the book has been in my house for the past couple months.

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Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God by Dallas Willard

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Takeaway: Classics are classics for a reason.  If you are serious about trying to follow after God, this is a book that will challenge you no matter what your maturity. Purchase Links: Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook Finding God’s will is a common desire.  Often people can be paralized because they are afraid of not … Read more

The Sacredness of Questioning Everything by David Dark

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Takeaway: Openness to questioning your beliefs and understanding primarily is about relationship.  If we are unable to question, we are unable to build relationships with anyone that does not believe exactly as we do. Early in the book David Dark quotes Flannery O’Conner as saying, “The cultivation of skepticism is a sacred obligation because skepticism keeps … Read more