Love Leadership: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World Review

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(More customer reviews)As a student of leadership and a voracious reader of more than 100 books on the subject, I would like to compliment John Hope Bryant on writing a book that I believe ranks among the best that I have read. Love Leadership is an outstanding inaugural writing effort from an exciting new author.
This book is an easy read, but it's points of emphasis are anything but leadership lite. This is heavy weight, substantive, material. The concepts of Love Leadership apply to everyone who leads and since leadership is everyone's business - this book is suitable for everyone and applies to everyone.
My particuar favorite among John's leadership principles states "No storm...no rainbow." You can't have one without the other. I used that concept personally this evening when coaching a young man who was experiencing some personal stuggles. This individual needed leadership, but he also needed love. John's foundational beliefs enable the reader to easily and seamlessly apply both effectively.
The book is interesting and well written. Mr Bryant writes with passion, energy and enthusiasm. He also writes with skill and knowledge.
This was a page turner that I read in two days. When I put it down, I couldn't wait to pick it up again. I am a highlighter when I read and I found much to highlight in this book. His precepts are right on target. They are meorable and I will reference them often my role as a leader and a teacher of leaders.
John brings a bold, fresh, and courageous approach to a well documented, well researched, and frequently written about subject.
I have have discussed this book with my friends and I enthusiastically recommend it to others.
Read Love Leadership...you won't be disappointed.

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A dynamic young leader shows how leading with love and respect creates success in business and life

Written by the founder of Operation HOPE and advisor to the past two U.S. presidents, this groundbreaking book makes the case that the best way to get ahead is to figure out what you have to give to a world seemingly obsessed with the question: What do I get? Aimed at a new generation of leaders and extremely relevant for today's economic climate, Love Leadership outlines Bryant's five laws of love-based leadership-Loss Creates Leaders (there can be no strength without legitimate suffering), Fear Fails (only respect and love leads to success), Love Makes Money (love is at the core of true wealth), Vulnerability is Power (when you open up to people they open up to you), and Giving is Getting (the more you offer to others, the more they will give back to you).
One of today's most influential leaders, Bryant has appeared on Oprah and in articles in the LA Times, NY Times, and the Wall Street Journal
Bryant's bold approach to leadership is well-suited for today's tough economic environment and a world gripped by fear and uncertainty
Outlines the innovative five laws of love-based leadership

Love Leadership is that unique and powerful book that bridges the gap between solid business advice and pure inspiration.

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How I Live Now Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the story of Daisy, a fifteen year old who goes to England to live with her cousins in the not-too-distant future. It is not giving anything away to say that Daisy begins a love affair with her cousin Edmond, but all their lives are changed as a war breaks out and England becomes an occupied state. At first the kids are self-sufficient and untouched by the horrors, but as the story develops, shades of World War 2 begin to overcome them as they face separation, deprivation, and ultimate loss. Daisy speaks in a believable voice that takes you into her soul and makes you feel what she does. This one is highly recommended.

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Mother Teresa's Secret Fire: The Encounter That Changed Her Life and How It Can Transform Your Own Review

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(More customer reviews)When we come upon the life of Mother Teresa of Calcutta we are accustomed to hearing about her ministry to the "poorest of the poor". Her legacy is well known to people throughout the world for her globe trotting work helping the poor in the slums of Calcutta, AIDS patients, and other unfortunate people. Much is known about her life from Skjope of the former Yugoslavia to the streets of Calcutta, but far less is known about her inner life and motivation.
From Joseph Langford's `Mother Teresa's Secret Fire' we get a revealing portrait of her interior life. Centering on an intimate encounter with God on her way to a retreat while taking the Darjeeling train on September 10, 1946, Mother Teresa received a singular message from God about "His thirst" for souls. Noting that Jesus cried out "I thirst" before dying on the cross, Mother Teresa with a singular passion and who described herself often as the "pencil of God," elaborated about that thirst being not so much for water as a thirst for our souls.
Langford also expounds on this thirst. Tying the familiar events of Mother Teresa's life, including winning the Nobel Peace Prize, he gives light to her speeches, her journals and other writings which illustrate and elaborate what this divine thirst (or longing or ardent desire) for mankind entails. But once he establishes the prime mover of her inner life, he elaborates less about her life and more about her message. Having the support of scripture and the writings of formidable saints, Langford makes the case that divine thirst has been a theme of many a mystic's writings. (Who would not be taken by their metaphorical take on thirst from Psalm 42 "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."?) Cogently, Mother Teresa's writings still convey God's message at a time when spiritual indifference and crisis seem to be coming to a climax.
Always returning to that ineffable encounter Mother Teresa had with God on the Darjeeling train, Langford manages to anchor his writing without seeming fragmented. The focus only improves during the reader's own journey which is enhanced by a meditation on the love of God and how our relationship to Him is seen as quenching Jesus's thirst when we return our love to Him. Sometimes he is too repetitive in the beginning about ideas that are sometimes hard for anyone to convey, but his clear improvement makes the sublime even more readable as the pages go on. One of the best passages comes late in the book where he reveals her written meditations about the Samaritan woman's encounter with Jesus at the well.
For its import and impact, this is clearly a five-star book, but for the presentation, I subjectively dock one star, yet I highly recommend this spiritual journey even for a few bumps along the way, which undoubtedly even Mother Teresa herself encountered on that Darjeeling train.

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Celebrate the 100th anniversary of Mother Teresa's birth with the book she wanted written.The great frustration in any national crisis is the sense of impotence, the inability of the individual to make a difference. And yet, we do have power, our choices do matter. In the end, Mother Teresa showed us the power of one the power of a single person, clinging to the Creator, to handle enormous change and turn it to good, and to become a luminous force in the darkest of times. Her lessons can prepare us, as no political plan or economic program ever can, to navigate the trials that await us with grace, and even to turn them into blessing. This is true change that lasts. This is genuine recovery, from the inside out."Anyone wanting to live and love without fear will want to read Secret Fire." ----Jim Towey, former Director, White House Office of Faith-Based & Community Initiatives"Secret Fire speaks to Mother Teresa's deepest motivations." --Fr. Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C., Postulator, Director, Mother Teresa Center, Editor, Come, be My Light

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How to Be a Monastic and Not Leave Your Day Job: An Invitation to Oblate Life (Voices from the Monastery) Review

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It seems like the fad of the day is for aspiring Christian authors to visit monasteries and write about their experiences. It is almost as if the very surroundings of a cloister will rub off and increase one's spiritual depth. But something about the call of the monastery is more than just a fad. An increasing number of people are adopting monastic spirituality for themselves. According to Br. Tvedten there are currently an estimated 24,155 Oblates of St. Benedict in the world. I am among their number. This almost equals the 25,255 vowed Benedictine men and women. The invitation to Oblate life is being answered by many people today. This book was written for them.
This easy to read book offers an excellent introduction to the vocation of the Oblate. The book is straight forward, respectful and unpretentious. Oblates who read this book will come away with a warm inspirational glow that their calling is appreciated. Those who are interested in lay monasticism will learn enough from this volume to understand what the movement is all about.
Several have commented that this little book (111 pages) is aimed more at those interested in formal ties with a monastic community than those who wish to practice Benedictine spirituality on their own. There is a reason for this, private Benedictine monastic spirituality is an oxymoron. To be Benedictine is to be part of community. This is even true of Benedictine hermits. One may be a contemplative or a mystic alone. One might pattern a personal devotional life after Benedict's Rule. One might even create a private prayer chapel. But these are not the same thing. I played around the edge of monasteries for years before I realized I had to take the plunge or forever be on the outside peeking through the windows.
Is this book for you? The answer is plain. If the title is catchy enough that you are reading this review then you should also read the book. You have already passed the "interest test".


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Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches Review

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(More customer reviews)Plays are difficult things to read. It is rare to find a play that is widely read outside of classroom assignments. We have become so accustomed to the narrative form that it can be discombobulating to read stage directions, set descriptions, and stark lines of characters with little sense of the nuance of delivery, the emotion behind the words. Of course, we also have to thank Mr. William Shakespeare for scaring most people away from reading plays in play form. Great that the Bard is, many people look back on their school assignments of reading with a certain amount of angst. Play form is difficult enough, but surely Shakespeare could be translated into English!
`Angels in America, Pt. 1: Millennium Approaches' is, linguistically speaking, a much more accessible play. But it still suffers (as perhaps all plays must) from the lack of description beyond the words. In this regard, plays are very much more like poetry - they tend to latch on to single elements rather than taking the fuller form of narrative, and leave the rest to the imagination of the reader.
Tony Kushner's play is imaginative. Like great playwrights of old, he takes contemporary situations and figures and embellishes them, keeping faith with the overall meanings in society and the overall characters he's using, but is careful to make it known that this is a work of fiction.
We begin the play, staged (we are told) in the barest of scenery with a minimum of scene shifting and no black-outs - imagine, if you will, almost a stream of consciousness as the play progress - there is a funeral. A Jewish funeral. Not an unusual scene in New York, but the Rabbi doesn't know the woman, and so gives generic funereal orations.
Scene shifts to the office of Roy Cohn (alas, an all too real figure, but this is, Kushner emphasises, a fictional account). Here we encounter the high-powered, high-strung Cohn in his glorious best (or worst) while Joe (a conservative Mormon lawyer) is being chatted up for a job, which would put him in Cohn's debt.
Scene shifts - we see Joe's wife Harper planning a trip with a travel agent, Mr. Lies.
And so forth - in the course of this tale, we meet several people who are in various stages of AIDS. This is the meaning of the play. We encounter out gays and closeted gays, poor gays and rich gays, and the occasional straight suffering person, too. Often we have scene shifts and double scenes with two sets of action going on simultaneously. The moral issues of life with AIDS (which, as it happens, often reflect the moral issues of life more generally) are played out in political, social and religious terms.
Take, for instance, Louis, who attends the funeral (conducted by the Rabbi), who is contemplating leaving his lover Prior, who has started to show symptoms. The interplay between Louis and the Rabbi shows differing ideas not only between religions but also within religions toward difficulties.
Later, Cohn launches into an extended tale to his doctor of how he couldn't possibly be a homosexual:
`This is what a label refers to. Now to someone who does not understand this, homosexual is what I am because I have sex with men. But really this is wrong. Homosexuals are not men who sleep with other men. Homosexuals are men who in fifteen years of trying cannot get a pissant antidiscrimination bill through City Council. Homosexuals are men who now nobody and who nobody knows. Who have zero clout. Does this sound like me?'
Ultimately, denial is deep with Cohn.
Doctor: You have AIDS, Roy.
Cohn: No, Henry, no. AIDS is what homosexuals have. I have liver cancer.
Ultimately, issues of drug access, relationship building and deterioration, and the overall morality of life is played out among the characters. Perhaps the image of Ethel Rosenberg, who appears to Cohn in one of his weakened delusional states, says it best:
History is about to crack wide open. Millennium approaches.
The play concludes as an Angel makes a traumatic entry at the end (the cracking open that Rosenberg mentions, perhaps?) appearing to Prior, after we have witnessed Prior's now ex-lover Louis making a connection with our conservative Mormon lawyer Joe.
There is a message. We the audience are not told what it is.

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If the Buddha Dated: A Handbook for Finding Love on a Spiritual Path Review

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(More customer reviews)I have read more than my share of self help books but this is the most helpful book I have ever read. It started out slow - in the first pages I was rolling my eyes because I felt like it was simple stuff I already knew, but by page ten I was engrossed and thrilled. It is simple, straightforward, fun reading, it makes complete sense and helps clarify the issues that come up in every kind of relationship, from partners to potential partners, to family and friends. I could not put it down. I had an 'aha' every few pages, found it joyful and affirming and incredibly helpful. When I was halfway through it I bought 8 more copies and gave them to eight friends. They all loved it and have all given copies to their friends and family. I quickly saw my relationships to others and to myself start to change, I actively used the theories to improve my dynamics with others and one day read just one sentence and completely let go of some pain I'd been carrying for days over a conflict with a friend. Poof - it was gone and I was looking at it from a whole new place and learned a lesson I have used again and again since that day. I also re-established contact with a friend who I'd parted ways with years ago and in one easy conversation we came together again resolved the problem, laughed over how big we'd made it and have had a healthier, happier and closer friendship than ever since. I am back today to order 3 more copies for three more people - one of them is the new man in my life whom I feel this book was intrumental in helping me find. I'm choosing differently, approaching things differently and what's more - I'm happier and feel more clear and peaceful about relationships than I ever have. Get this book and a few extras for the people you love - you won't regret it. And grab your highlighter- there are gems on every page.

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In this practical, playful, yet spiritual guide, Charlotte Kasl, author of the highly successful Finding Joy: 101 Ways to Free Your Spirit and Dance with Life, shows you what it would be like to have the ancient wisdom of the Buddha to guide you through the dating process. Kasl brings a compassionate understanding to the anxiety and uneasiness of new love, and helps readers discover their potential for vibrant human connection based on awareness, kindness, and honesty. She approaches the dating process as a means for awakening, reminding us that when we live by spiritual rules, we bring curiosity and a light heart to the romantic journey. Filled with quotations from Zen, Sufi, and other wisdom traditions, and informed by the experiences of people from all walks of life, here is a relationship book that will appeal to readers looking for more than a Venus-meets-Mars solution to the complex affairs of the heart.

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Only Love Is Real: A Story of Soulmates Reunited Review

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(More customer reviews)Only Love is Real by Brian Weiss, is the third book by this incredible author. If I could, I would rate this book with 10 stars. Although one does not have to read his previous two books to read this book, he does make references throughout, but his explanations guide the reader and one is never confused or lost. Many Lives, Many Masters and Through Time Into Healing are his previous two and both are as riveting as this book. As with his other books, I could not put this book down either. The messages imparted in this book are numerous for the deep connection of twin souls. Weiss states, "Destiny dictates the meeting of soulmates. We *will* meet them. But what we decide to do after that meeting falls in the province of choice or free will. A wrong choice or a missed chance can lead to incredible loneliness and suffering. A right choice, an opportunity realized, can bring us to profound bliss and happiness."
Weiss shares the story of two of his patients relating similar past lives, and he eventually connects the two and "intervenes" to introduce them. I am sure we have all had the experience of meeting someone and just "knowing" that we know them on a much deeper level, but we can't explain it. Those that come into our lives are either ready to meet their "other half" or as Weiss put it, they are "not awakened" yet.
Weiss speaks throughout the book on the meaning and value of love and indeed, "only love is real." He urges us to forget and forgive our past mistakes, to learn from them and move on - to live fully in the present and not to worry about the future. This book is one incredible, beautiful lesson in love. Weiss urges the reader to listen to one's heart, as the ego has other agendas, as do other people. "There is someone special for everyone." How does one recognize a soulmate? - Weiss states it most profoundly, "When both recognize each other, no volcano could erupt with more passion. The energy released is tremendous. Passion in a relationship cannot be artificially created . . . . . but the chemistry has to be there from the start." Oh how so very true!!! "The person may not recognize the chemistry. The attraction is definitely there but the source of chemistry is not understood. It is delusional to believe that this passion, this soul recognition and attraction will be easily found again with another person. You do not run into a soulmate every day . . .The more awakened a couple is, the more likelihood of a decision based on love. When both partners are awakened, ecstasy is within their grasp."
Weiss shares the past lives of both Elizabeth and Pedro and the reader is able to see them in different lifetimes, as different sexes, yet they are always together, learning soul lessons and coming back again and again to be together. As with his previous books, messages come from Elizabeth under hypnosis, from "higher conscious masters", imparting loving and profound messages to Weiss: "Love dissolves fear. You cannot be afraid when you are feeling love. When allowed to flow freely, love overcomes all obstacles." Both of their past lives are most fascinating and the lessons learned are indeed enlightening. I have used one of Weiss' past regression tapes and they are incredible and one can "see" as he states in the book.
Weiss also share with the reader, his own experiences with his soulmate and wife, Carol, and the "obstacles" that they had to over come. "Destiny is persistent" as Weiss states and as seen in this book and as can be related in our lives, it doesn't give up - we only have to listen.
This book is fascinating, thought-provoking and my highlighter was in overtime in reading!!! So many, many endearing and important thoughts on love and just being. I have read all of Weiss' books and it is so hard to believe that they can get any better, but it is true!!! Reading his books, one can experience a deep sense of healing and a profound infusion of love. This is not only a book about love, but also a book about hope. This is a "must have" have book and also one that you want to share with those in your life - "Listen to your heart, to your own intuitive wisdom when deciding about a gift of destiny, such as a soulmate. Destiny will deposit its gift directly at your feet, but what you subsequently decide to do with the gift is up to you. Your heart knows what you need. Other people have other agendas."
A most excellent book - I have read it three times already!

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The Gift Review

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(More customer reviews)I had seen a few TV movie adaptations of Danielle Steel's novels but never got the time to reading any of her books. So I finally decide to get `The Gift', seeing that it would be a short read, just to give her books a try. I must say that I loved reading this book, and have already bought other books of hers to add to my bookshelf.
5 year old Annie Whittaker died of meningitis, the day after Christmas, leaving a bruise on the rest of the family: Tommy, her brother; Elizabeth, her mother; and John, her father. Each member of the family slowly secludes themselves from one another in their own way. What used to be a close knit family doesn't exist now. Meanwhile, we are introduced to Maribeth Robertson, a 16 year old girl who makes a mistake that would change her life. She runs away from her family and friends, and starts working in a restaurant as a waitress, where she meets Tommy. The two immediately hit it off, but there are a lot of problems standing in their way which they must face.
The story is very sweet, and we get to read how Maribeth changes the Whittakers and makes them a family again. Though the ending is a little sad, you feel touched by the story overall. Danielle Steel, famous of writing matters of the heart, does an excellent job in depicting the love between two lovers, between a mother and a daughter, and the love within the family.
Whether you are a fan of Danielle Steel or not, if you like reading romantic novels, then this book will be a perfect `gift' for you.

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The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is an honest journey of the human experience and enables one to understand the meaning of life. It is very useful to all adults whether one is dealing with first hand depression or someone close to you is. He is able to reach the inner most sensitive parts of every human being and give comfort where there is pain. This is a book that needs to be kept out so one can read it at anytime, any chapter. It shows how going through very painful periods in this physical world lead to peace and valuable information that needs to be shared. It looks at life through very healthy eyes with God as our director. I don't think anyone could possibly read this book and not feel hopeful afterwards.

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Leadership Can Be Taught: A Bold Approach for a Complex World Review

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(More customer reviews)Ron Heifetz is clearly one of the seminal leadership scholars, practitioners, and teachers in the field today. This superb volume, by Sharon Daloz Parks, takes off from where his two previous books ("Leadership Without Easy Answers" and "Leadership On the Line") leave off. "Leadership Can be Taught" takes its readers through Heifetz's Harvard Business School course "PAL 101--Exercising Leadership: Mobilizing Group Resources."
For those of us who have studied Heifetz's two previous books and taken courses modeled off his HBS course (as I did at Columbia Teachers College almost a decade ago), "LCBT" provides an excellent refresher. My Columbia TC Professor (who must have TA'd for Heifetz when she was teaching at Harvard's Graduate School of Education) ran an outstanding version of his course in her own right.
Using all of Heifetz's key principles and pedagogical techniques (and a very similar curriculum), she put us through our paces in teaching leadership "adaptively." It was a watershed learning experience of invaluable practical value to me. Although my field is leadership development in secondary-school education (for both teachers and students), I borrow heavily from Heifetz's theory and work at the graduate level.
Although I doubt they were intended this way, I see these 3 works as a sort of trilogy on adaptive leadership. Heiftez's "Leadership On the Line" (co-written with Marty Linsky) is probably the most accessible of the three: clearly the place for any reader to start learning about H's powerful approach. "Leadership Without Easy Answers" is the most scholarly and thoroughly developed (with extensive historical examples, etc.).
Daloz Parks's "LCBT" concentrates on Heifetz's leadership course itself. What is the experience of taking it like for his students? How do--or don't--its lessons stick with them as they resume their professional lives?
Daloz Parks's answers to these questions are balanced, fair, accurate, and leavened with plenty of anecdotal evidence. We get glimpses of classroom interactions, and we hear Professor Heifetz speaking quite candidly about the advantages--as well as challenges--of his dynamic educational approach.
Any serious scholar or teacher of leadership MUST peruse this product of the Harvard Business School Press. One of the beauties of Heifetz's approach is that it works in virtually any area: from business, to education, to public service, etc. Its principles apply equally in the commercial and not-for-profit sectors.
In sum, I can't recommend "Leadership Can be Taught" highly enough to leaders and/or faculty in leadership-development programs of all stripes. Sharon Daloz Parks has done us all a great service in recording the impact of Heifetz's work on those fortunate enough to study with the master himself!

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A Love That Multiplies: An Up-Close View of How They Make it Work Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm an adult who is the oldest of five siblings, and I've always wanted to have a family of a similar size. A 5-kid group sounds like a massive family to most everyone that I've met, but for us it's natural. We wouldn't want to have one brother or sister less--every person is unique and wonderful, and our lives are richer for having each other. The Duggars of TLC's show 19 Kids and Counting feel the exact same way about their kids, except that they have four times as many kids as my family! This book covers a lot of their child-rearing principles and spiritual beliefs, as well as the recent challenges in their lives, starting from the time in late 2009 when Michelle went into early labor with their 19th child.
I had never gotten to see the Duggars' TV show, but I was curious about their family and found this book to be the perfect way to learn more. They have been through some major struggles in recent years, but they've always held close to their faith in God's goodness. Early chapters of A Love That Multiplies discuss the medical emergency that arose when Michelle delivered baby Josie three full months before her due date. It was chilling to realize just how close they came to losing Josie, who was just 22 ounces at birth. I had not previously been aware of how hard a "micro-preemie" baby struggles just to survive. In Josie's case, she was having to live through three months of growth that should have happened in the safety of the womb. And yet God provided for their family in times of trouble--a lady they didn't even know offered to let the whole family borrow her house so they could be close to little Josie while she was in such a life-threatening condition.
The Duggar kids may be the focus of the show, but this book makes it clear just how important the parents' attitudes affect the overall family dynamic. By the things Jim Bob and Michelle say about each other, it becomes apparent that they are really in love. It's a big deal that they can express so much admiration for each other in times of stress. Jim Bob sounds like a real problem-solver when he does things like hooking up the generator on the family bus to the house so they could power a washer and dryer during an ice storm that knocked out their power. Michelle seems very savvy, too, with her quiet discipline, creative homeschooling methods, and commitment to meeting her children's emotional needs. I love how conscious Michelle is of how her attitude affects her kids...if you've ever been a child-care provider in any capacity, you know how quickly your own negative behaviors can show up in the kids! But fortunately, the same thing goes for positive traits.
It's also encouraging to see that the Duggar kids are not at all "cloistered" or "sequestered" or any of those other big words for kids who are kept at home and not allowed to see any of the world. These kids have met film crews and magazine representatives and have gone on mission trips to El Salvador. The kids all play music (piano, violin or harp), but they also have their own interests--the older girls like to cook and sew, but the oldest two have also undergone firefighter training work as volunteer firefighters! The oldest two sons own an auto sales lot and a towing business, and are committed to living debt-free. The book mentions a lot of the Duggars' principles for business-running, finance management, and homeschooling, and there's a handy list of resources provided in the back of the book.
It's also important to note that the Duggars aren't forwarding a big political movement--they aren't trying to get everybody in America to have a bunch of offspring; this is just what God has called them to do. It is so touching to see how much they love Jesus Christ and how much they want to meet the needs of others, whether it's baking their TV producer a cake on his birthday, taking cookies to the local fire department, or putting on a concert for residents at a nursing home. I think that supporting the Duggars is not a matter of whether we personally want 19 kids (there are probably not many people who do), or whether we think that most families should be this size (it's probably not practical on a large scale)--it's about whether they seem to be loving and nurturing the kids they have. From all evidence, they're doing just fine. May God bless the Duggars and bless all of our families, whatever their size.

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In this second book from the Duggars, they focus on the principles that equip them to face life's challenges—drawing from their most recent challenge with the 3-month premature birth of their newest child, Josie. They also share the new challenges their older children are facing as they prepare for adult life. Central to the book is a section on the principles that the Duggars have consistently taught their children. These simply worded principles arebasic to the Duggar family andareshared in a way that other parents can incorporate in their own homes.A special chapter on homeschoolinggives valuable information toparents who are considering this route or are already invested in it. The worldcontinues to beamazed by theirnineteen well-groomed, well-behaved, well-schooled childrenand theirhome life, which focuses on family, financial responsibility, fun—and must importantly, faith. The Duggarsshow how parents can succeed whether they're rearing a single child or several.
Table of Contents:
Preface: Our Biggest Test Begins Part 1: Little Baby, Big Challenges 1. Little Eyes Watching 2. More Babies on the Way! 3. A Surprising Test Begins 4. Praying without Ceasing 5. Miracles and Milestones 6. Difficult Priorities Part 2: Shaping Hearts and Minds 7. Living under the Microscope 8. Opportunities to Reach Out to Others 9. Developing a Servant Heart 10. Making Faith Fun Part 3: Big Hope for Our Children's Future 11. Homeschool, Duggar Style 12. Vocations, Goals, and Roles 13. Daily Training, Tips, and Practicalities 14. Life Is a Classroom Part 4: Big Hearts, Full of Love 15. Protecting and Cherishing Our Relationships 16. Michelle's Heart for Children and Moms 17. Jim Bob's Lifelong Hobby 18. Do the Duggars Date? P.S. Answering the Big Question

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Wedding Blessings: Prayers and Poems Celebrating Love, Marriage and Anniversaries Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a great book for anyone who believes true love still exists and who believes in the power of the written word as a means of expressing that incredible emotion. Wedding Blessings contains well-known authors such as Shakespeare and Elizabeth Barrett Browning and numerous up and coming writers from the current era whose ability to capture and celebrate love is both amazing and exciting. It is easy to relate to the beautiful, heartfelt writing of this book. One of my favorite passages is from the following piece titled, "A Husband's Vows:"
I will help you look for the things you seek.
I will hope for you,
concentrate on you,
learn with you.
Whatever you give,
I will cherish and multiply,
add harmony and keep rhythm,
with everything I possess.

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One Soul, One Love, One Heart: The Sacred Path to Healing All Relationships Review

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(More customer reviews)"The truth of the matter is, to find happiness we don't have to become something other than we are, we just have to stop pretending to be something we are not."
Reading this book ignited a memory of a love song from decades ago, and the chorus went like this: "It's only words - and words are all I have - to take your heart away." Author John Welshons took my heart away with his words in One Soul, One Love, One Heart. I read the first eighty pages in one breath, surrendering into the love in my own heart and the larger truth he points out: that what we all want--more than anything--is Love.
This book is a manifesto for spiritual awakening and transformation that literally goes to the heart of the matter: "the truth of our interconnectedness [we are One] and what it can teach us about our relationships with other human beings, the natural world, our universe, and our Creator." Drawing from authentic sacred truths, personal examples, stories, and an ocean of personal wisdom, Welshons shows us how each of our relationships can offer us the most profound teachings as stepping-stones toward awakening to our true Self. Shifting the focus of spiritual practice from one that is solitary and self-serving to one that is relational and serves the higher good, models the sacred path to healing as our evolutionary destiny.
The path of love may be the most difficult path--to learn to love that which we most resist--and yet it is only by turning our personal evolution in this direction that we will change the human condition. This path isn't just polyannish idealism: it's true! When did anger ever solve conflict? When did fear ever feel like happiness? Awakening isn't merely a matter of riding waves of bliss, it's also the descent into the hardened, ugly, and painful places that keep our heart constricted and unmoved. We can transmute these experiences when we think and act in ways that focus on our experience of Oneness, commit to and practice awareness and meditation, and nurture our spiritual heart.Welshons shows us how to heal our most difficult relationships and nurture our healthy ones, guiding us in our capacity for love and connecting us to humanity, the planet, and our spirituality.
Read this book and let your heart be opened to the wisdom, truth, and beauty within.
"Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it." ~ Rumi

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How do we heal our difficult relationships and nurture our healthy ones? What is their significance in our spiritual life? In this deeply moving, groundbreaking book, John E. Welshons answers these questions and many more. He shows why the path to real and lasting happiness lies in recognizing that we are all One, and in living in that awareness. He shows us how to heal our most difficult relationships by transforming them into our greatest spiritual lessons and how to love, forgive, and care for our fellow human beings — even those we find most difficult to love and forgive. With compassion and wisdom, Welshons invites us into a revolutionary new understanding of ourselves, our spiritual life, our world, and all our relationships.

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Out of War: True Stories from the Front Lines of the Children's Movement for Peace in Colombia Review

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(More customer reviews)Fortunately I did not experience the terror of mass murder, rape and callous torture as a child. For the children of Columbia such experiences are an every day occurrence. The courage of the young people whose stories Cameron relates is extraordinary. How does an ordinary fifteen year old girl rise to become a leader of children in a mass movement to bring peace to a country where war is the norm? How do children as young as eleven overcome their anger and personal pain to tell their fellow sufferers that anger and revenge will not work as well as forgiveness and conciliation?

This true story of The Children's Peace Movement of Columbia makes chilling reading, but it is also inspiring and enriching.

Cameron's simple and eminently readable style allows the children to speak for themselves and she does not fall into the traps of sentimentality or open-mouthed wonder. She allows them to relate their experiences, their failures and successes, to tell of their feelings, their joys, their hopes and their fears, and, most of all, of their overwhelming wish to bring peace to this shattered country.
My hat comes off to Sara Cameron for drawing the attention of the world to the work of these heroic children. I hope that her book will give them a platform from which they can continue to build the peace they so richly deserve.

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Chicken Soup for the Couple's Soul Review

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(More customer reviews)I've always liked 'Chicken Soup' books, and this one is one of my favorites. There are many stories in the book, each written by a different author sharing his or her own inspirational experience. Because each story is written by a different author, they each have their own distinct characteristics. I really enjoyed the story about an elderly lady who lost her husband and received long-stemmed roses from him for Valentine's Day after his passing. That story, along with many others in this collection, will help to ease any doubt for those who may believe true love is out of reach. I also highly recommend 'Open Your Mind, Open Your Life: A Little Book of Wisdom' by Taro Gold.

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What Are You Waiting For?: The One Thing No One Ever Tells You About Sex Review

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(More customer reviews)Dannah hits the nail on the head with her latest book. Being a college student, I hear the words and ideas of sex thrown around in everyday conversation. But, it's rarely talked about in a Biblical and edifying way. It was both refreshing and informative to hear what the Bible REALLY says about this topic. She doesn't hesitate to ask the questions that you're really thinking about, but are, in most cases, too scared to ask. If you have questions or are simply looking for a Biblical approach to relationships/sex, this book is definitely for you!

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Smart Women/Foolish Choices: Finding the Right Men Avoiding the Wrong Ones (Signet) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a valuable book on how to gage erroneous, futile mechanisms and thought processes that keep women in hopeless mindsets and equally hopeless relationships. These two licensed professional counselors are men themselves, and their experience and professional knowledge bring much enlightenment to the mystery of men's behavior in relationships. I highly recommend this book to those who have been led to falsely believe that all men are commitment-phobic slugs and want validation to seek emotionally mature men that embrace confident, mature women for what they bring to the union. It offers tips on how ladies can come into their own power and to take assured chances with the opposite sex. Very concise, easy to read and well-written.

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