Saturday, January 30, 2010

Camillisms...

My dear baby sister has a disease....

it is called open mouth, insert foot disease; otherwise known as talk before thinking disease!

Fortunately, this disease isn't too serious yet. The prognosis is good for a full recovery; however, there are some side effects.

One of those side effects manifested last weekend when we drove to Eastern Washington to our Grandparents house for my Grandpa's 82nd birthday!

Here is a little background info:
  • My Grandma is 77
  • My Grandma is #11 of 13 children
  • My Grandma moved from the Dakotas to Rathdrum, Idaho as a young child
  • My Grandma was raised in a small cabin with no running water or electricity

Flash forward to last weekend:

My Grandma was given a painting of her family cabin and property (I think one of her brother's wives painted it and it was given to her when someone passed away) and she was showing it to Camille. As Camille is looking at it she comments (Rachel paraphased), "Grandma, where is the covered wagon that you all rode in?"

O.M.G.

My Grandma whipped around and said, "Camille, how old do you think I am?"

My poor sister!

I believe she was properly mortified!

In her defense she was thinking of all the bullet points that I listed above and thought that given the circumstances there would be no money for things such as cars, etc and that there was no other way to travel than a covered wagon!

Do you have this disease?

Do you know others that have this disease?

I find it can be quite amusing to watch the situations that individuals who have this disease can get into and how they try to get themselves out of said situations!

Tea with Hezbollah Book Review

Tea with Hezbollah is a great book and a great insight into events going on in the Middle East. Not very many individuals are willing to take a trip into such a controversial region of the world as the Middle East is right now. In fact, many of us would like to simply forget that the US even has issues with the Middle East....if we forget about it, it might go away. However, that is not the case and this book is an excellent book for us to open our eyes and see that there are individuals there that need our love and the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

Summary:

Is it really possible to love one’s enemies?

That’s the question that sparked a fascinating and, at times, terrifying journey into the heart of the Middle East during the summer of 2008. It was a trip that began in Egypt, passed beneath the steel and glass high rises of Saudi Arabia, then wound through the bullet- pocked alleyways of Beirut and dusty streets of Damascus, before ending at the cradle of the world’s three major religions: Jerusalem.

Tea with Hezbollah combines nail-biting narrative with the texture of rich historical background, as readers join novelist Ted Dekker and his co-author and Middle East expert, Carl Medearis, on a hair-raising journey. They are with them in every rocky cab ride, late-night border crossing, and back-room conversation as they sit down one-on-one with some of the most notorious leaders of the Arab world. These candid discussions with leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, with muftis, sheikhs, and ayatollahs, with Osama bin Laden’s brothers, reveal these men to be real people with emotions, fears, and hopes of their own. Along the way, Dekker and Medearis discover surprising answers and even more surprising questions that they could not have anticipated—questions that lead straight to the heart of Middle Eastern conflict.Through powerful narrative Tea With Hezbollah will draw the West into a completely fresh understanding of those we call our enemies and the teaching that dares us to love them. A must read for all who see the looming threat rising in the Middle East.

Author Bios:

Ted Dekker is the author of many nationally bestselling novels, including Bone Man’s Daughters, The Circle Trilogy, Thr3e, and House, which was coauthored by Frank Peretti. His unique style of storytelling has captured the attention of millions worldwide. Visit him at TedDekker.com.


Carl Medearis is the founder and president of International Initiatives, LLC, an organization that promotes cultural, educational, and commercial exchange between the East and the West. He is an advisor on Arab affairs to the members of the U.S. Congress and leaders in international business.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Are you interested in reading this book? I have a copy just for you!!! All you need to do is leave me a comment on this post. I will leave the contest open until next Saturday February 6th at 5pm (or thereabouts) and will choose the winner via random.org. Good luck and Happy Reading!!

Friday, January 22, 2010

For Marcie...

**BEWARE...YOU MIGHT WANT TO CLOSE YOUR EYES...THE PICTURE BELOW WILL EITHER OFFEND OR MAKE YOU LAUGH YOUR ASS OFF!!**

So, Marcie, my dear friend, asked to have me re-post a picture that I received in the mail this past April.

I belong to paperbackswap.com, an online company where members send books back and forth (you need to check this out if you are a reader and have some extra books lying around your house!)

Anyhow...I received a book in the mail and to my surprise a picture fell out when I opened the book. Normally a picture wouldn't surprise me or make me laugh too loudly; however, this picture was just too much!

Are you wondering what it is?

Want to see?

Are you ready?

Ok.....







Here we go........














Don't say I didn't warn you!................





Voila....


Am I supposed to think of him as my dream lover?

Or snort in disbelief that he really took this picture?


Dug Down Deep Book Review

Do you remember the book I Kissed Dating Goodbye? The author Joshua Harris has gone from dating to discussing theology and Christian doctrine in this new book Dug Down Deep. He is now the senior pastor of a church in Maryland and discussing how we think about God!

Just within the first couple of chapters the book made me start re-thinking about terminology like doctrine, theology, etc. I felt like I needed to get out my dictionary in order to reacquaint myself with these words (this is a good thing not a bad thing...we get so comfortable in Christianese talk that we forget sometimes what we are really talking about!).

Book Summary:
What will you build your life on?

With startling transparency, Joshua Harris shares how we can rediscover the relevance and power of Christian truth. This is book shows a young man who rose quickly to success in the Christian evangelical world before he realized his spirituality lacked a foundation—it rested more on tradition and morality than on an informed knowledge of God.

For the indifferent or spiritually numb, Harris's humorous and engaging reflections on Christian beliefs show that orthodoxy isn't just for scholars—it is for anyone who longs to know the living Jesus Christ. As Harris writes, "I've come to learn that theology matters. It matters not because we want to impress people, but because what we know about God shapes the way we think and live. Theology matters because if we get it wrong then our whole life will be wrong."

Whether you are just exploring Christianity or you are a veteran believer finding yourself overly familiar and cold-hearted, Dug Down Deep will help you rediscover the timeless truths of Scripture. As Harris challenges you to root your faith and feelings about God in the person, work, and words of Jesus, he answers questions such as:

What is God like and how does he speak to me?What difference does it make that Jesus was both human and divine?How does Jesus's death on the cross pay for my sins?Who is the Holy Spirit and how does he work in my life?
With grace and wisdom, Harris will inspire you to revel in the truth that has captured his own mind and heart. He will ask you to dig deep into a faith so solid you can build your life on it. He will point you to something to believe in again.

Author Bio:

Joshua Harris is senior pastor of Covenant Life in Gaithersburg, Maryland, which belongs to the Sovereign Grace network of local churches. A passionate speaker with a gift for making theological truth easy to understand, Joshua is perhaps best known for his runaway bestseller, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, which he wrote at the age of twenty-one. His later books include Boy Meets Girl, Sex Is Not the Problem (Lust Is), and Stop Dating the Church. The founder of the NEXT conferences for young adults, Joshua is committed to seeing the gospel transferred to a new generation of Christians. He and his wife, Shannon, have three children.

THIS BOOK WAS PROVIDED FOR REVIEW BY WATERBROOK MULTNOMAH


Friday, January 15, 2010

The Male Factor Book Review


1. Are you a woman?

2. Do you work with men?

3. Do you work in the corporate world where you would like to advance, but seem unable to?

This book is for YOU!!!

This book helps women understand the how's and the why's of men's thinking. Do men perceive women differently than we think? Of course! Do they perceive expectations, incidents and work environments differently than women? YES!! This book delves into how men see women in the work place and how us women can understand their thinking and apply it to our lives and our careers!

I was highly impressed just within the first chapter as the author describes the details of who she interviewed, how she interviewed, how many she interviewed and so and so forth. This was definitely not a book thrown together overnight. A lot of research and hard work went into this book!

If you or someone you know currently works with men or plans to...buy this book!! The Male Factor will change your life and your way of thinking!

Shaunti Feldhahn, the author, is a nationally syndicated columnist and the bestselling author of For Women Only: What You Need to Know About the Inner Lives of Men and For Men Only, which together sold one million copies. She holds a Master in Public Policy from Harvard, worked on Wall Street and now lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Would you like a copy of this? I have an extra copy to give away!!

All you need to do is leave me a comment as to why you want it. Is it for yourself? Do you want to give it away? Do you work in the corporate world?

I'll have the contest run through Thursday, January 21 at around 5pm. I'll use random.org to chose the winner! Good luck!