The Agony and the Ecstasy – Irving Stone

This is a unique book in that it’s a biographical novel.  It’s a biography – with all the facts and dates and actual people associated with the subject – Michelangelo.  But it’s also a novel, which means the author included dialogue, motives and thoughts.  It made for fascinating reading and I really enjoyed it. It […]

Lessons from Ongoing Trials

Something I’ve noticed about the trials that God brings into my life is that they aren’t very explosive.  He doesn’t often bring hurricanes or eruptions as much as He sets rain clouds over my life that just seem to park for long periods of time and slowly drench everything.  The rain isn’t even all that […]

Your Money or Your Life – Vicki Robin

I read this book because I read an article on the FIRE movement (Financial Independence Retire Early) that referred to it as the Bible of the lifestyle.  It was originally written in the early nineties and spawned a whole movement of people who decided they didn’t want to work 9-5 jobs their whole life but […]

I John 2:15-17

After encouraging his readers by listing the privileges they have in Christ, John now gives them the first direct exhortation of the letter.  Their sins are forgiven and they know God and they have overcome the evil one; consequently, they cannot and must not love the world.  He not only tells them they are not […]

I John 2:12-14

These verses are at first difficult to understand.  John addresses what looks to be three groups of people and commends/exhorts them for three different aspects of Christianity that are true of each.  He then repeats the process while slightly altering the commendations.  Why he does this at this point in the letter and who exactly […]

Paul Revere’s Ride – David Hackett Fischer

I don’t think I’ve ever read a (an?) historical book that was more well-researched than this one.  The amount of information in the story and its breadth of scope (he tells the story from both the American and British perspectives) are enormously impressive.  The author obviously spent a ton of time researching before he wrote.  […]

The Source – Martin Doyle

First let me say that I love just about anything having to do with water.  I love driving over bodies of water, I love looking at dams, and perhaps my favorite place on earth is a marina just about anywhere.  If you planned a trip with an itinerary consisting solely of visiting dams and marinas, […]

I John 2:7-11

In 2:3-11 John lists and discusses three tests of the faith that he says must be true of the believer.  The follower of Jesus will keep His commandments (3-5a); walk in the same manner as He walked (5b-6); and love other believers (7-11).  If these three things are not true about a person he cannot […]

The Gambler – William C. Rempel

First of all, let me clarify that this is not a biography of Kenny Rogers.  You won’t learn the importance of knowing when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em if you read it.  It’s actually a biography of Kirk Kerkorian, and the title refers to his willingness to gamble huge stakes on his […]