MM-R on this fine day!!

So this is week two of our journey through the library of books at our house I have yet to read. This is a really fun journey I'm on. And wow I really have a lot of partial and unread books . . . how does that happen? anyway . . .

This past week I read "Jesus on Leadership" by C. Gene Wilkes and here is my take on it:

This book was a challenging read in a week. There is so much information and so thought provoking.

On page 28 of this book I believe the author captures the heart of this book:

“A great leader is great because he lives - without compromise- the call to mission on his life. He is also great because he inspires others to carry out that mission with him. I believe Jesus was (and is) a great servant leader because he served his Father’s mission without compromise and has inspired many people over many centuries to carry it out. I can also say that I believe Jesus was the greatest leader because his mission was for all people for all time. Even great leaders in history only affect their space on the timeline and beyond. Jesus affected all creation for all time. His life, death, and resurrection served the greatest need of people for all time to have a personal relationship with the God who created us. “

This book really made me think about my own brand of leadership, do I lead as a servant like Jesus did? The world’s idea of leadership is much different than Jesus’ idea of leadership. The world’s idea has nothing to do with servanthood and every thing to do with self-driven ideas. It is a me-me-me attitude versus wanting to do the will of God by serving others. Now that is the real way to lead. This book really challenged me.

One of the examples Mr. Wilkes uses to illustrate servant leadership in Jesus’ life was the night of the Passover when Jesus washes the feet of the disciples, including Judas Iscariot. Jesus, knowing all that was about to happen, washed the feet of the one who would betray Him, and He did it in love and servanthood. What a beautiful picture of the true servant leader.

So I would like to leave you with the question that the author poses toward the end of the book:

“What kind of Christians would you produce if the only way they learned how to walk with the Lord was by following you around and mimicking your actions?”

Wow!! What a question!!! I’m telling you this book will really make you think. This is definitely a question I believe every believer should ask themselves.

Have a Beautiful day in the Lord,

Maiden Voyage of the Monday Morning Review ~~ (MM-R)

Well here I go on a new journey for 2009!! If you will recall I made a New Year's Resolution to read a book a week and post the review every Monday on this blog. The reason being I have so many books in my personal library that I have not read all the way through or not at all, and I really feel God speaking to me about stewardship and making the most of what He has provided for us. So instead of buying more books I want to read, I am reading the ones I already have before I venture out to purchase more.

Well this is quite an ambitious goal, 1 book a week, but I'm going to give it the old college try. Right now I seem to have a lot of time on my hands since my knee refuses to cooperate after big days of PT and/or exercise and home. When it swells and is stinky I am sitting. Prior to this resolution I was watching WAY TOO MUCH TV!! Boo Boo ~~ So I have turned that time into reading time and I finished the book to review today on Saturday. A day early !! WOO-HOO!!!

So without further ado . . . I give you MM-R!!!


Review of “here am I, Lord . . . Send somebody else!”
By Jill Briscoe


This is a great book for a new believer to read. It is clear and concise and helps to explain matters of faith.


It is written from Moses’ perspective and the fact that he wanted the Lord to send somebody else to do the job. He felt inadequate and ill-equipped to do such for the Lord. It is interesting because I have often felt this way as well. That what God was asking me to do couldn’t possibly be meant for me, because I just am inadequate. But in all our inadequacies God equips and that is a theme in this book. He equips me/us, so we don’t have to worry as long as we are trusting Him.


What I will attempt to do in these review posts is just to give a very brief overview of the book. And in doing so pick out a sentence or paragraph that I feel best describes the book. Because who better to describe it than the author’s own words.


So for this book, I felt like this section really captures the heart of the read. It is found on page 34 and goes like this:


“A healthy sense of identity comes from belonging to God through Christ and choosing to work for God’s purpose and plan, not yours. If you choose to obey God, you will likely encounter opposition and hardship, and you will certainly have to practice self-denial. It doesn’t mean you will always rise to the occasion either! In fact, Moses’ first grand attempt to make an impact for God led to disaster.”


Another thing I enjoyed about the book is the matter-of-fact tone that she uses throughout just like in the above passage. No sugar coating on this read, nope, right there in your business ~~ I love that!!


It did take me probably about three chapters to really get into the heart of the book (probably why I didn’t read it before ~~ oh me of little patience). But I am so glad for this resolution, because this book is a really good read.


So if you are a new believer or know a new believer, or just want a book to prepare you to talk with someone new to the faith, or not yet a believer, this is a good book to read. But may I suggest, if you are going to give this to a new believer, please read it first yourself. This is something I try to practice in my own life. I don’t like to give books I haven’t read myself to someone in case of things in there that might lead them astray, you know what I mean right?


Okay, so that is all for the first MM-R. I am so excited!! The next book I’m reading is “Jesus on Leadership” by Gene Wilkes. Now let me just say that I really want to do this every Monday which means I’ll need to be reading a book a week until I get all of these books read, but a book a week is quite an undertaking, so we will see how this proceeds, but it will be every Monday or every other, if I’m a slacker. But so far so good =)



PS If you are interested in more details of the book please let me know. One of the things I am doing as I read, is at the end of each chapter I am writing a very short synopsis (one or two sentences) of the chapter. So if this is a book you are interested in, but need a few more details, just contact me and we'll discuss some meat =)

Resolution or Revolution?

Ahh new beginnings ~~ there is something about them, isn't there?!!

Just like clean sheets on a bed, fresh and smelling good ~~ I love clean sheets, anyway ~~

I also love the thought of new beginnings. The last few years I have made a New Year's Resolution, but most of the time that has involved my weight, always wanting to lose a few pounds. But this year I have felt God moving me in a new direction for this new year.

I have several books that I have never read or have only read parts of, and I really feel God impressing on my heart to read these books and apply these truths in conjunction to His Word of course. There are many wonderful books in my home library, books that I bought knowing that it would help me in a particular area, but then would only read a part of it and not finish it.

So I am pulling out my books and all the stops (just like to say that =) and reading this year.

And this is what I will be doing. I will post a Monday Morning Review of the book I read that last week (hopefully I read one a week, or so). And then if you would like to read it you have my very meager opinion of what I thought of the book. Of course this is not in anyway a formal review, just my opinion.

So I wanted to give you a few of the titles I will be reading . . .

First I am going to finish going through this in my prayer time . . .

I bought this a few years ago and only got through day three (how pathetic am I). But I am now putting this wonderful guide to prayer in use. It really is insightful and is helping me in my prayer life. So I will be finishing this over the course of the next 10 weeks (I think that's right).

These a just a few of the books that I'll be reading. Amongst these titles are "Twelve Extraordinary Women" "The Calling" "The Feasts of the Lord" "Jesus on Leadership" and many others. You probably also see "Voices of the Faithful" and "Jesus Freaks", these two I will be doing in conjunction with each other. "Voices of the Faithful" is a daily devotional and "Jesus Freaks" is a book on Martyrs that you can read chronologically. So come Jan 1, I'll be starting this daily devotional.

And this is the book I am currently reading and will be reviewing next Monday, hopefully.

It is "Here am I Lord, Send Somebody Else!" by Jill Briscoe. Don't ya just love the honesty in that title? If you've read this book or any of the books in the future that I'll feature on MMR, please feel free to let me know what you thought of the book or if you plan on reading it.

Now let me just leave you with a few more CHRISTmas pics.

This is Sky opening up the Leap Frog Gma and Gpa got him.

How cute!! I just love the concentrated look on babies faces as they do things . . .

like opening gifts!!

Here is Chase and Tonya looking so cute, and Sky not interested at all in the pic ~~

Nope he's more interested in getting his hands on that frog!!!

And as promised I wanted to show you the beautiful earrings Dak bought his mama for CHRISTmas.

Aren't they lovely?

(heehee ~~ great pic of them huh?!!)

Okay so here is my profile, can you see them now?

I know their kind of hard to see, but take my word for it . . .

THEY ARE LOVELY!!! Thanks Dak!!

Resolution or revolution?

I believe that if I keep this resolution, God will honor that and revolutionize my life with this obedient step.

So what about you?

Will you be making a New Year's resolution that will revolutionize your life?

If so let me know, I'd love to hear it.

Have a Blessed day,

P.S. If your resolution is of a more private nature and you just want to share it with someone or need a prayer partner in regards to it, you can e-mail me as well. (Just thought I'd throw that out there =)

P.P.S. -- P.S.S. ?? Anyway, I am still tweaking the new blog header, so what about this one?