The Noticer by Andy Andrews

This is a story about a man named Jones (or Garcia, or Chen...however he appears to people). Jones comes into people's lives when they need a friend, some guidance, some perspective. The story is set in a town in Alabama where Jones moves in and out of lives. This book shares a few stories of the lives Jones touches. No one knows where he came from, where he sleeps, or even how to contact him, but he seems to be there when people need him the most. He offers them words of encouragement. But the words are not just platitudes, but rather words and ideas that are gems that can truly change a life. For instance, that someone's bad choices can put them in a place that is exactly where they need to be so they can grow and do things beyond their wildest dreams. Perspective means we look forward at the consequences of the choices we make today (a paraphrase of one of Jones' bits of wisdom). I think my favorite Jones interaction is with a widow who thinks that "she has outlived her usefulness." He shares with her about people who became successful when other people would "normally" be retiring. Overall I truly enjoyed this book. It is uplifting and gives a reader plenty to think about. I believe this book would be better if it shared God's improvement plan with the reader rather than being delivered as a self-improvement plan.

Gift Giving

At this time of the year most of us turn our thoughts toward finding the perfect gift; the gift our family member or friend has wanted for a long time, a gift that shows how much we love them, a gift that will change their lives.  I don't know about you, but I get so caught up in the busy-ness of all the gift shopping and making that I often forget that there is only one reason I give gifts. It is in honor of the best Gift Giver of all time.  I'm sure you've heard the old saying, "You can't out give God." I have heard it many times, but I hadn't honestly taken the time to think on it.  I'm embarrassed to say that many times I have simply thought, "Yes, He sent His Son for me."  Oh, but there is so much more to God's gift giving.

He knew who I was before I ever set foot in this world.  He created this world for me and for you.  He set the temperature and climate so plants, animals, water, everything, would be just right for us to live.

He gave me intelligence and free will.  A free will to choose to use His gift of intelligence in any manner I choose. I have the choice to study, work hard, create, sing, read, and so much more.  Or, I can choose to sit on my rearend, feel sorry for myself that I don't have the biggest and the best of everything there is to have in the world.  Another choice He has given me is to accept His mercy and grace in my life.  He always gives me the choice of whether or not a spend time time in prayer, praise, and worship.  It is all my choice.  My God didn't mandate the I love and worship Him. He has left this all all in my hands.  He wants my love, but He wants it to always be something freely given from me to Him.  He didn't have to do this.  He could have made me so that I always do whatever He says, but He gave me the wonderful gift of free will, free choice.  My God is so awesome! 

He gives me forgiveness. With all my free will, I mess up...sometimes a lot.  Because God sent His Son to earth for me, He gave me the opportunity to accept His Son, Jesus, into my life as my Savior.  Because of Jesus' gift of sacrifice, His pure and perfect life given freely on a cruel cross, He made a way for me to come directly into the Holy of Holies and ask forgiveness of my sins.  Thank you, Lord, for this truly awesome gift. It is a gift I was not worthy of, but because of Jesus sacrifice of His precious life I am now worthy to come to You and ask for your forgiveness, Your guidance, Your grace.

God gave His Son for me.  Jesus stepped down from His thrown. He left all the glory of heaven to come to earth to live as a man.  He spent His life as a man, giving us all the gift of His words, His knowledge, His teachings.  He felt what we feel.  He went through temptations like we go through temptations. He didn't have to do this, but He gave us the gift of His life any way.  He then went through torment, beatings, torture and ultimately gave His sinless life as a gift, a perfect sacrifice, so we no longer have to search for perfect sacrifices in order to come to the Lord with our prayers. 

The gift giving didn't stop with the sacrifice.  Jesus conquered death and the grave.  He rose again to once again walk among us.  For 40 days He walked among us and then He rose into heaven.  But He didn't leave us alone.  The Lord then sent us the gift of a Comforter, the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is here, with me, every day. 

What a wonderful God! There is no way I can ever dream of outgiving my God.  He has given me everything I will ever need.  When these thoughts finally registered in my brain I realized that the gift I need to give my friends and family is to be sure to share God with them.  They all need to know what God has done, to hear about the love of Jesus and learn about the way He opened for us.  So this year I purpose to share the great news of Jesus wherever and whenever the opportunity presents itself. 

Ponderings for the morning

After many soggy, dreary days, the gold, silver and white have broken through. The sun's rays are spreading warmth, cheer and more colors throughout this early morning. The shining brightness is a wonderful smile smile with the animals and trees and now me.  No matter how many shiny decorations or lights we've strung to make our house festive, we simply can't out decorate God. With one light He creates so many glorious colors that dance all over.  It is fall so the leaves are turning brown, yet the sun still picks out beautiful colors...colors that aren't quite orange, aren't quite red, aren't quite brown, just totally unique shading and tone that is incredible to behold.

Thank you, Lord, for gracing me with another day to behold Your handiwork. You are the Master, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

Beautiful wet rainy day

Ahhh, what a day! It was a glorious day, although we had torrential rain. How could it be beautiful, you ask.  Well, it was another day the Lord blessed me with.  We made it through weather warning after weather warning, and the Lord's hand was on us. My NOAA weather radio went off about 4 pm notifying us that there was a tornado in the area.  I listened close for the location, and yes it was very close, but I figured we were still safe.  Ahhhh, yes, but we were safe, but only by the grace of God. Someone reported to us that the tornado passed right over our house! Wow! I am blessed by the Best! The is my God...and He is totally awesome!!

Book Review: "5 Cites that Ruled the World: How Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London & New York Shaped Global History"

In "5 Cites that Ruled the World" the author, Douglas Wilson, gives us glimpses at the history of 5 influential cities, Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London, & New York. The history walks us through ancient past into recent times, but in a clear, concise manner rather than dragging us down with loads of detail. In my opinion, a better title for this book would be to replace the word "ruled" with the word "led."


At the beginning of the book I was unsure how this read would go. I found myself somewhat taken aback by some of the author's comments. Those weren't something I was anticipating in a book that I thought would be straight history. That was a poor assumption on my part. I had to make myself read this book with a completely open mind, which worked out well. The author used refreshingly different methods to explain his thoughts about each city, as well as tying in historical events and scripture. He described Jerusalem as a city that gave us a legacy of the spirit; Athens as a city that gave us reason and the mind; Rome a city that gave us law; London as a city that gave us literature; and New York as the city that gave us industry and commerce. When Douglas Wilson first presented these concepts in the introduction I wasn't sure that I completely agreed, but I pressed on. In his look at each city's history he did prove his concepts very well. He even managed to explain London's history so well that I wasn't confused (I usually find the twists, turns and numbers of the various English kings and queens highly confusing).

In the author's epilogue, he ties together all the cities with the theme of freedom and liberty. While I did enjoy reading this book, I believe I would have enjoyed it more if the theme would have been expressed through each city rather than saved for an "epilogue" because it left me feeling a bit like the "epilogue" was an afterthought. All in all, I did enjoy this book and I did learn some things. I wouldn't use this book as a text book, but I am going to recommend it to family and friends who find history a less than pleasing subject. I believe they will enjoy this quick walk through history with an entertaining author.

I am a member of the Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger program (http://brb.thomasnelson.com/)