A few months ago I read The Power of Nice by these authors, Linda Thaler and Robin Koval.    When I saw this new book they had written, I decided to give it a shot.  Very much like The Power of Nice this book is short, to the point and well written.

At a time when many people are saying don't sweat the small stuff, the message of this book is that the small stuff can make a huge difference.  My favorite concept from the book was that we should go the extra inch.  In business and in our personal lives, the extra inch can help us be successful.

I also enjoyed reading about small talk.  the fact is that in our information age, many of us have lost the art of small talk.  The result is that 13% of Americans suffer from social phobia.

I have to admit that my motivation for reading a book like this is to give me illustrations and material for speaking to businesses.  Even though that was my motivation, I think many others of you could benefit from reading The Power of Small.

"We can do no great things - only small things with great love." - Mother Teresa.

Pat, Caroline and I visited my daughter Jenilee in Nashville this weekend.  It was the first time all of us missed being at Fellowship of the Parks Grapevine since we started with our preview services last summer.  It was a rare chance to attend another churh.

We attended the church Jenilee attends in Nashville, City Church of East Nashville.  Like our church they meet in a school.  They meet on Sunday evenings and the service is 2 hours long which includes a time when the pastor shares the vision of the church. 

The thing I appreciated most was the worship.  When the service began the room was filled with people singing praises to God.  Worship was not a spectator sport.  The people were engaged and the worship was vibrant.

It was so refreshing to be a part of a worship service that was alive.  I was reminded of something I read recently by Mark Batterson the pastor of  the National Community Church in Washington DC.  He said, “Worship when we forget about all that is wrong with us and focus on all that is right about God.”

Being a father, it so great to know that both of my kids who are now out on their own so to speak, have been able to find churches where they are continuing their journeys to be  fully devoted followers of Christ.  We are blessed as a family as a result of God’s provision.

Andy Andrews is a best selling author of books such as The Traveler’s Gift.  He is said to have quietly become one of the most influential people in America.  His story of rags to riches, from living on the streets to becoming who he is today is compelling.  Having seen him interviewed, I find him to be relatively engaging.

I read The Traveler’s Gift, and while most people raved about the book it was not one of my favorites.  I find myself in the same position with his newest book, The Noticer.  It is an easy read but the story line of a mysterious old man who appears in lives of people to impart wisdom is getting a little old with me.  Having recently read Golf’s Sacred Journey recently the whole thing was still fresh on my mind.  In this one, an old golf pro works at a down and out golf course and uses golf to teach profound lessons about life.

The mysterious old man called The Noticer or Jones, teaches on everything from marriage to the love languages although he doesn’t give much credit for where the love language concept originated.  There are some nuggets of truth that are somewhat fresh or revealed in a fresh way such as in chapter 7 about how each life can make a huge difference but overall there is not much new here.  The good news is that you can read it fast, glean the good stuff and be done with it.

I say all of this knowing that there are hundreds of reviews written about how this book changed a life.  I do not doubt any of that.  If someone were to read this book and it was the first book of this type they had read, it could make a difference.  For me, it did not.

God continues to move at FOTP Grapevine.  I have to admit that I thought our attendance would decline after Easter but we have had three of our all time high attendance Sundays in this time period.  Sunday we had 174 which included 8 first time guests.  Our people are inviting lots of family members and friends to join us for our Sunday services.

For all of you who pray for us.  Thank you.  While the attendance has been encouraging, we are also very excited about those who are becoming devoted followers of Christ.  We have several to baptize at our Fellowship at the Waterpark event coming up on June 7.

Nancy’s husband John is one of my favorite authors.  This is her fist book.  It wasn’t off the charts but it was a good book and definitely worth reading.  When I read a book like this one, I judge the book by how it stimulates me to think more about God, His goodness, His love, and His forgiveness.  I underline parts of the book that stimulate that type of thinking.  I never went more than a few pages in Looking for God without underlining significant portions of the writing.

My favorite chapter dealt with the salt and light passage found in Matthew chapter 5.  Nancy Ortberg points out that salt is not something that demands much attention.  In fact, we typically only notice it when it is missing.  She believes that being salt is simply a result of living a faithful, Godly life.  She points out that it was said of Mary that she found favor in God’s eyes.  She was probably a simple, peasant teen age girl.  We are never told that she had done anything spectacular in her life at that point.  It is likely that she had simply live a righteous, devoted life.  It is something any ordinary Christ-follower can do.

My favorite line from the book:  “Much of the gospel is about being salt so that we can help return a people who have wandered to a God who never left.”

Nancy’s husband John is one of my favorite authors.  This is her fist book.  It wasn’t off the charts but it was a good book and definitely worth reading.  When I read a book like this one, I judge the book by how it stimulates me to think more about God, His goodness, His love, and His forgiveness.  I underline parts of the book that stimulate that type of thinking.  I never went more than a few pages in Looking for God without underlining significant portions of the writing.

My favorite chapter dealt with the salt and light passage found in Matthew chapter 5.  Nancy Ortberg points out that salt is not something that demands much attention.  In fact, we typically only notice it when it is missing.  She believes that being salt is simply a result of living a faithful, Godly life.  She points out that it was said of Mary that she found favor in God’s eyes.  She was probably a simple, peasant teen age girl.  We are never told that she had done anything spectacular in her life at that point.  It is likely that she had simply live a righteous, devoted life.  It is something any ordinary Christ-follower can do.

My favorite line from the book:  “Much of the gospel is about being salt so that we can help return a people who have wandered to a God who never left.”

I am a long time Cowboys, Rangers, and Mavs fan.  Last night was just another reason why it is easy for me to be a Mavs fan particularly compared to the current state of the Cowboys.  Last night the Mavs had nothing to win.  The had been robbed of at least one game because of the no call and really faced a huge challenge in the first game.  Dan Crawford calls the game.  I am not one to belly ache over officiating overall but the Crawford thing is ridiculous.  The Mavs are 1-17 when he calls a playoff game.  In the first game of the series, which he called they shot 13 free throws to Denver's 36 and they lost by 12.

 The bottom line is that the Mavs barring a miracle are not going to beat Denver 4 in a row.  They could have easily coasted last night but they did not.  They gave it thier all and won.  The Cowboys on the other hand, end the season with a chance to beat Philly and go to the playoffs and get beat 44-0.

The Mavs have thier issues from time to time but overall they make us proud.

 I am so glad there are people like Howard Sheppard in the world.  It makes me feel so much better about the stupid things I do.   Like trying to use my teeth to take out a burned out Christmas light while the string of lights were still plugged in.  Trust me, you do not want to do that.  Anyway, my hat is off to Howard Sheppard.

Howard Sheppard, 30, of Deltona, Fla., was sent to Florida Hospital DeLand in January after he found some bullets on the ground and experimented to see what would happen if he struck one with a metal punch. (He got shot in the arm.) [Daytona Beach News-Journal, 1-10-09]

I read today that the most significant thing a Chirs follower can know is that God is for us.  Simple but so true and potentially life changing.  God is for us.

I think of all the times that I live my life but not in a way that demonstrates that I know that God is for me.  Times when I get impatient.  Times when I get frustrated.  Times when I get anxious.

Let me encourage you to join me in living each day believing that God is for us. 

This book is a fairly easy read and certainly presents some intriguing psychological concepts such as diagnosis bias and value attribution.  The authors do a good job of explaining these concepts in fairly simple terms and giving case studies and examples which affirm their power to influence us. 

Like many books, this book could be much shorter.  The examples and case studies could be presented in a much briefer fashion.  However, given that the book is relatively short as it is, it would be a very short book if less detail was given.

I would say for anyone who has not done much reading on this type of subject matter this would be a fascinating and helpful book.  It can be beneficial for dealing with people in any setting from your business to your family.  However, having read other similar books such as Blink, Influencer, Outliers, and Freakononmics, my interest in the book waned early on.  Most of what I was reading I had read elsewhere in some fashion.

So the bottom line is if this is your first venture in reading books that help explain human aspects of human behavior, you will enjoy this book.  If you have done a lot of reading along these lines, save your money.