I was hesitant to buy this book because having read any number of Maxwell's books at some point they all start to run together.  John is an international leadership expert and I have learned many great leadership principles from his books.  In fact,  I have probably learned more about leadership through his books than anyone esle but he writes so many books that some of the material seems to be repeated over and over.

 The Difference maker is a book about attitude.  Maxwell points out that attitude is not everything but it is the difference maker.  I picked this book at the bookstore and read a few pages.  What I read seemed fresh and new.  I have to admit the first few chapters were good but about halfway thorugh I felt like I was reading one of his other books.

Here is my advice - if you have not read any of Maxwells other books or maybe only a few, then you might really enjoy this book.  If like me and have read several, then you might want to pass.

As with all of Maxwell's books you pick up a line or two that really stick with you.  For this book my favorite from this one was:

"The happiest people in life don't necessarily have the best of everything.  They just try to make the best of everything."

This past Sunday, I spoke at the Keller campus.  We looked at the nation of Israel during the days of Amos the prophet.  God has shed his grace on those people but instead of being a blessing to the rest of the world, they were oppressing the poor and buying and selling them as slaves.  We can do the same thing when we refuse to allow God's grace to flow through us to those who need it most.

I quoted the lyrics to a song by Sawyer Brown.  Let me encourage you to watch the video and let it encourage you to not waste the grace God has given you.

http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--20458078

Wasted in the series we are currently doing at FOTP.  It is all about the importance of taking advantage of the opportunities God give us so they wont be wasted.  It always does my heart good to know that God has used a message to make a difference in someone's life.  If you can't attend FOTP you can still hear the messages at

http://www.fotpfamily.com/content.aspx?page=19&pt=1&ls=2&ct=-1

In reading The Barbarian Way, I discovered that there is a military tactic used by the Special Forces described as HALO.  HALO stands for “high altitude low opening”.  In order to place soldiers in the midst of the battle or behind enemy lines the military developed this tactic.  Since the getting picked off in the air was such a threat, the plane would fly at very high altitudes 25,000 feet or greater and the soldiers would not deploy their parachutes until they were about 2,000 feet about the ground.  This allowed the plane to go undetected and the soldiers to minimize the risk of being picked off in the air.

Erwin McManus the author of the book believes this describes what happens to us when we sell out to Christ.  The Bible states that we are lifted up with Christ but we also know that God strategically places us here on earth to engage in a battle for his kingdom.  He points out that in the conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus emphasized that we were born from above.

This was just one of many great insights I gleaned from this short little book.  I really enjoy books like The Barbarian Way that make you feel like you have unearthed some buried treasure on every page.

Half-naked motorist to cops: I lost my pants

Seems this guy in Rising Sun Maryland was pulled over by a policeman for speeding.  As it turns out the speeder had a shirt on but no pants.  He told the officer that he lost his pants.  

Things like this make me wonder.  For instance, how did he lose them?  I mean how do you lose your pants!  Also, when did he notice they were missing.  Was it while he was driving that he looked down and said, "Oh my word,  I don't have any pants on."

You can read the story for yourself at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31795305/ns/us_news-weird_news/

Erwin McManus the pastor of Mosaic Church is not one of my favorite authors but I really liked this book.  I had heard many people say that it had a profound impact on their lives so I decided to read it. 

McManus simply shares the message that the call to follow Christ has been repackaged to mean that you will live a trouble free life, filled with opportunities.  Today we fail to call people to a radical, risk taking faith.  Our God is just too safe.

He begins by taking a look at the life of John the Baptist.  I had never really considered the fact that of all the people God could have chosen to be the forerunner of Christ, he chose John the Baptist – a radical barbarian, whose occupation was a prophet and whose address was the wilderness.  He had no formal education and was clearly not a fan of the established religious leaders.  He had a name for them – a brood of vipers.

He uses John’s life and his death – being beheaded by Herod – to point out that following Christ can be dangerous.  McManus states that Jesus did not promise to rid our lives of problems or trials but to rid our lives of meaninglessness.

While the theme of this book is found in many other popular books today, it still motivated me to want to be more of a risk taker when it comes to the things of God.  I find myself wanting to do more than play it safe. 

This is an inspiring short book.  I would recommend it for those who are tired of ho-hum Christianity.

This Sunday at FOTP Grapevine we will be Celebrating Freedom – the freedom we have in Christ.  We are free to be the people God intended us to be.

“From the first moment of creation of Adam and Eve, people were designed to live within the huge contours of God’s glory.  We were not designed to settle for personal survival, temporal happiness, or individual success.  We were created to find our meaning, identity, and purpose in the existence, character, and plan of God.  Our identity was to be rooted in his love.  Our hope was designed to be tied to his grace.  Our potential was meant to be connected to his power.  Our purpose was to be structured by his will.  Our joy was meant to be wed to his glory.  In every way, our vision of what is necessary, true, worthy, and meaningful was meant to be rooted in a functional worship of him.  We were created for the dignity of living large meaningful lives.” – A Quest for More by Paul David Tripp

Heard this song for the first time this morning on the radio.  Listen and enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmF-s9Dd83g