This book is authored by former UT quarterback Colt McCoy and his dad.  The story begins with Colt playing in his first professional football game for the Cleveland Browns.   Then you are taken back to story of the McCoy family and Colt’s childhood.  

I knew a little about Colt’s background but reading the book gave me a greater appreciation for his family.  They were of modest means (his dad was a coach) and lived in a small town.  They lived out their faith without being offensive or radically strange in some way.

This is a great book for dad’s to read.  You will be inspired by Colt’s father.   He loved God, his wife and his children but you get the idea that what he did is doable for any father.   He was not a saint or a theologian.  He is a man of character who made mistakes  along the way but overall sets an example for others to follow.

This is the best book I have ever read on the subject of anger.  It is simple and very practical.  Ingram helps us to see that anger is simply a signal, a warning sign that something is not right.  Often times we   spend most of our time dealing with the signal rather than the underlying cause.   This would be like trying to get the oil light repaired on your car instead of realizing that you are low on oil.

The most helpful part of this book for me was the way he indentifies the three main ways that we express anger.   We are either spewers (we explode), stewers (we stuff it, pretend we are not angry) or we are leakers.  Leakers express anger by being critical, sarcastic, and/or backstabbing.  Sometimes they can even use humor as a way of expressing anger.   I have often said that I do not have a problem with anger simply because I am not a spewer.  Reading this book help me see that I am a leaker.

Ingram, gives very practical steps to help us learn how to express anger in a constructive manner.   He does this for each of the three primary ways that we express anger.

This is a great book.  I think anyone could benefit from reading it.

I have read many of John Maxwell’s leadership books over the years.  He is no doubt one of the best when it comes to communicating leadership principles.  I have to admit that some of the books begin to run together in my mind after a while. 

This week I had the occasion to go back and skim his book, Failing Forward.  It was written in 2000.  I wanted to glean some information for a message I will be sharing this Sunday with our church.  It is a part of a the Warrior series we are doing and this week’s message is about becoming a Decisive Warrior.  One of the points is that we must change our view of failure.  Failing Forward is filled with practical and inspirational information regarding failure.    The bottom line according to this book is that the difference between people who are average and those who are over achievers is simply how they perceive and handle failure.  Over achievers simply see it as a part of the process of becoming successful.

This is one of those books,  anyone could read and benefit from having done so.  I highly recommend it.

I guess I knew bits and pieces of Drew Brees story but reading his book I learned so much more about his life, challenges and the incredible story of the Saints march to the Super Bowl victory.   Brees is definitely one of the good guys in the sports world.   He has overcome the hurdles in his life including his parent’s divorce when he was a young boy, potential end of the career injuries, and his mothers suicide.  He has done it through faith in a God who is able to work all things out for His glory and our good.

Being from Louisiana (but a huge Cowboys fan) I rooted the Saints to win it all.   Having read this book I am even happier that they did.   Brees and his wife, chose to go to New Orleans because they felt they could make a difference there.   Their foundation has put $5 million into the rebuilding of the city.   I was inspired when I read about their commitment to helping children with cancer as well as the many other worthwhile causes in which they participate.

Anyone can enjoy this book.  However,  it is especially a good read for any football fan.  I highly recommend it.  

I have read several of Miller's books in the past and because he is somewhat abstract in his thinking, I have had a hard time connecting with his writing.  This was not the case with this book.  Having grown up without a father, I could relate to the message of this book.  At one point he speaks about being around men and their sons and feeling like thier was a men's club that he did not belong to.   I remember that feeling but had never really idnetified exactly what it was.

It was inspiring to hear the story about how he was floundering when he saw an interview on TV that changed his life.  the man being interviewed taught kids who were struggling in life to play chess.  The result was that they learned the value of having a strategy and making right decisions.  Miller began to play chess while implementing what he was learning to his everyday life.  He had always wanted to publish a book and a few weeks later he had his first book contract.  Today, he is one of the most popular Christian writers.

If there was any downside to this book, it is simply that he does not make a strong appeal to young men to put thier faith in Christ.  He does not focus much on the life-transforming power of Christ.  While he foucses much of his attention on God, there is no clear cut explanation of how to have a relationship with God.  I always get the feeling that his beliefs in regards to man's lostness and need for salvation do not line up with mine.

Even though I have some theological concerns, this is still a great book for those who have grown up without a father.  It will help you get  grip on some of your struggles, make you laugh and in the end inspire you to be all that God intended you to be.

I enjoyed this book very much.  I had seen it and had put off reading it simply because I just thought it would be another book about a Christian athlete/coach.  I had met Tony Dungy when he was the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  I did a chapel service for the team and spent a few minutes with him after the service. He is a humble, genuine Christ follower.  I should have known that the book based on his life would be worth reading and it was.

Being a football fan, it is always interesting to read about the inner workings of the game and the teams.  Beyond that it was just refreshing to read about someone who has been solid in their faith from their childhood.  The book simply affirmed what I had observed in those few minutes when I met him – Tony Dungy is the real deal. 

The book is not only inspiring from a spiritual stand point, it is a good book on leadership.  Tony Dungy is no doubt a great leader.

I recommend Quiet Strength to any football fan who wants to be encouraged to life out their faith in a way that makes a difference in this world.

A friend had read this book and told me about it.  I guess I should have asked him if it was a good book.  I read the reviews on Amazon and like any book there are going to be some people who think the book is great.  There were several who did so but I am not one of them.

The book is only appealing to avid golfers and I mean avid.  A hacker like me just can’t really relate to having think through the intricacies of shot making as described in the book.

It is the story of a struggling golf pro who finds himself in Utopia, Texas where he gets connected with Johnny the local golf pro so to speak at a small golf course in the middle of nowhere.   Having played on some courses like the one described in the book, I could appreciate this part of the book.  The lessons that the struggling golfer learns from Johnny are certainly applicable to golf and life in general but not earth shattering as far as I am concerned.  The book has a strong spiritual message and can be a good way to share the gospel with someone who loves golf but otherwise while it kept my attention it is not one I would highly recommend.

This book is featured in the film Fireproof which by the way, if you haven’t seen this film see it as soon as you can.  The dvd will be available starting on January 27.  Fireproof is the story of a firefighter who has a marriage that is on the brink of disaster.  With the encouragement of Christian friend and his father, he is able to turn things around.  The movie was produced by Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia.  The church also produced Facing the Giants.  The story of how this small church is touching the world is amazing.

The Love Dare is a 40 day challenge for husbands to understand and practice unconditional love.  I am going through the book with a group of men.  Even though I have a GREAT marriage this book has helped make it even better. 

The daily reading is very brief and the daily dare (application) is something very doable as long as you remain focused with intentionality.  It has been exciting to get together with the group and hear the difference this is making in marriages.  Here is the bottom line – any husband would do his wife a favor by taking the Love Dare.

This is a great book for men who are sports fans.  I had never given much thought as to why the game of football has become such a huge part of our culture.   What is it about this sport that captivates us and why has it not caught on in other countries.

The author does a great job of taking a look at the history of football and helping us understand how football explains who we are as a people.  For instance,  the westward movement of the early pioneers is played out on a football field as a team capture territory and then defends it.

As I was reading about the concept of the huddle, I told my wife that it reminded me of what a church is like as people meet together to affirm each other and to commit to a plan to a plan.  A few pages later, I read about one of the early proponents of the huddle, University of Chicago coach Amos Alonzo Stagg.  As it turns out Stagg has studied to go into the ministry before becoming a coach in 1892.  Here is what the book records about his view of the huddle:

“Stagg viewed the huddle as vital aspect to teach sportsmanship.  He viewed the huddle as a kind of religious congregation on the field, a place where, if you will, players minister to each other, make a plan, and promise to keep faith in the plan and each other.”

He was concerned that prior to the huddle football was a mass chaos of brutality which often resulted in fights and sometimes death. 

This may all seem like a stretch but that is simply because I cannot say it as well as this author.  Trust me this is a very interesting, easy to read book.

Let me just begin by saying this is a great book!  It is the true story of Ernest Gordon who spent three years as a POW during WWII.  He was captured by the Japanese and forced with other POWs to build the notorious "Railroad of Death".  Both the academy award winning films The Bridge Over The River Kwai and the film To End All Wars are based on this book.

I had used a remarkable story from this book as an illustration but had never read the book.  I ordered a copy last week.  I received it on Friday and finished it on Monday.  The first 40 pages or so are a little confusing but from that point on I could not put it down.

This is the amazing story of how two men who loved the Lord and their neighbors in the most horrible of living conditions, changed history.  Ernest Gordon was befriended by these men while he was in the Death House in the prison camp waiting to die.I don't want to ruin the story but Gordon who was not a Christ-follower when he enlisted ends the book with this line:

"He (Jesus) comes into our Death House to lead us through it."

Read it.  I am going to list it as one of my all time favorites.