The story in a nutshell is about how Mackenzie Allen Phillips deals with his anger against God, the guilt and sadness he experiences because of the abduction and death of his daughter. Mack’s youngest daughter, Missy, had been abducted during a family vacation, and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later, in the midst of his great sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there changes his life forever and most likely will change yours, as it did mine.
I have never gone through what Mack went through. However, even though I can never know his grief and guilt there are still so many lessons in this book that helped and changed me for the better. Even if the basis of the story may not be appealing, the surrounding lessons will be well worth your time to read. This book is one of my favorites to read and I have read it over and over and each time I gain new insights. Each time I read it I cry, I laugh and I praise and come away feeling closer to God. It is not only the story of how Mackenzie Allen Phillips deals with his anger against God, the guilt and sadness of the abduction and death of his daughter, but it is a moving story of God’s love. It may just change your life on how you look at God, at Jesus and at the Holy Spirit. When I read it, I felt like I was fellowshipping with God. "The Shack" is a one of a kind invitation to a journey into the very heart of God. This is a short review, but there is nothing more that I can say except you need to read the book for yourself. I highly recommend this book. If you are interested in obtaining a copy, click go to the Book Store page and click on Inspirational on the dropdown menu .
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Reinventing Yourself: How To Become The Person You've Always Wanted To Be By Steve Chandler2/18/2014 Review by Dana Bosley
The great challenge in life is to believe that you can change. “There's not necessarily something wrong with you, but you do it for the sheer joy of it”, Chandler says. There are two kinds of people, victims and owners. Transforming oneself from the victim mindset to the owner mindset is the purpose of this book. Throughout the book, the "owner" and "victim" are compared. Victims think power is beyond their control. Their core belief is that life is unfair. Owners are happy, not easily discouraged. Victims allow things to happen to them; owners make things happen. Language is a powerful weapon: victims use "should" and "ought," owners use "can" and "will." The victim is "swamped" by all the things he/she has to do; the owner is "focused" on the tasks before him/her. Owners address problems rather than avoiding them. Practice is a powerful weapon against the mediocre life. Losing is not defeat. Happiness can be mastered. I very much liked this book and concur with what Mr. Chandler says about victims and owners. If you are familiar with my Motivational Minutes, you know that I have written on “victims” as well as positive thinking, yet I too continue to find the need to actively battle negative self chatter and promote positive thinking and taking action. I highly recommend this book. Reinventing Yourself is a great book to help you see if you have a victim or owner mentality. Chandler helps you convert what could have been into what will be. He is not strong on the how-tos or techniques for breaking down negative barriers and letting go of pessimistic thoughts that prevent you from fulfilling, or even allowing yourself to conceive of your goals and dreams, however, by the end of the book you will realize which person (the victim or owner) lives within you, and acknowledging that is half the battle. Although I have found other books like Ask and It is Given by Ester and Jerry Hicks to have more helpful techniques, Steve’s book has some unique ideas such as the chapter on the 'ladder of selves' which I found quite interesting and I put this to use with very good results. I've found it's helped me to have a more balanced perspective. So while reading, grab a pen and paper and jot down ideas which will change your life and help you literally reinvent yourself. Steve's method is to help us learn the words to say to ourselves. He believes victims are victims of their own defeated thinking. What they watch, read and listen to can make them happy or sad. You literally have to reprogram your mind. Once you have done this and come to see the human spirit as a fire that needs to be lit daily, you can finally learn how to invite happiness into your life on a daily basis, no matter what the circumstances. Overall, this book is really about taking the old you, or parts of the old you, that you don't like and changing into the new you that you want to become. Good questions to ask yourself are: Is my current behavior getting in the way of me enjoying certain aspects of my life? Am I dragging other people down with me, including my loved ones? If so, do I want to change, or keep living half of the life I could be living? The real question though is: Are you brave enough to admit there's something about you that you wish to change/reinvent? And if so, are you willing to take it further—to walk along the path to make that change in yourself? Chandler shows us where to start and where we want to go from here. His statement, “You are the problem”, is one of his most valuable teachings. Because I own the problem, I become the solution. This simple idea seems harmless, but it is the most efficient tool to transform yourself. And the best thing about Chandler's method is that you can start anywhere, any time in your life. I highly recommend this book. If you are interested in acquiring a copy for yourself, or for a loved one, it is posted in the book store under self-improvement. Review by Coach Dana
This book is a story about a healthy, together, on top of everything guy who loses his sight in a mountain climbing accident and his journey back to life. Together, is a beautifully written book that allows the reader to journey into emotions and places one does not normally dare to go. It takes a look into the heart of a man who has never had to totally trust others and reveals how he discovered that in trusting others he could totally trust himself. Although this book is a novel it shares many wonderful lessons and deep truths. I enjoyed this book on many levels. It’s a great read if you love animals. It has lessons on mountain climbing, on over coming, having a positive attitude, relationships and more. The story does an excellent service in giving those who have not had experience with disability or service animals exposure to the fantastic love, intelligence, and unlimited promise, of these "best friends". For those learning to adapt to a disability, it also offers not just sentimental "hope", but a very real introduction to how the world will change, NOT end, for those who must adapt. But more than an encouragement to anyone with a disability it shows those who have no disabilities how dysfunctional and disabled we are in living life to the full. The thing I like about this book the most is the lessons on relationships and how having freedom and independence are important, yet trust and inter-dependence are the real keys to deep and meaningful relationships. As Barnes, Brenden’s counselor said “I told you that there was independence, dependence, and interdependence, and that life would start to take shape when you understood that idea.” … "Interdependence carries with it the concept of sacrifice: One person giving to the other without reservation or hesitation and doing it out of love. People can seem to be in love, giving all the right impressions, but still be selfish. To love selflessly is a constant, quiet kind of thing. It's our greatest gift. In the end it's what brings us the most satisfaction in life.” Later in the book Brenden explains the oneness he feels with his ski instructor who later becomes his wife. And when climbing the mountain again with his best friend he says, "This whole thing is about interdependence, like Smitty always said. We need to be able to rely on each other. Actually, I think that's the way all of life's supposed to work." This book is a lovely gift of the sharing of souls. If you are interested in acquiring this book please go to the book store under Inspirational dropdown menu. P.S. I read another book by Tom Sullivan--You Are Special. Another excellent book, about self-worth. Sorry to say, it seems like it is out of print now. However, if you ever see it I also recommend it. Review by Dana Bosley
This book is a course in re-discovering your creative self. You don’t have to be an artist, dancer, singer, writer or any other kind of person you associate with art. The thing I found helpful with this book is that it set me free to create a beautiful life. My life is my very own master piece and all the exercises and commentary she discusses in her book I was able to apply to my personal master piece, and you can too. The entire course is based upon the principle that the artist must have faith to be creative. It is the author's conviction that the Creator encourages creativity in all people. With the basic principle that creative expression is the natural direction of life, Julia Cameron and Mark Bryan lead you through a comprehensive twelve week program to discover your creativity from a variety of blocks, including limiting beliefs, fear, self-sabotage, jealousy, guilt, addictions, and other inhibiting forces, and replacing them with confidence and productivity. Julia recommends two ongoing activities that will conquer blocks of self-destructive tendencies: Morning Pages and Artist's Dates. Morning Pages are three pages of writing, performed daily, about anything at all. This exercise overcomes the writer's internal censor or as I call it, negative self-chatter. The Artist's Date is a weekly block of time of two hours spent observing, experiencing, and sensing. The book is broken down into twelve weekly lessons. There are several miscellaneous sections. Each weekly lesson has tasks and exercises to be completed. Sidebars provide quotes and tidbits of information to uplift the soul. The divisions of the manual are as follow: · Introduction: The author explains how she began teaching and eventually developed her seminars and lectures into a book. · Spiritual Electricity: The Basic Principles defines the ten spiritual principles, gives directions for using this course, and tells the reader what to expect from the course. · The Basic Tools: Introduces the two primary tools of the course: The Morning Pages and the Artist Date. · Week 1: Recovering a Sense of Safety deals with realizing what negative beliefs and hurts from the past are blocking or restricting your creativity and replacing them with positive affirmations. · Week 2: Recovering a Sense of Identity begins with a section called "Going Sane." It deals with the people you surround yourself with in life and how they exert negative influence over your creativity. · Week 3: Recovering a Sense of Power leaps right into anger management, shame, and dealing with criticism. · Week 4: Recovering a Sense of Integrity, the essays, tasks, and exercises are designed to catapult you into productive introspection and integration of new self-awareness. · Week 5: Recovering a Sense of Possibility explores how you curtail your own possibilities by placing limits on the good you can receive and examines the cost of settling for appearing good instead of being authentic. · Week 6: Recovering a Sense of Abundance tackles a major creative block—money. · Week 7: Recovering a Sense of Connection aims at excavating areas of creative interest as you connect with your personal dreams. · Week 8: Recovering a Sense of Strength tackles another major creative block—time. · Week 9: Recovering a Sense of Compassion explores and acknowledges the emotional difficulties that beset us in the past and undertakes healing the shame of past failures. · Week 10: Recovering a Sense of Self-Protection explores the perils that can ambush us on our path. · Week 11: Recovering a Sense of Autonomy examines the ongoing ways in which we must nurture and accept ourselves, explores the behaviors that can strengthen our spiritual base and, therefore, our creative power. This week takes a special look at the ways in which success must be handled in order that we not sabotage our freedom. · Week 12: Recovering a Sense of Faith acknowledges the inherently mysterious spiritual heart of creativity. It addresses the fact that creativity requires receptivity and profound trust—capacities that have been developed through the work in this course and takes a special look at last-minute sabotages. If you are in doubt and you need just that little bit of encouragement, if you know deep down inside that there is an artist in you that feels neglected, or that you haven't yet discovered, take the plunge and start a wonderful journey! If you are a lawyer, accountant or a mother taking care of your family at home, or any other profession, don't be discouraged or misled by the book's title—this book is for you! Let it help you create a beautiful life like it did for me. If you are interested in this book you can go to the Book Store page and find it in the drop down menu called self-improvement. |
AuthorThe goal of the blog is to provide interesting, motivational, soul feeding material. All to help remind us that God loves us all and wants a personal relationship with each of us and will take care of us in times of trouble. I aspire to be a force for good by providing you with positive input. I encourage you to share the blog with others. Archives
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