Middletree

I didn't want my kids to think of January 18th as just a day off from school. I wanted them to understand the importance. So the night before (Sunday night), I gathered them around the computer, and we viewed 3 short clips. First, we watched the "I've Been to the Top of the Mountain" speech from the night before he was killed. In only a little over a minute, he delivers one of the most passionate, inspiring orations I have ever heard: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0FiCxZKuv8&feature=related then, I went to Patty Griffin’s song based on that speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA6Q5-Ap3o8 I paused the song a couple of times to emphasize the following points: MLK said in his speech that he knew his life might be cut short (as it was just 24 hours later), but he was satisfied just doing God's will. He was convinced that God had asked him to take on this role, and he readily carried out God's calling, knowing it would be painful. In the son...

In this song: At the 0:40 mark, it's the beginning of the singing of 3 lines: I'm so tired of being lonely I still have some love to give Won't you show me that you really care I have decided that, partially because of the greatness of the words--so simple, so earnest, so hungry for acceptance--and partly because of the way they are beautifully sung, that this is one of the greatest 15 seconds in music history. There can be no arguing about this. God bless Roy Orbison.

The Language of Love and Respect, by Emerson Eggerich Eggerichs' latest is a follow-up to Love and Respect, the 2004 blockbuster which details the needs and responsibilities that husbands and wives have for each other. The new book narrows the focus on one aspect of this dynamic: communication. Honestly, I had a hard time staying interested my first time through this book. Not because it wasn't interesting, but because I had heard it all before in the previous one. But the more I consider it, the more I have come to appreciate the new one. While Eggerich goes into more detail about concepts he taught about the first time around, that isn't the real benefit of this new book. The best reason for this new book's existence is the vast number of follow-ups and stories sent in from readers. It allows the reader, and the author, to see the results of the Love and Respect principles when they are practiced in real life. Extra-large kudos to Eggerich for including the le...

In 2009, I read the following books, which I list in order of preference: Crazy Love, by Frances Chan A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, by Donald Miller Same Kind of Different as Me, by Ron Hall, Denver Moore, and Lynn Vincent Fearless, by Max Lucado What Difference Do It Make, by by Ron Hall, Denver Moore, and Lynn Vincent The Noticer, by Andy Andrews The Language of Love and Respect, by Emmerson Eggerichs The Shack, By William Young Please note that I liked all of them, so being near the bottom of the list is not an insult. The Shack was good, but I had it built up beforehand in my head that it would be better than it was, because of word of mouth. And the concepts in the Love and Respect book are great, but I found it to be a repeat of stuff from his earlier book. I really enjoyed The Noticer and the books above it.