Building a Discipling Culture

Building a Discipling Culture by Mike Breen is one of those books that will change the way you think about things.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I remember reading an article (probably in high school) about whether ideas or words came first.  There are certain words and phrases in this book (like "kairos moments" that definitely helped to frame the way I think about things, and that is part of Breen's point.  He states that in order to build a discipling culture you need a common language, and he proposes a shape-based language in his book.  For example, the kairos moment (a time when you see or feel God's presence breaking through into your life) begins a circle.  Once you identify a kairos moment in your life you take it around the circle by reflecting on it, discussing it with someone, and then making and acting on a plan for how that moment is going to change your life moving forward.  This is a very simplistic explanation for just one of the shapes that he discusses in this book.

2016 Book Count: 16
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Where She Went

Where She Went by Gayle Forman is the second book after If I Stay.  It wasn't my favorite, but I wanted to at least give it a chance.  Like If I Stay, this book takes place over the course of just a couple of days and continues the story of the two main characters but from the guy's point of view.

2016 Book Count: 15

Reasons My Kid Is Crying

Reasons My Kid Is Crying by Greg Pembroke is another book I found through the NC digital public library.  It's a quick, funny read full of great pictures.  We're caught up in the process of selling our house right now and this was the perfect book for a night that I just needed a laugh.

2016 Book Count: 14

Throw Out Fifty Things

This book, Throw Out Fifty Things by Gail Blanke, was surprisingly great.  I chose it (from the NC digital library) expecting a book with tips on how to declutter and organize your house, and the first half of the book did address that, but it was the second half of the book that was more impactful.  These are some notes I took while I was reading and some of the author's advice that stuck with me:

- Throw out things that weigh you down or make you feel bad, like a paper you got a poor grade on, a shirt from an old job you didn't like, etc.  Keep only the things that you need, that you love, and that fit with the person you want to be.

- Throw out the thoughts that pigeonhole you into being a certain type of person (I'm the shy type, I'm not a morning-person type, etc.).

- Throw out needing to be right about things.  Ask yourself: Would I rather be right about this, or would I rather have a great long-term relationship with this person?  Instead say: You're right.  I totally get where you're coming from.  Then give your opinion.

- Throw out the need to have everyone like you.  Some of the greatest people in history were controversial and not liked by everyone.

- Throw out negative interpretations of events.  There are few facts in life.. most of what occupies our thoughts are interpretation of those facts.  Blanke writes, "This is your life, you know.  Not some movie you're watching.  You get to decide how it all turns out.  You get to make it up.  So make it up good."  She advises people to decide what they want and then no matter what happens, you should assign a positive interpretation to the situation.  How much energy have you spent worrying yourself or making yourself unhappy with negative interpretations of events?  Let go of negative interpretations.

- Throw away waiting for the right moment.  This is the life you get to live.  Do what it is you want to do right now.

- Throw away the need to feel secure.  Blanke writes, "Let go of needing guarantees that your lives will evolve according to the plan you devised decades ago.  Given half a chance, your life will evolve into something better than anything you could have imagined- even in your wildest dreams."  Take chances and have adventures.  "Most of the greatest possibilities in our lives are not currently on our radar screens."

- After you've thrown out all of the physical and mental clutter in your life, come up with a vision for yourself and do what it takes to get there.  For example, the author says she has a vision of running down the beach holding the hands of her grandchildren.  So, she gets up early to run around the park, eats healthy, keeps an optimistic attitude, and "throws out" (or eliminates from her life) things like potato chips, getting worked up about little things, etc. to keep her heart healthy enough that she'll be able to do that one day when she has grandchildren.

- Finally, Blanke recommends coming up with a song that makes you feel unstoppable and singing it regularly.

2016 Book Count: 13

Movie: The Fault in Our Stars

This movie was pretty good.  It definitely followed the book pretty well (entire sections of dialogue were exactly the same), but I still enjoyed the book better.  That might be partially because I read the book first and could be surprised by the plot when I read it.  Sometimes I feel like I ruin movies for myself by reading the book first.. but a book takes longer to read than a movie takes to watch- so I'd still rather ruin the movie than the book.

If I Stay

If I Stay by Gayle Forman was a quick read about a girl who was in a car accident with her entire family.  They all died instantly and she was left in a coma but is watching everything unfold from outside her body.  The whole book takes place over the course of a few days, from the morning before the accident to the end of the book when she decides whether she'll stay or go.  She spends her time watching friends and family visit her in the hospital and reminiscing about memories with each of them.  It wasn't necessarily my favorite book.. maybe because it was all pretty predictable.  I do plan to read the second book though.

2016 Book Count: 12

Horngren's Financial and Managerial Accounting (5th Edition)

I read this book, by Miller-Nobles, Mattison, and Matsumura, and filled a notebook with notes on it (partly so I'd be able to help my husband with his accounting class should he want the help, and mostly because I really enjoyed taking a couple of accounting classes one summer while I was in college and took it as an opportunity to brush up what I once knew.  Accounting is almost like a foreign language.. when you don't use it for a while you start to forget how it all works.  One day I think I might really enjoy being the accountant for a school or a small business.

2016 Book Count: 11