I taught an adult Sunday school class yesterday on Appreciation. Our theme this month is Unlocking Your Best Relationships. Ultimately, life is all about people and relationships–that’s not always easy for many of us techy types. I’ve learned though that to touch someone else’s life in some positive way is the single greates thing I can experience.

I started the class by asking people to define the word appreciate. I got answers like: to be thankful for, to be grateful for, to praise, to not take for granted, and to acknowledge. Those were good answers. Then I asked them to quit with the nice churchy Sunday school answers and just define the word. I continued to get the same kind of responses.

Finally I wrote on the board, “To increase in value.” Many of my students didn’t quite get it. I explained that many times when we use the words “appreciate” and “appreciation,” we are referring to things like our bank account, our house, or our stock investments. We want those things to appreciate, or increase in value.

They seemed to think this was one of those cases where a single English word had a variety of unrelated meanings. But I shared with them that word comes from the latin word  appreciātus meaning valued or appraised.

As I studied and meditated on this word during the week, I realized that we don’t really appreciate somone else until we express that gratefulness to the person in word and or deed. When I do something really good at work, I am usually congratulated. My wife thanks me for helping here in various areas and contributing positively to her life. My students frequently express their thanks for my teaching. When I hear these kind words, my self-worth increases–I am appreciated.

But so often in life, we keep our gratitude for others to ourselves. How often do we truly express in word or deed how others positively effect our lives? I contend that unexpressed appreciation is only appreciation of ourselves–increasing our own worth in our own eyes.

Ultimately, we should be about increasing the self-worth of others. And as we do this, our own self-worth may increase as well.

Having said that, dear reader, I want to thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I know that some of you have stumbled upon it while searching for something else, some of you read it casually, and some of you never miss a single word I write. I am deeply indebted to each of you. Without you as a reader, my words would have no chance to bring about a positive change in your life. Thank you for reading. I appreciate you!

I wrote earlier about how I made the decision to start sketching. I’ve probably only spent a couple hours on the hobby off-and-on today, but I’m already well-pleased with what I’ve learned.

What I Needed and What I Bought:

On my trip to Michaels, I bought three things: Drawing for the Absolute Beginner: A Clear & Easy Guide to Successful Drawing by Mark and Mary Willenbrink, Canson Wire Bound Universal Recycled Sketch Book, and General’s #20 Classic Sketching Kit.

I chose the drawing pencil kit and the sketch book without any knowledge of what I actually needed. I had flipped through the book, but didn’t see an exact list of what I needed until I got home and started reading. Then I found the list on page 12: 4H, HB, and 4B graphite pencils; pencil sharpener; sketch pad; 11″x14″ medium-tooth drawing paper; drawing board; kneaded eraser; white vinyl eraser. The kit I bought contained 21 items, but only 3 of them were what I needed: the HB graphite pencil, pencil sharpener, and kneaded eraser. I had to pick up a few groceries at Wal-Mart tonight, so I swung by the arts and craft section and picked up some other graphite pencils and a vinyl eraser. I don’t have everything on the list, but I think I have enough to get started with the book.

About the Book

I don’t know that I would call this a book for the absolute beginner or not. Because I’m an autodidact, I generally don’t need a lot of instruction. Since this is a totally new area for me, I was expecting some baby step exercises. The authors may consider the exercises simple, but I don’t. I would really like more direction. I’m a highly creative person, but when I’m learning something from someone else, I would like some definite instruction. On page 14 I was told to using lines as guides and even told to get a friend to pose for me and use guide lines to draw their profile. On the next page, I’m told about how to hold the pencil. Talk about getting the cart before the horse!

Holding the Pencil

Page 15 was a great revelation to me. I guess that I was always taught to hold a pencil for writing–the classic tripod grip. (Note that the book doesn’t name the particular pencil grips. I found names for them at How to Hold a Pencil - Drawing and Sketching Pencil Grips on About.com.) I used the first few pages of my sketchbook just experimenting with the different pencils, applying different amounts of pressure, and using different grips. This was very similar to how I might experiment with different tools in a software program.

Structural Sketching

Pages 16 and 17 shows examples of structural sketches. I played around with the two examples from book a little and then I decided to do something on my own using these techniques. I also decided to apply a little of what I discovered in my experiments with the different pencils. I was sitting on the couch and noticed that my wax paper cup from lunch at Stamey’s Barbecue was on the end table next to me. I decided to sketch the cup.

My First Real Sketch

The sketch isn’t great by any means, but for a first ever sketch, I’m well pleased.

Wildlife Artist Greg Farrell is a good friend of mine. We first met back in 2000. At thee time, he was doing graphic arts work for the credit union where I worked as the webmaster. He was asked to design a web site for one of our subsidiaries. He knew about art and design, but I developed his design into a functional web site. When we met in his studio for the first time, I was amazed at his talent and the beautiful art he created. He had seen some of the web sites I had designed, and he seemed to be equally amazed at my computer talents. I made the comment, “I’m not an artist by any means.” He told me then, “You’re an artist, you just don’t realize it.” Although I seemed to have an eye for design and layout with web sites, I never considered it art. I thought that since I couldn’t draw or paint that I wasn’t an artist. As turns out, Greg may have been right after all.

I think I may get quite a bit out of this little hobby.

You may have noticed that I haven’t been very active online for the past four months. I’ve been investing most of my time writing the Mission: Automation - SharePoint Workflow and InfoPath class. I haven’t really felt like I could comfortably do much else. Writing a class is a lot of hard work; it takes a lot of focus; it takes a lot of time. Yesterday afternoon I made the final edits. This morning it was sent off to the printer–all 428 pages and 37,500 words of it. Tuesday we’ll teach the class for the first time.

Devoting so much time to a huge project like this has taught me a great deal about how I work. This is the third SharePoint class I’ve written, and definitely the most challenging to write. As the deadlines grew closer, my work days and work weeks grew longer.

Over the past month, I’ve realized how I need to get away from the computer more. So much of my time, and therefore my life, is spent staring into LCD displays. My full-time job, my entrepreneurial activities, and most of my hobbies all involve a computer. When I write I work from home. When I’m not teaching a class or speaking at a conference, I’m usually sitting in my home office. Far too much of my time is spent sitting at my desk.

When I want to “get away”, it usually means grabbing the iBook, sitting on the couch, and catching up on blogs and tech news. As I’ve become aware of the amount of time I spend using a computer, I’ve become more aware that I need to invest some time away from the computer. With the weight of this class off me, I now feel like I can get back to my old routine of reading and walking in the early morning hours. I realized that I still needed some sort of relaxing hobby for the evening hours.

I know that most people watch television in the evenings, but that doesn’t hold much interest for me. My wife loves it though. In fact, she’ll watch 2 or 3 shows at one time and constantly flip between them. I can’t keep up. One minute she’s watching a home improvement show, the next she’s watching a sitcom, and the next she’s watching a true crime show. I usually sit on the couch beside her in the evenings. She wants to talk about what she’s watching. I’m trying to figure out who killed someone, why the death meant that they had to remodel their home, and why it’s all so funny to the people in the sitcom. When I do want to watch a show on television, I know beforehand what I’m going to watch; then I watch the whole thing from beginning to end without changing channels.

This morning I listed some requirements for a new hobby:

• It must not involve a computer–as I’ve already said, that’s what I’m trying to get away from.
• It must not involve a lot of reading or writing–because a good deal of my computer work involves reading or writing words.
• I must be able to do it when I travel–this means that any equipment or tools must be something that I can carry in my carry-on through airport security.
• It must be quiet–because I want it to be something that I can do while I’m sitting on the couch beside my wife when she’s channel surfing.
• It should probably use creativity or problem solving–not so deep though that the activity ceases to be relaxing.
• It would be nice if it could reinforce my entrepreneurial tendencies. I don’t have to make money from it, but it would be nice if I could, or if it would enhance some of my other streams of income.

I began my search for a new hobby this morning by reviewing the List of Hobbies at Wikipedia. Items in the Arts and Crafts section seemed to best fit my requirements. This afternoon I visited a local Michaels and just browsed around for something that grabbed my attention and fit the above requirements. I finally settled on something.

I’ve decided to learn to sketch and draw. I’ll be blogging more about my experiences with this new hobby as I learn. Keep in mind that I have no previous experience in this area, so this is totally new for me. I’m not saying that I’ll do this hobby for the rest of my life, but I’m going to try it for a month or two and see how it goes. Wish me luck!

For the past two years, I’ve been focusing on being more conscious of the words that I use and how those words reflect my own integrity. I originally wrote most of this blog post in April of 2006 and never published it. After reading personal productivity consultant Matthew Cornell’s post on Three indecisiveness phrases, and when (not) to use them, I was reminded of this post and decided to resurrect it and post it as a response. I believe my original intention was to post it after I had more experience with attempting to limit my use of indecisive phrases.

I usually endeavor to choose my words very carefully and mean exactly what I say—nothing more and nothing less. If I congratulate a coworker on a promotion and tell them they deserve it then they know that I really think they deserve it. If I criticize an idea then I’m criticizing the idea, not the person that presented the idea. I’m not perfect with this, but I think that I generally do a good job with it.

Along with this, I realized that I use some words and phrases because they convey something other than what I really think and feel inside. I wanted to remove these phrases from my vocabulary:

I’ll Try to: This is perhaps one of the most meaningless phrases in the English language. I like the way Yoda said it in Return of the Jedi, “Do, or do not. There is no try.” Often, someone will ask us to attend an activity that we don’t want to attend so we say, “I’ll try to make it.” We say, “I’m trying to lose weight.” We say, “I’m trying to do better.” Usually, the truth is that we aren’t really trying–at least, we aren’t trying to succeed in the areas we say we are trying, but rather we are trying to fail. If we were to be honest, we would more often say, “I’ll fail to make it”,”I’m failing to lose weight”, and “I’m failing to do better.”

Jesus taught us to, “Let your Yay be Yay and your nay be nay.” But because we are afraid of commitment we use loose and indecisive phrase like, “I’ll try”. At best, we should instead say, “I might” which gives no impression of commitment at all. If we don’t intend to do the activity at all, even “I might” is an outright lie and should be avoided. In the Bible Belt we often say, “Lord willing” as our cop out. Just because we don’t do something that we said we would do doesn’t mean that it wasn’t the Lord’s will–we shouldn’t blame our lack of integrity on Him.

We usually use this phrase to avoid making someone else feel bad, but ultimately we damage our own integrity in that other person’s eyes. We don’t want to fail in their eyes. We’re afraid to fail because we don’t understand what failure is or what failure means. We learn from failure. It’s a positive thing. Somewhere along the line failure has developed a negative connotation and we’ve become afraid of it. We fear what people will think if we say we are going to do something and then don’t reach our goal, so we use “try” as a wishy washy way to get out of it.

I’m Busy: What does this mean? Isn’t every one I know “busy”? The drunk on the bar stool is “busy” getting drunk; a housewife says she is “busy” watching television. Why do I think that anyone else cares that I’ve been busy. If someone asks me how I’ve been, wouldn’t it be better to say, “I’ve been doing …”? If someone asks me to do something and my initial response would be to say, “I’m too busy”, wouldn’t it be better to let the other person know what is more important to me than their request? This leads me to my next phrase.

I Don’t Have Time: Comedian Steven Wright used to say that “Everything is walking distance if you’ve got the time.” Saying that we don’t have time is just a socially acceptable way of telling people that their needs are not a priority for us. If someone asks me to fix their computer it’s a lie for me to tell them that I don’t have time. I have 168 hours a week that I could devote entirely to fixing their computer. The truth is that fixing their computer just isn’t a priority for me.

I have worked especially hard on eliminating this phrase over the past two years, and to my amazement, people seem to greatly appreciate it. When I was asked to serve as an officer in my Toastmasters chapter, I told them that other things in my life were a higher priority right now, and therefore I couldn’t give the position the focus and attention it deserved. When people ask me to fix their computer I explain that while I may handle my own computer issues, it’s not my area of expertise. Then I refer them to someone else who can do a better job in less time. If they are just trying to get a “freebie” this also lets them know that I realize they feel their money is more valuable than my time.

Tomorrow: I tend to think that our minds don’t really know what we mean when we say tomorrow. We’ve all heard the phrase, “Tomorrow never comes.” I think that when we tell ourselves, “I will get start the xyz project tomorrow” that our brains take that literally. When the next day comes, our brain still thinks, “I will start the xyz project tomorrow.” It is much better for us to say a definite day or even day and time when we postpone an action; for example, “I will start the xyz project first thing Wednesday morning.” Friday evening we may say, “I’ll clean out the garage Saturday morning.” When Saturday morning comes, we may consciously choose to renegotiate this agreement with ourselves, however, if we say, “Tomorrow I’ll clean out the garage, we can always tell ourselves, “I said tomorrow, not today.”

Spend Time: Time isn’t spent. it can be shared. It can be wasted. It is always invested. We don’t spend time watching television, we invest time watching television or waste time watching television. When I talk about doing things with my wife I always say “I’m sharing time with my wife”–to say that I’m “spending” time with her implies to me that I’m giving something away that I can’t get back. All investments provide a return—either positive or negative. What kind of return am I getting on the investment of my time, right now, as I write this article? What kind of return have you received on the time you’ve invested reading it?

Five weeks ago I sent out the following email to 154 of my friends.

Subject:A Personal Request: What One Book Would You Most Recommend for Ricky to Read?

I need some help. I’m working on my list of books I plan to read in 2008. I decided to get input from my friends this year.

What one book have you read in recent years, that you would recommend that I read in 2008? I’d also appreciate it if you would write one brief sentence telling me why you think I should read it?

I don’t want to take up more than a moment of your time, but I value your input.

Some of my friends were slow to respond, but I haven’t received any responses in the past two weeks, so I think it’s time to make the responses public.

I don’t plan to read every book that was recommended by my friends, and I do plan to read some items that weren’t recommended. However, when it is time for me to choose my next book to read, items from this list will be given more serious consideration. For the past several years, most of the books that I have read have been on personal development and I’ve greatly ignored most fiction. (See my reading lists for 2005, 2006, and 2007.) I do plan to read more stuff this year that is outside my normal areas of interest, so this list will prove quite valuable for that.

Books make for great conversation too, so I expect that as I read books that my friends recommend, our relationship will progress to a higher level as well. I may blog about my experiences with this list and some of the books on it throughout this year.

Of the 154 that I sent it to, only 39 responded (25%). Here are their responses:

1. My favorite was The Stand that I read many years ago. Kept me engrossed for days! It’s better than the movie (of course). Another good one is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Why? Because it took me 3 years to finish and marked the period in my life that I began to get so busy with other hobbies that I hardly ever found time to read. I really found it interesting, though. It’s great to be able to bring it up in conversation. - Russell
2. I would recommend, The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life. The Lord used it to absolutely change my life. Also, The Kneeling Christian by The Unknown Christian. Anything by A. W. Tozer is great. - Rick
3. I would read Halftime by Bob Buford. This is a book about moving from success to significance in your career. It is also one of the required readings for all employees of Dave Ramsey. It also goes along with the theme of 48 days. - Phil
4. I could think of a thousand great books, the one that really made an impact on me was a small book by Og Mandino called The Greatest Saleman In The World. It really inspired me. - Stan
5. Blood Done Sign My Name - This book opened my mind to an era I didn’t have a chance to experience first hand - 1960’s NC in the throes of the civil rights movement - written by Timothy Tyson, NC native and son of a Methodist preacher. Highly, HIGHLY recommended!! - Megan
6. To be quite honest, the only book I ever read is the Bible. I read it every day and have no real desire to read anything else. My daughter and mother both are in a book club and read very much, but I read about a chapter or 2 of the bible each day along with the newspaper and that is the extent of my reading. - Charles
7. That’s funny you mention this. I was just reviewing the site below and the books that were recommended. It is mostly limited to “self-help” but there are some good recommendations in the user comments section. Maybe some of the ideas will be helpful to you. I haven’t done much reading myself this past year and was looking for some recommendations myself. http://lifehacker.com/340292/your-favorite-self-improvement-book - Erik
8. I have quite a few this past year but would say the one book that was most outstanding: When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa by Peter Godwin. Excellent writer about Zimbabwe and a very moving true story. I would have picked it even if we hadn’t gone to Zim. - Vic
9. Gosh, I don’t have any that come to mind, Ricky. Most of those that I’ve read *you’ve* read, or are not deep, world-changing ones (the kind I prefer best). One area I like but haven’t read is the category of the “human belief engine.” This would help me in particular to better understand people whose beliefs are different from mine, esp. around religion. A few candidates: How We Know What Isn’t So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life; Don’t Believe Everything You Think: The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make in Thinking; Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time; Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast: The Evolutionary Origins of Belief. I respect your planning for the year - well done. - Matt
10. Giving by Bill Clinton - To help us recognize the power of giving we each have… - Paul
11. So many of the books that I read are ministry specific or commentaries, but I can tell you one book that I plan to read this year: The Truth War by John MacArthur.I have heard good recommendations for this book, and I know MacArthur’s style is both scholarly and readable. Having read a brief excerpt from the book, I know that it will be culturally relevant and spiritually insightful. - David
12. I know that Christmas has already past but one of my favorite books is Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. It is not like any of his other books. It is only 177 pages. It is about a couple who decides tonot celebrate Christmas and not decorating their house but instead decide to take a Caribbean cruise. There are times when the story becomes hilarious and funny. In the end, becomes very moving as the true meaning of Christmas takes place. - Patricia
13. A great read is Don’t Oil the Squeaky Wheel by Wolf Rinke. I bought copies for each of our mgrs. It’s an easy read but provides a lot of value emphasizing on what you should be focusing on in a humorous way. - Bob
14. Simplify Your Life: 100 Ways to Slow Down and Enjoy the Things That Really Matter by Elaine St. James. There is a book by the same title which I got from a book swap club. From the looks/sound of it, the audiobook was better even though it is abridged. She goes into philosophy for simplifying as well as the how to. A lot of it you probably already know, but her humor makes it nice listening and there were some things that were new and inspirational to me. St. James is one of Leo’s favorites–that’s where I heard about it, on Zen Habits, I think. - Anita
15. My suggestions is a variation on an old standby, the bible. I recommend LISTENING to the Bible on CD. I’m sure you have read the bible before, but I recommend listening because first faith comes by hearing and second I have never experienced the bible better than when I heard it read to me. It is awesome when you listen and you are able to hear the different inflections and tones in the voice as conversation happens. I truly never knew the bible until I listened to it. I leave it playing sometimes and am amazed at how fast I learn it to the point of being able to recite it and also at how much more I understand it. - James
16. A book that Bonnie and I both read that meant a great deal to us is Eternity in Their Hearts by Don Richardson - Startling Evidence of Belief in One True God in Hundreds of Cultures Throughout the World. Need I say more? - Ivan
17. It’s been out for awhile, but I would suggest Jesus, Life Coach by Laurie Beth Jones. It was a great book to help me evaluate me!!! Gaylin
18. Bitter Blood by Jerry Bledsoe. This book has nothing to do with religion, and it is very atypical of the type book I usually read myself. However, it has NC ties and the author is from High Point. I became so enthralled with the book I actually took “field trips” to some of the places mentioned in the book. Although its been several years since I read the book, portions of it still pop in my mind every couple months.- Chris
19. The best book I read last year was CrazyBusy by Edward M. Hallowell It was great for helping me see why I lose focus and stress out all the time. It also gives several ways to cut back on it. - Brad
20. I started reading The Kite Runner today on a plane ride from DFW to Ocala. I didn’t put it down once during the flight. In fact I almost finished the entire book. It is a very good story of a young man and his father living in Afghanistan in the early 70’s. I think you would enjoy it. - Laura
21. I would suggest you read The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby. I actually read this back in 98 shortly after it first came out. Late last year there was a movie made based on this. I haven’t seen it yet. I think I may re-read before seeing the movie. This book is a very short read, but it will provoke a lot of thought long after you are done reading. Bauby was the editor of Elle magazine in France, he suffered a stroke to the brain steam and was left paralyzed. The book is his memoir that he translates by blinking his eyes. Bauby translates he thoughts on his dying body, his “Diving Bell”, and allows you to see that even though his body is crippled, his mind is still as beautiful and active as a “Butterfly”. - Brooke
22. Getting Things Done By David Allen - Good thing about this book is that guides you with a step by step process on how you can take All of the loose ends in your life, gather them together and truly “process” them. I can’t say that I have been able to do everything that David talks about doing, but I have implemented a considerable amount of it in my working style which has helped me quite a bit. - Asif
23. I am just finishing The Pilgrim’s Progress-Awesome and very convicting book-especially if you have never read it. God Calling is another empowering book that will challenge your faith unto new levels. The Red Sea Rules by Robert Morgan. Here is a few to start with… - Jim
24. The Divine Conspiracy - Dallas Willard. This book I read about a year ago and I keep going back to it. This guy basically goes through the sermon on the mount and discusses the Kingdom of God being present here and now. The guy is a great writer. - Matt
25. I am about halfway through This Beautiful Mess by rick mckinley. it is changing my perspective on my responsibility as a Christian. - Darren
26. Ok I don’t want to sound religious but the Bible is the book of books. Where else can you find hope for today love for today wisdom patient hope and grace in one writing that covers many situations we find ourseleves dealing with everyday. It is a book of life. - Ed
27. I have two books to recommend. (I know you said “one” but I’m a preacher….there is no short-answer option!) I am currently reading A Year With Dietrich Bonhoeffer - I think you should read it because Bonhoeffer’s commitment to following Jesus is so radical it is outside the box of just about anything we see today that passes for Christianity. Last year I read The Question of God which compares the life and theology of C.S.Lewis and Sigmund Freud. I love a good debate — especially the kind where a street-smart Christian eats the lunch of an atheist! - Russell
28. More Space. It really gives you some fresh ways of thinking. - Terry
29. I’d take Norman Davies’ Europe at War. It really shifts your perspective in a good way. It also has influence beyond the actual subject matter: it removes some common misconceptions with good solid data, which makes you want to look beyond the superficial also in other matters. - Reinout
30. I would say Same Kind Of Different As Me. by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. - Terry
31. The two books I read at the end of 2007 were by Patrick Lencioni. Death by Meeting - a shift in the dynamic of meetings within corporations. The other is The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable. Both are great leadership type books. I am in the slow process of reading, A Hunger for God, by John Piper on prayer and fasting. - Michael
32. Hawaii by James Michener. It’s a story that shows what a miracle God has given us here on earth and how the human spirit both shines and fails with it. - John
33. I read Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier early in 2007. It’s by the same author who wrote Cold Mountain. It’s an epic novel about life in the mountains in western North Carolina in the late 19th/early 20th centuries. I would strongly recommend reading it; it was just a great book. Wish You Well by David Baldacci was also an excellent read; another period piece, but well written. If you haven’t read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren or Joel Osteen’s Your Best Life Now, I would recommend those very strongly as well; life changing messages by two dynamic authors and speakers. - Jill
34. I love this idea. I recommend you read Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Gold Book of Yes Attitude. I liked it because it took a lot of ideas about having a positive attitude and put it into one book. - Paul
35. Here is a list of four books that I’m currently reading, just finished or am about to start… 1. Biblical Leadership (Ken Collier & Matt Williams) - Our men’s group at church is going through this right now. 2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen R. Covey) - This was given to me at work. 3. The Evolution Handbook (Vance Ferrell) - A light 996 page reading book on the scientific improbability of evolution. 4. The New Answers Book (Ken Ham) - A really interesting book on 25 scientific topics that concerns Christians. - Dale
36. Having just come from my Amazon adventure, I choose to share with you a book I read while on the river. I confess that Rough Rider Teddy Roosevelt intrigues me and occupies a warm spot in my thoughts. The River of Doubt by Candice Millard is an account of ex-President Roosevelt and a Barzilian explorer leading an expedition from the headwaters of the River of Doubt to where it merges with the Amazon–the first time anyone ever attempted to put this tributary on a map. The narrative enlightens the reader as to “why” Roosevelt would pursue such an arduous journey, the perils he faced and survived, and the character and honor he exemplified while leading his team. - Sharon
37. I am a huge fan of the writings of Chuck Swindoll. One of his books is entitled The Grace Awakening and one that I would highly recommend. I feel this would be a good selection for your reading because it deals with the issue of Grace vs. legalism and is very enlightening on many daily issues that we would not normally think of as being legalistic. - David
38. Rules For Revolutionaries by Guy Kawasaki - Mike
39. I’ve not read it, but have read a review and it sounds like a book you would want to read. It is a quick read (115 pages) co-authored by Ken Blanchard from Who Moved my Cheese fame. Title: Know Can Do! “Together, these authors explore the missing link between the knowledge we acquire and our daily actions. We read books, listen to CD’s and watch videos - all in a quest to acquire new knowledge. Yet, many of us can not seem to retain and implement all of this newly acquired knowledge in any significant way”. - Jim
40. I just finished The Purity Principle by Randy Alcorn.  It is a short quick read, have your bible handy as it refers to a lot of verses in the bible that you need to read as you go through it. Tim Miller recommended Winning the Inner War by by Letuzer.  He is doing a sermon series on it. - Dan
41. The Peacemaker by Ken Sande. The book is not just about playing the role of a peacemaker. You can download a chapter for free from their website. It really helped me examine my own attitude towards others and perhaps how what I say and do might not come across they way I intended. There are a lot of practical helps and Biblical foundations as well. - Rick

If you are a regular reader of my blog, and you didn’t receive the above email, but would like to recommend a book for me, feel free add it in the comments. Note that I’ll delete anything that looks like an advertisement rather than an earnest friendly recommendation–it’s my blog and that’s my prerogative. Of the 154 people that received my request, there were only about 8 that I’ve never met in person. Those 8 are some of my closest online friends. If you are one of my online friends, and you didn’t receive the original email, please don’t be offended.

Update (March 8, 2008) -  Added items 40 and 41.

This morning I was on an early Southwest Airlines flight from Raleigh, NC to Nashville, TN. I looked out the window and saw the shadow of our plane on the clouds below and  a rainbow circling the shadow! It has to be one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. I only had my Samsung i760 with me to take a picture, but it didn’t turn out too badly. I’ve cropped it and reduced it here, but otherwise left the picture untouched.

I did a little research and it appears to be called a glory. If you are interested, here are 4 references for more information on the phenomenon. Apparently it is rather common, but I had never seen it before.

• Glories - an Atmospheric Phenomenon
• Do you have a halo over your head?
• WeatherQuesting:  A rainbow circle about an airplane’s shadow
• YouTube - Rainbow visible from airplane window

Enjoy!

For the past two years, I’ve posted a list of the books that I read that year: Books I Read in 2005 and Books I Read in 2006. I just realized that I hadn’t yet posted my list for this past year. Here is that list, in no particular order. If you would like me to post a review about any of these books, my comments, or maybe even a series of postings, please let me know. Last year, Mathew Cornell requested that I rate the books and include a one sentence summary. I’ve done that again this year. For ratings, I used Amazon’s 5-star rating scale: *=I hate it; **=I don’t like it; ***=It’s OK; ****=I like it; *****=I love it.

Books I Read with My Eyes:

• ****How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life by Alan Lakein - One of the oldest, and most respected time management books from the 1970s.
• ****How to Work the Competition Into the Ground and Have Fun Doing It by John T. Molloy - Great time management book from the 1980s.
• **The Instant Productivity Toolkit by Len Merson - A time management book that uses an airport metaphor and a lot of paper.
• ****Getting Organized: Learning How to Focus, Organize and Prioritize by Chris Crouch - Time management system and tips from the GO System.
• ****Workflow in the 2007 Microsoft Office System by David Mann - Learn Windows Workflow Foundation and SharePoint integration.
• *****The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It byMichael E. Gerber - Learn how to grow your business by implementing internal systems.
• *****Visioneering: God’s Blueprint for Developing and Maintaining Vision by Andy Stanley - A scriptural view of goals and planning processes.
• ****Designing Forms for Microsoft Office InfoPath and Forms Services 2007 by Scott Roberts and Hagen Green - Title says it all.
• ***The Money is the Gravy: Finding the Career that Nourishes You by John Clark - Encouragement for the reader to explore and find the vocation they are uniquely gifted to perform.
• ***The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Managing Your Time by Jeff Davidson - Not so much a time management system as groups of time management tips.
• ***One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way by Robert Maurer - Learn to make progress through very small steps.
• ****The Book of Romans (The Smart Guide to the Bible Series) by Larry Richards - A great help in studying the book of Romans.
• *****You Can Double Your Class in Two Years or Less by Josh Hunt - The best thing I’ve ever read on growing your Sunday school class orBible study. The tips here would apply to growing any group though.
• ***Zen To Done: The Simple Productivity E-Book! by Leo Babauta - A time management system based around David Allen’s Getting Things Done but takes an approach of habit building.

Books I Read with My Ears:

• ****Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy - Time management tips.
• *****The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss - Learn to live the life you want through leveraging modern technologies.
• ****The One Minute Millionaire by Marc Victor Hansen and Robert Allen - A great book on success and how to achieve it.
• *Simpleology: The Simple Science of Getting What You Want by Mark Joyner - A book on understanding how to talk to people, not a time management system as I expected.
• ***Write To The Bank ‘How to Turn Your Writing… Into Dollars! by Dan Miller - Learn how to break into the writing business.
• ****How to Stay Motivated by Zig Ziglar - 19 CDs of motivational stories and tip.
• *50 Success Classics: Winning Wisdom for Life and Work from 50 Landmark Books by Tom Butler-Bowden - Summaries of 50 books on success.

Earlier this year, I taught a Sunday School lesson on Biblical Meditation. The lesson focused on God’s call for His people to meditate on His word, and the benefits of doing so. The Bible is clear that Christians are called to meditate on God’s word, but it doesn’t provide any clear information regarding specific techniques that should be used. At the end of this lesson, I walked my adult Sunday school class through an example of how I might meditate on a particular scripture. Many people would call it a Christian Guided Meditation.

The class loved the exercise and several asked if I would record it for them to use again. I did record it, but before I gave it to them, I gave a copy to my pastor. Because meditation is also a major component of the New Age movement, and of many Eastern religions, I wanted to make sure that I was doing the right thing. I was certainly comfortable meditating in that way myself, and I was comfortable sharing with people that this is how I meditate, but I wasn’t comfortable setting some new precedent in Christian meditation.

At this same time, my pastor was preparing a message on Taking Time to Enjoy Our Relationship with Christ and finding God in the quiet–being still so that we can hear from Him. After listening to the meditation I recorded, he told me that he thought it was very scripturally sound and encouraged me to produce more of them.

After much thought and prayer, I decided that the best way to present these Guided Christian Meditations was through a web site where I could post them as I wrote and recorded them. That site is Mindful Worship - Christian Guided Meditations for a Closer Walk with Him.

I haven’t advertised the site at all, but several people have stumbled on it and have sent me some very positive feedback. I guess that it’s time for me to start letting people know this resource is available.

If you have been looking to add a new dimension to your prayer life, Bible study, worship, or just want to relax with God, I want to encourage you to check this out. If you do, be sure to let me know what you think!

One of my friends, Matt Summers, opened our Sunday school class this past week with a quiz that he created. he had illustrated the titles of 24 Christmas songs and asked us to see how many we could identify from his sketches. Overall the class did rather well. I asked him if I could post the quiz here on my blog for others and he said, “Sure!”

So, for your holiday enjoyment, I present to you Name That Christmas Tune. You may want to print out multiple copies to take to your Christmas gatherings.

Matt - Thanks for creating this and for allowing me to share it with the rest of the world!

I’ve never issued a blog dare from my blog before, but since Brad essentially dared me to dare him, I just had to do it.

Here’s the brief exchange between us from my post on Make a Poor Man’s Desktop Writeboard for Under a Buck!

# Brad Isaac Says:
Ricky,

Your writeboard looks great!

I am not sure I need one, but it looks like a fun project. Did you use a blow torch to melt the plastic into shape?

#rickyspears Says:
Brad - You’re joking about the blow torch, right? It’s just a standard el cheapo acrylic picture frame that is laying on it’s back.

#Brad Isaac Says:
Nope, not joking at all! I’ll post some pictures of my homemade laptop cooler if you DARE challenge me. It’s made of plexiglass I had to blowtorch to melt into shape.

#rickyspears Says:
Brad - You’re on! I’m posting the dare now…

Well Brad, I don’t know that I need to make a laptop cooler, but I’ve just got to see the pictures and hear about the project. I dare you to post ‘em!

Oh no, what have we just started with these blog dares? This could get out of control…