OK, going backwards from last night, here are my most recent reads:
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
OK. So it really shouldn't take 200+ pages to talk about the six baby-steps, yet the behaviors he seeks to modify are so ingrained in each of us that he uses a lot of ink to indoctrinate or initiate us newbies to his system. Simple concepts, hard to do if you aren't used to self discipline. I'm excited, yet scared at the same time. Dave's folksy ways, however, keep it light and entertaining. I'm anxious to see how the video lessons tie in and how they might motivate us to stick with it so that we can be relieved of some financial burden in our lives.
Leadership Coaching: The Disciplines, Skills and Heart f a Christian Coach by Tony Stoltzfus. 300 pages
I read this in about three evenings. I couldn't put it down. Based upon the premise that since each of us called by God into ministry of some sort or another, and that, at our baptisms, promises to give us the tools and gifts needed to accomplish that call, it therefor stands to reason that the only reason we as individuals don't fulfill that calling must be that something gets in the way. Christian coaching is one way a brother or sister in the faith can help another figure out and get past the roadblocks that keep us from fully living out our vocations as God intended. A must read for anyone who leads or influences another.
Inferno by Dante.
Actually, I haven't quite finished it yet. But, if you've ever read 13th century Italian epic poetry you can understand why. While the cover says that the edition I'm reading is the best English translation to date (with the original Italian on the facing page), It still takes me 15 or 20 minutes to get into the meter and overall scheme of it each time I pick it up again. If your read it I highly recommend reading the end-notes for each chapter at the end of the book. Those of you who are history buffs will especially appreciate the background on all the names of his contemporaries he has consigned to Hell in this timeless classic.
Speaking of Dante's Inferno, I thought of this book last night at the pool. Whaaaaa???? Let me explain...
Every Monday and Wednesday evening Blackbob Bay kicks the kiddos out of the "Lazy River" from 7-8PM (last hour of operation). At that time the adults get in and then simultaneously walk around the loop in the same direction. Then, when the current created by the 100 or so "walkers" is sufficient enough to nearly carry one off their feet if they aren't careful, the lifeguards yell "ROTATE!" and all 100 or so walkers stop in their tracks, turn around and walk-up current until the current switches direction and once again gets too fast to walk with at which time the lifeguards will again yell "ROTATE!"
Now, the first few rotations are no problem. You feel the water rushing, you are amazed that simple foot traffic can actually make the current go counter to what the pumps are normally accomplishing when there are rafts in the water and you can't believe the sight of all these people from the waist up bobbing up and down as they walk (or run) against the current. But after 20 or 30 minutes you really start to feel it in your legs. For me it was the hips and knees in particular. Add to those images and sensations the fact that it was still 102 degrees when we got there last night and, due to our 3 week heat wave, the pool was warmer than my shower at home, and you kind of get the idea of what Dante was trying to describe in Inferno: an endless drudgery with no relief from the heat, toil, or anguish. But, before we knew it, it was 8PM and it was time to slog our way home. Not an option in Inferno.
I hope my back starts to feel better by the end of the day (who would have thought that that's where I would be sore?)
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