The Fred factor : how passion in your work and life can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary

by Mark Sanborn,
Doubleday, 2004

Sanborn's encounter with the original Fred - an unusual postman who went out of his way to deliver exceptional service to the customers on his route - provides the basis for this book, which describes (as the subtitle indicates) "how passion in your work and life can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary." And let's face it - who doesn't want to be considered a phenomenal human being?

After outlining the four "Fred principles" and providing other examples of real-life "Freds," Sanborn gives a blueprint, including three simple difference-making strategies, for becoming a Fred yourself. Success is built on relationships, so he offers seven Bs of relationship building that are easy for anyone to implement. A 10-point crash course in creating value for others, and boom, you're well on your way to transforming your life and your world.

If you're an employer or boss, you'll want to read the section on developing Freds in your company; otherwise, you can skip to the end of that part - "Go Spread Fred" - and conclude with the last section of the book, in which the original Fred summarizes what motivates him to do what he does. Those same points become our motivation for emulating his example.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is dissatisfied with his quality of life and/or employment. As usual, though, your results will depend on more than reading - they will depend on the actions you take thereafter.

Against all Odds: My Story

by Chuck Norris with Ken Abraham
Broadman & Holman, 2004

Chuck Norris tells the story of his life from birth to the present (2004). A "blue baby" at birth, he certainly had good reason to be blue, living with an abusive, alcoholic father until his mother finally walked away from the marriage when Chuck was fifteen. After her divorce, his mother met and married Chuck's stepfather, George, who became a positive, encouraging figure to her three boys.

Immediately after high school, Chuck enrolled in the military, and it wasn't long before he was serving in Korea. While on base, the men had three options for filling their spare time - drinking to excess, taking academic classes, or studying martial arts. Not being a drinker or academic, Chuck opted for the martial arts, and the rest - as they say - is history.

Norris talks about his martial arts schools; his fights; his friendships with the likes of Bruce Lee, Steve McQueen, Arnold Schwarzzeneger, and George Bush; getting married too young and his divorce years later; his remarriage;  life as a father; and his involvement with charitable organizations, including the one he founded - KICKSTART - to help youth in impoverished communities. A believer in Christ, he also talks about his journey of faith and how it has transformed him over the course of his life. He admits that he has been far from perfect, and points to God's grace and work of salvation.

I found this book really interesting and well-written. If you enjoy celebrity biographies and are looking for a change from the usual sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll, you will find it here.

Reshaping it All: Motivation for Physical and Spiritual Fitness

by Candace Cameron Bure with Darlene Schacht
B&H Publishing Group, 2011

Sharing personal experience and advice from Scripture, Candace (of Full House fame) encourages the reader to get physically and spiritually fit. In fact, she says that physical fitness depends on spiritual fitness, and that a robust faith life precedes weight loss and healthy living.

Over the course of eighteen chapters, Candace describes her own journey to physical and spiritual well-being, offers practical tips that help readers achieve their personal goals in these areas, responds to fan mail, shares inspiring quotes from Scripture and elsewhere, and provides healthy recipes from her home kitchen. Along the way, you'll learn more about Candace and her family, and glean some helpful parenting and Christian living ideas as well.

The book is easy to read and well laid out, and I highly recommend it for purchase. Though some of the information is repetitious, those of us on the path to fitness often need to hear the same thing said over and over again before we get it!

Too Small to Ignore: Why Children are the Next Big Thing

by Dr. Wess Stafford,
Waterbrook Press, 2007

Over the years I’ve had a variety of experiences with children. I started off as one, as we all do; babysat them as a teenager; took children’s literature courses in library school; had two children of my own; and wrote the text for several as-yet-unpublished picture books. Yet I don’t think I ever really thought about children – except in the sense of enjoying them, engaging them through library programs, or parenting them to the best of my ability (with liberal doses of heavenly guidance, to be sure). That is, until I read Dr. Wess Stafford’s book, Too Small to Ignore: Why Children are the Next Big Thing. This book turned my beliefs about children upside-down.

Too Small to Ignore should be required reading by church leaders, children’s advocates, parents, and Christian adults. Stafford, the president of Compassion International, is a humble, yet passionate proponent for children around the world. It’s his goal in this book to prompt a paradigm shift in the rest of us, that we too would see the value and importance of children and be motivated to change our actions (more often thoughtless than malevolent – though sadly, the latter can also be true) toward them.

Stafford’s premise is that children matter to God. He supports this with a number of Scripture references. Of course, if children matter to God, they also matter to Satan, whose absolute hatred of the Almighty motivates him to attack that which is closest to God’s heart. Children have no power, no voice in this world, and so Stafford reminds us that, if we call ourselves believers, it is our duty to take up their cry, work for the betterment of their world, and protect them from preventable pain. And even if our own resources or mobility are limited, we can still do something for the children within our sphere. We can get down on their level, make eye contact and smile; we can offer a kind word, prophecy into their lives, or talk to them about Jesus.

This book contains far more than I can tell you in a few short paragraphs. I hope you will read it. Before you do, pray that God will use it to change your heart, your attitude, your thinking toward children. Pray that He will show you what to do with this newfound information. I truly believe that if we all acted on its principles, we could create a ripple effect that would change not only ourselves, but our church, our community, and the world, to make it a better place for “the least of these” on planet earth.

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God

by Francis Chan,
David C. Cook, 2008

In this perspective-changing life-changing book, Chan argues that Christians have a wrong view of God, and consequently, of ourselves. In the first three chapters, the reader comes to truly understand and appreciate that God is holy, eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, fair and just. We are reminded that He wants us and that our time on earth is short. The final seven chapters warn against being spiritually lukewarm and serving God leftovers. Chan advises us of our high calling and purpose and urges the reader to surrender completely to the God who loves us. He gives powerful examples of those who have lived a radical, love-motivated life and exhorts us to follow suit.

Read this book once, then read it again with your highlighter in hand (make sure it's not a library copy!). Let its truths guide your life and make your time on earth time well spent, so that when you face your Heavenly Father, you will hear those longed-for words - "well done, good and faithful servant."

A Full House of Growing Pains: a Hollywood mother's journey...

by Barbara Cameron with Lissa Halls Johnson,
Bridge-Logos, 2006

Penned a couple of years before son Kirk's autobiography, this tells the story of Barbara Cameron, mother, wife, and entrepreneur.

Growing up in a loving but rather strict environment, Barb had self-esteem issues from a young age. She met her future husband when she was eighteen and married him within about a year. Several years older, Robert had a university education and a career as a teacher. He also had loads of confidence. It wasn't long before Barb's low self-regard plummeted even further.

Four children came along in quick succession and Barb was busy with all the duties of motherhood. When Kirk was nine years old, he and his siblings auditioned for one of the best Hollywood agents. The three youngest went on to have success in commercials and/or television at one time or another, and from the outside everything looked rosy. But eventually, terribly unhappy in her marriage, Barb surprised everyone by leaving her husband and beginning a new life on her own. Her story is largely about the events that led up to that decision and about what happened afterward.

Although Barb's book was written before his, I actually found it quite helpful to read Kirk's book first. Without having read Kirk's, I'm not sure I would have had the same interest in his mother.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in women's biography or books about women of faith.

Meet Mrs. Smith: my adventures with six kids, one rockstar husband, and a heart to fight poverty

by Anna Smith and Carolyn Johnson,
David C. Cook, 2011

This is the companion book to Delirious (see previous post), and tells the story of Anna Smith, wife to Martin, former lead singer of the Christian band. It's an interesting  read that describes what it was like to be along for the ride, building a family and keeping the home fires burning when the kingdom work of the music ministry grew bigger than the two of them. It gives a perspective that complements (and in some ways, differs from) the first book, and is good reading for anyone who wonders what it would be like to be married to a "rock star." The mother of six children, Anna is an incredible woman who surely has done better in her role than I could hope to have, had I been in a similar position. She sounds like someone who would make an excellent friend and this book is written as if she is sitting with you in her living room, sharing a chat and a cup of tea.

My review of this book was not influenced by the fact that I received it for free, courtesy of The B & B Media Group, Inc.