Tag Archives: Books

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The Principle Of The Path by Andy Stanley – Extended Review Part 5

This is the final part of my series of reviews about Andy Stanley’s new book The Principle Of The Path. If you haven’t read the previous parts of this series, check them out here:

Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers Review
Extended Review – Part 1
Extended Review – Part 2 – The Heart Of The Matter
Extended Review – Part 3 – My Italian Job
Extended Review – Part 4 – The Story You Will Tell

In this last post, I will take a closer look at another one of the chapters that spoke to me the most.

The Principle Of The PathChapter 8: A Little Help From Our Friends

This chapter was perhaps the most inspiring (read: challenging) chapter in the book for me. This is the chapter that tells me to stop, look around, and get help.

Andy Stanley makes a very strong case here for the invaluable help from others for us to reach our desired destination. We can’t do it alone. We need the assistance of wise mentors; people who have been where we are, and have traveled further along the road to where we want to go.

The key to being successful isn’t to be smart, although that can help. Most successful people attribute their success to the collective wisdom and insight that they’ve received from others along the course of their path. Successful people are successful not because they know all of the answers. They are successful because they were willing to pay attention and apply the lessons learned from others.

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The Principle Of The Path by Andy Stanley – Extended Review Part 4

This is the next part of my series of reviews about Andy Stanley’s new book The Principle Of The Path. If you haven’t read the previous parts of this series, check them out here:

Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers Review
Extended Review – Part 1
Extended Review – Part 2 – The Heart Of The Matter
Extended Review – Part 3 – My Italian Job

In these next few posts, I will take a closer look at a few of the chapters that spoke to me the most.

The Principle Of The PathChapter 7: The Story You Will Tell

What legacy will I leave for my children and others to follow? The path I choose by the decisions I make will contribute much more than we realize to that legacy.

Life is full of decisions that must be made in emotionally charged environments. And emotionally charged environments make it almost impossible to gain the perspective we need to make the decisions that keep us on the best paths to lead us to where we want to go.

When we make decisions under the weight of an emotionally charged circumstance, we make decisions that are “me-centered” rather than God-centered. We simply don’t have the clarity to make the best decisions to keep us on the path.

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The Principle Of The Path by Andy Stanley – Extended Review Part 3

This is the next part of my series of reviews about Andy Stanley’s new book The Principle Of The Path. If you haven’t read the previous parts of this series, check them out here:

Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers Review
Extended Review – Part 1
Extended Review – Part 2 – The Heart Of The Matter

In these next few posts, I will take a closer look at a few of the chapters that spoke to me the most.

The Principle Of The PathChapter 6: My Italian Job

The challenging aspect about picking the right paths is that the choices are now. The outcomes are later. The decisions you make today have ramifications down the road.

The choices we make are like a rock thrown into a pond. Once the initial splash has happened, the pond changes. There are ripples. Those ripples keep going. And going. And going. Those ripples affect every part of that pond; some areas it affects right away, some areas it affects later.

Our choices in life make a splash. But that splash leaves ripples that have an effect much more far-reaching than we know at the time.

So how do we learn how to make those choices? Good intentions aren’t enough. Good information helps, but again, it’s not enough. So what else is there? What are we missing?

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The Principle Of The Path by Andy Stanley – Extended Review Part 2

This is the next part of my series of reviews about Andy Stanley’s new book The Principle Of The Path. If you haven’t read the previous parts of this series, check them out here:

Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers Review
Extended Review – Part 1

In these next few posts, I will take a closer look at a few of the chapters that spoke to me the most.

The Principle Of The PathChapter 5: The Heart of The Matter
This chapter pointed out to me that we (I) deceive ourselves. We are lead by our hearts. We trust our hearts.

But Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that…

“The heart is deceitful above all things? Who can understand it?”

Our hearts have the ability to deceive us. Our hearts have the ability to lead us astray. And yet we frequently say things like “Trust your heart.” “Follow your heart.”

If our hearts are deceitful by nature, then it’s no wonder we are so prone to deceive ourselves. We justify our actions, our poor decisions, our course changes that lead us away from our desired destination. And quite often, we do it without even knowing that we’re doing it.

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The Principle Of The Path by Andy Stanley – Extended Review

The Principle Of The PathThis is the second part of my series of reviews about Andy Stanley’s new book The Principle Of The Path. If you haven’t read the previous parts of this series, check them out here:

Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers Review

This book review started out at a simple review for the Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers program. This is an excellent opportunity. They give you free books, and you read and review them on major retail websites. Check them out here.

However, they prefer that you keep your reviews to around two hundred words. That’s simply not enough room to say what I really think about this book.

And so, the brief review above gets posted to Amazon. And I continue to write a more detailed review beginning here. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s dig a little deeper into this book.

Maybe no one will ever read my reviews. If not, oh well. That really doesn’t bother me. The process of reading and writing a review helps me to better assimilate what I’ve read. And the writing helps me to articulate better what I want to think and say about what I’ve read.

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Book Review – The Principle Of The Path by Andy Stanley

The Principle Of The PathAndy Stanley’s new book is a smash hit. Full of practical advice, The Principle Of The Path really doesn’t tell you anything that you don’t already know. But then, most of the time, the best advice usually confirms that which you already know at some level anyway.

And Andy Stanley couches his advise in terms that allow the glaringly obvious (and yet we still miss it…) to be massively insightful.

We are all on a path. And the decisions we make, whether large or small, determine the direction we are headed. Andy Stanley makes a very strong argument that there is no decision that we will make, or have made – not one – that does not play a part in the direction of our lives.

What are the things in life that have your attention? Are they the things that should have your attention? Because whatever captures our attention determines our direction; we tend to head toward what our attention is focused on. And our direction determines our destination, our end result.

Where are you headed? Is it where you want to be headed? Or are you traveling down a path that may take you to other places than where you know your life should be headed? The Principle Of The Path can help you to clarify your vision, and make sure your focus is where you, and God, want it to be.

Check out The Principle Of The Path. And find out how to get from where you are to where you want to be.

If you are interested in reading The Principle Of The Path, by Andy Stanley, you can purchase it at Amazon.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Book Review – Green by Ted Dekker

GreenTed Dekker has done it again. Green is an incredible story, wrapping up the Circle Trilogy… Or does it begin it…?

I must confess, when I read the previews on Ted Dekker’s blog, or when I read reviews of Green, I was confused. Everything I read about Green insisted that this volume both begins and ends the Circle series. Green brings everything full circle. How could that be? Dekker’s own blog says that you can begin to read the series with Green, and then follow it with Black, Red, and White. Or you can read Black, Red, and White, and then finish the series with Green. It makes no difference.

Green brings full meaning to the Circle Series as a whole, reading as both prequel to Black and sequel to White, completing a full circle. This is Book Zero, the Circle Reborn, both the beginning and the end. The preferred starting point for new readers… and the perfect climax for the countless fans who’ve experienced Black, Red, and White.

This is book Zero.