The Noticer

From the back cover:
Poverty.  A failing marriage. Old age. Lost dreams.  A failing business.  An unsure future.  To the residents of Orange Beach, Alabama, these desperations are dead ends.  Hopeless, barren places with no chance of change.

But to an old drifter named Jones with a gift for seeing what others miss, there is no such thing as a dead end.  It only takes a little 'perspective', he says, to recognize the miracles in our moments, the seeds of greatness tucked into our struggles.

As Jones mysteriously makes his way through this coastal town and into the searching hearts of its residents, he offers simple wisdom and sound hope.

"My contention is that you are right where you are suppose to be.  This may look like barren sand to you, but nothing could be further from the truth.  I say to you that as you lay your head down tonight, you are sleeping on fertile ground.  Think, learn, pray, plan, dream.  For soon .... you will become."

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This was my first book by Andy Andrews.  I wasn't even sure where to find it in the bookstore.  Christian? Fiction? Turns out, it was in the Self-help section.  I had no clue why when I first picked it up.

Now I know. 

I really enjoyed this book.  'Jones' finds Andy living under a bridge in Alabama.  Jones tells Andy in order to get help, he simply needs 'perspective' - essentially opening the door for what everyone struggling in his/her circumstances needs.

Perspective.

How you look at things.  How you look at your circumstances.

The Noticer takes you on a journey through Andy's life as he learns ways Jones has encouraged others - causing them to see the good in their situations, instead of giving up and calling it quits.

My favorite quotes in the book are ....

Talking to Andy (living under a bridge) ... "If you focus on the things you need, you'll find those needs increasing.  If you concentrate your thoughts on what you don't have, you will soon be concentrating on other things that you had forgotten you don't have - and feel worse! If you set your mind on loss, you are more likely to lose ... But, a grateful perspective brings happiness and abundance into a person's life."

While standing in church during a prayer session ... "I'd like us to pray for some smiling faces in this church .... I think more people would want to go to heaven, if they weren't afraid it'd be like church when they got there".

"Seeds of depression cannot take root in a grateful heart."

Talking to a man going through a divorce - admitting he has chased the American dream and rarely sees his family .... "I just think it's amazing that a person could lose everything, chasing nothing."

Explaining about five seagulls sitting on a dock.  One of them decides to fly away, so how many are left? A person would typically answer 'four'.  Jones replies, "No, there are still five.  Deciding to fly away and actually flying away are two different things.  Despite popular belief to the contrary, there is absolutely no power in intention."

There is something for everyone in this book.  You'll recognize many things you already know or have read (i.e. The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman), but it gives reminders of what we should always put into practice - putting our lives in perspective, which will always allow us to remember things could be worse.  Also, that 'where' we are is a good place to be.  God can use that.



My Rating:  4 Bookmarks

Under the Overpass

From the back cover:
Mike Yankoski did more than just wonder.  By his choice, Mike's life went from upper-middle class plush to scum-of-the-earth repulsive overnight.  With only a backpack, a sleeping bag, and a guitar, Mike and his traveling companion, Sam, set out to experience life on the streets in six different cities:  Denver; Washington, D.C.; Portland; San Francisco; Phoenix; and San Diego.

For more than five months the pair experienced firsthand the extreme pains of hunger, the constant danger of living on the streets, exhaustion, depression, and social rejection - all by their own choice.  They wanted to find out if their faith was real, if they could actually be the Christians they said they were apart from the comforts they'd always known ... to discover what it feels like to be homeless in America.

Mike and Sam's story is gritty, challenging, and utterly captivating.  What you encounter in these pages will radically alter how you see your world - and may even change your life.

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Why on earth would anyone choose to live on the streets with the homeless? I knew the answer before I even opened the book - Jesus. 

God speaks to us in ways that are unexplainable sometimes, prompting us to do things that just don't make sense to anyone not a part of the conversation.  His will is for each of us to go deeper with Him, understand more of His character, in an effort to draw us closer to Him.  God, alone, knows what it will take for each of us, individually, to learn more about Him.  If we're willing, He will take us on a journey that, left to the world to understand, looks ridiculous and crazy, but the benefits are enormous.  We experience parts of Him we would have missed otherwise.  The journey is always worth it.

Mike Yankoski's journey started just like that - a prompting from the Lord to live with the homeless, putting God's love into action, instead of just reading/singing about it on a church pew.

I hoped to have a very specific question answered for me when I read this book: "Can the homeless not just help themselves?"

I learned so much from this book! Everyone has a story.  And everyone just wants to be heard.  We get into trouble when we decide who should be heard - as if where they are in society earns them a right to be acknowledged.  I can't find anything biblically sound to prove that theory.  It just doesn't exist.

These 2 men encounter many different situations in their journey ... people with severe drug addictions, mental disorders, alcohol addictions and no support system.  The struggle for each to survive each day is daunting and oftentimes, reliant on whether someone will look their direction. 

Heart breaking.

I could NOT put this book down.  What kept me up at night was the responses these men got from churches.  They were turned away, threatened and looked down upon.  Ugh! I felt myself getting so angry while reading.  Isn't the church suppose to be different?

I joke at times about how I have a hard time separating reality from a book.  I really had a hard time with this one, which I think was the point.  The reality is that my world is full of God's people who are hurting, struggling to survive, and I can either choose to acknowledge them or step over them.

I think everyone should read this book!  And maybe more than once.  Two men that had the guts and insight to live on the streets for 5 months have given us a gift ... a way to know what's going on with those around us.  I won't look at a homeless person the same.

I have always taught my girls that acknowledging someone is respecting them.  In this book, Mike suggests that the answer isn't always a dollar, but a word or an ear to listen is typically what someone needs to feel valued that day.  He says listening to their story, oftentimes, goes further than a meal. 

I will definitely read this book again!


My Rating:  5 Bookmarks

Unshaken

My first several posts will be about books I have read recently, but before this blog.  I wanted to have a record of the few books that have made me pause this year and maybe even kept me up at night. 

From the back cover:
In a harrowing story of survival, Dan Woolley recounts the nearly three days he spent trapped beneath the rubble of Haiti's collapsed Hotel Montana.  He details his survival methods - including using an iPhone app to treat his life-threatening injuries, conversations with strangers buried nearby, letters to his family, and the small and large decisions he made that affected his chances of surviving the 7.0 Haiti earthquake that took the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

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I couldn't wait for this book to come out.  I have followed Sh*un Groves and the Compassion Bloggers since their first trip to different countries, which is where I first learned about Dan Woolley and his story.  Days after a 7.0 earthquake ripped through the country of Haiti, I diligently refreshed my computer, checking Shaun's blog, to learn the whereabouts of Dan and his traveling companion, David. 

I rejoiced when Dan was found (in the hotel's elevator shaft buried under 6 stories of concrete) and then pulled from the rubble of the leveled hotel.  He had been buried for 65 hours.  I knew God was going to write an incredible story through Dan's survival, and I couldn't wait to read it.

The book is just what you would expect it to be (knowing the outcome), but what I wasn't prepared for was the way it is woven into the life story of his wife's struggle with depression and how that shaped their family.  He does a beautiful job of relating his being buried under the rubble to the huge obstacle he and his wife had overcome in their marriage - both by the grace of God - who Dan gives full honor and glory to.

I was amazed at his insight, anticipating what he may need emotionally and physically in the next moment.  Part of any battle we face (a huge part, actually) is in our thought process.  Whatever we begin to 'think' is usually followed with an action.  Our will to move forward or to give up is decided by the strength of our minds.

Dan writes "Darkness can do funny things to your mind. ... My world had suddenly gotten very small, not only because of the elevator's size, but because I found myself taking refuge in my thoughts."  

His will to live was made obvious by keeping his thoughts on his family and their need for his survival.

So, where does one go after such a traumatic event, with an extraordinary story of rescue? He sums up his entire experience with the last sentence:  " ... my experience showed me that whatever is thrown at me doesn't matter.  I can hang on until the shaking stops because my God is unshakable.

Knowing what the ending was going to be with this book, I was still on the edge of my seat reading.  How does one process what's going on? Where did he find the strength? What were his thoughts in complete darkness with no assurance of rescue?

He answers all of these questions and gives an amazing tale of how he passed those 65 hours.  I highly recommend!

My Rating:  4 Bookmarks

Why A Book Blog?

I could never be classified as a huge reader growing up.  The only books I remember reading were Judy Blume, Nancy Drew and Pippi Longstocking, but didn't love sitting in a corner to read.  When I was in 9th grade, I remember Mrs. Woodruff telling us we would have to read novels throughout the year as a huge part of our English grade.  I was intrigued enough to actually read all of the books she assigned, some of which included Of Mice and Men, The Scarlet Letter and To Kill a Mockingbird.  I enjoyed reading all of those, but I didn't fall in love with reading.

Actually, that would have been helpful if I would have - for the sake of the remainder of my high school career.  I became the 'cliff note' queen and loathed any book I was forced to read.

But, now I'm all grown up and actually love to read.  I've recently found more time to do so and I'd like to keep track of what I have read.  I always felt like talking about books on my other blog seemed a little out of place.  Hence the reason for this blog. 

So, here goes ...