Lincoln: "The Biography of a Writer" by Fred Kaplan

Some new things, for me, this author presented about Lincoln;

• Lincoln's use of God, the Bible, and Christianity
• According to this author's writing, Lincoln was not a Christian believer
• Lincoln's purposeful planning; short and long-term
• Lincoln spent a great deal of time on the legal circuit in order to be away from his wife. Lincoln met a lot of people during this time and develop a recognition that would not have probably happened otherwise. He was also able to speak before more groups and test his thoughts.
• Lincoln wrote out his thoughts and planned almost everything he said publically

The book had more about "non-writing" based upon its title, but it does cause me to think more about how much Lincoln wrote and maybe read more about that aspect of his life. Mr. Kaplan is a Lincoln scholar and has written much about the subject of Lincoln. I would have rather read a smaller and more intense book just about Lincoln's writing style and subject matters than to have had to sort through all the history also.

Mr. Kaplan probably has a tilt of some sort about other, and more recent Presidents, that I'll look into. I say this because in his comparison's of Lincoln to other Presidents he left a gaping hole about Ronald Reagan. I'll check my source and confirm, or not, and make a comment back here.

I've read 3 or 4 other books about Lincoln and this, by far, but none of the others had much, if any, about Lincoln's thoughts and beliefs about God. Mr. Kaplan stepped out and was willing to discuss, at least a bit, openly.

So, did Mr. Kaplan succeed in what he set out to accomplish by writing this book?

In my opinion....No; not according to the title.

Book: One Heartbeat Away by Mark Cahill

Book: "Adam" by Ted Dekker

Ok. I had to Google parts of this book to be sure it was fiction, it was that real. Dekker is a great storyteller.

But, don't read the book at night. And it helps to have other people around!!!!

Book: "Good to Great in God's Eyes" by Chip Ingram

I received this book after attending a Leaderboard session at DTS this past January in which Chip Ingram was the speaker.

My son, Austen, was also there and read the book soon after. He has asked me more than once since if I'd read it yet. Not until now and I can't believe such an inspirational book has been setting unread on my desk. This is the first of Mr. Ingram's books I've read, but after just reading the introduction, I'm sure it will not be the last.

I need inspiration from time-to-time and love it when it includes scripture. I also like "lists" and Mr. Ingram lays out 10 practices great Christians have in common. Practices...Christians...in common! Right up my alley.

Here are some of my notes from the Introduction:

• Jesus never rebuked his disciples for their longing to be great (Luke 22). He gave a completely new paradigm about what greatness is, but he didn't condemn their desire.
• Mediocrity is almost no one's ambition.
• After spending three years with Jesus, the disciples didn't seem to think it was prideful to want to honor God with lives of great faith and excellent work. When they argued about which was the greatest Jesus had to redefine greatness for them, yet he didn't tell them they were being unspiritual or arrogant because of their intense desire and ambition to be great.
• Jesus himself wasn't prone to mediocrity either; in a long prayer the night before his crucifixion, he said to the Father:I have brought you glory on earth do." (John 17:4)
• When God created humanity, he proclaimed us not just good, but "very good." (Gen 1:31)
• We exist for his glory; that kind of purpose isn't served well by mediocrity or even by settling for simply being good.
• Jesus' zeal for his Father's house consumed him. (John 2:17)

Some specific points Ingram makes about the practices/principles he lays out in the book;

• They are by no means required for salvation
• They will never earn us brownie points with God
• This is not a ten-step plan to gain God's favor
• They are, however, an opportunity to fulfill the highest and best purposes God has for our life.
• Like great athletes spending years practicing because they have to, they do it because they have a dream. Christians who dream of eternal impact in the kingdom of God, who envision crossing the finish line as one of God's great saints, are motivated to do whatever it takes to be used powerfully by God.

Chip Ingrams ends his introduction with the following...

"God invites you to be a world-changing, kingdom-shaping Christian. The desire to be great was planted in your heart by the one who made you. But desires remain only desires if ther's no follow-through, no plan to accomplish them...."

Thank you Mr. Ingram. Too many people want to down play the desire to be great, to be have a great attitude. I can tell this is going to be a Great book. Thank you for allowing God to use you in his glory.

12/4/2008: there is no doubt in my heart that the Holy Spirit was driving me to this book at this time. The first chapter lays out key areas for cultivating great thoughts and Ingram uses words like positive thoughts and gives the scriptures to support. This is a tough time in the mortgage industry and we've had extra set-backs due to trust I put in some people without proper accountability. As I said before, too many people, Christians included, want to play the whoa-is-me card. But my God is a Great God and has brought me through tough times before. I don't know what he has in store for me, but I'm positive that he is Great and I know practicing Christianity includes having positive thoughts.

Ingram's Think great thoughts about challenges included a reference to James 1:2-4

12/6/2008: this book is just plain Great. I called my son yesterday and thanked him for reminding me about the book a couple of times. This is a book that I'll read a few times because there are a lot of nuggets that no one can consume in one read-through.