Oprah has hers, I’ll have mine: An update

Well, I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I made a reading list many months back and never updated my loyal but anonymous readers of my progress. Here are the books that I read and my thoughts:

• Chris Rose’s 1 Dead in Attic—I really enjoyed gaining the insight of an individual on the ground during the aftermath of the storm. Rose not only provided a taste of the difficulties in the wake of disaster, he also stood as a proud New Orleanian calling people not only to come home but also to invest with pride in their city. Though I really enjoyed the editorials, one would have to read the work as a newspaper—one article at a time. I feel as though the essays could have been arranged a little better, either chronologically or topically. I see he has another volume: 1 Dead in Attic: After Katrina. I will probably add it to my next reading list.
• Richard D. White, Jr.’s Kingfish: The reign of Huey P. Long—The life and political dealings of Huey Long are part of Louisiana’s storied past, setting the bar for corrupt politicians for generations to come. Many of the accolades were not unfamiliar, but White did an excellent job of presenting them. He also seemed to surmise that had Huey Long done a better job of appointing individuals to state positions he may have survived his assassination—the doctor he appointed to a top medical position probably led to his death because the physician did not complete the surgery needed to repair the gunshot wound. Again, White did a very good job of presenting the information as a very good story.
• Donald Miller’s Through Painted Deserts—Miller’s presentation is always excellent. I don’t always see the subjects he presents as he does, but he always does a very good job of presenting his view. This work describes his trip to the west coast. After reading this book, I read his To Own a Dragon. This book was extremely good. It is a must read for those who know and interact with a boy who has lost his father (either through death, divorce, or neglect). Miller describes his thoughts and needs growing-up without a father.
• John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart—This was an insightful book, but nothing spectacular. Eldredge does a good job of combining pertinent application with good exegesis to reinforce biblical truth. I don’t understand why this work would help one become a man and I don’t feel like more of a man since I read it; however, it is a good work and worth reading.
• R.G. Lee’s Payday Someday: And other sermons by Robert Greene Lee—I got the time to read this book. R.G. Lee was the pastor of First Baptist New Orleans and then Bellevue Baptist Church. His biblical based sermons are a historical dimension of Baptist history that I am glad I got to experience.
• John Piper’s The Pleasures of God and Let the Nations Be Glad—I had already read The Pleasures of God for my spiritual formation class. I did read Let the Nations Be Glad and this was a great and inspirational book. Piper describes how our fulfillment of the Great Commission is part of our Christian duty and relates how all of us, though we are not all vocational missionaries. He also explains that much of evangelism is spiritual warfare and how we must approach our work in the great commission as such. It is a must read for all Christians, in my humble opinion.
• Douglas Brinkley’s The Great Deluge—I did not read this work, nor did my father. It is a massive volume and I think it might be a while before either of us gets an opportunity to read this work.

So, I was 7 for 8; not bad, I must say. I hope you get an opportunity to read these books and I hope my thoughts help you prioritize your reading schedule. I am interested to learn if any of you have read these books and, if so, do you share my opinions or not. Also, let me know if you are thinking of reading one of these and why you would like to read it.

Expectations Too High?

A recent conversation I had with a friend prompted me to ask myself whether my expectations for the woman I am to marry are too high. Early in our conversation, my friend stated that she felt as though she was tainted because her life experiences have pushed her to raise her expectations for the guy she plans to marry. She was wondering whether these heightened expectations were reasonable and I assured her they were.

Upon further self-examination, I began to wonder whether or not my expectations are reasonable. Now, I know a completely different friend has only placed one requirement for those she dates—they have to be from a country other than the United States. To me, that seems unreasonable even though it is only one requirement. I have many more requirements, but they seem so prohibitive. My question remains: Am I looking for a woman who does not exist?

I need some feedback friends. Let me know if these requirements are too restrictive: Active Christian, Smart, A Sense of Humor, Loving of People and Children, Morally Pure, and Beautiful. Please give me feedback, but not anonymously—I want to know who you are!

Reading List

With the beginning of my resolution, it seems that I have almost come to the point of breaking it. Finding neither the time nor the subject to blog, I have woefully waited until now to turn my attention, at least for a few moments, to this web log. This week’s edition of my blog is my reading list and it is surprisingly short.

About a year and a half ago, I posted a reading list that I was going to attempt to tackle that summer. I never returned to give an update, so I will probably update that reading list next week—letting my loyal readers know which books I completed, which I failed to begin, and, of those I read, which I recommend (as if it would make a difference to anyone).

Before providing my current reading list, may I note that this is list is not exhaustive. I am planning to enroll in Seminary again this Spring and will probably have at least two books to read for the class which I am going to enroll. Also, I may begin some independent study courses and have to read between four and five books for each. With that note, here is my reading list:

• Outraged by Dick Morris and Ellen McGann—My dad read and recommended this book. I have already begun and I am 50 pages into the 300 page volume. It is a good read, so far.
• Frenchman, Desire, Good Children … And Other Streets of New Orleans by John Chase—This was one of amazon.com’s recommendations when I purchased The Joy of Y’at Catholicism which was an enlightening work on the quirks of Catholicism in New Orleans and how the culture has been shaped by the Catholicism and how Catholicism has shaped the culture of the New Orleans. My dad has already read this book and my conversations with him about it cause me to put it at the top of my desired reading list!
• Good to Great by Jim Collins—A classic leadership work that I have yet to read. This book and the remainder on this list has been a part of our leadership book clubs at work. Though I have not gone to the meetings for the book clubs—confirmation that I am a little antisocial, very busy, or both—I have purchased the books to read.
• Purpose: The starting point of great companies by Nikos Mourkogiannis—Part of the leadership book club at work and one of the works I look forward to reading the most.
• The FIVE Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni—This is probably a very insightful book for relationships within a team. I will let you know what I learn.
• The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell—I saw this listed somewhere else (but I do not remember where) not as a management book but as a generally good read.
• The Times-Picayune—I have a subscription and I do not read the paper all that much, but I have been trying to awake earlier to get the local and national news from this resource.

A New Year’s Resolution

I am not very good with New Year’s resolutions and I am much worse with change. I think that is why I have not made a New Year’s resolution in the past few years and why I don’t think I have ever kept a New Year’s resolution for more than two weeks. The undesirable resistance to change is probably the reason why I have failed to maintain this blog.

When I began this blog a couple of years ago, I was regularly updating with thoughts, insights, perspectives, and happenings—usually, none of these were very serious in nature. It seems this regularity slowed to a halt when I moved back to the hurricane ravaged New Orleans. The difficulty of being semi-homeless (having a temporary place to stay but not a place to live), beginning a new job (in a new practice setting, hospital instead of retail), and continuing by graduate studies made blogging difficult. However, the largest hurdle was not having internet access, which also caused me to withdraw from several internet courses.

Again, the resistance to change allowed me to remain in my non-blogging state long after I overcame the difficulties listed above. Though work has kept me busy and I was extremely hard pressed for time while completing my Master’s Degree, I have not revived the blogging practice since I graduated. Even though I really enjoy blogging and like the idea of the web-log, I have really neglected my blog.

Therefore, my New Year’s resolution is to become a regular again. No, not with Metamucil© but becoming a regular blogger. My extreme will not be as my friend Beth’s, but a little more realistic with the hope of being re-establishing the habit. My goal will be to blog once a week for the entire year. Stay tuned, offer feedback, and don’t remain anonymous!