Wednesday, April 24, 2013

For Men Only by Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn

          
              Men. Do you understand your woman? Is it even possible to figure her out?
            In this revised and updated edition of the book Jeff Feldhahn along with his wife Shaunti put forth that it is possible. Shaunti wrote a book for women called “For Women Only .” Jeff has written the companion book.
            We men need a map to the female universe. This book acts as a field guide. It is for the man to help him understand the wife he has. Feldhahn explains the matrix of the woman’s mind. The adventure begins when we say “I Do” and lasts throughout your time together. Understanding her is not like a puzzle with missing pieces. It is possible according to Feldhahn.
            He has a chapter on the difference the structure of the female mind makes. Even if the world would like you to think there is no difference, think again. A woman’s brain is constructed different for a reason. It is up to the man to work out the  ramifications.
            The Bible instruct us men to live with our wives in an understanding manner. This book may help you do so.
            I found this to be a very instructive handbook style presentation. It will provide us man with a way to respond to our woman in a way she can feel understood.
            I recommend this for all men who live with a woman. In fact I would even extend that to anyone dating.
            This book was  provided to me free for review purposes by the Multinomah Publishing Group. I was not required to give a positive review. Any views expressed are those of the book reviewer and not that of the publisher.
             

Friday, April 12, 2013

Gods At War by Kyle Idleman


     With a title like that you would expect a thesis on spiritual warfare. In a way that is what you get. But it is more on the level of personal idols in our life that is being handled. We all have them
           The idols Idleman talks about are common things such as money, fame, love, power.
            Idleman is a teaching pastor at a church in Louisville, Kentucky. In his ministry he deals with these idols. Not that they are inherently bad. Just when taken to extremes.
           It has a subtitle ‘Defeating The Idols That Battle For Your Heart’ and this is The underlying message to the chapters. Each chapter concludes with an Idol Id, a group of questions that drive the point home. The Idol Id is followed by a call to choose Jesus as the solution.
            I found the easy over the fence presentation to be nonthreatening. It is not deep.  It doesn’t have to be. All of us need to think through just what we are allowing in the place of dependence on God alone for our satisfaction.
            The author held my attention and kept me reading  The information was presented chatty style. It may seem a bit simplistic at times but it is not written for the scholar.
            This book was provided to me complimentary by Book Sneeze to be reviewed
as a book review blogger. I was not required to give a positive review. The views expressed are my own and not those of the publisher.

Make Your Brain Smarter by Sandra Bond Chapman Ph.D.


      It is possible to increase your brains performance. You don’t have to allow your brain to get dull with age.
       Chapman has written a book that will help you strengthen your brain.
      
        The part of the brain that Chapman is focusing on is the frontal lobe. Take care of that area and you can ease the onset of dementia and other brain abnormalities.
      It is our frontal lobe that helps us reason and solve the complexities of life. With it you do your planning and decision making. It acts as an executive. Located in the front of your skull right above the eye it can form complex connections.
      To strengthen our brain we will need to take some effort. There are exercises we can do to keep our frontal lobe in shape. We must learn to ask probing questions about the unknown. We also need to seek new possibilities for advanced ideas and projects. And lastly we need to determine new paths that will fit in with the life changes
        Brain fitness requires lifelong effort. Our brain doesn’t stop developing cells. That means each day we make new cells.
        Damaged brain? There is no time limit to the repair. The brain we have contains 10 billion neurons and more than 10 million connections or synapse. The wiring will find a way to reconnect.
         The shocking truth, Chapman points out, is that we let our cognitive brain health decline. And we don’t have to.
           We are presented in this book with exercises to pump up our brain smartness. There is no simple formula offered to help us think smarter. No pills to take. Since we are creatures of habit doing things by rote may be harming not helping our brain smartness. Therefore we should be, learning how to reshape and process in a creative way the information we let settle in our brain.
        It is not an easy task and this book will suggest some areas to work on so  you can challenge your brain.
        We used to believe that as we age our brains became less effective until that day we wake up and have started to lose our memory never to be able to slow down the process.
         But it is possible to exercise our brains and even retard aging.
         This is a good book for people who are honest about wishing to increase their smartness. And that should be everyone. No one wants to quicken the onset of Alzheimer’s or a lesser from of dementia.
           Sandra Bond Chapman, Ph.D. is known as a leading thinker in the area of  transforming  how people, young and old, can build a smarter brain.