Finished! And Moving On…

  As you may have known, my “Pre-New Year’s Resolutions” were to finish reading two books before classes started back on 1/9. I am so proud to say that I finished last night! Here are my very amateur reviews of them…

I finished The Shack by William Paul Young first. I absolutely loved Young’s use of language in this book. It made me feel like I was intertwined with the characters and were seeing what they saw. While I still have many questions about the book, it really does challenge the “in-the-box” relationship one might have with God. I identified with the way Young described those who “make time” for God instead of letting him live in and through you. I hope to read it again and try to break it down more.

I turned the final pages of Tricia Goyer’s From Dust and Ashes last night. I was surprised at how much I thoroughly enjoyed it, as I have never been much of a history buff. But there I was, at the liberation of a Nazi concentration camp, crying the same tears as the main character, and feeling the same love of God that Tricia described. I felt convicted as Helene struggled with waiting on the Lord, because I, too, struggle with making hasty decisions without His involvement. I even picked up my Bible right after I finished the book to look up some verses mentioned in the book. I would definitely encourage others to read this!

I so enjoyed my time with the previous books that I have ordered 3 more: A Promise to Believe In by Tracie Peterson, A Valley of Betrayal by Tricia Goyer, and Guys Like Girls Named Jennie by Kerri Pomarolli.  I am looking forward to journeying through those.

What did you think of the two books I just finished? Let me know!

-Brittany

Resolutions BEFORE the New Year

I have decided I want to accomplish some things before the beginning of the new year. Odd, I know, since many people put everything they want/need to do off until they can make them “New Year’s Resolutions.” Well, I have some time off from school while still working my lovely internship here at Abunga.com, and I want to get some stuff done. Here are my goals:

1. Finish The Shack by William Paul Young

2. Finish From Dust and Ashes by Tricia Goyer

3. Start a prayer journal- and commit to it.

The first two are mentioned in my previous blog. The reason that I want to start the prayer journal is because I feel like there are so many things I want to talk to God about, but I seem to lose track of them all. Sometimes I will write them down, but they are usually scattered in different places. And I also feel that if I log each into this journal that I’ll be more committed to praying about them and praying more. Here’s my plan for the journal. First, I have actually already got the notebook, with five subject dividers. I am going to divide the sections by the area in my life. For example, I was thinking of having sections for “Personal,” “Professional,” “Friends,” “Church,” and “Miscellaneous.”

I am going to enter my prayer requests as the arise and check off those that I feel have been “answered.” I know that sometimes He answers them, but I just don’t realize it! We have a prayer list in our church bulletin, so I plan on adding those, too. I also want to add prayers for people who ask me to pray for them, so let me know!

What do I hope to accomplish from this? I want to develop a closer, more meaningful relationship with the Lord. I feel that by having these documented entries and seeing God move through them will help me with my “commitment issues.” Of course, I know that all of this may not be attained by January 1, but I at least want to get it started!

Have any helpful tips for me? Let me know!

-Brittany

Books On My Desk

So I’ve finally decided to see what the buzz is all about. As I’m sure you know, we did an author chat with William Paul Young in October. We had the biggest turnout ever! That really intrigued me, but it wasn’t until receiving The Shack as a lovely gift from my boss that I finally decided to dig into it. I’m only a few chapters in, but I already like Young’s use of descriptive language. I enjoy feeling as though I’m in the book right along with the characters. I’m looking forward to finishing it up, and I’ll probably be back with my own recap for it.

 

 

I was also very intrigued by Tricia Goyer’s author chat from 12/3/08. I decided to order what seems to be one of her most beloved books, From Dust and Ashes. I’m only a few pages into it, but I am already impressed by the reviews from WWII veterans she interviewed. It seems like she really did her homework, and I’m looking forward to digging deeper into it.

 

 

 

My goal is to finish both of these books before returning to classes on 1/9/09. Help hold me accountable! Do you have any comments on either of these books? Let me know!

-Brittany

Giving wonder this Christmas – great books for children

I asked my friend Andrew McDonald who happens to be the most innovative teacher I know, e.g. I Skyped into his class to do some Q&A with his students see his site here. He’s a 3rd grade teacher and I asked if he’d be willing to share a few good books he’d recommend for his students with us. He shared a couple books below, with some quotes from his students.  Enjoy!

- Gavin

Christmas traditions are a wonderful way to add enjoyment for families over this upcoming season. Reading awesome books together is a way to capture excitement and give wonder to children of all ages. Even parents and grand parents can remember what is was like to be a child in December through reading a well chosen story. Here are some books that could help jump-start some family traditions of your own!

Teacher’s pick: The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

This author gives an amazing amount of imagination through gorgeous illustrations and key words. This is a great story to help children think about what they believe as they read about a young boy who is skeptical about Christmas spirit.

“It is magical and it really brings out the spirit of Christmas.” Connor

“A boy goes on an adventure to the North Pole.” Emilie

“It reminds me of how much I like traveling on trains.” Amera

Students’ pick: Who Will Guide My Sleigh Tonight? by Jerry Pallotta and David Biedrzycki

This story changes the well known power of Santa’s sleigh (Reindeer) to explore different creatures that could pull a sleigh.

“I love dolphins and I love Christmas and it is interesting that the author changes the reindeer.” -Destiny

Chapter Books: The Christmas Toy Factory by Geronimo Stilton

If you love colorful words, fantastic adjectives, and action that you can laugh through from the beginning to end then this is your book. With illustrations and creatively written words throughout this story takes on an adventure with Geronimo, a mouse who is a journalist.

Books on My Desk: Strengths Finder 2.0

Last year for my birthday I received the book Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath from a friend. Leave it to me to crack it open only 9 months later. Despite my procrastination, I am thoroughly enjoying this read. Unlike many books I have read, Strengths Finder is very interactive, and you feel like you are participating in the content. You start by reading the introduction which gives you the history of the study of strengths in which Tom Rath has been involved. The major question that seems to have began this study is, “At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday.” After a survey that showed about 2/3 of over 10 million people worldwide either “strongly disagree” or “disagree” with this statement, the team of Gallup scientists decided that this needed to change.

Rath then prepares you for what you will do after you take an online assessment, which consists of over 150 questions. From 34 “Themes and Ideas for Actions,” you are assigned your top 5. Rath calls these “talents” not strengths, because he feels that you cultivate these talents into strengths. Here are my 5 top talents:

1. Empathy
2. Communication
3. Strategic
4. Woo
5. Futuristic

After receiving this feedback, you return to the book to read the descriptions of each theme. Rath even gives you suggestions on how to make this talent a strength. For example, here is one idea for action in Communication: “You will always to do well in roles that require you to capture people’s attention. Think about a career in teaching, sales, marketing, ministry, or the media. Your Communication talents are likely to flourish in those areas.” There are also suggestions on how to work with others who have the same talent(s).

I haven’t gotten through reading about all of my talents yet, but this book has already inspired me to concentrate more on my strengths than on my weaknesses. Hopefully, after completing the book and trying out some of the ideas for actions, I will have a new outlook on work, school, and home. I’ll let you know!

Have you taken the assessment? What were your top 5?

-Brittany

Books on my desk: Lions and Shoes

We’re going to try something new and every week or so post about the books we’re reading.  We’re calling this Books on my desk and you’ll see pictures of the books that are on our desks with a short blurb.

I’m leading off and the books you’ll see below are In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day by Mark Batterson and Sneaker Wars by Barbara Smit

In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day is about seizing the challenges in your life and confronting your fears.  It’s been a great read.

Sneaker Wars is a very interesting read about the shoe brands Puma and Adidas, and covering sports marketing from WWII to the current state.  It’s a bit long, but very fascinating.

Feel free to email me gavin@abunga.com if you’d like more of my thoughts on either book!

- Gavin

Steve Wyatt Says…

 

This week Abunga is chatting with Steve Wyatt, author of Stuck in a Small World: Staying on Board with Your Not-So-Unique Yet Thoroughly Dysfunctional Family. The chat will take place Wednesday, November 5, at 2 p.m. You can submit questions for Steve to answer here. 

We asked Steve our Authors@Abunga questions, and now we’ve got his answers for you to enjoy before the chat. 

Q: What famous slogan best describes your life today?

A: “Stay tuned for more exciting adventures to come”

Q: What are you reading right now or what have you recently finished? 

A: Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin. It is a book about leadership, a very popular book in the business world, and Seth Godin’s blog is Steve’s favorite.

Be sure to check out the chat with Steve Wyatt tomorrow where you can find out his answers to your questions about his books. And if you can’t make the chat, check out the transcripts, which are available after the chat. We’ll be updating the blog to let you know when the transcripts go up. 

Let me know if you have any thoughts on Steve’s answers to our pre-chat questions! Post a comment or two with some of your favorite books and suggestions for interesting things to read as well.

-Rachel

Dave Schmelzer says…

 

Authors@Abunga is chatting with Dave Schmelzer, the author of Not the Religious Type: Confessions of a Turncoat Atheist, tomorrow, October 29, at 2 p.m. Dave will be answering questions about why he wrote his book and how he came to the conclusions he did. 

We asked Dave to answer the same questions we asked William Paul Young last week, and here are his responses. 

 

Q: What famous slogan best describes your life today? 

A: “Happy to be Here” 

Q: What are you reading right now or what have you recently finished?

A: A Secular Age by Charles Taylor and The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

If you have other questions for Dave, you can submit them to our chat in advance by visiting the Authors@Abunga page, or you can tune in tomorrow at 2 for an hour of chatting with Dave Schmelzer. 

And if you haven’t already been thinking about it, consider what slogan you would say describes your life today. As always, feel free to post a comment, and if you’ve read one of the books Dave is reading, let me know!

-Rachel

Money-saving tips to get organized, dangers of wicca and The Shack. Huh???

When we launched the Authors@Abunga online chat program in July 2008 our hope was that we could connect readers with some of their favorite authors and maybe make a few book sales in the process. One of the biggest challenges for the program turned out to be that we have a plethora of authors wishing to participate.   It is a challenge only in the sense that we do not have enough time slots to handle this demand.  What an awesome problem to have.

One of the nicest surprises about the program for me is the depth and breadth of topics and authors we have hosted chats for so far.  As a parent I really appreciate the topics that surround raising my children.  For example we have chatted about the dangers of Wicca, self-mutilation, Internet addiction and sexual promiscuity and we have even had a teen fiction author talk about how her stories promote positive self-esteem.  We have had so many good topics and authors I do not want to leave anyone out so I encourage you to please visit our Author Chat Archive page for downloadable transcripts from each author chat.

Gavin and Paul

I am so excited about the October chat line-up too.  Yesterday we had actress, comedian and author Kerri Pomarolli who had so many funny stories about the single life. Coming up next week we have Kathy Peel who will give us money saving tips on having an organized home – who can’t use that in today’s economy? On October 22 we have William Paul Young, author of NYT bestseller The Shack.  He and Abunga’s CEO are at the same conference as I write this post so I am a little jealous that he gets to hear the “real story” first hand.  It will definitely be interesting to read Paul’s thoughts on how and why he wrote the book. I have a feeling it is not why most people think. Kay Warren, wife of Rick Warren of Purpose Driven Life, will round out the month talking about her book, Dangerous Surrender, and her passion for HIV/AIDS victims in Africa. 

 

Awesome…  How many times do you get the opportunity to talk to authors like this directly and ask them the things you really want to know about their stories, their work or their passions in life?

If you have not visited one of our author chats yet you should definitely check it out. Authors@Abunga is every Wednesday at 2:00 pm EST. Chat transcripts are available a couple of days following each chat.

If you have attended a chat I would like to know what you thought and if you haven’t yet, tell me who you want to chat with next year. Post your comments to the blog.

Chat with you again soon.

~Kerri

The wonders of interview questions

In the last couple weeks we’ve been receiving resumes and interviewing with possible candidates for our fall internship.  In each of our interviews we’d ask the candidate some of the normal interview questions,  like – “What gets you motivated?”, “What’s the most challenging project you’ve done? Why?”, and since we’re interviewing college students “Who is your favorite professor?” but this isn’t a post about how we interview here at Abunga.com it’s about the final question I always asked, “What’s the best book you’ve read recently?”

This is a favorite question of mine because I love to broaden my library by learning about new books.  It’s also a glimspe into who that person is outside of what comes up in the usual standard fare of interviewing.

I figured I’d share a few of the interviewees answers to the book question.  They mentioned a couple books I’ve read and loved such as “Blink” and “Brand New World” and a new one I hadn’t heard of yet, “Crazy Love”!

Enjoy!  Have a great Friday.

- Gavin

Crazy Love by Francis Chan

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Brand New World by Scott Bedbury

Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson