Even More Books
“The Five People You Meet In Heaven” Author: I forgot (go figure) 5of 5 (A must read)
This book is truly awesome. It sort of reminds me of “The Shack”. At the risk or ruining a good book I will say no more about the actual plot of the book. It is just one of those that I truly recommend. I was finished with the book in a little under 24hrs, so it is a quick read. I would say it would be an easy weekend, but regardless of that little fact at the end of the book I took a step back and looked at my own life. Finally what a friend had been telling me for years started to sink in. Long ways to go on that though.
“The Entire Chronicle of Narnia Series” Author: C.S. Lewis 4 of 5
I had never read this series until now so be nice as you judge me. I was impressed with some books and let down with others. Favorite book was “Dawn Treader” and my least favorite was “The Last Battle”. I have my reasons for liking and disliking all the books, but for some reason the way “Dawn Treader” ends. Well that just seems quite peaceful and yet so spiritual all at the same time. What a way to lose my favorite character though. Rechiep (spelled it wrong, but I have no better guess) the mouse. Not sure why I love this guy, but he is just plain gutsy and at the same time patient and wise. So he was my favorite.
“Catch 22” Author: Joseph Heller 5 of 5
Great book. I will give it to you all that this book is crazy hard to follow, and until you get about ½ way through it, it does not get much better. If you persevere though, I fully guarantee that you will be laughing out loud where ever you happen to be reading it. Even to the annoyance of the people sitting next to you on a couch. It will be ok though, they will have a different book and be doing the same thing. Unless this is only normal in The Gambia. So don’t be intimidated by it size, or the fact that you are lost. I found for me to attack this book I had to pretend that I was new on the base and Yosario was giving me the guided tour. It is a story as told by one man to another. It is great, and by the end of it you will be thinking of your own catch 22′s.
“Integrity” Author: Dr. Henry Cloud Unfinished
Good book, not sure how to classify it yet. I have not finished reading it at the time of creating this post, but it is an amazing book and I wanted to encourage everyone to read it. It discusses how you as a complete person effect all of those around you in a work setting. This is not just from a numbers aspect either. It also works on the personal side of things. Again I have not finished this book yet so I can not give a complete review of it, but as of page 100 I would highly recommend it. If nothing else it will get you thinking about your own character.
You leave me curious about the advice (?) from your friend that caused you to stop and ponder after reading the Mitch Albom book. If you have a chance, Rolf just gave me his new book, but it is back in his possession. I think it is Have a Little Faith. Interesting story about a rabbi’s faith. Glad you liked Catch 22. That was one of my favorite books from college–I, too, laughed out loud.
The advice was similar to, Life is in the little everyday moments. The time that you feel is insignificant and meaningless are the moments that make the biggest impact in the lives of others. John was the one that told me this after working on somebodies car. I thought he was crazy. I fixed this car for nothing more than parts and just had an awesome afternoon working in the sun. Just one of those days where nothing went wrong and the weather was awesome. While i enjoyed the day I thought very little of it and furthering the kingdom or sharing God’s love. I was just doing what needed to be done and nothing more. It was not until later that i learned the gravity of the situation.
aww I always loved the Last Battle…it always seemed like such a cool allegory to Revelation. But I think my favorite was “the Horse and his Boy”. Did you know the Dawn Treader movie is coming out soon here in the states?
Also, I’m filling out a PC application right now…I know you don’t really know me that well – we only hung out once or twice, in the company of mutual friends – but I’ve been following your blog since you started it, mostly to get an idea of what this commitment really means. I’d be really interested to chat with you about the biggest personal challenges you’ve faced, and your overall experiences so far with the PC, if you have time – I know you’re pretty busy.
By all means if this is the Rebecca, I think it is. I will be more than glad to talk to you more about it. Hit me up either on Facebook, or email me at matt.carte@gmail.com