In Touch: Daily Readings for Devotional Living, May 2022 (Mass Market Paperback) by Dr. Charles Stanley

 5 out of 5 stars  *****

As a month's calendar unfolds with all of its appointments and synchronized events, the In Touch: Daily Readings for Devotional Living series aids in my efforts to maintain an even keel regardless of circumstance.  Scripture and discussion of it reveals truth that may unsettle my soul.  Solutions to my problems are not specifically granted if for selfish reasons.  The education devotionals provide develops a more God-centered life that makes discernment between righteousness and evil easier.  With a loving relationship there is a desire to pursue God's word and become aware of His Holy Spirit who blesses, comforts, warns, encourages, and loves every day.  Instead of angst God's word produces a peace and joy only experienced through the grace of the Holy Spirit.  This May issue's theme is a reminder that God is always with us.

Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience by Brené Brown (Goodreads Author)

5 out of 5 Stars  *****

Brene Brown professionally researches other research and observes subjects, people and their words, to map the vast realm of connectedness that promotes or undermines social harmony. She stresses how valuable true meanings of specific terms and their accurate communication are for unity to have a chance over divisiveness. She admits her own updates in learning the true meanings of similar words with their own distinctive qualities. She identifies the base emotions behind each word, the engine that drives the meaning. For example, she notes the deleterious effects of pity, from shame, as it compares to humility, a quality born out of compassion and reverence. Pity is a "close enemy" of humility, not a synonym. The author and narrator delivers all her fascinating findings in a most congenial fashion that make listening to the audiobook a pleasant experience.

 

The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl

 5 out of 5 stars  *****

A most enjoyable read and a story I can relate. Dave Grohl captures the Rock and Roll scene with all of its offshoots over decades of music expression. His upbringing may be similar to many who read his story but his success is ultimately due to the love provided by those most important to him, his mother in particular. What is most surprising is the level-headedness and achievement of his dreams in such a crazy world of letting his freak out. God bless David Grohl, his family, and friends.

In Touch: Daily Readings for Devoted Living: April 2022 by Dr. Charles Stanley

 5 out of 5 stars  *****

A commune with God first thing in the morning starts with my awareness of His presence, a possible conversation, prayer of praise and contrition, and a daily reading from Dr. Charles Stanley's In Touch series. April's devotional concentrates on trusting God and His will (the Way) for the future, and spreading His word, His love, by our words and deeds. It also addresses the balance between celebration and rest. 

Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters by Steven Pinker (Goodreads Author)

4 out of 5 stars  ****
 

Scholarly explanation of rationality and how humans use it to achieve their goals whether noble or not. Reason, logic, and truth can expose hypocrisy and rally support for causes deemed worthwhile. So rationality is a valuable tool to evoke moral progress in a flawed world inhabited by flawed beings.

The bulk of this book is a mindful that lists scientific formulae, graphs, and statistic computations that require an attentive focus to grasp. Listening to the audiobook in the car proves to be disconcerting because safety while driving robs from that focus needed. A disappointment occurs when politics becomes opportunity to voice obvious prejudice in the name of rationality. Opinion is stated as fact with a hint of snobbery and elitism. 

The Holy Spirit: Activating God's Power in Your Life by Billy Graham, Jack Garrett (Narrator)

 

5 out of 5 stars  *****

Billy Graham explains religious questions about the Holy Spirit, the Triune God, and the Spirit's purpose. Developing a relationship with the Holy Spirit is impossible without faith in God and His word, the Bible. Jesus Christ is the other component of that Trinity. Jesus tells the apostles that He leaves the Holy Spirit with them to guide, support, and encourage them in their mission to spread the Good News, the gospel, after He leaves but that He'll return one day.  After Christ's second coming, mankind will be without the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit benefits those who accept Him and rejects those who refuse. Its fruit are the characteristics of God, never changing, and not subject to any laws or rules. They are Peace, Love, Joy, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control. Surrender to God's will and be graced with these qualities in a transformation that yields eternal life.

The Holy Spirit dwells in Christians to comfort as well. The imperfection of man is apparent in an honest relationship with God and this is not only humbling but dangerous if one gives up striving to live a life Jesus exemplifies. Man's failures are not damning; only quitting on the Holy Spirit is. Man's sins are forgiven by the sacrifice Christ makes on the cross.

The Spirit exhorts confession, repentance, and obedience out of love. This daily practice of prayer, Bible study, and obedience deepens the understanding of one's purpose, to love God with all one's heart and to love one's neighbor as oneself. Listen to His wisdom, feel His peace of mind, grow in love and do everything in it; notice constant joy regardless of any circumstance, demonstrate kindness, be of good humor and intention, be trustworthy and never lie, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger in gentleness, and surrender to the Holy Spirit personal desires for the righteous will of God.

The President and the Freedom Fighter: Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and Their Battle to Save America's Soul by Brian Kilmeade

 

5 out of 5 stars  *****

A wonderful read about the lives of two self-made men from different parts of the country in the mid 1800's. Their fates converge in a time of great stress and human suffering. Each possess qualities they admire in the other. Together they cause the fundamental changes needed in a time America needs them most, the Civil War. At first, Abe Lincoln, the president, does not commit to the abolitionists' cause to put an end to slavery. A self-educated, runaway slave who becomes a gifted orator against slavery, Frederick Douglas, influences the president enough for him to champion the Emancipation Proclamation which initiates eventual freedom for all slaves in a United States of America. Brian Kilmeade does a great job paralleling these two historical giants as men driven by the moral standards delineated in the Declaration of Independence. He captures their strength and poise; qualities that enable the violent clash of ideas to dwell inside earnest and pragmatic leaders who serve one nation and the notion that a Constitutional Republic can exist in harmony once the stain of slavery is removed.