I hadn’t heard of this book 365 Nights: A Memoir of Intimacy until I bounced over to Edgy Mama’s site to see what she has been up to. There she talked about some of the hate mail her latest article has received and after reading the well-written article I don’t see what the fuss is about. Who doesn’t want to read a book about a woman who gifted her husband sex every day for a year?
How many women do you know what would make this sacrifice? (If you are out there and single, please post a comment immediately and include your phone number.)
As someone who has worked a myriad of Love, Sex, Marriage conferences I must admit that when it comes to Christians and Sex there are a lot of unanswered questions. Even more, it seems that sex is quite possibly the one thing that men and women have in common that is often misunderstood – a need for intimacy without the fear of rejection.
I’m not married so I can’t even begin to understand what happens between couples after the rings are placed on fingers and the “I Do’s” are uttered, however, it doesn’t take a Sex Therapist to tell you that when it comes to intimacy our world is f*$*K’d up – literally.
So you married people, this book seems to be a challenge to all of you out there to step it up and as the author of the book says repeatedly, “It’s not a book about sex, it’s a book about marriage.”
As far as “The Gift” is concerned, I am sure that while we’d all like to chuckle and jab, in the end it is obvious that all of us could probably learn a thing or two from Charla and Brad.
I walked out to the mailbox on a Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. and found my copy of Gut Check stuffed snugly between my mortgage payment and my car payment. It is now 7:27 p.m. as I write this and I have already finished reading this book. It is 191 pages of some of the most useful information I have ever read. Pretty high billing? Maybe, maybe not. I’m an avid reader but my tastes normally stay in the realm of fiction. I like Koontz, Patterson, Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, but it is rare that I pick up a “Motivational” or “Business Success” book and read it in one sitting.
While reading this book I did not stop to go to the bathroom, did not stop to eat, or check my BlackBerry for new emails – I could not put it down.
Tarek Saab immediately caught my attention by being very transparent about his years in college. He edits the language by say “S___” and “F—” so you get the full truth of the message without the crudeness. He speaks openly about the introduction of pornography into the college world in the 1990′s and the corruption that it has caused.
This book, unlike many books marketed to the masses, is simple black and white. You know where Tarek stands in his beliefs. He believes in God and makes it clear that happiness in the corporate life is not about making money and success, it is about doing what you do, whether you love it or not, to do it with love.
One of my favorite parts of the book is makes a brief outline of the man he wants to be:
The man I want to be is…
- Prays, recognizing that his duty is to God first above all things.
- Is articulate, communicating his thoughts and opinions intelligently and respectfully.
- Respects women, directly, through honorable discourse and chaste living, and indirectly by his thoughts.
- Defends the innocent, especially children and unborn life.
- Is not addicted – whether to alcohol, pornography, or entertainment, and therefore truly free.
- Is healthy, actively maintaining physical fitness and proper diet.
- Holds convictions supported by reason and truth.
- Is courageous, unafraid to defend truth in all circumstances.
- Educates himself, not for the sake of accumulating factual knowledge, but for the advancement of wisdom.
- Works hard, acknowledging that time is a gift to be used wisely.
- Sacrifices his needs for the sake of others.
- Is humble, possessing and honesty that doesn’t tolerate deception, and gratitude without envy.
No matter what your beliefs you can read through that list and see that it is an admirable, albeit somewhat controversial, set of goals.
Throughout the book there are numerous quotes from G.K. Chesterton, Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine and passages of scripture that are extremely poignant and while written years ago are still relative today.
I saw Tarek speak just shortly after his appearance on The Apprentice. I went to hear him speak with very low expectations because The Apprentice had made Tarek appear cocky and arrogant. What I found was just the opposite. Humble and forthright, I listened to a man who didn’t stand up in front of an audience and talk about himself and his accomplishments, but instead shared real life experiences that were humbling. When I left the auditorium I felt elated and motivated to go out and work hard and to do my best, not to make more money, but because it was the right thing to do.
I put this book on the Corporate Study Guide list of links (right sidebar) because those books are “must-read” books for being successful not just in the business world, but in this corporate world known as “Life”. You can purchase the book on Amazon.com or at www.buygutcheck.com
I’m reading True Evil by Greg Iles and his protagonist uses this phrase to describe a lab that is full of primates that he plans to set on fire. I’d never heard of Bosch so I Googled him. His pictures depict images of sin and hell, I’ve never seen anything like them.
I am a fan of Greg Iles because he explores so many subjects in his novels. This particular novel goes into great detail about biological warfare and how America could one day be in a war against China, which is fast becoming a superpower like no other. So many of the scenarios in this book seem more likely than global warming. They are theories and postulations, but they are good ones.
I love a book that teaches me stuff and this is one that I can’t put down!
When I first read the title of this book I thought it was going to be about people who were discontent with their faith, it isn’t. It is a book about people who were unsettled by what they saw around them and they decided to do something about it. People like Mother Teresa who walked to school every day and passed homeless families on the streets. She couldn’t stand it, so she did something about it.
As I read the book I felt motivated, but this book is like many others in that it is just a book with a lot of great information. We can read books until our eyesight dims and we need glasses, but knowledge without action is about as good as a car without gas.
Personal Vision… what exactly is that? I look around and I don’t see many people with personal vision. Most people don’t even make small short time goals much less have a vision that is outside the scope of their wants and needs. I see people like Oprah, Bill Gates, Mark Cuban, Ross Perot, Steve Jobs – those people have vision, but what about vision that has nothing to do with personal gain and is only focused on helping the people around you for the glory of Christ?Â
Give this book a try if you want to have your eyes opened to the way people have changed the world because of a little Holy Discontent.
Hybels book is available at Amazon.com.
It is strange reading a Christian book written by someone who was born and raised in India. Why is this weird to me? I don’t know, I guess it is just that most of the non-fiction Christian books I read are written by someone who was born here and knows our culture but very little about other cultures. It’s nice to read Mr. Zazharias’ points of view on Christianity.
What is “The Grand Weaver” about? The subtitle reads: How God Shapes Us Through the Events of Our Lives. However, every chapter of the book is titled with this “Your _______ Matters” – fill in the blank with words like Spirituality, Worship, Morality and even DNA. The book like many non-fiction books did not immediately grab me, but as I read I started to see that this book is more about motivating people to do God’s work than it is about the grand cloth that God is weaving out of our lives. Sure that remains the common theme, but the book could have just as easily been calling “What You Do For God Matters” or any number of inspirational titles.
I like this book because it actually does a lot of teaching about other religions. In the chapter titled “Your Morality Matters” Zacharias points out that Buddha and Muhammed built their religion around the basis that morality precedes redemption, then later points out that with Christianity it is the other way around. Christians are redeemed by God, not as a result of works, it is here the Christianity remains “distinct and definitively different”. (p.83)
There are times when I question my faith, we should, we should never stop seeking the truth, but there are some things you have to take on faith. Ravi Zacharias’ book The Grand Weaver is a definite “must read” for any Christian or non-Christian that wants to understand more about God and his plan for your life.