2024 Ends 2025 Begins: Books!

 Briefly, which I know is a strange word for me, I'd like to touch on reading for the previous year and make some recommendations for the coming year. Yes, I also know it's too late for you to start a daily reader tomorrow if you do not already own it. Unless, of course, you've got a Kindle or Nook and make the digital order.

First, this year I've read these three as daily devotional and growth reads:

Jesus Every Day by Mary DeMuth. This was an easy read, moving through the Bible in a year, and guiding me with some prayer suggestions. I liked it as the introductory moment for my daily devotional time, it helped me tune my brain in the right direction. I won't immediately read it again, but it goes on the list for another year later on.

My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. A classic in the devotional field, I read again my copy that I've had since 1996. This was my second year reading through it daily, so it will get set aside for this coming year as I usually do this in two-year bursts. For example, I read it daily in 2020 and 2021, then again 2023 and 2024. Written by Gertrude Hobbs Chambers from Oswald Chamber's sermons and spiritual talks that she had taken down in shorthand, this is a good, challenging read. It's available in both "Classic" and "Modern" language editions, I've got the "Modern" and recommend it, but the "Classic" is not that hard.

The Daily Dad by Ryan Holiday. At this point, we diverge from Christian teaching and read some philosophical mediations. Some of Holiday's thoughts are drawn from Scripture, most are centered on very practical thoughts and illustrated from history. Holiday's personal beliefs run more toward a modernized version of Stoicism (the real philosophy, not the "don't have emotions" nonsense), so at times he is just a bit not-right from a Biblical perspective. Still, there is enough value here to make it worth reading. I've given this as a gift to new parents.

Other books that I've wrapped up this year will be addressed at other times--these were the page a day.

Now, starting this year:

Every Day for Everyone: 365 Devotions from Genesis to Revelation by N.T. Wright and John Goldingay. As you can guess by now, I'm a fan of things that work through the whole Bible in a year. Next year, I will probably redo a read through the whole Bible plan, but for this year, I'm doing more time on less text. So this one will start off my days. Wright and Golindgay are both from a different Christian tradition than I am, but that will keep me challenged.

The Daily Pressfield by....Steven Pressfield. This one is more motivational than spiritual, but I'm looking forward to it. Pressfield is one of my favorite authors, despite wishing some of his vocabulary choices were different. I've got it on Kindle, so that will be digital reading.

In the "not a book" category, I get Seth Godin's daily email which I think is worth your time. It's not something I read in my daily devotional time, because I try to do the devotional work before I fire up the digital world. It's early in the workday, though.

Beyond that, we'll look at some of the various books for spiritual and personal growth as I read them!

Have a great new year celebration.

Oh, and this year will be the next Pearls Before Swine page-a-day calendar because we all need to laugh.

Sermon Recap for December 29 2024

 Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You’ll also find the embedded YouTube videos of each sermon.

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/DougHibbardPodcast

Audible Link is https://www.audible.com/podcast/Doug-Hibbard-Sermons-and-Thoughts/B08JJND2RP  https://bit.ly/3WnLNR2

Spotify is here: https://doughibbard.libsyn.com/spotify

The video is linked on my personal YouTube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

The audio player will connect you to all the weeks that I haven't posted. Then you'll find videos for our entire Christmas/Advent series.

Sermon Extension: Joy

 This past Sunday, the focus of the sermon was on JOY! I wanted us to start off the Advent season looking at embracing the glad tidings of great joy that the birth of Jesus is for all people. I think it's one of the major things that we miss out on--of course, there is another part of the issue that I didn't get deeply into during the sermon.

I did touch on the idea that joy, being a fruit of the Spirit, is much like regular fruit: it takes time to cultivate and grow it. That means that we're probably better off to work all through the year to cultivate joy and not just wait until Christmas to try and find space for joy. It's not the answer most of us want: we want joy right now like we want patience yesterday! but the truth is, growth takes time. 

Now, as with all motivational talk, remember this point: the best time to start was back then, the next best time is right now. After all, you don't want to wait another year to start, right?

Some additional:

A book I just finished, which I did lean on for this sermon, was Alastair Sterne's Longing for Joy  which was recently published by IVPress. I've read another work by Sterne, Rhythms for Life, and have enjoyed his writing style. He's much more of a creative type of person than I am, which fits since he's worked in creative career fields before entering paid ministry. 

I would highly endorse this particular book.

Books

 This week, I do not have a specific book to recommend to you. Instead, I want to highlight a couple of thoughts about books:

1. You should buy books.

2. You should read books.

There we go.

Oh, you want more details? 

First, you should buy books. I'm a big advocate of e-Readers, especially dedicated e-readers like the Amazon Kindle (or the Kobo, etc.,). We've had Kindles here since the Kindle Keyboard/Kindle 3, which was 2010, I believe. There are times those are just perfect: most of our fiction buys we make these days are on Kindle. This cuts down on shelf space and on move headaches.

Some we still get in hardcopy, and most of our non-fiction we get in hardcopy. Also, most of the children's books we have (like Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She was Extinct by Mo Willems) are in hardcover. 

Why? Mainly because it's much easier to just pick up a regular book and read it. You can casually grab one, spend a few minutes, then move on. When you have kids in your home, you want them to be able to do this. You also want kids to know that it's a good adult habit as well: reading is a good thing. (I also have kid-friendly books in my office for the same reason: to encourage reading.)

It's also easier to read a book and stay focused than it is to read on an app. I know dedicated e-readers don't have some of those distractions, so it's quite the same, but if you have a book in your hand, it's obvious you've got a book in your hand. And you aren't doing much else, like also tracking stock prices and weather reports. 

And these days, another reason to get the printed version of the book is that you can't change it once you have it. That may leave you with an error-riddled tome in your hands, but also means you have the knowledge at-hand even if someone makes changes to the servers that feed your connected books. As an aside, you also are far better off with books printed in countries with a "freedom of the press" mindset. Many books are printed in countries where even exported material has to pass government approval. A history of the People's Republic of China approved in Beijing could look very different than one printed in Wyoming.

It's true that the World Book Encyclopedia on the shelf behind me is marginally out-of-date in some areas. But you can't erase the entries, either.

There's also nothing like coming across an older book, leafing through it to see what it contains. 

Now, the other advice: you should read books.

Books stretch your attention span. Books expand your horizons. Books are a key to unlock ideas and places you've never seen or been. They aren't just for show. They're for learning.

And that may mean you wear out the good ones. Go ahead and have some spares!

Sermon Recap: Advent 2024 Sermon: Joy December 1 2024

 Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You’ll also find the embedded YouTube videos of each sermon.

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/DougHibbardPodcast

Audible Link is https://www.audible.com/podcast/Doug-Hibbard-Sermons-and-Thoughts/B08JJND2RP  https://bit.ly/3WnLNR2

Spotify is here: https://doughibbard.libsyn.com/spotify

The video is linked on my personal YouTube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

I would also recommend this series on "What is Advent?" as you have the opportunity! (Despite my deep-seated distrust of anything with a favorable reference to Dickens' Great Expectations. His best work was A Tale of Two Cities, then it went downhill, guest appearances on Doctor Who notwithstanding.)

Book: The Kobayashi Maru

 

Today's book is nothing serious, but I thought I would go ahead and hoist the Sci-Fi Nerd Flag. As with most TV shows and movies with long-term popularity, Star Trek has a good number of books that tie with the characters. This is true for all of the varied Star Trek series. These are usually from different authors, and therefore they vary in quality. Sometimes wildly.

But, the Star Trek fans I hang about with mentioned this book about the legendary Kobayashi Maru and how some of the other, non-Kirk characters addressed the challenge. 

So, today, let's look at a book you can read in an afternoon, especially if you're a Trekkie who doesn't need to dwell on the picturesque depictions of space.

The Kobayashi Maru (Star Trek: The Original Series Book 47) by Julia Ecklar is available on Kindle or paperback, I went Kindle because it's easier to move one Kindle full of novels than one shelf.

You will get the background information on what the Kobayashi Maru is and then see how Chekov, Scotty, and Sulu addressed the challenge. You will also get references to how Kirk addressed it, but if you've seen the best Trek movie, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, then you already know. Remember, he does not like to lose.

Now, is this is a book of deep meaning? No, it is not. It's a fun read with the expected "fixed it all at the last minute no matter how impossible" that is typical of the genre. After all, you didn't start failing in Sci-Fi until the Galactica reboot this century.

So why bother?

It's fun. That's why. Remember that life has plenty of serious, and if you are working hard to take seriously those things which are serious, it's fair to take a break. Sometimes, we run too hard because we see no stop point between "I'm doing great" and "I'm broken down and must stop everything to recover." Instead, grab a simple book about being trapped in a shuttle craft with no hope of survival.

It will do you good. 

Sermon Recap for November 17 2024

 Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You’ll also find the embedded YouTube videos of each sermon.

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/DougHibbardPodcast

Audible Link is https://www.audible.com/podcast/Doug-Hibbard-Sermons-and-Thoughts/B08JJND2RP  https://bit.ly/3WnLNR2

Spotify is here: https://doughibbard.libsyn.com/spotify

The video is linked on my personal YouTube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons