This is a great book that will open your eyes and move you towards God. Not only will you be inspired to see all the beauty around you but your soul will transform and embrace the beauty within you. Two other spiritual books that will have the same effect on you are The Butterfly by Jay Singh and The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo. Free your soul.

Having read several leadership books as an Air Force Officer and seminary student, I can honestly say that this is the best book on the subject I have ever read! Blackabay's fluent writing style is consistent with his other titles, notably "Experiencing God" and "The Power of the Call". At the very beginning Blackaby differentiates between worldly leadership and spiritual leadership.

Throughout the book Blackaby describes his own leadership experiences and includes interesting stories of famous leaders (Truman, Reagan, Churchill, Thatcher, Napoleon, and Iacocca). As a minister, Blackaby also draws upon several examples from the Bible (Moses, Abraham, Joshua, David, Paul, etc.) and how they prospered and struggled in their God-called responsibilities.

Particularly compelling were the descriptions of: the 3 types of worthy and misguided goals, how a leader influences, time wasters, pitfalls of leadership, having God's affirmation, God's ways are different from the world's ways, improving decision-making, taking time for rest, and relying on the Holy Spirit/prayer/God's Word/wise counsel to make and stick with hard decisions.

Whenever I read a book I like to list on the inside front covers the page number and synopsis of a particularly interesting point or thought for easy reference. When I finished reading this gem the entire inside front cover was chock full of notes! Needless to say, this text will be referred to several times in the future.

Everyone will greatly benefit from this book: the Christian believer will gain great encouragement to lead from a biblical viewpoint while the non-Christian will be encouraged to consider life from the Christian point-of-view. With the failures the world has recently seen in religious and secular leadership, Blackaby's text is a timely arrival. His book is a welcomed relief from the rah-rah-rah motivational hype of other "leadership" books.

I recommend anyone in a leadership role (and everyone is a leader in some way) to buy the book, get a pen/pencil to take notes with, and learn how to become a better leader!!!!!

This work by Richard and Henry Blackaby is the absolute best book on leadership I have read. Having recently graduated with a doctorate in evangelism and church growth, and possessing a passion for reading pastoral material, I have read numerous books on leadership. All of them pale in comparison to this volume.

The authors focus upon a leader's relationship with God as the key to effective leadership. From this relationship flow a leader's vision, goals, influence, and decision-making. All of the basic leadership principles are covered in this book, but they are addressed from the perspective of one's relationship with God. This perspective is what makes this work so unique and so valuable.

I strongly recommend this book to all pastors, church leaders and even to Christian leaders in secular organizations as a "must read." Before reading the volumes of material available from Maxwell, Schaller and other noted leadership authors, try this one! It will transform the way you view leadership as a Christian.

We all need food for physical life and spiritual food for a vigorous spritual life. A daily portion of "Experencing God Day-By-Day" will help feed that soul-life as few devotional books can. The Blackaby father-and-son team know the scriptures well and give great insight and illumination of them to those who delve into this volume. The applications for life made on each page will compel you to ponder the truths from the Bible. I have been blessed in reading it, I pray you will be, too.

Truely God-inspired writings. The book begins each day with a quote from the Bible, explains the quote, then shows how each of us can apply this to our everyday lives. The practical material is most touching and insightful.

My church family read My Utmost for His Hightest corporately for 1999. I decided for 2000 to buy everyone another devotional that we could read corporately. I chose Experiencing God Day-by-Day. It was a major blessing. Personally and corporately we are experiencing God day-by-day. As I journal I write love letters to God. I feel I have drawn a little closer to God before I close that book. This devotional causes you to look within and come clean with God.

There is a way - sometimes not what we expect. Why is it we turn to God as only a "last resort"?! This book is so practical and fresh. It should be very helpful - and hopeful - to all of us who lose our way from time to time. A great thought-provoking book.

Tired of trying to make your own way? This book is for you. Dr. Cloud points to the fact that, ultmately, God is in control. Yeilding to His perfect will is simply an act of responsible Christianity. I also recommend | THE PRAYER OF HANNAH | by Kenn Gividen

Finally a book that teaches the difference between wanting something more and getting something more. Very clear explanation on how to forgive but not be a doormat. A must read!

This is book along with the correlating Bible texts can change your life. The insightfulness of this book is precise and on the mark. I am living proof to what Blackaby writes, because my life was spared by God from a plane crash, now I serve Him as a pastor.

I have heard God's voice calling me. It is through this that I was very intrigued by the first sentence on the back of this book; "Anyone who has ever been called by the voice of God or touched by His hand is eager to know and understand His will for their life." That was, and is me.

If you are looking for a very practical book to build and strengthen your daily walk with Jesus, this is an excellent book. Having gone through all the things that the author writes, about I can testify that this book is exactly how God uses a person whom He has called.

If you are honestly seeking to be used by God, you will be richly blessed by read this book.

If you are at all familiar with Blackaby's work, you will want to read this book.

I have used the earlier workbook version of this book with two different study groups. The first group was college and military men. The second was with high school students. The book adapted well to both groups even though it is targeted to an older audience.

Blackaby hits key men's topic issues in a thought provoking way. He forces the reader to encounter key issues of integrity and character and challenges you to address those issues in your own life.

This book is critical reading for any man seeking to follow God's will in his life.

The new book by both Blackaby's (Father and Son) is one of the best instructional texts for authentic manhood. This text takes a man from his initial walk with HIM to a far greater and meaningful experience. Blackaby also has a leaders set that I'm currently using with a group of more than 60 men starting next week. (Our first group to use the material was 6.)

I encourage all Christian men to spend seven weeks with the Word and guidance from Blackaby. Of course this is a must for all of us Men's Ministry Leaders. God Bless All

This books title sums up the story inside. Every Marine's story in this book carries a similar thread. They were scared as hell in combat but never regretted joining the core. Mr. Berry, (a WWII Marine himself, which is probaly the reason they opened up so much to him) brings a personnal story from every Marine battle during the war. The confusion and deprivation of Guadalcanal, the bloodbath of Tarawa, the Japanese suicidal frenzy of Saipan, the slaughter of Peleliu and Iwo Jima up to the conclusion at Okinawa. it is all here death, disease, and destruction. All first hand accounts told by tough Marines. It is amazing any of them survived, yet 75 of them share there memories here in short personnal histories. The only problem with the book is the length, but many did not survive to particiapte. But they are remembered here.

I really liked it's snapshot format of battles all across the Pacific. I even found out that the Confederate flag was used by several Marine units instead of Ol Glory; as a Southerner that made me even happier.

Henry Berry's 'Semper Fi, Mac" is an oral history of the Marine Corps in the Pacific in World War II. Berry interviewed about 75 Marines who had fought in some of the toughest battles and places in the Pacific. There is a rough chronological order to the interviews but most of the stories start on or about Dec. 7, 1941. The stories most of the men tell start with either this date or shortly before, coupled with with some background material, their training, the trip to the Pacific, and then their personal experiences in combat. There is misery and death, heroism and tragedy, but overall a sense of comradeship comes from every story. Berry sprinkles his work with humorous tidbits of Marine history and stories about famous Marines, such as Chesty Puller, the only Marine to win five Navy Crosses. Also there are sections on Marine lingo and a brief historical synopsis of the Marines' Pacific battles. Berry himself was in the Marines near the end of the war and gives a proper perspective of all events and personalities. But this book is about the men who fought and died on such places as Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Guam, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Its their book, their story, their history, and it should never be forgotten.

In 1989, my baby brother committed suicide. It has been said that, "Death is Final!" Death by Suicide never ends for the survivors. I have a wonderful friend, who gave me Silent Grief. It was a constant friend, which walked me through some very heartbreaking times. It is like a friend who holds your hand and lets you know that it is always there, and you are not alone. The way the book is presented is a great help. People are different and need different support. Once you read it, you can pick it up and zero in on the areas that can be of more help to you as an individual. With the help of this book, I've realized that even though the haunting of Clyde's death will be forever with me, life does go on and the pain eases. Thank you to the author for such a great contribution to our world.

This is a thorough work on suicide and it's aftermath. It is clear,concise,comforting. Full of help for the family and friends;highly recommended.

In December my 43 yr. old Mother comitted suicide. Words cannot describe the shock, guilt and loss one feels. I certainly know that I have never felt anything that painful. I don't have any siblings so it fell on me to make all of the arrangements and to try to somehow sort this out. This book explained everything I was feeling was 'okay' and 'normal' from the sleep loss to the nightmares to the guilt I feel every single day. It continuously helps me feel not so alone. The hardest part is that due to the nature of my Mom's death I am very hesitant to talk about it which does, in my opinion, limit the greiving process. I looked for books about this topic at my local bookstores and couldn't find much, KUDOS to Amazon.com for having such a wide selection and to the author for providing insight and comfort in my time of need. I recommend this book as a must read for survivor's of suicide.

Excellent book to use before you build a house! Deeply explores ancient principles of Feng Shui and how it relates to the geography around your residence. Not for the casual Feng Shui practitioner. Find out the best area to build your home, the best room layout, and the best site to locate a business. Essential guide for anyone who needs to improve his or her life or business

This is a fantastic book! It brings out the true story of feng shui the first time in English. Now I realize that true feng shui involves much more than furniture arrangement and mirror placing and what you have, and that why so many people have failed to benefit from feng shui when they assume that they understand feng shui. At best, they just see the surface of feng shui, while the truth story of feng shui is hidden in this book.

Teresa of Avila was a carmelite nun who wrote this book as a means to guide the nuns in her convent onto the path of holiness, not for their own sake but for love of God.

Accordingly, much of what is written applies strictly to the setting of the convent. However, the spiritual values expressed are timeless. The Saint extols ascetical poverty. While we in the world cannot, or do not, practice ascetical poverty we can derive the spirit behind the vow - that of detachment from things that do not lead us to Christ.

The hallmark of this work, however, is the several chapters written on the Our Father. St. Teresa explains the perfection in Our Lord's Prayer and its message to, and demands upon, all of us Christians.

There is immeasurable value in this. This book fills up the soul.

OK, let's say you have made a beginning on the way of prayer, and you have been looking for good sources to read. You have heard a lot about St. Teresa of Avila. After all, she was one of the first women ever named a Doctor (in the Latin meaning of "teacher") of the Church. But lo and behold, you have found her Life puzzling and The Interior Castle just about impossible to understand.
Then this is the place to start. Yes, Teresa was writing 400 and more years ago, and her audience was cloistered contemplative nuns. But this was written almost like a letter. The personal tone gives it great charm and readability. Very little of it is hard to understand, and almost all of it can be applied to our lives here and now.
My only difficulty with Peers' translation is the huge number of footnotes. They would be invaluable to a scholar, but I can never keep myself from looking at them, and they are not really necessary or even helpful when your desire is to learn the spiritual wisdom of one of our greatest saints. I love her and love this book, and highly recommend it.

review by Janet Knori, author of Awakening in God

St. Teresa of Avila lived nearly four hundred years ago. Her work, The Way of Perfection, comes very soon after the completion of her autobiography. The way of which she speaks is a life of prayer. The book is addressed to the nuns of whom she is prioress. It is mainly intended for their use, but it is riddled with introspective knowledge on a prayer-filled relationship with God. This book is undoubtedly a work deeply rooted in Catholicism. However, Teresa's own intimate relationship with the Father is one to be marveled by all Christians. She begins her work by laying out the requirements to begin a prayerful life: aesthetic poverty, perfect love, and self-mortification. She follows with a discussion on the contemplative life and vocal and mental prayer. She meticulously dissects the Lord's Prayer and gives her nuns guidance in praying through the Paternoster. She intends to do the same with the Ave Maria but reconciles to let it alone for lack of space.

There are two versions of The Way of Perfection: the Escorial version and the Valladolid version. The Escorial version was written first and is directed uniquely toward the nuns of Avila. The edition above comes from the Valladolid text. It is a more formal manuscript intended for a larger audience. The translator and editor E. Allison Peers does a wonderful job of footnoting the differences between the two versions and inserting italicized sections from the Escorial text. The reader is given a feel for both versions in one book. It can be tiresome to constantly refer to footnotes, but a straight read-through is very enjoyable. It is nice to know the footnotes are there for any academic study. Teresa often meanders from her main point and talks at length about issues that her writing leads her to discuss. At first it may seem annoying that her focus is not always succinct, but her conversational tone greatly attests to the intimacy she has with her fellow nuns and with God. In all, The Way of Perfection is a pleasant and inspiring read.

Janowitz provides a good resource with this book, which provides an overview of possible conditions that affect the lower intestinal tract. This book is not just for someone with a chronic condition, although irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, and diverticulitis are covered. Janowitz also has excellent chapters on coping with the occasional food poisoning episode or traveler's diarrhea. His overview of the functioning of the intestinal tract is one the best I've come across in all my resources. As with most intestinal subjects, Janowitz doesn't have a lot of answers - more coping information - but he does seek to present diet and medical therapies for each condition. He does not spend enough time on alternative therapies or the various nutritional concerns that accompany lower GI problems. A good read and possibly a purchase if you suffer from one or more of the problems outlined.

I have been researching for answers to my personal intestinal problems for 4 years. This is one of my best resources. Easily understood. Everytime I go back to it, I learn something new. Helps fill in the blanks that the doctors don't explain aswell as give reasons for questions to ask your Doctor.

I use this book often, since like many Crohn's sufferers, I also deal with a broad spectrum of intestinal problems. In very clear and understandable language, Dr. Janowitz, a GI at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, and the author of Indigestion and Good Foods for Bad Stomachs provides information on the symptoms and causes of an array of intestinal problems, including IBS, Crohn's & UC, diarrhea, constipation, rectal bleeding, colon cancer, food allergies, intestinal gas and more. He describes the latest tests and procedures (ie. colonoscopies, barium x-rays), medications, and surgical treatments and the risks each carry. This is one of my most used reference books on IBD and other problems, probably because he provides a lot of medical wisdom mixed with good common sense. On Thrive@Health's list of recommended reading for IBD

It has a clear and simple explanation of Love from the Christian perspective that is too often clouded or forgotten through the politics of our world today. Read it for inspiration or to improve your expression of love.

I have always been told that faith is the greatest thing a Christian can have. I have read 1 Corinthians 13 many times before, put I just thought of it as poetic. I never realized it tells us plainly LOVE is greater than faith and hope. Without love our faith and our hope is worthless junk. This book is an easy read, and short, but full of insight and intelligence. It gives the reader a new perspective on the greatest thing a Christian can have; LOVE

By the time I had read this book, I'd already read countless books and essays on religion and truth and love. This book offered me something extra - and opened my eyes to a wonderful new truth - mainly this - that love is enough.

Never having been trained in the social graces, I always felt like a bit of a clutz in social settings such as dinner parties and even simple get-togethers.

Drummond makes the point that if you have love - if you can feel and express love - you have it all. So instead of focusing on which fork to use for the shrimp and salad, I started focusing on how much God loved me and everyone around me.

And that little simple truth enabled me to feel more at ease in every circumstance and in every situation.

Drummond's book is about grace, love, truth, Universal spiritual laws - it's got it all. From little things (like social graces) to big things (like loving our fellow man - irrespective of his lot in life) this book will change your life.

This should be required reading for everyone.