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Book Review – Leadership Promises For Every Day by John C. Maxwell

Leadership Promises For Every DayJohn Maxwell has released a new daily devotional for leaders, called Leadership Promises For Every Day. While a lot of the daily entries are from the Maxwell Leadership Bible, among other resources Maxwell has written, calling this a devotional is a bit of a stretch. It’s more of a daily leadership thought.

That said, it’s still a pretty good resource. I have had this on my desk for several weeks now, and have utilized it almost every day, reading the thought for the day. It always gives some concise bit of leadership wisdom for me to consider, and usually summarizes a more detailed and complex thought from one of Maxwell’s books.

The drawback to this is the fact that I have read most of Maxwell’s other works, so this is just restating what I have already read, most of the time. The reminder is great, but I would prefer something new and fresh sometimes too.

The book is bound in a nice leather-like cover, and the pages are very well designed. This would be a great gift for a student of leadership, whether in ministry or in the workplace. The daily thoughts are brief and to the point, and the size is sufficient for a desk or a drawer, or even a backpack or a bag.

While not the best resource out there for daily leadership material, this is still a handy book to have, and I have enjoyed using it. I look forward to whatever new nuggets of leadership wisdom it may bring.

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Coffee Break – 02.06.2017

Your Monday Dose Of Inspiration

On this day in history: In 1911, the 40th president of the United States, and former movie star, the “Great Communicator,” Ronald Reagan was born in Tampico, a small town in northwestern Illinois. In 1926, the National Football League adopted a rule that made players ineligible for competition until their college class graduated. And in 1932, dog sled racing happened for the first time in Olympic competition.

Coffee Break

First Wave Coffee – Coffee comes in waves. Seriously. There is first wave coffee, second wave and third wave. Over the next three weeks I’ll share an article about each wave, giving some excellent history of coffee and how we view it.

The World’s Longest Trail – I enjoy hiking. I have some goals of trails I’d like to see, and even complete. But the world’s longest trail is expected to be complete later this year. It’s called The Great Trail, and it stretches across Canada.

10 Ways To Create More Margin In Your Time – We all want that extra edge when it comes to getting things done. Up earlier, work later, multi-task, we try it all. But in doing so, we often make life more difficult. It’s really simple. These ten things are where you should start.

Fukushima – This video is composed of still images, brought to life and set to music. It’s hauntingly eerie, and yet beautiful and captivating.

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Peter 3:3-4

Hiding God’s Word In Our Hearts

Peter continues his instructions on submission in marriage,and sets some standards for beauty that are both amazing and controversial. This is true in our culture, and was likely true in his as well.  You can see his standards in 1 Peter 3:3-4.

1 Peter 3:3-4

Peter is in the middle of his third area of submission, the area of marriage. Beginning with wives (he will address husbands shortly), he gives some standards about beauty, and how wives should strive for it. It’s helpful to note, that while this is applicable to all women, it is in the context of a passage specifically addressed to believing wives. Often, in our culture, when someone disagrees with this passage, they are coming from a different point of view than those to whom Peter is writing.

Peter equates beauty with modesty it seems,and does so much like Isaiah did a few centuries earlier, in Isaiah 3:16-24. Paul states something similar in 1 Timothy 2:9-10 as well. In our culture of exposure, many disagree with this. Their words are worth listening to and following, but at the same time, they should not be taken out of context either. Many mistakenly believe that Peter, along with Paul and Isaiah, are advocating the elimination of all outer adornment. But that is not the case; rather it means overly extravagant or ostentatious adornment.

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Coffee Break – 01.30.2017

Your Monday Dose Of Inspiration

On this day in history: In 1649, England’s King Charles I was beheaded. In 1798, the first brawl in the U.S. House of Representatives took place. Congressmen Matthew Lyon and Roger Griswold fought on the House floor. In 1847, the town of Yerba Buena was renamed San Francisco. And in 1933, The Lone Ranger was heard on radio for the first time. The program ran for 2,956 episodes and ended in 1955.

Coffee Break

The Best Coffee Roasters In All 50 States – Considering the source, I would take this with a grain of salt. However, it does feature a list of some pretty good coffees to try in my V60.

Inside the Budapest Escape Room That Started the Worldwide Craze – Hungarians seem to be super good at solving puzzles, from Rubik’s Cubes to escape rooms. This is an insightful look into the mindset of a nation captivated with solving puzzles.

Why We Love To Read – This is a true statement for me. I love to read. But I have never stopped to ask why. This was a very intriguing article form that perspective.

Lost In Light – The pure night sky is something we hardly ever see, due to the amount of light pollution we generate. This is a very fun video to watch. Full screen it and enjoy.

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Peter 3:1-2

Hiding God’s Word In Our Hearts

As 1 Peter moves into what we have identified as the third chapter of this letter, he addresses the third category in which he calls us to be submissive. First, he spoke of submission to the ruling authorities. Next, he addressed submission as slaves. And now he looks at submission within the context of marriage.

Take a look at this passage for yourself in 1 Peter 3:1-2.

1 Peter 3:1-2

In Peter’s instructions concerning marriage, he looks at the role of both partners, the husband and the wife, and encourages both in the area of submission to one another. He addresses the wife first of all.

In our modern, egalitarian culture, we have come to believe that men and women are equal in every aspect of life. Our culture states that there are no differences between men and women, husbands and wives, regardless of context. And when it comes to marriage, almost every trace of male authority, or headship in the home, is being systematically erased.

However, Peter’s instructions concerning submission within marriage create a bit of a problem with that view. Peter sees obvious differences between the two genders, and addresses each one differently. And first of all, he encourages Christian women to be submissive to their husbands. Peter’s remarks here about headship in the home have largely been rejected in our society as being archaic and no longer culturally relevant. But just because a culture has rejected an idea does not make it right. Peter’s words here are still as relevant to our culture as they were to the culture in which he wrote amost two thousand years ago.

Peter begins this section with a command for wives to be submissive to their husbands. This may have been a direct address to a common problem in Peter’s day, just as it is in our own, of a lack of submission to one another, especially in such an intimate relationship as a marriage. But what is worth noting here is that this is not a blanket statement of Peter stating wives in general should be submissive to husbands in general. He makes it very personal when he states that wives should be submissive to their own husbands.