I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers where he brings up the idea of practicing something for 10,000 hours, and now I can’t stop thinking about the possibilities of practicing something for 10,000 hours. This theory, from what I understand, suggest that if one deliberately practices something for 10,000 hours, they will reach a…
Fear. Don't give it your dignity, self-respect, and integrity.
I’ve been working through the different writing classes on Master Class, each taught by a different author. I’ve finished three of the authors’ classes and am working on my fourth. Initially I planned on just taking Malcolm Gladwell’s class. Of all the authors available to learn from on Master Class, his genre and style of…
What I Know For Sure
I have a habit (I won’t label it as good or bad) of buying books. I know I can check them out from the library, and sometimes I do. It would make sense to at least check it out from the library first to see if I like it enough to buy it. But I…
Farewell for a time
Three or four years ago I wrote a book titled The Christian Doormat. It’s a book where I explored and talked about the conflicting views around being meek, patient, forgiving, humble, and turning the other cheek. To often choosing to be a “good Christian” is confused with accepting imprisonment as a doormat. After all, is…
The Hobbit
The majority of the books we have read in our book group have been books that force you to confront hard realities, books that strip away the naive belief that we live in a fairy tale world, books that are like an older brother who tells you the truth about Santa when you are only…
Circumstances
People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. People who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them. Quoted in John Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, 15th edition, ed. I read those…
My Writing Compost Heap
It was the author Neil Gaiman on Masterclass who introduced the idea of a writer’s compost to me. In order to get better at sometime you have to spend time doing that thing. I just makes sense. If I want to be a better swimmer, I have to get in the water and swim. If…
Poisonwood Bible
When we finally reached the Redwoods after hours of driving, my kids were sound asleep in the back of the car. My husband offered to stay in the car first. So I put on my running shoes and took off. It felt good to run after being in the car all day. To feel the…
Is it Honorable to be Obedient and Loyal?
What does it mean to be obedient and loyal? What does it mean to defer and submit? Is it always virtuous to be obedient, loyal? Is it ever virtuous to defer and submit? After ordering his sailors in the longboat to all follow the mate’s order, and to do nothing without his consent, Harris called…
Blink
“A small miracle happened…they saw her for who she truly was.” That’s perhaps the best sentence to understand the power of this book. In reviewing this book, allow me again to quote from this thought provoking book: “The first task of Blink is to convince you of a simple fact: decisions made very quickly can…
Split Second
Before we proceed with some of our actions we have time to evaluate and weigh out the options in an effort to make the best decision for the specific situation before we act. And then other moments we have but a split second to react. It was Sunday evening, four days after Christmas, around 5…
