Monday, September 28, 2015

It's Not About Perfect

"It's Not About Perfect" by Shannon Miller

Shannon Miller was an American Gymnast who competed in two Olympics.  She started gymnastics when she was very young and was competing at a very early age.  She had an amazing drive to accomplish her dreams and the discipline to back them up.  She was always willing to do one more situp, one more routine.  She had a loving family that believed in her and was willing to sacrifice for her dreams to be acheived.  She also had a faith that carried her through hard times.  She is a very accomplished gymnast and an inspiration to many.  She has also inspired others with her good attitude in battling cancer.  The book shows Shannon's passion for life and her drive to make the best out of every situation.  

Every Day I Fight

"Every Day I Fight" by Stuart Scott

Stuart Scott was a ESPN sportscaster who boldly battled cancer.  He has two girls whom he did everything for, they were his whole world.  He left a legacy of being thankful, following your dreams, never backing down, fighting for what you believe in, being honest, and always being real.  "That sense of surprise, that inablility to process the fact of a dad who was as conscientious as a mom-it's a sad commentary on what our culture expects from fathers."  Despite his very public and busy career, Stuart always made time for his girls and was often traveling with them.  Today our society expects a lot less from fathers and in turn is getting a lot less.  "Is there any feeling on earth better than what you feel when you watch your kid triumph at something?"  No matter what fame Stuart experienced his greatest acheivement was his two girls.  "That's something cancer does for you: It smacks you in the face with instant persepctive."  Facing death will give you persepctive and that's exactly what happened to Stuart.  You figure out pretty quickly what is really important, the people you love.  I enjoyed the honesty of the book and the battle to fight cancer.  It was an inside look at a person of fame and his character behind all that he did and accomplished.  

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Born To Run

"Born To Run" by Christopher McDougall

If you love to run, or want to run, or even hate to run, you should read this book.  The book is tells the story of how we were made to run, born to run.  The book tells about a fascinating tribe in Mexico that run long distances for fun in sandals, skirts and blouses.  The book questions if our running shoes are what are really causing all the injuries to our bodies.  The author is witty and humorous yet manages to educate at the same time.  It was truly fascinating to learn about this lost tribe.  The book also tells of a great race between this tribe and a group of Americans.  I wanted to get out and run while reading this book.  It brought a new sense of excitement to running for me and taught me some things about running correctly.  Although the book did talk some about evolution, I disregarded that part as I know who created me and all of us.  For me it just confirmed what an intentional, amazingly creative God we have.  "That was the real secret of the Tarahumara: they'd never forgotten what it felt like to love running.  They remembered that running was mankind's first fine art, our original act of inspired creation."  I highly recommend this book if you want to learn more about running and how we were all born to run.