Why Smart People Do Stupid Things With Money - Bert Whitehead

**** Peter: Great book - outlines lots of things to consider, and suggests a clear investment strategy that seems well-balanced. Full of interesting facts and little quizzes to help you understand your goals. Recommended!

**** Julie: Great read - even the most prepared will learn something new about planning for retirement. This book has a conservative approach to planning for the future with the goal of preparing you for most foreseeable scenarios while leaving you flexible to deal with the unknown. It focuses on grappling with the things you can control instead of those things you can't control.

A Quest For More - Paul David Tripp

****
Can't believe I forgot to post about this one. Probably one of the best books I've read this past year (also a interns reunion book night book). Very convicting and applicable. Pete especially liked it so I'll let him tell you more :)

Peter: Wow, one of my favorite books this year! The quote which summarizes the book: "We were never meant to be self-focused little kings ruling miniscule little kingdoms with a population of one." He rides around on this horse for the rest of the book, asking whether our actions show that we're focused on the little-kingdom or big-kingdom. These questions really struck a chord with me, because I see so clearly how often my life is little-kingdom centered.

The Prodigal God - Timothy Keller

****
This was a Interns Reunion Book Night book. Pete and I read it out loud to one another while on vacation this spring. We had some really great discussions. Keller has a lot of fresh perspectives to bring to the story of the Prodigal Son - his controversial sounding title basically resolves into a statement of how extraordinary it is that God behaves with such reckless extravagance towards us lost sinners. Would recommend this one highly.

Peter: Keller has a gift. Hearing him preach in NY was a treat, and I'm glad that he maintains a strong connection with his audience via printed word too. In unpacking the Prodigal Son story, he presents a few fresh insights (how the elder son gets less inheritance once the younger son is re-admitted to the family, etc), but two points stood out to me:
1) Tim Keller has a real heart for reaching the "younger brother" types of people. He awakens a desire in me to also reach out, by being more accepting of my fellow man, and major on the majors & minor on the minors. I too often act the part of the elder brother.
2) Jesus is the perfect elder brother, by giving up everything and sharing his inheritance with us, the returned prodigal.

Long Journey Home - Os Guinness

**
This was a Chad Book Night book. An enjoyable read. Might be good to give to "truely" seeking friends as well. If you've read much at all about worldviews this book holds nothing new for you, but it was full of great quotes and a good refresher course in the major world religions and what makes Christianity different.

On Becoming Baby Wise - Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam

***
Same basic advice as Baby Whisperer for sleeping patterns. Seems like they offer a balanced approach. I disagreed with their thoughts on circumcision and immunizations, but otherwise generally liked their perspective - though the edition I read was "updated" in 2001. Maybe there is a more current version with the latest studies. We'll see how it all works out for us :)

Don't Make Me Count to Three! - Ginger Plowman

***
This is the missing companion to Tedd Tripp's book. Very practical and I really enjoy how she uses scripture in discipline, but wonder how that will look in the day to day. I don't want my kid's to associate the Bible with punishment! I guess its all in balance and making sure that is a small percentage of their exposure. I would love to hear what others thought of this book -especially if they have "out of the womb" kids to practice the techniques on!

Living the Cross Centered Life - C.J. Mahaney

***
Pete and I both liked this book. It was a timely challenge to refocus on the cross and the gospel message. While we really enjoyed the message of the book we both found that we don't resonate with Mahaney's style as much as with other christian authors we've been reading since. Still definitely worth the time and as long as you can read it to yourself at a faster pace (Pete and I were reading it aloud to one another) the ease of the text shouldn't drag so much - lots of stories ahead :)

Shepherding a Child's Heart - Tedd Tripp

****
Really like this book. I had previously read the first edition and listened to the talks available online. Same great material. Very biblical approach, gives you a good foundation. Would be helpful to have a larger practical advice section but it would be a lot to cover in one book. Should be interesting to see the rubber hit the road on this one for us - more prayer needed!

Your Baby's First Year - Steven P Shelov Editor

***
A good "Baby for Dummies". I definitely qualify in the dummy category. This has all the basic - though not in too much depth. And tons of medical information - be afraid be very afraid of all the things that can possibly be wrong with/ happen to your baby. But it is helpful to have some general categories to put different symptoms in and know which ones we really should freak right down to the emergency room with :) It was quite an effort to make it through this small "font-ed" 600+ page tome however. Blessings to those to attempt it.

Grace Based Parenting - Dr. Tim Kimmel

***
I thought this book had a lot of good advice and exhortations to be appropriately real and open with your kids. Humility and unconditional love are themes along with just generally not being to uptight. Mostly a "doctrine" of parenting a little light on the practical working out of the doctrine but still I though a worthwhile read.

The Weekend Estate Planning Kit - Douglas E. Godbe

***
I used this book to put together a living trust for Pete and I - which I now need to update with Baby info. We even had a "real lawyer" look over the documents that they had us put together and they seemed to think it would be sufficient. We haven't actually gone through the (supposedly torturous) process of funding the estate by transferring our assets but the book did have a spill over will that allows you to will all assets to the estate - which will be a catch all just in case something happens before the rest goes through. The material is dry (as you would expect) but I felt like it gave a good overview of how the process works and what your options are. They CD that comes with it has template documents that you customize for your situation. It was about a weekends work to put together.

Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way - Susan McCutcheon

****
Pete and I both really like this book. It was totally helpful to read it along side taking our Bradley class. I felt like I learned so much about the birthing process, my body's anatomy and alternative ways of handling labor. Many of the assumptions of the book are outdated as the medical community has realized some things needed to change - PTL fewer episiotomies! But I think it's a worth while read. We'll see how the pain management suggestions work out - again uncharted waters.

Secrets of the Baby Whisperer - Tracy Hogg

***
I was recommended this book by my good friend Kendel who loved the schedule that she put together for baby sleeping. In fact we spent a fair bit of time trying to find the special schedule before we bought the book... this is all we could come up with, it's actually a transition from the 3 hour cycle to the 4 hour cycle:


I really liked her approach for most of the baby care - though the few times she mentioned discipline issues I realized I will not be purchasing any books she writes on toddler training. This is all in the theoretical for us right now the proof will be in the pudding come June/July :)

Climate Confusion - Roy W. Spencer

****
I must read if you are at all skeptical about the whole "global warming" thing that seems to have recently been elevated to our only absolute truth in a world of relativism. Don't get me wrong - I'm all about green - see my worm compost bin out back, my victory garden out front. I just think our stewardship might be slightly misdirected in some areas and a lot more profitable in others. This guy agrees with me. And as a bonus I learned a lot about how our weather systems work - and what exactly is and isn't reasonable for scientists to predict.

You haven't read any books since 2008 ?!?!?

hmm I seem to be behind on my "book reports" I'll be making an effort to catch myself up - unfortunately I can't remember when I finished most of these books so the dates will probably be wildly inaccurate pre-dating... hopefully this will prevent me from any unnecessary re-reading and dissipate into the cloud what I though of various books so I can look them up in a pinch before/during my next attempt at an intellectual conversation.