Book review: How to live like a King’s Kid by Harold Hill

I am on a roll!

Here is stolen blurb from anywhere that sells the book :

King’s Kids live in the natural world, but they enjoy heavenly rule. Best selling author, Harold Hill, shares the updated “How to Book of the Century”. Learn how to succeed, how to stop smoking, how to be happy in traffic, how to sidestep lawsuits and how to forgive.

My thoughts :

I’ve read this book before, so it was familair the second time around.  It was very quick and easy to read as each chapter is a testimony to what God has done in a different area of his life.

Being totally honest, initially I found it to be too light and fluffy with not enough depth or long beard-strokey words, but then after reflection, I was convicted on the arrogance in my heart – of course the book isn’t deep, it’s one mans story of his walk with Christ, not a hefty theological tome, nor a set of apologetic answers to the ills of society.  And really, that is right, Christianity, being a follower of Jesus, is simple ;  love God with all your heart, mind, body and soul, and love your neighbour as you love yourself.  Out of this comes faithful obedience, boldness to declare truth and a child-like leaning on our. Heavenly Father.

If you’re used to reading weighty books by Puritans or long deceased theologians, then you will whizz through this quickly but I’m sure it will challenge you to check your heart and your relationship with the Father – essentially, are you acting like a child of the King?

First sentence | Last sentence :

Three days before Christmas, I was in an air plane coming back from an assignment at the space tracking station on Coopers Island, Bermuda. | live like a King’s kid.  in the here and now.

In a nutshell :

This book shows that Christianity is and should be simple, and that keeping it simple can be incredibly rewarding.

Score :

4/5

MrTheKidd

Did you find this review helpful? Leave a comment and let me know!

Same Same but Different

Those of you who are fortunate enough to have been to Thailand, or know of someone who’s been, will be very aware of the catchphrase ‘Same same, but different’  It refers to the counterfeit industry, but is also a profound statement.

I live in a culture that is obsessed with equality.  That is fine, I believe that all people are equal as we are all made in Gods image, but where culture is going wrong is that it is trying to apply sameness where the Bible tells us that while we are equal, we have differences.

To keep things current, take gay marriage.  The government is currently looking at ways to redefine the legal boundaries of marriage so that couples of the same gender can also be called legally married.  Homosexual relationships are different to heterosexual relationships, so should they be treated the same? (I’ve expressed my views here, so if you want to address that, please do so with that post)

Take another example.  The NSS recently wrote to the Scouts complaining that because you have to profess a faith that it is excluding those who don’t believe.  The Scouts say that it is open to people of all faiths/races/cultures.  The NSS want an option for those with no faith.  What they are saying is that it isn’t equally inclusive, therefore it is unfair.

Even the Gospel has the juxtaposition of inclusiveness v exclusiveness.  Jesus said that all are welcome into Heaven (inclusive), but to get there you have to go through him (exclusive)

I’m all for equality – don’t read me wrong, but we do need boundaries and rules for inclusion, otherwise, like my favourite mug says, you will be unique, just like everyone else.

To be a premiership footballer you have to possess extraordinary skill on the pitch, to be a politician you have to be elected and ideally of upstanding character, to get into university you have to have good grades and can prove you’ll work hard.  Do these rules for inclusion make it unfair for those who don’t play football or wear a drab suit or go to uni?  No, they are there because a minimum requirement is essential for the individual and the organisation, to maintian a standard.  It is totally fair.

If secularists had it their way, there would be total equality in all things, and to take it to it’s logical conclusion, we’d all be totally equal with no allowances for our differences, we’d be one step closer to being Cybermen – all the same with no personality, no discernable differences, no longer unique. Celebrity culture would disappear (not necessarily a bad thing), no award ceremonies, no recognition of special achievement or difference at all.  No Olympics, no Oscars, no exams, just blanket equality.  Fun times.

But the reality is that we are different, yet we are also equal.  And we know that deep in our heart.  A great racing driver isn’t better than a master carpenter.  A CEO isn’t better than a housewife.  The Prime Minister isn’t better than a road sweeper.  They are all different.  Equal and different.  And this is fair.

One example that I know of personally of equality being taken too far is one friend (white) saying to another (black), “I don’t see you as black, I just see you as Harry*” meaning that the difference of race wasn’t a boundary to her, to the point that she didn’t see his race anymore. He remarked that while he understood the sentiment, he was still black.  It is part of his identity, his race informs his cultural heritage and views on certain things.  They are equal, but different.

By all means promote equality, but having rules and boundaries is good, good for a safe and happy society and good for self worth and identity.

The sooner that westerrn culture can accept that we are different, and that it is okay to be different, the sooner that true equality will come.  Some people are fast runners, some excel at maths, others are very nimble of finger with crafts or can write beutiful poetry as to make even the hardest heart cry.

All are different.

All are equal.

This is okay.

What do you think? Have I got it wrong?

MrTheKidd
*name changed for my protection

Related articles (a nice range of views I feel – always best to get a balanced set of opinions)

• What I think about: the redefinition of marriage (www.mrthekidd.wordpress.com)
• Christian Group Shows Up To Chicago Gay Pride Holding Apologetic Signs (http://www.practikel.com) {In no way do it endorse any comments on this post, nor do they reflect my beliefs – the post itself however, is something I whole-heartedly agree with and do advocate.  I am not responsible for external links etc etc}
• The F-word (www.whiskymouth.wordpress.com)
• Question: Christians, Same-Sex Marriage, and Active Faith (jdylanparker.wordpress.com)
• Equality. (jordieshaw.wordpress.com)

Running for Ged Clarke

Last year I ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon for Christian Aid as a personal challenge, it being the furthest distance I’d ever run. I made it harder by insisting on doing it naked of foot. The race was a great experience and I raised plenty of cash money to help some of the world’s poorest people.  I also grew my beard big and bushy, then shaved it off into a neat moustache.  I don’t do things by halves.

Well, I’m doing it again.

This year I shall be running barefoot again but this time the motivation is entirely different. This year I shall run in memory of someone I’ve never met, but inspired many, one Mr Ged Clarke, the man who sadly died of a massive heart attack moments after crossing the finish line of the Reading Half Marathon. I followed him on twitter (@12pmclub) and found he was always encouraging people to leave the desk at lunch time and get outside, even if it was for a 10 minute stroll. Nver one to complain or talk down to people, he always put a positive spin on everything and inspired many people, myself included. As soon as I heard of his tragic death, I immediately felt that I needed to do something in response. Fortunately, another follower and friend of his was ahead of me and set up a website in memory and encouraged people to join up to team 12pmclub to raise money for The British Heart Foundation, something encouraged by his wife instead of flowers to family etc.

So that’s where I jump in. I’ve joined the team and signed up to run in memory of an inspirational man in aid of a great charity.

I’ll also be joined on the day by my good friends Sophie and Bex, who are running for Christian Aid and Breast Cancer Care/Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research respectively.

Race day is Sunday 7^th October and training begins on Monday 16^th April (training plan below)

I’d appreciate any support, be it £1, a shout out/retweet/reblog, prayer, cheering on the day, or even being Freshly Pressed (hint hint)

You can sponser me using the details below:

As last time, I’ll post my training progress here to keep you in the loop and for accountability.

Go Team!

MrTheKidd

Related articles

• Tributes paid to Reading runner Ged Clarke – BBC News (bbc.co.uk)
• Support Sophie
• Support Bex

Book review: Deliver us From Evil by Ravi Zacharias

Another book read, another review to follow…

Here is stolen blurb from anywhere that sells the book :

In this compelling volume, Ravi Zacharias examines the mystery of evil. This brilliant writer and gifted teacher traces how secularization has led to a loss of shame, pluralization has led to a loss of reason, and privatization has led to a loss of meaning.

My thoughts :

This book was really hard to put down as I found it to be written so well.  It is more than a presentation of apologetics, its pages are woven with historical fact, current affairs, personal stories and a cry of the heart.  Ravi plainly paints a picture of current Post Modern Western thinking and explains how we got here and exactly why it is killing us from within.  As a man who has travelled internationally for many years, and is actually a foreigner in his home land (born Indian, Canadian resident) he has a unique perspective.

The book methodically moves from the Enlightenment, to Modernism to Post-Modernism with relevant stories from his own life or news items placed to highlight the fallout of the type of thinking.

It is a bit heavy with the language, but he simply explains such terms as pluralism and autonomy and uses the famed logic of the more vocal New Atheists to follow thought patterns through to their natural conclusion.

A part that stands out in my mind was a story about the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park.  The Exhibition was a showcase of the glory of the British Empire in both conquest and technological might.  One exhibit was a train that laid its own track, which whilst it was a marvel of technology and ingenuity, was also very illustrative of the time ; the train tracks had no solid foundation and so were only as strong as the rails, in the same way, current thinking of the time rested on reason and logic that had no baseline to refer back to, only self.

Reading it was definitely an education, and it is a book I’d go back to again.

First sentence | Last sentence :

“There is an ancient Eastern parable instructively titled ‘The Wealth Is Nearer Than You Think.’” | “But that may be only a veneer for the real battle, that of the heart”

In a nutshell :

If you insist that there are many ways in life and that morality is based on personal values and rights rather than a baseline moral code, then you can’t cry out agaist evil as it is only evil in your sight, according to your personal morality. This is the logical and reasoned conclusion of secularism. But this doesn’t sit right deep within and needs addressing, and quickly, before it’s to late.

Score :

4/5

MrTheKidd

Did you find this review helpful? Leave a comment and let me know!

To find out more about Ravi Zacharias, visit his website at www.rzim.org or follow on twitter @RaviZacharias

Blue Plaques – BP1~BP3

So the hunt has started and numbers BP1 ~ 3 are on display.

The Honourable Henry Cavendish lived to the ripe old age of 79, which was pretty good going back then, and was according to the plaque a Natural Philosopher with a privileged background. He was a British scientist noted for his discovery of hydrogen or what he called “inflammable air”. He described the density of inflammable air, which formed water on combustion, in a 1766 paper “On Factitious Airs”. Antoine Lavoisier later reproduced Cavendish’s experiment and gave the element its name. Cavendish is also known for the Cavendish experiment, his measurement of the Earth’s density, and early research into electricity.

Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett was the leader of the women suffrage movement for 50 years and constantly faced male opposition to the political rights for women. By the time of her retirement in 1919, the suffrage union had been renamed the National Union for Equal Citizenship and the Representation of the People Act was passed. In 1928 British women received the ability to vote on a basis of full equality with men.

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood not only sounds like some kind of folk band, but were rather outlandish as they dared to defy the artistic conventions of the day by trying to
reform art by rejecting what they considered to be the mechanistic approach first adopted by the Mannerist artists who succeeded Raphael and Michelangelo. They believed that the Classical poses and elegant compositions of Raphael in particular had been a corrupting influence on the academic teaching of art. Hence the name “Pre-Raphaelite”. In particular, they objected to the influence of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the founder of the English Royal Academy of Arts. They called him “Sir Sloshua”, believing that his broad technique was a sloppy and formulaic form of academic Mannerism. In contrast, they wanted to return to the abundant detail, intense colours, and complex compositions of Quattrocento Italian and Flemish art.

That’s enough knowledge for 1 day.

MrTheKidd

(this information has been shamelessly poached from online sources)

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