Book Description
Including practical advice and a list of accommodations for each day’s stage, this guide covers the increasingly popular Portugese Route.
Customer Reviews:
San Miguel Says............2007-06-27
Very thorough review if the Portugues Way. Will test it's accuracy next Spring.The French Way is much more frequented and pilgrim's catered for, so a good guide for this less popular walk is essential. John Brierley's work 'A Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino Portugues' will be my bible for the journey.
Superb -- this is all you need!.......2006-06-20
I used this book and the similar Fisterra book for my pilgrimage in April 2006. They are both superb. I followed Brierley's suggestions pretty much to the letter. The book contains excruciating details as well as a longer and spiritual view.
I think of the book as a personal gift to each of us pilgrims. Brierley obviously loves his work and the Camino. He kept me on track, put me to bed early and awake early when it was important, encouraged me to appreciate the wonderful people and sights along the camino. He offers history lessons, lists of practicalities, maps and directions. This book is all you need!
Excellent guide, colored maps, trail profiles, photos, accomodation guide.......2006-02-08
This guide follows the format of Brierley's Camino Frances guide: very pleasing to look at: glossy paper, colored photos almost every page, multicolor maps and trail profiles, parts of text set off by shading. It has the information the walker needs, where the alburgues are, how many beds, alternate choices. There is an introductory section with introduction, overview, followed by planning and preparation information. The main body of the guide follows, organized in 11 stages where each stage corresponds to a typical day's travel. Each stage has a map and a trail profile.
The planning section is very useful - detailed equipment list, travel info, essential phrases in Spanish and Portuguese and a short history of the Camino
.
This guide also makes a serious effort to address the spiritual or inner path side of the journey. In addition to the map and profile, each stage begins with three paragraphs - the Physical Path - a narrative overview of the day's walk, the Mystic Path - to awaken you to the spiritual potential of the day's walk, and Personal Reflections - a quotation from the author's reflections. In each stage there is a page with blank lines for the walker to write in their own reflections. The mystic path, and blank reflections page didn't work for me, but that is personal preference.
For me, the colored maps, elevation profiles and photos are the strong points of the book.
The Camino facilities change from year to year, and inevitably publications will have typos and errors of fact. Do future pilgrims a favor by emailing the publication's website if you find errors in the text.
a faithful walking companion........2005-07-11
As a frequent Camino walker, I have used many guide books. This book on the Portuguese Way from Porto to Santiago is a total "must" for a succesful pilgrimage.
The maps for each stage are clear, possible detours are included.
Also for each stage, contour outlines are given and the distances are adjusted for height.
Accomodations and restaurants are listed with phone numbers .
Description of each stage is broken down to "The Pratical Path, "The Mystical Path" and "Personal Reflections" Some might be skeptical about the last two but it adds an emotional factor to the walk, something I have not yet seen in any other guide.
Photo's are plenty. over 200 photos. The author suggest not to bring a camera because the photo's you need are already in the book. It saves weight......
With all the suggestions for planning of your trip, this guide will keep you on the right track.
Best guide I've seen.......2005-06-29
The "Camino Portugues" has managed to provide the most integrated and concise travel guide that I've ever come across (and I've used plenty). It manages to provide a complete picture of this lesser known pilgrimage route with an easy to follow step by step process complete with pictures and colorful maps. It loads up on all of this practical information and somehow doesn't become sterile. It's a great read as part of your pre-travel preperation. There are even places that I'm using for additional notes (reserved as "reflections" for those that want to use it as a summary journal).
There are no other updated English guides for this Camino, and as it turns out, with this book, you don't need any. It's the complete package.
Book Description
An intellectual dialogue of the highest plane achieved in America, the correspondence between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson spanned half a century and embraced government, philosophy, religion, quotidiana, and family griefs and joys. First meeting as delegates to the Continental Congress in 1775, they initiated correspondence in 1777, negotiated jointly as ministers in Europe in the 1780s, and served the early Republic—each, ultimately, in its highest office. At Jefferson's defeat of Adams for the presidency in 1800, they became estranged, and the correspondence lapses from 1801 to 1812, then is renewed until the death of both in 1826, fifty years to the day after the Declaration of Independence.
Lester J. Cappon's edition, first published in 1959 in two volumes, provides the complete correspondence between these two men and includes the correspondence between Abigail Adams and Jefferson. Many of these letters have been published in no other modern edition, nor does any other edition devote itself exclusively to the exchange between Jefferson and the Adamses. Introduction, headnotes, and footnotes inform the reader without interrupting the speakers. This reissue of The Adams-Jefferson Letters in a one-volume unabridged edition brings to a broader audience one of the monuments of American scholarship and, to quote C. Vann Woodward, 'a major treasure of national literature.'
Customer Reviews:
Meet John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.......2007-09-22
Out second and third presidents began their political career as friends, fell out, and then fortunately became friends again. In this wonderful collection of personal letters we see not only the men but the times until their deaths July 4, 1826. One of our most beloved presidents and most mis-understood are brought into reality by this collection. They were after all both remarkable men and human beings.
Throw Away the Text Books.......2006-11-10
Throw Away the texbooks. As others have said this is our Real History and Heritage. There is more to be found here on Ethics and Intergrity than in any of the pogressively vaporous decriptions of these men and their times. Imagine the chief architects of the Great Experiment in Representstve Democracy. Adversaries at the Constitutional Congress; ememies over the the transition from Adam's Presidency to Jefferson's. And then THESE! Conciliation and repect and eventually true affection - The founding fathers in thier own words - asessing what they had wrought - the good, the bad, the ugly - all passsed through that wondeful 18-19th Century Prose. Throw away the text books. Integrity was the founding principle of Taoism; Ethics the founding princple of Socratic/Platonic discouse. Adams and Jefferson knew this. Many Americans are waking up astounded by the lack of these two foundational elements in our modern system of governance. There is more to be learn of governance,literature and critical thinking on any page than there is in an entire high-school(and most college) curricula. Jefferson and Adams are stirring, stirring - and this can only be a Good Thing.
Just what I was hoping for.......2006-11-03
This collection of historic dialogue is just what I was looking for. The simply and powerfully reprints the letters between Adams, the older more conservative thought leader for a nation, and Jefferson, the quiet country Gentleman who gave voice to that nation. This chronilogical collection of letters bring to life the common bond that brought together and then sustained these two giants; the love of well formed thoughts and learning. The addition of the Abigal to Jefferson letters adds a deeply spiritual and personal tough. A great tool for understanding the thoughts and arguments behind the norming and forming of the United States.
Not just for historians.......2006-02-01
I have a hard time reading straightforward history. Usually, I would rather read fictionalized or storified versions of history. This is my first effort at reading original sources like letters of historical figures. So it was with real trepidation that I started reading.
It has been so worth it! The words and ideas of these two great men (and one great woman) are really interesting. The ideas that they discussed and fought over resonate into today's political discussions. What makes it all so much more interesting is the falling out that they had and the eventual reconcilliation.
Still, if you are like me, there are times when you may want to skim just a little. There is only so much reading about the commerce of the New England Whale Oil that I can take. Ride through it though...the good sections are very good and sometimes mixed into the dull sections.
The Adams-Jefferson Letters.......2002-10-25
The Adams-Jefferson Letters: The Complete Correspondence Between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams edited by Lester J. Cappon is a remarkable book containing letter correspondence of the time when the United States was being formed and for fifty more years.
It is very interesting to read their letters to find out what really was on their minds concerning issues of the day. Americana at its best is what you come away with after reading these letters. The letters are in chronological order and are placed in order of response to the letter sent. Thomas Jefferson was a very prolific letter writer and the subjects the he discussed with John Adams vary greatly, but that is what made these letters very interesting. Also, the depth and the detail of the letters is remarkable.
Abigail Adams for a woman of her time was well versed and her letters to both Jefferson and her husband showed character, wit, and resolve. She was well aware of what was going on around her and you could tell by her letters that she loved her husband while he was away in the duty of his country.
This collection of letters is a real treasure, if you read or study the American Revolution, you have to own this book. This makes an excellent reference volume to fall back on when you get to the footnotes and want a more detailed reference, you can with these letters readily at hand.
I would recommend this volume for your home library.
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Boxman: A Professional Thief's Journey
William J Chambliss
Manufacturer: Backinprint.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Criminals
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ASIN: 0595322425 |
Book Description
From stealing bikes at the age of ten to cracking safes in banks and supermarkets, Harry King's life was lived in the criminal underworld. His understanding and insights into this world give us unique insights into the making of a professional thief and the world he inhabits.
Book Description
This superb book of the Fox Terrier was first published in London 1889 and even today remains a classic book of the breed. First editions are very rare, expensive, and much sought after. VINTAGE DOG BOOKS have now republished it, using the original text and the splendid illustrations by the famous dog artist Arthur Wardle. Rawdon Lee was a celebrated author of several important dog books and was Kennel Editor of "The Field." The books one hundred and fifty seven pages contain seven detailed chapters on:- Old Writers on Terriers. - History and Origins. - Terrier Values. - Early Shows. - Famous Dogs. - Ear Dropping and Other Malpractices. - Kennels. - Scale of Points. - Working and Training. - Wire-haired Fox Terriers. - Yorkshire and Devonshire Strains. - Rev. John Russell's Terriers. - Breeding and Rearing. - Preparing for Shows. - List of Clubs. Etc. This is a fascinating read for any Terrier enthusiast or historian of the breed, but also contains much information that is still useful and practical today. Many of the earliest dog breed books, particularly those dating back to the 1900's and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. VINTAGE DOG BOOKS are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
Book Description
John Murphy's sock creations have been featured in such publications as the Washington Post and Readymade magazine. Crafters with a sense of humor, a taste for the weird, wacky, and way-out, and a hunger for the outrageous will find themselves captured by this wildly creative menagerie of sock monsters.
Possessed of irresistible charm, these creatures offer all the inspiration anyone needs to transform cast-off socks into wickedly funny toys. There's Claude with his perplexed expression and tiny tail that stands at full attention. Jordan's always on the prowl; he's got three eyes, so nothing escapes him. And there's something really odd about Estelle. Maybe it's her silly conical head balanced precariously on four tiny feet--or perhaps it's just that she's always sticking out her bright red tongue. Great instructions and charming illustrations make it easy to bring these unique personalities to life. A Selection of the Crafters Choice Book Club.
Customer Reviews:
Great fun for adults with basic sewing skills!.......2007-08-27
This book is very entertaining. I made my first "creature" in an evening. The price of the book is worth the entertainment provided by just looking at the photos of John Murphy's creatures, and reading where they now live and what their interests are. He is a very creative person. If you sew and need a boost for quirky creative ideas, this could be the book for you!
Not for young kids!.......2007-07-03
Don't be fooled; you may THINK "sock creatures" would be a nice family project, but the directions are extremely complicated, and there was no way my daughters, 5 and 7, could participate at all, except maybe choosing the socks! The diagrams are elaborate, and if you aren't already "crafty" they are tough to understand: five different stitches, complex patterns for cutting, etc. So if you have sewing experience and a lot of a certain kind of sock, knock yourself out, but don't even THINK about this kit as "fun for the whole family!"
Very smart creatures!.......2007-05-18
It's good that the instructions are so clear. These creatures are funny and endearing ...and sometimes a little spooky: just the thing for an artist in other media to enjoy constructing. These pieces and the ones inspired to appear in my own mind are tip toeing on the edge of serious sculpture with a giggle. Bravo!
Like being a kid again -- only with more unadulterated silliness!!.......2007-05-13
I look at this book and the "rogues gallery" whenever I need a really good, no holds barred, belly laugh. Such a fun book....I'm still collecting great socks and have yet to make my first silly sock creature, but give me time and I'll have a rogues gallery of my own ;)
Great book!.......2007-03-09
It's a great book. Very detailed and step-by-step directions. My son and I have fun using it!
Book Description
Let the editors from Rodale Organic Gardening- the world's leading authority on organic techniques-- show you how to choose the right perennials for your site, use perennials to accent your gardens and landscapes, fight pests, and provide the best care to create beautiful flowerbeds without using chemicals.
Customer Reviews:
Exactly What I Needed!.......2000-04-14
This gardening book is exactly what the beginning gardener needs to plan their garden. It is beautifully illustrated, with photos of each type of perennial, and detailed descriptions of each. The information provided is extremely helpful, since it includes ideal climate, growing guidelines, height and spread.
I found myself browsing through this book for hours reading about the different plants that were appealing to my eye. Armed with this book, I can now go to my local garden center and select exactly what I want instead of wandering around for hours not knowing what to choose for my yard! I highly recommend this book to any gardener, beginner or not, who wants a good reference guide to perennials. Happy gardening!
Book Description
Parents with school-aged children will find in this volume the help they need to create an unstressful learning environment in the home and motivate their youngsters to succeed in school.
Customer Reviews:
Good way to let your children take charge of their schoolwork, as they should.......2005-12-23
I like this book for the way it gives you several options to try if your child is having homework completion issues. Talk them over with your child before using them. There are several blank forms that you can reproduce at the end of the book, including a "Do Not Disturb" sign, or you can find forms on the internet, or even make up your own. There are several good tips on good study habits and how to plan out long-range projects such as reports.
There is a trend with the schools now where they want the parent to check off that this or that has been done, and many schools are requiring "official" student planners. I feel that planners and other aids are fine and actually useful for some students, but for other students and their parents, they can be an unnecessary annoyance, and as a parent, unless there is a problem with the *real* schoolwork being done, tell the teacher that as a good parent, you are not going to be micromanaging.
I think this book, with its concrete "how-to" approach is a great fit with the John Rosemond book, "Ending the Homework Hassle--which has excellent arguments for why parents should NOT micromanage that you can enlighten your child's teacher with.
I looked at the copyright page here on Amazon, and it does not appear to have been revised any since the original pubication date of 1987, so buying used is just fine too.
No Fluff, the Right Stuff.......2005-10-24
I was recommended this book so to help us with our daughter and our constant fighting over homework. I'm normally skeptical about books that are to help you raise your kids, but I was at the end of my rope and thought what the heck! The book is an overnight read that really helped! It tells you how to structure study time, what to say and what not to say to your child by giving examples of conversations that you swear are right from your house. And the best part is that it tells you exactly what to do to help you create a better study time based on your childs attitude toward homework/school.
Excellent advise!.......2004-10-21
This book is worth its weight in gold! I was struggling to get my 8 year-old son to do his homework, and then I found help in this book. It's quick and easy to read, and full of useful suggestions and positive plans to teach your child healthy homework habits. The authors teach that praise and assertive communication are effective tools to motivate your child. They also stress the importance of communication with your child's teacher. Because of the authors' advise, my son now has a dedicated homework area (a desk in his room), and a mandatory homework routine (homework is finished before any TV or video games). The results are that he gets his homework done on time, and with good quality, or he loses privileges for things he enjoys. And guess what? It works. I highly recommend this book for any parent who's tired of the nightly homework battle.
Tearful parent.......2001-08-02
This book was informational, but stuff I'd pretty much tried. However, it is a good book (I sold it to a friend) great for the 2nd or 3rd grade parent that is getting is first taste of frustration.
An excellent guide for parents that is very practical........1998-05-19
As a teacher and parent of three, I found Homework Without Tears to be an excellent book on the subject. The problems most often encountered with children on this topic ("forgetting", not doing their best, refusing to do assignments, etc. are each dealt with individually in a systematic way. The book is very clear in stating the importance of homework in learning responsibility, and that parents must stand firm no matter the age of their children. Consequences are also discussed. Includes helpful charts/checklists.
Average customer rating:
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HOMEWORK WITHOUT TEARS
Manufacturer: Harper & Row
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000ICPFZA |
Average customer rating:
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Harriet Hosmer American Sculptor, 1830-1908
Dolly Sherwood
Manufacturer: University of Missouri Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
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Women in Art
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Artists, Architects & Photographers
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ASIN: 0826207669 |
Book Description
Through personal anecdotes and careful examination of Scripture, Carolyn McCulley challenges single women to regard their singleness not as a burden, but as a gift from God that allows them to perform a unique role in the body of Christ.
âThis book is one of the most biblical, substantive, and helpful resources I am aware of on this topic. Carolyn gives single women a map to help them discover God’s purpose, mission, and calling for their lives. Her writing is engaging, practical, thought-provoking, and refreshingly transparent. I am confident that every woman who reads this book will be greatly blessed, challenged, and encouraged.â
âNancy Leigh DeMoss, author, host of
Revive Our Hearts Radio
âWe have nothing but superlatives for Carolyn McCulley and this book. Its biblical content and timely wisdom are fully supported by her compelling personal example. These honest and hope-filled pages will encourage countless single women to trust God and embrace His wise plan for their lives.â
âC. J. Mahaney, Senior Pastor, Covenant Life Church, and Carolyn Mahaney, author of
Feminine Appeal
âCarolyn McCulley has written a remarkable book, biblically saturated and Christ-exalting. Her words are wise, encouraging, personal, and much needed. I highly recommend it.â
âRandy Alcorn, author, founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries
âCarolyn McCulley has a gift for the body of Christ. This is a warm, tender, gracious, and God-centered challenge to singles to live a rich and abundant life for His glory. Carolyn understands the issues, and she faces them head-on. Her transparency and vulnerability as a fellow single adult make this a book that singles will connect with.â
âBob Lepine, Co-Host, FamilyLife Today
Customer Reviews:
Hard-Hitting (and Practical) Theology for Single Women and Those Who Counsel Them.......2007-07-26
I recently finished reading a book on singleness. It's not the kind of book that I'm usually drawn to. I read hard-hitting theology, meaty fiction or compelling non-fiction. I particularly avoid this genre because experience has taught me that I roll my eyes approximately three times per page (I suppose that shows my own degree of sanctification ... but I digress).
Historically, I find myself thinking that these books are written by women who are trying to convince themselves that they're okay. I could summarize them as: "I'm okay. I'm Okay. I'm OKAY, right? Okay? Anyone? Anyone?"
Carolyn McCulley is different in "Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye? Trusting God with a Hope Deferred" (title is courtesy of her pastor, Josh Harris). She is not a single woman in search of identity and meaning; she is a woman whose identity and meaning are rooted in Christ ... and her situation happens to be "single." As I said, I usually avoid these books, but I actually sought this one out after reading an article about beauty and later learning that it was an excerpt from this book.
Carolyn McCulley examines the single life in biblical categories that transcend the "single Christian woman" genre and that show that the whole of Scripture speaks to me, as a daughter of God who happens to be single at this stage of my life. And so the book slides back into a genre that's more comfortable for me: hard-hitting (but imminently practical) theology.
As hard-hitting theology, McCulley makes five points that I consider for essential for every identity=Christian-situation=single woman out there. I'm working on internalizing this list:
1. Trusting God with a hope deferred.
2. Contentment while we wait.
3. Faithfulness to sow for the future, even when we're in tears.
4. Graciousness to rejoice when others receive what we would like to have.
5. Humility to pray to be a blessing, rather than to receive a blessing.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. I've already recommended this book generously (I'm sure there are a few people who are sick of hearing me talk about it; good thing I've finished it!) -- I think it's essential reading for every Christian-woman-whose-situation-is-singleness, and also for people who are in a position to counsel or encourage single people (e.g. there's a humorous list of things NOT to say to single women at weddings).
Here are a few more brief reasons why I recommend this book so highly:
* She is Gospel and Christ-centered. what Christ accomplished through his life, death and resurrection has a direct impact on the way I live my life as a single woman. She tells us how and models it in a humble and humorous way.
* She emphasizes the sovereignty and the goodness of God in our singleness. Remember: these two characteristics of God go hand-in-hand! I think single people are particuarly susceptible to believing the world's lies about relationships -- especially less-than-subtle hints to "broaden our horizons" and then we'll find a man. Carolyn reminds us that the Lord of heaven and earth is our horizon ... how much broader can you get?!!!
* But while encouraging trust, she does not encourage apathy. She deftly, honestly and biblically maneuvers through the "singleness as a gift" passage by the New Testament's second most prominent single guy (Jesus being the first): the Apostle Paul. Your singleness is a gift TO THE CHURCH, not something akin to a birthday gift that you can trade in for a better color if the original doesn't really suit you. Singleness is a call to wise stewardship, which involves investing ourselves in Christ's body in ways that we are uniquely suited to do. She emphatically rejects the lie that we are of less use to God or to the church -- but in such a way that I was convinced Scripturally, not under the impression that she was trying to convince herself! (By the way, she also recognizes that being single while you desire to be married is a form of suffering and directs readers to the manifold biblical wisdom and counsel to those who suffer.)
* She also offers highly practical advice, both for now and to sow for the future. This ranges from cultivating womanly skills by learning from older women, to counsel to invest for the future, use money wisely and even to buy a house (debunking the "you're giving up hope if you buy a house" myth).
* There are two sections that I would specifically commend: the one on modesty/beauty that first intrigued me, and a passage on speech, especially what our grumbling says about our view of God.
I think what I appreciated about every page of this book is that I was at once affirmed, encouraged and challenged. Affirmed to see that I've already been doing some of the things and cultivating some of the thought patterns that she commends. Encouraged because I was consistently reminded where my deepest identity lies -- in a loving Savior who will withhold no good thing from me, and who cares about the smallest detail of my life. Challenged because there's so much room for maturity -- Carolyn helped me identify several specific areas of thought patterns and serving others where I can target change in the short run.
In the long run? Who knows -- God willing, I'd love to be married and enjoying the fruit of the seeds that I'm sowing now. If not, I have a godly pattern set out before me -- through this hard-hitting theology, a hermeneutic for reading Scripture for a lifetime of biblical womanhood, and through the examples of the women around me, made more recognizeable through this book -- to keep living a cross-centered life, whatever my situation happens to be.
Good stuff but not riveting.......2007-01-11
This is a good book which has been of significant encouragement to friends of mine. However I got a little down while reading it so I set it aside... and haven't picked it back up.
What I do appreciate about it is the perspective of instruction in being that "Proverbs 31 Woman" before marriage... and "doing your husband good all the days of your life"...before you ever meet him. That's had a strong impact on me and definitely changed how I live and how I was ignoring things I didn't feel were important to me... but I realized might be really important to my husband later on.
I felt Connally Gillam's book "Revelations of a Single Woman" was more helpful in describing the common experiences of what we're going through in this stage of life. Though I got discouraged and sad reading it too, I at least pushed through the book and finished it... and have bought several copies and handed them off to different people. But I have to hand it to Carolyn McCulley for giving a good roadmap for "what to do" with this time, rather than just describing it.
Either way... I had to pray hard, then get out and forge my own ambitious path for what to do with my life, and not get stuck in the typical Churchianity view of single women: "just grow in Christ, honey, and don't worry about that stuff." Baloney. And how depressing. There's a lot more to do with our lives than that... and growing in Christ happens exponentially when we're moving forward by His direction.
THE "GIFT OF SINGLENESS" BACKLASH HAS BEGUN.......2006-05-26
This is not the kind of book that feels good to pan. The author candidly shares her experience of the losses that go along with prolonged unwanted singleness in the family-focused world of evangelical Christianity and offers heartfelt encouragement to the many women who are finding themselves in the same situation today. However, like the overwhelming majority of Christian self-help books on this topic, she hauls out that patronizing, over-used and utterly unbiblical cliché THE GIFT OF SINGLENESS, devoting an entire chapter to its defense titled "Esteeming the Gift". Published two years ago, its timing is most unfortunate as a backlash "rethinking the gift of singleness" has just started to build with a spate of new book writers, such as Debbie Maken, and bloggers appearing on the crest of the wave.
It may seem like a matter of petty semantics and theology, but is it really a problem to call singleness a gift? Yes, if you're suggesting that the Bible calls it a gift, which it does not (see my review of Al Hsu's "Singles at the Crossroads"). Yes, if you are suggesting that if someone is single that it's "God's will" which McCulley does when she says "Ultimately, we are single because that's God's will for us right now. That's it." Who is she to tell us what God's will or plan is for anyone, now or at any time?
This is what one critic calls "outcome based theology", the idea that whatever happens is "God's will", including those things that are caused by sin. It's a springboard to logical leaps contained in the teachings on God's sovereignty particular to late 20th century evangelical leaders including one of her sources, John Piper (author of the infamous post-September 11th article titled "Why I Do Not Say, 'God Did Not Cause the Calamity, but He Can Use It for Good'"). In defending the sovereignty of God (something we should all do), those who lean heavily on these teachings become too quick to frame events in terms of God's personal plan for an individual's life. Aside from leading to the patently presumptuous, insensitive declarations and judgments common to Christian culture, it can overlook, and even justify, the larger sin-based causes of a problem such as protracted singleness.
Indeed, the church currently has a widespread epidemic of protracted singleness on its hands, particularly among women, and it is caused by sin: most notably, the shortage of marriageable Christian men, due to men leaving or avoiding the church. McCulley seems oblivious to the pervasiveness of this problem: "It's not because there are more women than men in our singles group." Hello? Singles group?? How about the whole western world, which has been suffering a dearth of Christian men, as evidenced by CampuslifeCollegeGuide.com male/female ratios, and Barna's calculation of a shortage that's in the MILLIONS. Only recently has Christianity Today identified the gender imbalance as being the issue that "rises to the top" for Christian singles. For years, these women have been living with their failure to find a mate and with no one willing to confirm the true reason for their predicament, going back and forth between self-blaming and blaming God (by-products of outcome-based theology), leading to the invention of "the singles contentment sermon".
Although McCulley mercifully refutes the common misconception that contentment with being single is a prerequisite for God to reward us with the goody of marriage, she erroneously claims that either singleness or marriage is given by God to each of us as our "own grace gift" or "gracious endowment", based on her misreading of 1 Corinthians 7:7. "It's not because we are too old, too fat, too skinny, too tall, too short, too quiet, too loud, too smart, too simple, too demanding, or too anything else. It's not wholly because of past failures or sin tendencies." Actually, some of these things can decrease someone's chances of marriage. Making this assumption undermines dealing with the realities of mate-finding that past generations of believers handled with much greater shrewdness and agency. This pragmatic attitude is also reflected in the Bible, where marriage is almost always talked about in terms of human volition: a man "finds a wife" in Proverbs 18:22, or "takes a wife" in 1 Corinthians 9:5. Prior to the reformation, marriage was an agreement, a vow with God, not a gift or a calling.
McCulley's misinterpretations of 1 Cor 7:7 occur because she overlooks the Greek word "idios" preceding "charisma" (grace gift), a common mistake among Christian singleness writers who use Bibles that translate the word as "own". Idios is more correctly translated as "particular" or "peculiar". It's the root of the English word "idiosyncratic", and the French word "idiot", which means "peculiar one". In speaking of this "idios charisma" or "idiosyncratic grace gift", Paul was referring to something much more unique than the either/or status of married or single. He accentuated his point about uniqueness by using a Greek expression still common today: "hos men houto de hos houto", most closely translated in the NASB as "one in this manner, and another in that." It's a figure of speech! "This" and "that" are non-specific: "this" does not mean marriage and "that" does not mean "singleness". As much as he recognized the advantages of singleness at that time of "present distress" v.26, we have no reason to believe that he saw it as a gift or calling. (Nor is McCulley's reference to verse 17, also regarded as non-specific by most Bible scholars, a strong argument for it.) Whatever was his peculiar gift that allowed him to proceed on such a perilous mission alone, Paul probably didn't quite understand himself.
The Living Bible of the 70's was arguably the first to mistranslate 1Cor7:7 to mean that "God gives to some the gift of singleness and to others the gift of marriage", and later, "The Message". With these late 20th century biblical revisions, rogue doctrines on singleness have proliferated throughout the Christian world. The never-married, later disgraced Bill Gothard taught millions who attended his Basic Youth Conflicts seminars that singleness as a gift and a calling, using the terms interchangeably, with the underlying assumption of divine assignment or "rhema". Into the 80's and 90's there may have been some softening attempts that stressed "gift" over "calling", but the two remain inextricably linked. Obviously, this is damage control because there has been damage done. Ellen Varughese in "The Freedom to Marry" wrote at length about Christian singles immobilized in their intent to pursue marriage without any clear "word from the Lord", having been taught to view their default singleness as "God's plan" for their lives, rather than as something that could be caused by individual or generational sin.
From its biblically specious roots to the careerism of Christian singles writers who keep passing it on, "the gift of singleness" does not have an honorable history. It has become a thorn in the side of a generation of surplus Christian women that dismisses their collective grief and allows leaders to hide behind sermons about sovereignty and contentment instead of addressing the sinful causes of this epidemic, such as the flight of men from our churches (as well as teachings that have sown seeds of doubt, ambivalence, and complacency towards pursuing marriage).
We do not need to call singleness a gift to effectively encourage spiritual essentials such as gratitude and contentment, or to honor those who have devoted themselves to celibate service (and wouldn't need the flattery of calling it a gift, if indeed their service is sincere). Even if you take the strictest view on sovereignty, there are plenty of things that God has given that are not considered gifts. When was the last time you heard the Ten Commandments referred to as a gift?
Let's all send "the gift of singleness" to the Christian lexicon trashbin, and work together to persuade church leaders to do the same. We can begin by appealing to the editors of The Message and other modern translations to restore translations of 1Corinthians 7:7 so that they once again conform more closely with the original Greek. If we care about the future of the church, we will need to restore the ordinariness and universality of marriage enjoyed by previous generations of Christians by putting the emphasis back on God's revealed will about marriage, which puts the onus on human volition and agency. And we will once again give singles exactly what they have been lacking: a wholehearted blessing to pursue marriage.
Wisdom for singles and marrieds.......2005-08-19
Carolyn has done a marvelous job of digging into Proverbs 31 and relating it to the single woman, but as a married woman I benefitted greatly. I bought this book to help me counsel my single daughters and friends and found myself deeply convicted. The section on Phil 2: 14-15 about grumbling and complaining is just outstanding. Don't stop reading: Chapter 13 offers an eternal perspective that single, married, male or female needs to hear. Carolyn said it so well, I have given away 6 copies of the book so far! For His glory...pass this message on.
single and Knightless? perplexed? despair not! insightful .......2004-08-27
Ms McCully writes with humor yet loaded with hope, vision and purpose for the ever increasing number of Christian single women in our world. A unique voice, charged with personal self-diclosure, integrity to take on the authenticity of life for the Christian woman today, and armed with biblical truth to separate and discern what a unique gift single life is and to infuse vision and courage and finishing the race with faithfulness.
This book is full of insight and hope, not a book to pick up if you want someone to console your pity, rather a book that genuinely takes on the very real challenges and temptations in our culture with integrity, even within The Church, for the Christian woman today. Sin in this book is sin. Good is good. Right is right. Godly is godly.
By far, the best part of the book is the hope it instills that we can walk faithfully, gratefully and with a heart of praise.
Here are the chapter headings.
Table of Contents:
1. "You're Still Single?": Hard questions, Godward answers
2. Esteeming the Gift: Why the Bible calls singleness a gift and for what purpose
3. God's Quiet Providence: God is still working when nothing seems to be happening
4. A Woman of Noble Character: The priceless worth of a virtuous woman
5. Do Him Good All the Days of Your Life: Why guarding your heart before marriage matters
6. Respected at the City Gate: Observing and serving the men around you
7. Food From Afar: Having a love for the home and hospitality when you're oftne gone
8. Out of Her Earnings: Wisdom in the workplace with an eye on eternity
9. The Blessing of Children: Investing in the Next Generation
10. Deceptive Charm: The heart issues of beauty, aging, and Worldliness
11. Wise Speech: The impact of women's words for building up or tearing down
12. Reaching Out to the Needy: Subduing self-centerdness through serving others
13. Laughing at the Time to Come: How to finish well in a youth-oriented world
Average customer rating:
- Hope and Encouragement - in a practical way!!
|
A Hope Deferred: A Couple's Guide to Coping With Infertility
Jill Baughan
Manufacturer: Multnomah Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Parenting & Families
| Subjects
| Books
Internal Medicine
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
| Cardiology
| Critical Care
| Endocrinology & Metabolism
| Gastroenterology
| General
| Hematology
| Hepatology
| Infectious Disease
| Nephrology
| Neurology
| Oncology
| Pulmonary
| Rheumatology
| Urology
ASIN: 0880703032 |
Customer Reviews:
Hope and Encouragement - in a practical way!!.......2003-07-29
It's said that one in six couples will experience the agony of infertility, and approximately 50 percent of those couples will eventually conceive and carry a child to full term...50 percent will not. This is not always a good thing to hear, but, whether an infertile couple eventually have a child or not takes second place to the agony of waiting, and to the pressure of coping with a daily grief that affects every area of a couple's life - from career decisions, to the marriage relationship, to faith in God's wisdom, and compassion.
Jill Baughan had a birth child in 1981, but she and her husband have struggled most of their married life with infertility, as well as secondary infertility.
She's written a book that's meant to help, and even if you're in the middle of things which are confusing, she offers practical, gut-level emotional hope and encouragement. And this is as it should be. It's not always a great journey.
Highly recommended book!!!
Average customer rating:
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Hope Deferred
Basil McIvor
Manufacturer: Blackstaff Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Irish
| Ethnic & National
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| British
| Historical
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Political
| Leaders & Notable People
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| England
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
20th Century
| England
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ireland
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Troubles
| Ireland
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0856406201 |
Average customer rating:
- "the living must remake themselves after a death"
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Hope Deferred: Heart-Healing Reflections On Reproductive Loss
Manufacturer: Pilgrim Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Pastoral Counseling
| Ministry & Church Leadership
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Devotionals
| Worship & Devotion
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Devotionals
| Spirituality
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Fertility
| Parenting & Families
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Parenting Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0829816178 |
Customer Reviews:
"the living must remake themselves after a death".......2007-06-18
First of all, I want to thank the friend who lent me this book. It took me some time to get around to it-- I had found that I was at the end of my ability to think about dead babies. But I appreciated it very much, and find that it was one of the best of the loss books that I have read. It specifically looks at theological and ritual issues around the loss of the child-- asks the question about what kind of a relationship with God it is possible to have when he allows such terrible losses. It is a necessary question, and one that is too often elided by the more practically oriented dead baby books. While they are willing to allow that being angry at God is a natural state, there seems to be no real acknowledgemwnr that these events can shake the very nature of your relationship with God.
The book is divided into six major sections: Longing, Why?, Sorrow, Rupture, Comfort, Faith. The contributors are all theologians from a variety of backgrounds. They all share some experience of infertility, miscarriage, or pregnancy loss. I personally found "Why?" and "Sorrow" to be the strongest sections, probably the ones that resonated most strongly with my own thoughts and experiences. I also appreciated the inclusion of the text of Luther's "Comfort For Women Who Have Had a Miscarriage".
I found myself doing a great deal of thinking off the back of this reading experience. It raised many interesting and helpful trains of thought. We are in the process of surviving the stillbirth of our only child in 2006. It may be a book that is a little bit Christian for some potential readers.
I found it valuable to read, and would recommend it to someone facing down their own experience of involuntarily childlessness.
Average customer rating:
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Africa--Hope Deferred
John Alec Biggs-Davison
Manufacturer: Johnson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Africa
| History
| Subjects
| Books
| African Studies
| Algeria
| Angola
| Benin
| Botswana
| Central Africa
| Comoros
| Democratic Republic of Congo
| Djibouti
| East Africa
| Egypt
| Equatorial Guinea
| Eritrea
| Ethiopia
| Gabon
| Gambia
| General
| Ghana
| Guinea
| Guinea Bissau
| Ivory Coast
| Kenya
| Lesotho
| Liberia
| Libya
| Madagascar
| Malawi
| Mali
| Mauritania
| Morocco
| Mozambique
| Namibia
| Niger
| Nigeria
| North Africa
| Rwanda
| Sao Tome and Principe
| Senegal
| Sierra Leone
| Somalia
| South Africa
| Southern Africa
| Sudan
| Swaziland
| Tanzania
| Togo
| Tunisia
| Uganda
| West Africa
| Western Sahara
| Zambia
| Zimbabwe
Practical Politics
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0853070903 |
Book Description
How many times will Shelby Tate, editor of Agape Today magazine, place an ad for a "Write to the Heart" columnist? Not just anyone will do. The magazine's owner requires the person to be single - after all, who better to advise the unmarried? But keeping her columnists single is the challenge, as one by one they find love. It seems that as soon as a new Miss Lonely Heart begins writing, a reader's letter captures her attention...and before long, the author of that letter captivates her heart. Three of Shelby's best writers - women who wrote with godly insight - have turned in resignations, along with wedding invitations. Now, Shelby is forced to take up the pen herself. How can this stress possibly be from God? And how will He complete the quartet of romance?
Customer Reviews:
Sweet.......2005-11-24
This is a very sweet book that is a lot of fun to read. I finished it in two days and wanted to find more books written by these authors. The stories are about real people with real problems that we can all relate to.
A nice, but highly predictable, Christian romance anthology.......2005-04-18
The anthology "Dear Miss Lonely Heart" is the story of four women, each of who serves as the columnist for a Christian magazine. The column, which serves as the book title, is written by a single Christian woman who offers advice to her readers. The premise of the anthology is that each single woman that serves as the columnist soon finds herself in the in danger of losing her maiden status and thus her job as columnist.
All are satisfying, if rushed, stories in which three of the ladies fine themselves actually communicating with there potential Romeo through the column. One of the things I had to keep reminding myself was that this was a modern story (2002 publication date). All of the stories could have well been written in thirty years ago based on the interactions between the characters and the dialogue. This was neither good, nor bad, in my eyes - just something that kept occurring to me.
It will satisfy those looking for a Christian romance book that holds true to the strictest of Christian principles in regards to the romantic interactions between the characters.
a fun beach read.......2003-02-02
Four short stories make up this fun beach read about four columnists that write for a "dear miss lonely hearts" singles column. Their obviously predictable but I like romance stories even if their formulaic. I liked the premise for this book, but I felt that it could've been better written. So if your going to the beach or on vacation be sure to take this fun, easy read with you.
Average customer rating:
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Deferred Hopes: Blacks in Contemporary America
Sanjukta Banerji
Manufacturer: Stosius Inc/Advent Books Division
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| 21st Century
| African Americans
| Civil War
| Colonial Period
| General
| Revolution & Founding
| State & Local
Civil Rights
| United States
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Social Groups
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0898910137 |
Book Description
This book is for those who have waited on the Lord...and waited...and waited...and waited.
When fulfillment of the promise of God is delayed (by our measure) we get disappointed, we get worried, we get unbelieving. Our hearts get sick, the Bible says so.
This study discovers from the Word of God why God's promise is sometimes long in coming, what a sick heart looks like and how God heals that sick heart so we can take hold of the hope set before us when He leads us from disappointment to fulfillment.
Books:
- Rainforest Fungi of Tasmania and South-East Australia
- Recognizing flowering wild plants
- Revision of the Classification of the Oscillatoriaceae
- Scottish Wild Flowers
- Southern Africa Wildflowers
- Southern Africa Wildflowers
- Sphagnaceae Through Grimmiaceae (Flora of Southern Africa)
- Systematic Guide to Flowering Plants of the World
- Systematics and Evolution of the Ranunculiflorae (Plant Systematics and Evolution - Supplementa)
- The 2007 Import and Export Market for Seaweeds and Other Algae in Australia
Books Index
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