Review: Brothers Forever by Tom Sileo and Colonel Tom Manion, USMC (Ret.)

Last fall, as Jamie and I were entering into the final weekend of our preparation for the Marine Corps Marathon, we attended the Marine Corps Marathon Race Expo and picked up our shirts, our bibs, and  made our way along the rows of booths set up by vendors and non-profits alike. This was our third MCM, and this time we arrived for the opening of the venue. As we made our way through the rows of vendors we talked with folks and even made a few purchases based on some good deals we were finding.

Among the booths, we passed by one for the Travis Manion Foundation. At the booth they were selling copies of the book Brothers Forever by Tom Sileo and Colonel Tom Manion, USMC (Ret.). I knew very little about Travis, other than the fact that he was killed in action while serving in Iraq, and that one of our team members at Nuru, Mike Bigrigg, attended the United States Naval Academy and wrestled with Travis. I had also heard that Jake Harriman, my long time friend and our CEO at Nuru was going to be honored with an award from TMF. As I walked by the booth, someone handed me a bracelet that said, "If not me, then who..." that had an image of a Spartan mask on it. I decided it was time for me to learn more, so I picked up a copy of the book, and slid the bracelet on my wrist alongside my ONE and Nuru Kenya and Nuru Ethiopia bracelets.



I recently finished reading the book, and I found myself laughing one moment and then weeping the next. Here I was, sitting in the comfort of my home reading about the college days of a couple of people who would have been slightly younger than me today if they were still alive. As the book transitioned from their college days to their time of service in the Marines and Navy,  I started reading email excerpts and stories from others that were compiled to tell the story of how these two brave young warriors fell while serving this country and striving to help others in Iraq and Afghanistan. Too often, when we hear the news of a death, whether it is of a civilian or member of our military, unless we know the person directly we do not feel the weight of the loss. Tom Sileo and Colonel Manion in Brothers Forever help us feel the weight of the loss. They help us grieve the loss of young men and women whose lives were cut short as they served. They help us mourn together with the families of those who cry out to God, "Why did this have to happen?", of mother's who shriek and cry out grieving for their sons and daughters who are no more.

Books like this one not only help bring the reality of our own mortality close to home. They help us take stock of our own lives. Just as Travis had said, "If not me, then who..."; the more I personally think about those words and read the words on the bracelet that is still hanging on my wrist, the more I realize it is a challenge and a call to service. As the Travis Manion Foundation reminds us, we are to "Honor the fallen. Challenge the living." Most of us will never know the extreme challenges of combat or what gentlemen like Travis Manning and his best friend Brendan Looney endured in an effort to serve this country. But, you and I can honor the lives of these young men and their families, and the lives of many other men and women just like them who laid down their lives in service. How do we do it? We look for opportunities to lead and serve. We bring our best into each and every day. Wherever we are, we can choose to give of ourselves for the betterment of others.

I recommend picking up a copy of this book, visiting the Travis Manion Foundation website, and asking yourself this question, "If not me, then who..."? In the closing words of the authors, "There is no inscription to define the meaning of their sacrifice. That mission is ours." Look for those opportunities to serve in your community or in the world. My guess is that you won't have to look very far for an opportunity to pop up. May you have the courage to step into that opportunity fully, for the good of others.

The Beams Of Our House: A Future Book By Trey Dunham

My friend Trey is a really smart guy. We’ve known each other and been friends for almost as long as I’ve been a Christian. We’ve worked together in various capacities over the years, and he even officiated mine and Jamie’s wedding!

I’m really excited about Trey’s latest efforts to develop his skills as a writer and share some of his insights about life and faith with a larger audience.  His most recent focus has been the exploration of marriage in a fictional futuristic account that merges Trey’s background in writing about technology and society with a commentary on the Song of Solomon.

Trey’s first book in this six part series is called The Beams Of Our House. In an effort to launch the series, Trey created a KickStarter project to raise the funds needed to launch the book. He is currently trying to raise $15,000 to cover the costs associated with producing and marketing the book.  Jamie and I decided we would invest in this project, and we wanted to encourage you to do so as well. If he hits his funding goal, by November 29, 2014 every person who invests at least $15 will get a free tshirt. Also, everyone who gives at least $15 will be able to receive a digital copy of the book!!!!

At the time of my writing this post, Trey is $4,475 shy of his goal with ten days left. Will you help him hit his goal by investing in his project? Even if you can’t invest, will you at least share Trey’s Kickstarter campaign with your friends?

Personally, I’m really looking forward to reading this book!

Review: Developing Intimacy With God by Alex Aronis

As I have been attempting to write more reviews of books, one thing has come into crystalline focus. I have failed to review many of the books that have had the most profound effect on my life and personal views on a variety of subjects. One of those books is DevelopingIntimacy With God by Alex Aronis. I have mentioned this book in multiple posts, but have not shared much detail on the book itself.

It was initially recommended to me during the late spring of 2008 by my good friend JR Woodward. JR has been a long time friend and mentor of sorts for me, and in that frame, I was talking with him about a potential change of career I was considering. Two of my good friends had invited me to consider leaving vocational ministry to pursue a path toward fighting what I had come to believe is the greatest humanitarian crisis/challenge of our generation, global extreme poverty. It was against this backdrop that my friend JR recommended Aronis’ book as a devotional guide that could help me as I wrestled through this decision. The book helped me to make my decision, but it has done so much more.

Aronis’ book is the best book I have found for cultivating a deep and abiding relationship with Christ. It is my belief that for as much as Christians talk about having a “personal relationship with Jesus” this relationship seems more transactional than one of intimacy and depth. It’s not that people lack in intentionality (although that is sometimes the case), it is more that people don’t have good direction for cultivating this relationship beyond practices of a ‘quiet time’ or some form of prayer. And often this prayer time consists of little more than petitions and intercessions rather than dynamic conversation. It isn’t that petition and intercession are bad things, it is more that if any other relationship consists of only making requests and reading about an individual, we wouldn’t consider that a very healthy relationship.

In the book, Aronis observes that many people read scriptures looking for what they can ‘do’ for God without taking the time to be with Him and to become like him as precursors to this activity. He contrasts this with actual experience of the disciples. They spent roughly three years with Jesus, so that they could become more like Jesus in their character, and so that they could live for Jesus. In the introduction to the book, he mentions the late Bill Bright and Billy Graham as two examples of individuals who have realized amid their productivity, that if they had an opportunity to start over, they would have spent more time cultivating their own relationship with Jesus.

Beyond this observation, Aronis offers eight weeks of devotional exercises based on The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius as a means for individuals to grow in their ability to spend time with Christ without rushing ahead to do things for Christ (although he gets there too!).  This book was incredibly helpful for me as I was working to discern the best path forward in a variety of areas in my life. I have gone back to it as a near annual tradition since my friend JR introduced me to it, and I have recommended it to any and every person I have met who is looking to deepen their own relationship with Jesus and who is willing to take the time to walk through the book. Currently, I am walking through the book with a group of friends in the US as part of my Lenten commitment, and I just recently heard from a friend in the Netherlands who told me that the book was extremely formative for her and her friends, and that her fiancé is so impressed with it that he has written the publisher to see if it might be published in Dutch in the future.

I could write at length about the book (and perhaps that is why I haven’t written a review before now), but I will end this post simply by stating that if you are a Christian and you are looking for a book that can help you by offering a “how to” in terms of growing in your intimacy with Christ, than I highly recommend this book. Unfortunately, I have never seen a copy in any bookstore (even in Christian specialty stores), but I have been able to grab copies from Amazon. If you read it, I would love to hear the outcome of your eight week journey. 

Review: A Testament of Hope by Dr Martin Luther King Jr

As The Martin Luther King Jr Day of Service has passed, and the efforts of Dr. King are top of mind for many in the US and around the world, I thought that this would be a fitting time to write a brief review of A Testament OfHope which is a collection of the writings interviews and speeches of the late Dr. King.

As a person who is concerned with issues of justice as well as issues of faith, I find that by reading and reflecting on the words of those in the past who have dedicated themselves towards making a better place, I am able to better serve in related a related way today. Dr. King's example and words continue to motivate people to pursue justice and serve others. 

This book of speeches, essays, and interviews is utterly inspring. To be able to sit and read the writings of one of the leaders of the African American Civil Rights movment in the United States, as well those of a passionate ambassador for peace is an encouragement for anyone who is carrying the torch forward. Our world is significantly different than that of Dr. King’s, but looking back, we can see the effects of a life dedicated toward making a difference.

As we continue to live in the legacy of Dr King and other activists of the past, I believe that people young and old around the world can appreciate the words of this book, and should take the time to read it and reflect on the words and life of Dr. King.

Review: Amusing Ourselves To Death by Neil Postman

It was approximately 10 years ago when my old roommate Andy Cogar recommended that I add Neil Postman’s AmusingOurselves To Death: Public Discourse In The Age Of Show Business to my reading list. Amazingly, over those ten years, while I failed to read the book, I managed to recommend it to dozens of people. Andy had given me enough context and overview of the book and the subject matter seemed to make its way into conversation with regularity over the years.

As a result, I finally bit the bullet and read the book myself. And as a result of that, I thought it might be a good idea to write a little review to encourage others to pick up a copy of this nearly 30 year old book.

The version I read was the 20^th anniversary edition of the book. At the time of the book Twitter did not exist, and neither did the concept of a ‘smart phone’, at least not as part of our common existence. And the book has so much to say to us with regard to entertainment and discourse as well as contemporary society, but rather than offering my own commentary on the subject, I’ll simply recommend you read the book and give some thought to it yourself.

The main thrust of the book is an analysis of how video media has influenced and shaped public discourse, and reduced much of this discourse to images and sound bites. As a point of comparison, in one section of the book he compares a debate in the 1800s between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas (which took place over hours) to modern political debates on television (that are around 1-2 hours with commercials included).

Postman, concludes that we have reduced thoughtful conversation and discussion of issues to an array of sound-bites and interruptions (in the form of commercials and other news stories). He points out that among other things, through the way we receive news and other information we lose our sense of the local, and much of what we discover through ‘news’ has very little imformed impact on our daily routines.

It would be easy to conclude that Postman may be a Luddite of sorts, but that designation would miss its mark. He concludes that television is a fun means for entertainment, but not such a great means for discourse because of the disjointed nature it introduces into conversation and thought. Rather than lamenting technology, he laments that public discourse has become more about entertainment than about intellectual stimulation.

If you can, grab a copy of this book and give it a read. It is thoughtful, and leaves one wondering what Postman would make of the world in which we now find ourselves nearly 30 years after his book. 

Counterfeiter

Two December's ago, I visited my friends Steve and Liz Powell in Minnesota.  While I was visiting them, Liz's Grandpa let me borrow a book about the Holocaust he had recently read.  It tells the story of a Jewish stereotypist (printer) from Norway who survived the Holocaust through participating in a huge counterfeiting operation in the concentration camps.

He and others, were charged with designing millions of British pounds in an effort to disintegrate the British economy and cripple the nation for Nazi takeover.

As I've been reading the book, I've just been reminded of the reality of suffering in our world.  Nachstern's biography tells stories of concentration camps, of starvation and abuse, that still go on in various parts of this world.  His story, and the stories of others provide us with vivid images of some of the atrocities that human beings commit against each other.

Right now, around the world there are people who are fighting for basic rights and freedoms, and who are trapped in unjust systems.  May we be ever vigilant to prevent these evils from spreading, and may we always be ready to speak out on behalf of our fellow human beings.

This book hasn't been a pleasant read, but I didn't expect it to be.  It serves as a reminder of the darkness that dwells in human hearts along with the incredible perseverance of individuals as they work to survive horrible conditions.  May we not forget the evils of the past, nor sit silently when evil is being perpetrated now.  If you get the opportunity, give this book a read, and let it remind you of your sacred duty to love your neighbor as yourself.

Born To Run by Christopher McDougall

That's my sister in the photo above. She's become quite the runner. I'll have to write more about her in another post. In this post I want to talk about a book I recently read though. :)

A couple of years ago, my friend Rich at Jay’s Daily Grind recommended a book to me. It is called Born To Run by ChristopherMcDougall.  It’s  a book about, well, running. The book starts off by talking about how runners today seem to be prone to a lot of injuries. I can attest to the injuries. In 2000, I had developed an injury in my tibialis major muscle that sidelined me for months. I was on and off with running after that. In 2007, I had shin splints, and in 2009 and 2010 I suffered from plantar fascia and Achilles problems. Right now, my sister and brother in law are both in recuperation from running injuries. And the author of the book had also developed his own share of injuries from running.

But the book isn’t just about running injuries. It’s really the story of a tribe in Mexico called the Tarahumara. They run with no support, but just simple thin sandals on their feet. They run for dozens of miles daily and do so without injury. They do so without the latest cushioning and running shoe technology. McDougall had heard stories about this tribe, and traveled to Mexico to attempt to discover them.

The journey led him into ultra marathons, minimalist running, and also into meeting some amazing individuals who were fueled by their love of running including Caballo Blanco and Barefoot Ted. They were minimalist and barefoot runners who ran out of a love for running.

The subtitle of the book was “A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen.” The Tarahmara are a bit reclusive, and the author was extremely fortunate to be able to connect with their people. The story he tells crescendos to a race in the Copper Canyons of Mexico where a handful of ultramarathoners join a handful of Tarahumara for a race through the jungle. You’ll have to read the book to see how it goes.

What I really enjoyed about the book was that it reiterated something I had wondered about for years. McDougall mentioned that maybe all of our fancy supports in our shoes actually have served to weaken the muscles in our feet that stabilize and can prevent injury. I am not a medical professional, but I often wonder if a lot of injuries people sustain could be prevented if we were doing exercises to strengthen some of these weaker stabilizer muscles. McDougall talks a bit about the history of running, and even shares some stories of how humans are built to be able to run incredibly long distances without fatigue, something pretty unique to people.

There was one section that I took some inspiration from as well. In the book, McDougall talks about the athletic development of individuals and how most people surge to their peak performance by age 27, and that the most significant spike happens between the ages 18 and 27. And after 27, things go downhill slowly. At age 54, I believe among the Tarahumara, runners have regressed to their performance levels at age 18. I am no longer 27, but I have many years before I reach 54, and if the slope of decline is that gradual, I could probably be 75-80 and running at the level I ran in junior high, which wasn’t too bad (It just wasn’t as fast as Bobby Black, Jimmy Tunison, James Jones, or Roger Logston—those guys could fly!!!).

If you pick up the book, I hope it will inspire you on a path toward greater fitness and health, and spur you on to start walking, jogging, running, or simply getting more exercise. Even if it doesn’t inspire you to get out and exercise, it is a pretty exhilarating read, and you might find yourself with a hankering for chia seeds.