Book Review: The Book That Made Your World by V. Mangalwadi

     The Book That Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization

By Vishal Mangalwadi
Published by Thomas Nelson

    Although I’m not the religious type I do enjoy reading about philosophy and religious texts because I feel that there is always something to learn from them. Mangalwadi raised in India, brings in an interesting perspective on a text that has impacted nearly everyone on earth, the Bible. 

     If you like to see a philosophical approach, yet biased it is a good book to read. What I did like about it was how it tied it to many of the things we know of such as pop culture, science, human rights and justice. Although interesting, there were many points in which I did not fully agree on because I thought that the author was very biased (but it is his book). I also didn’t like how some points (to me) seemed more like criticism of certain aspects of culture, for example pop culture. It isn’t for light reading, and if you’re willing to stick with it you might learn a thing or two as well. Overall this is one I would only recommend to those that like to learn something new or don’t mind a fresh perspective. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from F+W Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” 

The Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award

     I never thought I’d even be considered for something as sweet as this! Ann, from Finding Ann McGregor nominated me, THANK YOU! It’s very nice to know (and I’m very grateful) that there is at least someone out there that reads my random musings, rants, and observations, and yes it does make me smile! Thanks Ann, really appreciate this!

And now off we go with the tradition of this award!

Step 1: Thank and link the person that nominated you.

THANK YOU (I’ll keep saying Thanks by the way) Ann at http://findingannmacgregor.com

I wish I could nominate you too, because I really like to read your posts, and I think that you are a great blogger. You are a great example for a lot of women, you demonstrate enthusiasm which is very contagious by the way and for that and much more, THANK YOU. You really bring out a wonderful blog for the world and I hope that more and more people get a chance to read your writings.

Inspirational woman all around.

Step 2: Share seven random facts about yourself..

1. I started blogging to get ready for my graduation writing test, I figured blogging would be a good way to practice my thoughts.
2.  I have a small phobia of crossing streets, something that almost no one knows.
3. I like that feeling after you’ve gone swimming. When you’re out of the water but you still feel like you’re floating. Yeah, that feeling.
4. I LOVE snail mail. I even wrote a post about it, and believe me I will write more on it!
5. My most recent hobby is knitting. I figured, why not?
6. I am fluent in two languages: English and Spanish and can understand a lot of Franglais (yes French+English) and Italian
7. I dislike brownies. Am I the only person who dislikes brownies? Sometimes that’s exactly how it feels.

Step 3: Pass the award along to 4 deserving blogging buddies.

Yeah I changed it to four instead of five. Because these four are special ones.

And here in no particular order my nominations for the Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award go to…

The Jenny Blog : This lovely young lady or as she calls herself a Rebel Blogger combines personal with everyday beauty and wonder.

The Durtty Bride : Started reading her blog when she was engaged, she keeps her readers updated and if you read her blog you will see why she deserves this Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award.

Mo from the 254chronicles There’s a little bit of everything in this blog. I love how Mo produces a wonderful blog with various topics in her posts. There is a lot of variety, but each post is beautifully presented. Thanks Mo for a lovely blog.

Write.Sing.Laugh : This lovely young lady will keep you entertained. I love how she is has so many great responses to Plinky prompts. However she has way more than that. She really brings out passion and thought in her writing and I really admire that.

4. Contact those buddies to congratulate them.

All more than deserving blogs for the Irresistibly Sweet  Blog Award! Thank you for sharing your writings with the world! Blogging is not just about writing but also about reading. There are many great stories out there from people just like you and I. So take a second to read some of the stuff out there in the Blogging world, you never know when you might learn or appreciate something new.

Thank you once again Ann!

Smile, little surprises go a long way!

Good-bye July 2011

Its past the midway point of the year. Boy did it go fast or what? I still remember the earlier parts of the year, so vivid in my memory. My first half of the year did not go at all how I had originally planned it to go and that was a great thing. Overall I am extremely satisfied with what has happened so far, yes that also includes the bad parts.

I have a learned a lot these past few months, and I am ready to learn some more. Its the end of a month and its time to start all over again, keep on going. So good-bye July 2011! A lot happened this month, so I’m excited to see what happens in the month(s) to come.

Smile, its that time to let go and start new. 

Writing: The Chicken Soup to the Soul

  I took a class in college to help me with my stress management skills. Honestly, it was nothing what I expected. I expected more meditation, yoga like environment to learn the skills I needed to learn to relax. Instead I got to learn more the biochemical side of it, and how to mentally process and control myself from external sources of stress. I still remember the first day of class when the professor announced that we had to write journals, I figured how bad can it be? Well it wasn’t bad at all but the writing was extensive, and deep in thought. There were certain topics that just got to me, like those times when the light bulb in your head lights up. On some of those I would write and write, spilling my thoughts out into words. When I would go back to read what I wrote I learned a lot about myself. I learned that there were certain things that were bothering me that I hadn’t really paid attention to. I learned the that some things stem from my childhood are still very much alive in the back of my head.

I learned how much writing helps the soul. Might sound cliche, but it’s true. Sometimes we cant seem to find someone to talk to about our whole life story, because lets be honest no one really wants to listen to a lot of whining stories of you victimizing yourself for some sympathy. But when you write, you write out your thoughts, and slowly your most inner and concealed thoughts come out. Then the feeling of relief comes down on you, you feel like you’ve let it out. You can rant for hours if you please, you don’t have to write to anyone, but writing sure is like the chicken soup to the soul.

Looking back on my assignment for class, I ended up with more than 60 pages on just my thoughts on various ideas and concepts. Those were my thoughts for a whole ten weeks. Looking at my blog I see a similar effect, I see how I have grown, how I have changed in a longer period of time. Incredible I think. Its like recording your thoughts, and they become a part of your own history. Its a beautiful thing to look back on. I’ll leave you with this, write when you feel like you have no one to listen to you. Write when you feel like the world is upside down, or even when its at is best, because one day in the future you’ll look back and you’ll see how much you’ve learned, how much you’ve changed, how much you remember and you’ll smile. You’ll smile because things are different and others are the same, but most of all you’ll smile because you’ll feel good that you got through it all.

Smile, write and write some more.