Religion Books

This book is great. It is well laid out and clearly written. Our family uses this to start talking and thinking about what virtues are and how to consciously use them in our lives. I highly recommend it.

I bought a copy of this wonderful book from a grocery store, of all places. My daughters and I use this book every day as a devotional guide. The virtues are explained in terms simple enough for my 6yo to understand without being "simplistic". The authors also manage to respect and incorporate the faith teachings of major world religions without leaning toward sectarianism, preachiness, or political correctness.

I find my parenting muscles being stretched whenever we pick this guide up for our daily readings.

This book has taught us how to brake the cycle of shame & blame and then shown us a loving/just way to work with kids to change behavior. It has worked on myself just as much as my daughter and she loves to read or do the virtues picks. I can't express how much this has helped us! We all love the book.Have an open mind and do it for a month you will see results right away.

This book is absolutely wonderful ~ just what Baha'u'llah encourages us to be, and the virtues are beautifully explained and great examples are given!! Very clear to understand & practice. Every family should have this book, hands down. Of course, there are more than 52 virtues we all should learn & practice, but in this format, we can read and practice one virtue per week for a year. We make it a game & share our experiences throughout the week. :) It's been incredibly helpful not only to my daughter in giving her the tools to be a kind, loving, compassionate & confident individual, but also successful in any situation life will throw at her. NOT to mention ~ it's been invaluable to me, showing and teaching me virtues I needed to work on so I can be a better example for my daughter as well. Being a parent, there is no greater responsibility than talking the talk, and *walking the walk*!! LOVE IT!!

I got this book because of a recommendation from a friend. She taught pre school, and when she applied "the virtues" to her class, she said that it was like a miracle.

Personally, my children are older, 10,11,12. I have also had awesome results so far! I have learned to see many situations differently, and it has worked! Each time I have had an opportunity to call my kids to a virtue, calmness reigns. When we argue, calling them to the particular virtue that is needed at that time makes sense to children. It also allows them to be in control of the results. I believe that I will be using this book until they are grown.

Great intro to the concept of home education with a heavy emphasis on the Charlotte Mason method. I re-read this little treasure regularly to keep myself on track. Loving books as much as I do tempts me to compile quite a list of Books We Must Have for School. The CM way of thinking ensures I stick only with the best, the essentials. I highly recommend it!

I first read this book because it was written by Susan, one of Francis and Edith Schaeffer's daughters. Little did I know that it would become the foundational book to becoming a homeschool parent when I decided to take my youngest child out of the public schools.

One doesn't need to be homeschooling their children to appreciate this book. Susan writes in the same warm and friendly way as her mother. However, if one is homeschooling and using the Charlotte Mason "method", this book is an essential volume to have in your library.

If you're a Charlotte Mason fan, you can't pass this one up. It is my favorite book on Charlotte Mason & is full of wonderful parenting advice. Really, all parents are teachers, not just homeschooling parents. This book offers great insight for all who spend time caring for children.

As one preparing to homeschool, this book was this kind of thing that has been spurring me on to ponder, philosophize and dream about both the general approach I will take, and the beginnings of many specific ideas.

For those who are disenchanted with the high pressure standardized-testing mentality prevalent in classrooms today, this book explains the educational philosphy of Charlotte Mason. It is God-focused (Susan is the daughter of Christian apologtic Francis Shaeffer), natural, and relaxed. It is a must-read for any classroom teacher, homeschool parent, or school administrator.

Incredible book! If you have any interest in ministry on a college campus this book is an absolute must have. I have read it several times and each time it motivates me and teaches me.

This book is fantastic for college students, campus staff, or anyone who wants to lead a missional life! It is perfect for a small group!

If you are looking to get stirred up for, and getting some great practicals for implimenting a effective college ministry on your campus or in your town read this book. You will go through past leaders of mission movements, what their lives looked like, and what was the defining elements that set them apart in ministry.

This is one of the only books I have seen relating solely to the changing of a college campus for Christ. Steve does an excellent job describing his experiences working with and reaching college students, all the while giving practical examples of how any college student can find a strategic group to strive towards reaching for the Lord. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a "how to manual" to reaching the lost on his college campus.

This book is as hard to put down as it is life changing. Shadrach does a great job weaving practical ministry advice into interesting real life stories. This is a must read for every college minister, every college aged Christian, and anyone serious about building God's kingdom on the college campus. Thanks Steve Shadrach!!!

A good read for anyone interested in knowing more about the teaching of Jesus, and the spiritual side of Christianity that is not typically discussed at standard sermons.

This book may or may not augment one's devotions. Its thrust lies not in devotion but in hard core practice: this is a man who speaks from what he has grokked, not that about which he has opined. One is stunned by the Light.

If you're serious about your search, grab this book. If you're looking to make your devotions prettier, surely there are a lot of little pamphlets out there that will do that job.

Do you want pretty? Go elsewhere. Do you want real? Grab.

Oh. Do you want canonical? Fuggadabboudit!

Wow!

There is something about this book that is saying far more than the scholars and modern academia is saying. Not only is it stylistically more interesting to read, it's practically and directly spiritual!

I'd been looking for a way to find SPIRITUALITY in the West, rather than stale dogmas, and real methods to feel connected with God, Divine Spirit, or whatever you want to call it in a practical and meaningful way. This book addresses those needs quite directly, unlike the scholars writing about Gnosticism who, at best, address those issues indirectly. I used to look up to the Eastern systems of metaphysics because they had a rich tradition of meditation and spiritual contemplation that I always felt I needed, but couldn't really connect with. But this author is coming to show me that such a spiritual richness and depth may also exist in the West!

The best part about the book is its practical use! The chapters are direct responses to each line of the Gospel of St. Thomas. There is a contemplation following each of St. Thomas' 114 sayings. This allows me to read in order, out of order, re-read sections in a nice, relaxing way as it fits into my busy schedule. Plus, each contemplation is good spiritual food for thought, so that I can read a contemplation, look back on Thomas' line and contemplate it myself to glean a little more on my own. It's the perfect book for anyone that has been looking for something more directly spiritual about Gnosticism, and more practically useful as good, solid food for one's truly spiritual considerations.

To quote Stephen Davies: "It all depends on what you mean by Gnostic. If you mean by Gnostic the belief that people have a divine capacity within themselves and that they can come to understand that the Kingdom of God is already upon the earth if they can come to perceive the world that way then Thomas is Gnostic.

"But if you mean by Gnostic the religion upon which the Nag Hammadi texts are based, a religion that differentiates the god of this world (who is the Jewish god) from a higher more abstract God, a religion that regards this world as the creation of a series of evil archons/powers who wish to keep the human soul trapped in an evil physical body then no, Thomas is not Gnostic.

"This differentiation is very important, because some scholars reason that if Thomas is Gnostic (in the first sense) then it is Gnostic (in the second sense) and, as they believe,Gnosticism (in the second sense) is a second or third century heresy, they conclude that the Gospel of Thomas is heretical, late in date, and without very much historical value in regard to Jesus of Nazareth."

Why are there so many authors who claim The Gospel of Thomas is Gnostic? It isn't......it is another denomination of Christianity that was suppressed 1800 years ago.

One of the Nag Hammadi manuscripts, the Gospel of St. Thomas is non-canonical gospel. In this gospel, Jesus is a mystical teacher--never as a savior. No miracles here, just an emphasis on his words as teaching. It professes the achievement of enlightenment through realization of self, a most Eastern twist on things. The text itself is mainly in the form of, "Jesus said xxx." Interestingly enough, very much like the set of "Confucius Said"'s from the Analects. It is generally rejected by mainstream Christians but it is a most interesting read for sure. This particular copy that I read has commentary and expansion on each of the versus of the gospel. I would give it four stars.

It's a masterpiece for body and soul! One ought to read it to understand more about us before life. Carlito

The general assumption of people of the modern era has been that we must look for and search for and wait for God. The image is of Beckett's 'Waiting for Godot'. God has disappeared and is not part of our lives and we have to wait for God to return. Or if we are real searchers we would not wait, but would make the effort ourselves looking in various aspects of our experience to find the ultimate religious meaning.
But Heschel's premise here is the opposite one. God is actually looking for us. God wants us. I remember speaking with one of the most loving teachers of Hasidism of modern times, the late David Herzberg of blessed memory. When I asked him about the meaning of the religious concept 'Avodat Hashem' service of God' His answer surprised me because it was different from anyone else's. He said it was God's service, God's work what God does to help and connect with us. This is very much like what Heschel is saying here. God is calling out to us ,God is Present as the Kotzker Rebbe says 'wherever we let God in'.
Heschel was a great poetic and religious soul , who feels and teaches God's searching for , and connecting with us.
This is a tremendously inspiring and thought- provoking work.
I will only say one more word. That as a ' poetic thinker' Heschel's meaning is something suggested and sublime, something we cannot be sure we understand.
What we can understand is the underlying tone of holiness throughout this work.

I think Heschel revealed a lot of himself in his works--more than other writers, perhaps. He seems to me to be very emotional regarding his opinions and beliefs. He came from an Eastern European Hasidic family whose ancestor was the Great Maggid of Mezerich. He was a leader in the Civil Rights movement as well as the Vietnam anti-war movement. He was on the faculty of the Jewish Theological Seminary, JTS, (of the Jewish Conservative movement). This is rather humorous, I think, since he was obviously quite the idealistic Liberal. He had a reputation as a mystic, causing him conflict with other JTS professors. He was a very forceful personality. IMHO he was very much a literary expressionist--putting his feelings into writing. He was also quite poetic--his books include many clever and beautiful turns of phrase. However, much of what he writes comes off as if they are sermons, as if he KNOWS. I respect his views, but don't often agree with them. This book doesn't read like philosophy to me (you can read "Between Kant and Kabbalah" by Mittleman on the Jewish philosopher Breuer, for example). As a scientist, I object to anyone dismissing the contributions of science in virtually any arena. Certainly psychology is a player in anything involving humans. As a mystic, I certainly agree that the Divine is ineffable. But people translate their contact with the Divine into human terms--mostly reflecting their individual propensities, biases, views, etc. That secondary process is psychological/scientific. Indeed, such communications have been compared to radio and television with a transmitter and receivers. Furthermore, research into ESP (Dr. Rhine etc.) shows considerable applicability in understanding the processes involved in communicating with higher powers (e.g. God). In addition, Heschel insists that the Bible be understood in terms of Biblical people. Certainly, such an approach can provide an historical or hagiographical context for the causes that produced beliefs and documents (e.g. The Torah). But, it is essentially irrelevant to today's individuals attempting to apply such beliefs and documents into their lives. It is obvious that praying, studying Torah, putting on Tefillin, etc. excites and completes Heschel, but that doesn't mean they do for everyone--and certainly not identically. He makes the common human mistake of assuming everyone is like him (or should be). I humbly disagree. Nevertheless, he did provide a differing point of view to be considered as well as a couple of good quotes for my collection.:
p. 317: When superimposed as a yoke, as a dogma, as a fear, religion tends to violate rather than to nurture the spirit of man. Religion must be an altar upon which the fire of the soul may be kindled by holiness.
p. 361: Every act done in agreement with the will of God is a mitzvah.
Mostly, however, I have to say (though I'm sure it will upset some people) that I found this particular book very boring. I liked "Moral Grandeur & Spiritual Audacity" better.

Plato wrote that virtue is knowledge and knowledge is virtue. If Plato's Republic was to succeed, society needed all of its citizens to be like Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. This, of course, was not the case in Plato's time - and most definitely not the case today. The wisdom of Heschel, as he so eloquently expresses in this timeless book, is needed now more than ever.

Heschel did not wait for God to give him grace, because he knew that his actions were more important than words. Heschel felt compelled to act upon his commitment as a citizen and as a Jew. The result being that Heschel's spiritual life set an example for his generation and generations to come.

In Heschel's own words: "Religion becomes sinful when it begins to advocate the segregation of God, to forget that the true sanctuary has no walls. Religion has always suffered from the tendency to become an end in itself, to seclude the holy, to become parochial, self-indulgent, self-seeking... ."

Each page and every word in this great work gives us important wisdom. Heschel challenges us to strive for the ideal but insists that we never forget the realities and injustices that surround us. (Jerry Marcus is the author of three novels: "Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Zev," "The Salvation Peddler," and "The Last Pope.")

When originally published, this book was seen as a breath of fresh air; it doesn't "analyze" religious thougt. Rather, it forces the reader to examine his own feelings towards G-d.

Heschel, often though of as an academic with a Hasidic background, was rather a Hasidic Rebbe with university training. This work, along with his other popular books (as opposed to the scholarly ones) is written in the form of a series of Hasidic discourses at a comfort level to the reader as if he were sitting with the Rebbe at the Third Sabbath Meal and absorbing his wisdom.

The central theme, the centrality of belief in and devotion to G-d, is often overlooked in contemporary Jewish literature; many veiled (and no so veiled) jibes of contemporary religious practice and life are meant to drive home the point that "it's about G-d and man", not about buildings, organizations or other agendas or programs.

Like the Kotzker Rebbe, Heschel's hero and spiritual father, Rabbi Dr. Heschel was able to cut through the gloss, fluff, and veneer to get to the root of man's belief in and relationship with G-d.

Max Lucado is an artist! He paints pictures with his words. All his books are like that, but this one is superb!

We are using it as a women's group study. It lends itself wonderfully and quite easily to this venue. I have never seen the excitment and participation in a small group that this book has generated. But most exciting is the growth of the each women's understanding of Who God is to her (and who she is to HIM) presented in a unusual perspective. The result has been a steadily increasing sense of awe and trust and surrender ~ and a very obvious deepening of each woman's relationship with Him. I would highly recommend this book as a wonderful small group study.

Thanks, Max, you have blessed us ~ again!

With this book, I was lead through the Lord's Prayer and the House of God and understood more of what it means to live in "God's House." Max Lucado is a WONDERFUL author and such an inspiration! Thank you a lot. This book is a great devotional book, or a great book to just read for enjoyment.
~Kristen

Each Chapter has its very own message, and each really opened my heart with great understanding to God's love. I plan to purchase this book for my family members as a Christmas gift.

Lucado takes the Lord's Prayer (our Father, who is in heaven...) and breaks it down into many little parts - giving each part a "room" in the "great house" of God. It shed new light on the Lord's Prayer and I haven't looked at it the same.

Absolutely terrific writing. Classic Lucado - descriptive, prescriptive, and very emotionally connected to the reader. It is written in such a way that Max is the tour guide showing you all the rooms and how we can have a place there.

If you're looking to reconnect with God or for a breath of fresh air in looking at Scripture, this is a great book.

I have just finished this book and it was wonderful! Rev. Lucado has a delightful, conversational style that makes for easy reading. It's almost like having your own personal Bible teacher.
How often we take the Lord's Prayer for granted! We repeat the words mechanically with little thought to their meaning. Rev. Lucado puts these timeless words in a new perspective, bringing fresh meaning that will touch your heart. His description of Heaven brings both comfort and longing to the soul. A must read for all Christians whose view of God's Heavenly Kingdom is somewhat blurred!

This book is written from the heart for those who are seeking comfort and meaning in their grief journey toward healing. Easy reading and numerous short sections help the reader cope with the struggles of the moment or day by guiding the grief work toward healing. Scripture verses, haiku and healing recommendations for grief all in one.

In Grieving God's Way, Margaret Brownley opens a window, letting a fresh breeze clear the clouds of the mind. Her book guides you through the dark hours, showing ways to embrace the daily wonders. Margaret writes, "If we have done the work of Grief, sooner or later, we will want to break out of our cocoon and move on with life."

Diantha Ain's Haiku gives a lyrical view of life. Her Haiku brings humor, beauty of the world and hope.

None of us in this life are allowed the luxury of escaping the loss of someone or something we love. If there is life, there will certainly be death. In this exceptional work, Grieving God's Way,author Margaret Brownley helps us to understand the grieving process and leads us upon the walkway to peace.
In her writing she is open and frank about our grieving experience, yet she laces each expression with comforting Scriptures and insightful wisdom from the Lord.
She shares topics such as, "the Healing Power of Prayer, To Hope Again, God The Beacon, and Where Is God?" She takes some tough subjects and questions that those grieving are certainly screaming out, and gently but with deep conviction speaks the assuring words that are so desperately needed to be heard.

Grieving God's Way is a book written with a fresh approach to dealing with such a personal, intimate and unapproachable emotion, grief. In this work, we find hope, encouragement and a glimmer of peace for the future. I recommend this book and know that the words within it's pages will help bring healing to many.
Shirley Johnson

"Sometimes compassion
offers only outstretched arms
to unburden grief." ~ Diantha Ain

Margaret Brownley is the author of 23 books of fiction and this is a book where she deals with her own reality in all its pain and conflict. She is also the founder of a Bereavement Care and Grief Center. Through her own experiences and the experiences of those around her she has learned a great deal of practical information she now offers to anyone who has unresolved grief and wants to find their way back to their lost joy.

"The soul seeks to grow, to question, and to understand, and this constant search plunges us into dangerous waters and hurls us into hostile space. It's the soul that demands answers from God." ~Margaret Brownley

Grieving God's Way is divided into four main sections that include healing in the areas of Body, Soul, Heart and Spirit. The book starts with gentle breathing exercises and continues through a process of healing each section of hurt and confusion. You will find a place to relax into an understanding that calms and comforts the soul.

The importance of writing, prayer, exercise, getting outside in the sun, lighting candles, remembering good memories and heart-healing ideas are presented with care in a nurturing environment of beautiful writing. I have read many books on grief, but this one is my favorite because it addresses issues in easy-to-read sections and is written by an author who truly understands the grieving process. Grieving God's Way is a very personal journey into the heart.

"Tears comfort the soul
washing away our sorrow
one drop at a time." ~Diantha Ain

~The Rebecca Review

Brownley gets to the core of grieving. Her insight is believable, as she recognizes the agony of the persons grieving. The book is laid out addressing 4 sections of our being as we grieve. It is not necessary to read sequencially, rather where the need is at the moment. The haiku is also very instrumental for remembering details of each section. I depended on the help I knew I'd receive each time I opened "Grieving God's Way".

THANK YOU FOR THE PROMPT DELIVERY OF THE BOOK: HANA'S SUITCASE. IT WAS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION. THE BOOK ITSELF WAS WONDERFUL, AND THE PICTURES ADDED SO VERY MUCH TO THE BOOK. I SHALL NEVER FORGET READING THIS LITTLE BOOK. I SENT IT ON TO MY GRANDCHILDREN. THANK YOU.

This was a wonderful book. Hana's Suitcase allowed children to connect the events of the Holocaust with the experiences of a person about their own age who actually was affected by these events. Although sad by definition, the tale ends on a high note, as Hana's older brother travels to Japan to meet with young visitors at a Holocaust Museum. He is able to tell of his young sister who actually carried the suitcase in one of the museum's exibits and who later died while imprisoned by the Nazis.

Hana's Suitcase, by Karen Levine, published in 2007, is the true story of a young girl named Hana Brady, who was taken away by the Nazis as a small child along with her older brother George, and her suitcase, which through a chain of events ended up in Japan. It is also the story of a Japanese woman's efforts to find out about Hana- who she was and what happened to her. The book is incredibly moving. Illustrated with photographs of Hana and her family as well as the Holocaust center in Japan where her suitcase is found, Levine tells Hana's story in parallel with the story of the efforts to learn about her. This structure sets up two crushing waves of emotion that left me in tears by the end. It's bittersweet tragedy, told with beauty and sensitivity.

I have read this book to my fourth grade class for the past two years. They are instantly drawn to Hana, Fumiko, and the story of the Holocaust. The minute they see the picture of Hana's Suitcase, they begin to ask all the questions that the children in Japan asked of Fumiko. They always want me to continue reading and they are so eager to find out about her story. This book has inspired so many deep and thoughtful discussions with my students. They really connect to Hana and her story and the book helps them understand what happened with the Jewish people in WW2 and why it got so out of control. The chapters switch between Hana's story and the story of the children in Japan who are learning about Hana, so it kind of breaks up some of the more difficult parts of the story with the more happier, hopeful parts. I highly recommend this book for anyone- kids and adults.

This is a very different account of the holocaust than I have ever read before. It is a living account of the holocaust and how it still affects our lives today. This book brings the holocaust into the present by telling the story of a Japanese woman searching for a girl who was lost nearly 60 years ago. I loved this story and wonder how many more stories of survival, hope and faith we can find if we just dig a little deeper to unbury a past that is not always pleasant but that we can always learn from.

This has been my favorite book ever since I read it in 1994. Its perfection is other-worldly. If you are a Dillard novice, better to start with "An American Childhood," to get a sense of the author and her style. It is about growing up, experiencing wonder, becoming fully alive. "Holy the Firm" borders on a spiritual meditation; some of my friends have found it too abstract. Whatever you do, steer clear of "The Maytrees," Dillard's most recent book--it doesn't measure up.

Annie Dillard is a creator of writing that frequently works like poetry trapped in prose's body. This little offering, in three jewel-like parts, is rather like her more extended "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek": a gorgeous and unflinching experience of the natural world, an angry wrestling with the problem of suffering and a theological discussion in light of these two other preoccupations. The theology in "Holy the Firm" is thus grounded in trauma and reality but expressed in heady, spinning, sometimes impenetrable language that highlights the mysteries within her subject but at the same time obscured for me what attitudes of the heart or mind she had come to at the end of her struggles. I finished the book still feeling rather angry myself and, perhaps unsurprisingly, unsatisfied.

Recommended (especially the hilarious description of Sunday in a small Episcopalian Church).

This is a gift from Annie Dillard. She share her struggle with the question of "What kind of God would let --- happen?" Whose responsibility is it? Do we matter one whit to God? Dillard shares her pain, her longing for truth, her disappointment, her faith with grace and soaring language. It is a short book but is definitely not an easy read.

Ponder the definition of Holy the Firm, as believed by esoteric Christianity. "It is a created substance, lower than metals and minerals on a 'spiritual scale,' and lower than salts and earths, occurring beneath salts and earths in the waxy deepness of planets, but never on the surface of planets where men could discern it; and it is in touch with the Absolute, at base."

"Does something that touched something that touched Holy the Firm in touch with the Absolute at base seep into ground water, into grain; are islands rooted in it, and trees? Of course."

Then there is Dillard's description of the risk of losing someone you love.
"And you can get caught holding one end of a love, when your father drops, and your mother; when a land is lost, or a time, and your friend blotted out, gone, your brother's body spoiled, and cold, your infant dead, and you dying: you reel out love's long line alone, stripped like a live wire loosing its sparks to a cloud, like a live wire loosed in space to longing and grief everlasting."

While attending Western Washington University I had the great good fortune to take a poetry class from Annie Dillard. My own poetry was abysmal and she gave me this advice, "writing is like prayer; you sit and listen for the still small voice." She had won the Pulitzer prize for Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and was in the process of writing Holy the Firm while at Fairhaven College at Western. She read us the bits about the moth and the flame. This is her slenderest book, but the one in which she most takes her own advice. It's prose that reads like poetry.

This is a book that makes me think that everything else I've ever read was only approximate use of language to convey some idea. In this book it seems like every word is carefully chosen, as if it comes from some place of meditation, of listening to a still small voice. It's a very human book, for all the sparks of the divine. By another accident I heard her read from it at the University of Washington. The final passage seemed to rise to a climax and hang in the air. No one spoke, no one left. It was one of those magical moments. Holy the Firm is all one piece and can be read through in one sitting as one experience. It's very much a writer's book, and I see most of the reviews are by writers finding some echo in a fellow writer. Some reviewers have put much better than I what it's about. I merely suggest that Dillardians (and other readers) may enjoy this oft-overlooked book.

In Holy the Firm, Annie Dillard certainly can not be accused for excess verbiage. Her little book, consisting of less than eighty pages, is a thoughtful and sometimes intense investigation into the soul. One can almost imagine her staring deeply at a flowing river or a particular kind of tree and genuinely seeing Divinity in and around it, authentically feeling it and being transportated to the nether reaches of the unexplained. Yet, it is a good place or moment where nothing can touch you or hurt you. It is the zone where you have that elongated, never ending epihany. However, in Holy the Firm, she has that exact moment or moments, citing a couple of specific occasions and or happenings: a moth engulfed in a candle flame, a child severely burned in an airplane mishap and lastly, a baptism on a chilly day on a beach. Her stabbing gaze and visual processing is an inherent endowment for us all but very seldom used, sad to say. Each example that she bethinks, on the surface, looks violent and harsh and horrible. But behind that mask of the unpleasant, there is profound cheer at the transformation of the perception, of soul development, and yes, of course, of the logical, humanistic and psychological plain of thought processing, filtering and transforming. The essay, in no uncertain terms, conveys a kind of WOW factor that says, I don't really know how this whole thing operates, but isn't it amazing nonetheless? The deity of God has to be here, right in front of our very eyes, every moment, every instance, every half second. Holiness is under a rock, in people, in nature, in moments (good and bad), one giant gelatinous glob with so many tags and definitions attached to it. But only the Holy makes it cohesive and function. This work is not so little in its implications and gratitude. There is a majesty here, an august celebration. And we're all in it together, a gem of a book!

I found this book just about the time the author started eHarmony. The service was not available in my area, but I felt that he had a great idea. I purchased the book in order to learn more.

I had been divorced and had sworn off men and decided I would never marry again. I read the book and was amazed at how the author took the population and showed us how the pool of potential mates was narrowed and narrowed by our location, desires, etc.

The "must have" and "can't stand" lists have saved my life. By not only learning about myself, but also by actually putting pen to paper and figuring out what I really wanted and more imporatantly how to recognize those I did not want, I was able to focus on my future.

I am happy to report that I am very happily married to my soul mate. While we were dating he teased me about this book over and over, but now he sees the tremendous benefit in the knowledge this book provides. I have continued to recommend it to all my friends and family. It worked for me and can for you too!

This book helps you really look at yourself, learn to know yourself, then you determine what traits are really important in a mate. What bugs you, what can you live with, what things can you just not stand in a mate?

This book helps you look at common wish lists for a mate and find out what matters most to YOU. Then you learn to determine if someone has these traits, so you don't waste your time on dating someone you could never be happy with.

This book makes sense, and helps people pin down what really matters to THEM. I'd recommend it highly to anyone looking for a relationship.

If you are in a relationship and its not working out, this book could also help you figure out what's wrong. This one should be on everyone's book shelves, its a great book to loan to friends and family if you don't need it yourself.

This book uses sound principals of true personality compatability.

A great book to help people identify what they are looking for when they are dating. I can honestly say that this book should be mandatory for people prior to dating! :)

An excellent guide through an introspective process, which will reveal those aspects of a potential mate that are key for you. Once you can see what is so important to you that it will ultimately make or break a relationship, the rest is pretty easy. Read it. Think about it. Second dates with people who couldn't possibly be "the one" will no longer be necessary. This was the book that made the difference for me. I give it an A+.

I am a military chaplain. One of the questions I face comes in the area of relationships. People looking around for the right one. I have suggested this book numerous times to others. It worked for me. I would highly recommend it for someone recouping after a bad relationship before going back or to another relationship.