Obstacles Welcome

Obstacles Welcome

by Ralph de la Vega

This book tells the story of Ralph de la Vega as a Cuban immigrant. He came into this country when he was 10 years old completely alone. He lived with strangers for 4 years before the rest of his family joined him in the United States. De la Vega went on to get an education and become successful in the AT&T corporation.

I thought this book was awesome. It had some very good, practical success principles to follow that apply in any area of life. One of the principles that stuck with me the most is that of vision. Developing a vision and a plan to achieve it. There was also a lot of good information about leadership and how to inspire the people around you. I liked the book because de la Vega does not just give you some ideas that should work in theory. He tells you these success principles, and then gives you the real-life example of how he implemented it in his career and how it helped him to get to where he is.

I would definitely recommend this book, especially to those looking to move up in the corporate world. As I mentioned already, it gives solid principles to follow that are practical and easily applicable to just about any situation.

Reviews coming soon!

I got my first book to review in the mail the other day. I'm super excited. And it's a hardback! I was impressed! I'm 2 chapters into it, and liking it so far. It's called Obstacles Welcome and it's about (and written by) Ralph de la Vega, who is the CEO of AT&T. He is a Cuban immigrant. He came to the States when he was 10 all by himself. His parents were trying to come, but their paperwork was wrong. So they sent him by himself, hoping to join him in a wee or so, after they got their paperwork sorted out. He stayed w/some friends of his aunt who had already moved to the States. Then the Cuban Missile Crisis hit, and a week turned into 4 years. It's very interesting thus far, and has some very practical advice for overcoming obstacles and becoming successful. So be looking for a review in the next couple of weeks.

I just went and looked at some other books that I can request after I review this one, and it makes me want to hurry up and finish it. lol. One that looks particularly interesting is called Rediscovering God in America. And I'm super jacked about getting free books. =)

Things are slowly but surely getting organized around the new apartment. Still got a good bit to do in the office, but it shouldn't take long. It's just a matter of doing it. The main thing that we need that will help SOOOOO much is getting a pantry cabinet. All of our food is just sitting out on the counter now b/c we don't really have a place for it. I've got a perfect spot for a pantry. Just gotta get one. I'm wanting to have everything basically done by Saturday night b/c we're having some friends over for dinner and fun. The boys are going to bond over Xbox and we're going to work on Christmas projects. =) I'm excited.

Well, I think I'm going to go get some reading done. =) Have a great evening!!

Book reviews

So I saw one someone else's blog that she reviews books for Thomas Nelson Publishers. And when I looked into it a little more, I found out that anyone w/a blog can review books for free. They send you a book every month based on ones you request or genres you're interested in. You read the whole book, write a 200 word review, and post it to your blog and a consumer website like Barnes&Noble or WalMart. So I signed up. I'm always looking for new authors or interesting new books. And I figured this would be just as good a way as any to do that.

After I initially found out about being able to review books, it got me thinking. I think I'm going to make it a goal this next year to read at least 25 NEW books throughout the year. And I specify NEW b/c I like to re-read my favorites. I've read the Harry Potter series several times. Like, at least 5 times. More for the first few books. I'm about to re-read the Twilight series too. (We went and saw New Moon tonight, so it's got me wanting to read it again.) So yeah, 25 new books a year. And they can be any genre. Fiction, self-help, religious, non-fiction, whatever. Then if I do 25 w/no problem, I'll up the number. So now that I've decided to review for Thomas Nelson, that'll help w/my new book goal. I'm pretty excited. So be looking in the next month or so for my first book review. =)

The move is still going pretty well. Not quite done yet. We should get everything out of the old apartment tomorrow. Getting everything situated here is another story. lol. I spent about 3 hours on it last night after we got in from HSV and made a decent dent in it. I at least found our bed and part of the living room. lol. And Micah got our dryer working again! So we're also going to tackle this mountain of laundry tomorrow too.

Things have been super crazy busy this week, so Micah and I went on a date tonight to just get away for a little bit. We went to O'Charley's and then to see New Moon. I liked it better than the first one, although it still had some cheesy moments. New Moon was my favorite book out of the 4. =)

And now I'm beginning to crash after the extremely long week that we've had. Gotta get some sleep so I can work on moving tomorrow. I also have to get my class ready for Sunday morning, which might prove to be a little difficult. So I'm gonna sign out. Have a great evening and weekend!

Reading list

So I'm trying to come up with some good books to read this next year. I need suggestions. I've been really proud of myself for keeping up with my daily Bible reading this year, so I want to keep it up in some form or fashion next year. (Ok, so it hasn't been 100% daily, but I've stuck with this Daily Chronological so far. I've never gotten past like, February with other reading plans like this. So I'm happy.) I read somewhere that if you read 3 chapters of the New Testament each day then you'll read it 4 times in a year. So I think I'm going to do that. Then along with that, I'm going to pick other books to read. I might even take on more than one book at a time. (Because I'm a nerd like that.) My breaks at work are always good times to read, but I think I'm gonna leave that time for whatever fiction/leisure book I'm reading. It gets loud in the break room sometimes so it's hard to concentrate. Some sort of commentary or other such book would be difficult to read and get anything out of. So what I think I'm going to do is leave my fiction book at work so I won't be tempted to read it at home.

I definitely want to read a missions book or two next year. Micah has plenty from his classes, so I might tackle one of those. I might also try a marriage book, like His Needs, Her Needs. I know I've started that one multiple times, but I don't remember if I've ever actually finished it. But I need some suggestions for good books to read. Anything spiritual, like a book commentary, or just a devotional type book. Or something non-spiritual but still something that I can get something out of. Like The Magic of Thinking Big, or something similar. So, suggestions anyone? What's a good book you've read recently?

I taught my first ladies' class tonight. It went pretty well. Our numbers were kinda down for whatever reason, so a lot of the talkative ones weren't there. I was a little worried at first. But one of the girls, Jennifer, had read the chapter and really contributed a lot. So that was good. Jennifer and her husband have recently placed membership. Micah used to play ball with him a few years ago, so we already knew them a little bit from Freed. We've gotten to know them a lot better since they've been coming out. They've got 2 little girls, which is crazy because they're about our age. (Well, in between me and Micah. I can't really say our age when we're 4 years apart, can I? lol) Next week's topic in class is hatred.

Tomorrow night is another Star Wars night. We're going back to number 1 now. They all insisted that we watch them in the order they came out, not the order of the plot.

Well, that's all I have for today. Have a good evening! Boa noite! (That's good night in Portuguese. But don't try to pronounce it because it sounds nothing like it looks. lol. The second word is pronounced something like noy-chee. Confusing, isn't it? lol.)

Vultures and Hummingbirds

So I'm teaching the Wednesday night ladies' class at church starting next week. I've never taught anyone older than 4-yr-olds, so it's a first for me. We have decided to study a book called "From Vultures to Hummingbirds: 6 Attitudes to Eliminate, 7 Attitudes to Cultivate." by Mary Alice Wilhelm. The six bad attitudes are anger, hatred, jealousy, selfishness, hypocrisy, worry. The seven good attitudes are compassion, forgiveness, the servant spirit, contentment, gratitude, the submissive spirit, love. The title is kinda odd, but with a little explanation, it makes perfect sense. Here is the explanation that the book intro gives.

"It is said that both the hummingbird and the vulture fly over our nation's deserts. All the vulture sees is decaying, rotting meat (carrion), because that is what they look for. They thrive on that diet. But hummingbirds ignore the putrid flesh of dead animals. Instead, they look for the colorful, aromatic blossoms of blooming desert plants. The vulture lives on what was! They live on the failed past. They fill themselves on what is dead and lifeless. Hummingbirds live on what is! They revel in fresh, pleasant things. They seek vibrant, living things. Each bird finds what it is looking for. So do we all. Obviously a choice we all have to make is whether we want to be vultures or hummingbirds."

The first topic is anger. The book gives several examples from the Bible of people showing anger properly or improperly: Jesus, John the Baptist, Paul, Moses, Mary and Martha, Paul and Barnabas, and Samson.
There are also several good quotes about anger. Quotes are kinda my thing. I used to collect and compile them in high school. I've got a Word document on my computer that has like, 40 pages of quotes divided into topics. So here are some of the quotes that were included, and some that I have added.
-Anger toward someone else is like taking poison ourselves and expecting someone else to die!
-Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one.
-It is he who is in the wrong who first gets angry.
-Anger is that feeling that makes your mouth work faster than your mind.
-Speak when you're angry and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret.
-If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape 100 days of sorrow.
-It is misdirected energy to be angry at things you can help, and wasted energy to be angry at things you cannot help.
-You don't have to take back what you don't say.
-The best time for you to hold your tongue is when you feel you must say something or bust.
-He who angers you, controls you.
-A relationship that has been years in the making can be destroyed by just a few thoughtless words.

The power of the tongue in James 3 is also covered a little bit.

So this is one of those posts where I am wanting some feedback! So comment! Any advice on teaching class in general? Any stories or input about anger?

Here are some of the discussion questions to prompt your thoughts a little. =)
-How important is it for people to settle disputes quickly, even not to "go to bed mad?"
-What circumstances in the world today perhaps call for a little more righteous indignation than we often show?
-How was "political correctness" influenced our inclination to be tolerant of intolerable things?
-What makes you angry quicker than anything else?

Thanks in advance for your input! =)