Syd’s Got A Blog

About a week ago, I saw a tweet with a link to a WordPress blog and I discovered – my daughter has a blog!

So far she has just a few posts and I’m not sure what brought on the idea to blog. But, speaking as unbiased observer, it is pretty good. You should go check it out. Click here to go to Syd’s blog.

She has written about choosing joy and quotes The Traveler’s Gift by Andy Andrews (a good book by the way).  She’s talked about being ready when opportunity comes knocking and how being prepared and opportunities coming your way seem to be related. Her third post looks at social media and our culture’s desire to be known and have influence in that arena.  All in all, I would say there are some good observations…coming from an a totally unbiased perspective, of course.

Happy reading!

The Noticer

I saw a tweet last week that Andy Andrew’s book The Noticer was available for the Kindle for $2.99 so I snagged it. I’ve read The Final Summit and The Traveler’s Gift and enjoyed both of them.  Andrews is a good storyteller and he pulls you into the tale he is weaving.

One of the things I enjoyed about his other writings was the use of biographies of both well-known and somewhat obscure characters from history.

The Noticer, who goes by Jones (just Jones, not Mr. Jones) pops in and out-of-town and offers wisdom and advice to the people he meets.  He doesn’t seem to age and is always seen carrying a weathered, brown suitcase. The contents of the suitcase are a mystery to everyone he encounters.  He says his gift is noticing things and people just need a little perspective, so he offers that different perspective.  Much of what he shares with others comes from the lives of those in the past.  He refers to George Washington Carver among many others and provides helpful advice at the time people need to hear it.  He helps a couple struggling in their marriage, a business man trying to cut corners in order to be successful, a young man who is facing various difficulties in life and even dispenses relationship advice to teenagers. He shows up at the just the right place, at just the right time, with the right words for the situation.

One of the quotes I highlighted in the book was this:  “Have you ever considered how often we judge ourselves by our intentions while we judge others by their actions?”

The Noticer offers good advice and a different perspective to the reader.  Check it out.

The Traveler’s Gift

Several months ago, I read Andy Andrews’ book The Final Summit, which is a follow-up to The Traveler’s Gift.  I enjoyed reading The Final Summit and had great intentions of reading The Traveler’s Gift, but just had not taken the time to do it.  My daughter recently read it and just went on and on about how much she liked it.  Knowing she had a copy of the book made it easy for me to finally read through it myself.  I’m glad I finally did.

The Traveler’s Gift tells the story of David Ponder and a crisis he comes to in his life.  As he struggles to find answers to his problems, he is given the opportunity to meet several historical figures and learn various principles from them.

***For those who may be reading this and haven’t read the book, I don’t want to give away much of what happens in the book, including the individuals that Ponder meets and the principles these people share.  It is worth reading on your own without knowing what is coming.***

I will say that The Traveler’s Gift very quickly draws the reader into the story.  It is roughly 200 pages long and I completed it in a 48 hour period. Once you start reading, you want to see what happens in the coming chapters.

The principles shared in the book are excellent.  One of the things I enjoyed about it was hearing my daughter’s reaction to some of the things in the book and how it applies to her life as a high school student.  I could make application to my life as well . . . as a person a few years (or so) removed from high school.

It would be worth your time to read The Traveler’s Gift.