DH and I enjoyed a long, romantic vacation for two.
I spent a great deal of time relaxing, taking extra naps, lounging about with books…and sometimes, I just sat around and accomplished nothing at all while looking out at the beautiful world around me grateful for the beauty of oceans, forests, and an occasional rainbow. I took the rainbow as a promise of good things to come but DH said it was to be expected when the sun filled the sky one morning after a lengthy rain shower!
One of the books I picked up on this vacation was called “One Month to Live: 30 days to a no regrets life” by Kerry and Chris Shook. It was really an incredible book.
It has a very Christian perspective so nonbelievers should be aware of that and not give up on it when it launches into parables and quotes in the early chapters. It is well worth a read whatever your faith may (or may not) be. I truly believe this book has a powerful message for many people and that some nonbelievers may find the Christian message delivered so powerfully that they decide to investigate the religion and the Christian community further, or at least, they may reconsider their own spirituality in the face of impending mortality.
The book has roughly 30 chapters and is meant to be accomplished 1 day at a time. Some activities are private. Others require a group. Some activities require a great deal of reflection. Most lessons require an action piece to be taken before moving forward. Though I did not apply the book in practice to my own life yet, I can see how powerful many of these changes could be for me and have reflected on each chapter as I read it cover to cover.
The stories made me realize how grateful I am to have a great relationship with my spouse. They made me realize how fortunate we are and how many blessings we have. They made me realize how comfortable I am spending quiet time each day reflecting on my life and making choices that are good for me. In short, it made me feel very good about where I am in many areas of my life presently.
However, they also opened up several doors for me to find tremendous growth and improvement. This is not a step 1, step 2, step 3 sort of book in that you start a diet, hit the treadmill everyday for an hour, pick up your Bible and reflect for 15 minutes and then close the book and consider yourself “ready” to die. This book helps you examine your personal life priorities and then to live a life that is in alignment with your personal values and which contributes to both your happiness and your life purpose, and therefore, the happiness of those around you as well as God. I can imagine that if one were to do that work on a daily basis for a month it would really strengthen relationships and character quite a bit. I also thought it might be useful for a small group of friends, or those who worship regularly together, to utilize on a weekly basis reviewing one chapter at a time and then discussing how to best implement it in their lives. As we know from Dave Ramsey and other financial gurus, accountability is always a key factor to success.
Just thought I would share as it may help others put life and values in better perspective. I look forward to adding it to my own library of treasured books for future reference!
1 Comment
November 17, 2008 at 11:31 am
Thanks for sharing! I’m always looking for good books to read and I plan to add this to my list.