2018 – Justin Daniel

Book Reviews 2018

- Survival Guide for the Soul: How to Flourish Spiritually in a World that Pressures Us to Achieve, Ken Shigematsu
  January 14, 20202018I have often argued that the Christian life is a struggle to reach an equilibrium: Christians should be emotional but also studious; Christians should believe in the sovereignty of God but also the free agency of man; Christians should pursue Bible reading tempered with prayer. Ken Shigematsu believes the same. In his book, “Survival Guide for the Soul,” he brings to the foreground a juxtaposition of two paradoxical positions: the striving Adam and the soulful Adam. The striving Adam is the person who focuses on success in their professional lives. For example, Ken pastors a church in Vancouver B.C., but before this he worked for Sony Corps in Tokyo, Japan. He explains that the pursuit of his aspirations in that position was the embodiment of the striving Adam. Conversely, the soulful Adam finds solace in centering on those things that are healthy for our spirits. For example, making priorities of God, family, and friendships all typify the soulful Adam. Every human, as Ken argues, embody these two Adams. They are not at odds with each other for many would agree that you need both to survive in this world. However, humans have a tendency to worship the former. Often times we are so wrapped up in our accomplishments, the future, the successes at our workplaces, or other distractions that we forget to tend to our soulful Adam. This book is about navigating this world by feeding our soulful Adam a diet of spirituality in, as the subtext of the book describes, a “world that pressures us to achieve.” Part 1 of this book examines the two selves, the soulful Adam and the striving Adam. Part 2 is the meat and heart of the book: the “survival habits of the soul,” or those practical disciplines that guide our soulful Adam. The chapter themes are as follows: meditation; sabbath; gratitude; simple abundance; servanthood; friendship; vocation; and redefining greatness. I found some of these chapters to be extremely helpful. Friendship, in particular, was a convicting chapter to read. Friendships strengthen us, as Ken explains, encourage us and builds us up. Jesus surrounded himself with friends and we too need to have godly Christian friends that refreshen us in the chaos of the world. Ken challenges the reader to pursue those friendships that “… you toward Christ and his call upon your life…” I also found the chapters on simple abundance, gratitude, vocation, and redefining greatness helpful as a reminder to continue to practice such things. I also found the chapters on meditation and the sabbath to be inapplicable to me personally. While I was reading this book, I was telling my wife about the chapter on meditation. I asked her if she would meditate and she quickly, without much thought, said flatly, “no.” While I understand the spirit of meditation (and specifically what Ken talks about when he says “meditation” is not identical to the Buddhist type), I don’t find that practice particularly helpful to me. I do not believe there is mandate for a sabbath as well in the Bible, so while I think it is a good idea to get rest on one day, I do not that that Christians are sinning if they do not. These are a few minor points to an otherwise well written and well thought out book. I think this book will be very helpful for those who struggle with battling their career driven desires. The chapter on redefining greatness sums this up nicely: “When we come face to face with our own death, we realize that it doesn’t really matter if we went to a great school, are on a prestigious career track, have spectacular achievements, or have raised accomplished children. What matters is that we know that God loves us and cares about who we are becoming far more than what we do or don’t do.” These words ring true for so many. For more information, please visit the website: survivalguideforthesoul.com I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for providing an honest review....

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The American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For

The Lost City of the Monkey God

The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution

Even If You Don’t: A Love Story

The Martian

Yes, Chef

Gosnell: The Untold Story of America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer

The Stormlight Archive: The Way of Kings

All-American Murder: The Rise and Fall of Aaron Hernandez, the Superstar Whose Life Ended on Murderers’ Row

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

The Remains of the Day

The Stormlight Archive: Words of Radiance

The Stormlight Archive: Oathbringer

Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance

Educated

Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste

What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures

After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam (2018)

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

For We Are Many (Bobiverse #2)

A History of the World in Six Glasses

Jurassic Park

Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa

North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail

Preaching That Changes Lives

The Feud That Sparked the Renaissance: How Brunelleschi and Ghiberti Changed the Art World

The Cuban Affair

The Rooster Bar

Star Wars: Last Shot: A Han and Lando Novel

When Breath Becomes Air

Only Human (Themis Files #3)

Airframe

Mistborn: The Final Empire

Hell Divers

God Save Texas: A Journey Into the Soul of the Lone Star State

Star Wars: Thrawn: Thrawn (2018)

Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker

PROOF: Finding Freedom through the Intoxicating Joy of Irresistible Grace (2018)

Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ

The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After

Redshirts

Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets, and Outright Lies from a Lifetime Writing for The Simpsons

Christianity Considered: A Guide for Skeptics and Seekers

Insurgence: Reclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom

Jurassic Park: The Lost World

The History of Jazz

How to Lose a Marathon: A Starter’s Guide to Finishing in 26.2 Chapters

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything

Survival Guide for the Soul: How to Flourish Spiritually in a World that Pressures Us to Achieve

Brief Insights on Mastering Bible Study: 80 Expert Insights, Explained in a Single Minute

Star Wars: Thrawn: Alliances

The Bible Unfiltered: Approaching Scripture on Its Own Terms

A Mouse Divided: How Ub Iwerks Became Forgotten, and Walt Disney Became Uncle Walt

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America

Star Trek: Captain to Captain

The Darkness and the Glory: His Cup and the Glory from Gethsemane to the Ascension (2018)

Mistborn: The Well of Ascension

Mistborn: The Hero of Ages

English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable

Michelangelo: His Epic Life

Scientism and Secularism: Learning to Respond to a Dangerous Ideology

Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling (2018)

Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America

Grit

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The Interdependency: The Collapsing Empire

Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul

The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts that Shaped Our World (2018)

On Desperate Ground: The Marines at The Reservoir, the Korean War’s Greatest Battle

The Interdependency: Consuming Fire

The Reckoners: Steelheart

Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions

Firefight: the Reckoners book 2

Ethics and Moral Reasoning: A Student’s guide

Calamity: the Reckoners book 3

Skyward: Skyward

Prey

The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate (2018)

Legion: the Many Lives of Stephen Leeds

Reckoner’s: Mitosis

Tell the Truth: The Whole Gospel Wholly by Grace Communicated Truthfully & Lovingly

Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God

The Great Evangelical Recession: 6 Factors That Will Crash the American Church… and How to Prepare

Armada

Knowledge of the Holy

Elantris

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban