Pray Big For Your Child - Will Davis, Jr

Subtitle of this book is - The power of praying God's promises for your child's life. The author is pastor of Austin Christian Fellowship, a father of 3, and the author of other books on prayer. This one is more specific on praying for our children to help them to become all that God wants them to be. Will introduces the concept of pinpoint prayers, which are specific prayers based on scripture that go beyond the "God, bless my child" general prayers.He calls them BHAP, big, hairy, audacious prayers.

The author has included specific chapters on parents of sons and daughters.There are also chapters on praying for the influences and mentors your child will have in their lives.  It was interesting to read the author's views on Daniel and the circumstances he found himself in and the stand he took as a young man in Daniel 1: 12-20. Could our young sons take a same stand? Also included are a month's supply of pinpoint prayers as examples and praying for your child throughout the day.
I would recommend this book to parents of children of any age, especially parents of younger children. It will be on my list as a recommended book for parents.
This book was provided by the publisher at no cost to me.

Rules To Live By - Jerry White

Subtitle - 52 Principles for a better life. The forward to this book is by Ken Blanchard who many will know as the author of The One Minute Manager. This book is a collection of 52 very short chapters, some only 2 pages long, on important principles that can be applied by a person of any age. The writing is to the point and brief.
The author is international president emeritus of The Navigators, was a mission controller, and taught at the the US Air Force academy. He brings all of these experiences together to write about what is really important in life. The book is divided into three sections, A Better You, Relationship Rules, and Enchancing Your Work and Effectiveness. These all cover many different aspects of living a better life such as, learn to relax, be real, give yourself, and work hard.
I enjoyed this book, but wanted the chapters to be longer, wishing to dig deeper into some of the subjects. It is already at 170 pages, but it is a quick read. Many good suggestions are given and some down right common sense reminders, which are never bad. I would recommend this book to anyone, especially to give as a gift. This is another great book from Navpress.

Why We Play - David Thomas

This is the story of the Faith Christian Lions and a game that was played against the Gainesville State Tornandos in November of 2008, and the events leading up to it. This game was unique in many ways. It flys in the face of the usual competition of football and winning. The subtitle is Faith, Football and a season to believe.
The main force behind this miraculous game was the coach of the Lions, Kris Hogan. It was at his urging, that a spirit line was formed before the game, and half of the fans moved to the other side of the field to root for the shocked Gainesville team. This event sent the team and it's coach into the national spotlight, and many interviews with the press. They all wanted to know why? Why would a team do this? It's all in Why We Play.

The NFL and ESPN even arranged for a trip to the Super Bowl for the coach, and interviews with the international press. This has gone way beyond anyone could even imagine. It just proves that doing something against the grain can influence many, and who knows how many people heard about this game, and the attitude of the team. This book would appeal to even someone who is not a football fan.

On This Day In Christian History - Robert Morgan

Subtitle - 365 Amazing and inspiring stories about saints, martyrs and heroes. The author is pastor of the Donelson Fellowship in Nashville, TN. This book has a page dedicated to each day of the year with a short synopsis of that day in the history of the church. Everything from the middle ages to the 20th century is covered.

This book brings to light famous and not so famous people and events of the day including, Eric Lidell, Martin Luther, Gutenburg, Jonathan Edwards.. Some days lead into the next, which makes for an inspiring read, for instance, to see how Billy Graham preached his first sermon.
  This book would appeal to any fan of church history of any age. It would be an interesting book for for speakers, preachers, and teachers, and has a index by topic. I'm sure many students could use it as a resource for learning. The author has done exhaustive research on many areas, and has a way of making what some may see as a boring subject, very interesting. Even those who are not history buffs will enjoy this book.

I found it interesting that a lot of people are mentioned that a lot of us have never read about in any other resource, and the effect they have had on so many people.

Beyond Halftime - Bob Buford

This book is the follow up to the successful Halftime. it is a shorter book with short easy to read chapters that were developed from the author's musings part of his website activeenergy.net. There are also questions at the end of every chapter that are more for personal reflection than group use. The author recommends using a journal to record thoughts and answers on what he calls the second half journey.
Bob was heavily influenced by Peter Drucker and  quotes him as one of his influences. It may be hard for some of us to relate to Bob's affluent background, but he assures all of us that having a lot of money is not a requirement for a successful halftime. All it takes is a desire to be used by God in this second half of life, and use your talents and energies to the best of your ability.
He spends most of chapter 12  comparing his approach to aging with Philip Roth's novel titled Everyman. He calls it the "antitext on aging well." It describes the exact opposite of what he is trying to do and encourage others to do as far as leaving a legacy, having regrets, envy, and remaining faithful. Sometimes it is good to understand the end results if you make the wrong choices.
It's not necessary to read Bob's previous book, Halftime, to understand  his point, but it would be to get the most out of it. I would recommend it to those who want to go further in halftime.