The Founder's Key - Larry P. Arnn

The Divine and Natural Connection between the Declaration and the Constitution and what we risk by losing it.  This book is written by the president of Hillsdale College( www.hillsdale.edu) and written from what most would call a Conservative standpoint. Knowing this fact alone, some will avoid this book.
  One of the main points of this volume is that the Declaration and Constitution are so closely aligned, it would be dangerous for our country to divide them, as some in our current government are trying to do. These two documents are different, yet closely aligned, and dependent on each other.  This book is divided into two parts, Part One is titled "The Argument", with chapter titles such as Eternal, Yet New, Divide and Conquer, and Hypocrisy, and Part 2 that takes up about half of the book, Foundational Readings, including The Declaration of Independence, Federalist Papers, The Constitution, Extensive research notes, and Further Reading.
I would recommend this book to any history buff or anyone else that wants to learn more about the foundations of our country and what we risk if we lose these foundations.  This could also be used as a textbook on the foundation of our country, but sometimes the truth is not as popular as legend.

Uncommon - Tony Dungy

""I pay attention to my internal compass.  I think it has always been there, guiding me, but as I've matured, I've listened to it better and more often. It helps me to stay "lashed to the mast" as Homer wrote of Odysseus doing to keep from being drawn into destruction by the Sirens. That Greek myth resonates because we can relate to that feeling. Even when we know we are heading toward something that could lead to our destruction, it can still seem awfully appealing." - Tony Dungy from Uncommon

I Am Second - Doug Bender and Dave Sterrett

Real Stories. Changing Lives. This book can be summed up with this quote from the cover - Becoming second means recognizing God is first. This book tells the stories of famous and not so famous people that have been changed by God, and continue to live for Him. People such as Tony Dungy, Brian Welch, Bethany Hamilton and 18 others share their honest and very personal stories. There are also links to videos of each story through smart phone scans in the book, and on the website, iamsecond.com. where you will find information on finding and starting a small group based on I am second.
This is an important book because we all need to know and be reminded of the changing power of God over people's lives.
Sections on the back titled "How do I become second?" and "What Now?" are the shortest, but in my opinion the most important. In it, the authors detail our need for God in our lives, and how to have a personal relationship with His son, Jesus.
The authors are missionaries, church planters, and work with e3 partners, a parent organization.

There is a time for cutting grass, and a time for not cutting grass. Today was not the day.

Last week the grass in my yard needed cut. I intended to do it in the morning on this day, my day off. But, always open for free entertainment, I took our three kids to the free movie that our local theater offers during the summer. We got home around noontime. I then sat outside with my wife and talked for a while.
Then we all came inside and had a nice lunch, and the grass still needed cut.

After lunch my son wanted to show me a new video game and wanted me to play it with him, which I did. After that, my youngest daughter brought me a book and wanted me to read to her. The afternoon was continuing, and the grass still wasn’t cut.

My son and I then played one of his favorite computer games, after which my oldest wanted me to see her website she had just designed and read her latest blog. Then, we all played a few board games as a family. The afternoon turned into evening and my two youngest picked out books, I read to them and put them to bed.

I went to bed that night and the grass still needed cut.

I got thinking that a lot of people would have said that I didn’t accomplish anything that day. However, I would rather have weeds in my yard, then weeds in my family relationships. I have read that people spend the most time on things that are the most important to them. I have known men who clean and polish their cars, but their family is rusting.

Now, there certainly is a time for cutting grass and yardwork, but today was not the day. The grass can wait.

I didn’t think too much more about it until the day after our “family day”, when the neighbor girl asked to come over and wound up staying for supper and playing with our kids. I always wanted our family to be an example to others, but I was unprepared for what happened next. After a few hours at our house, the neighbor girl said “I wish YOU were my brother and sister!.” She was saying “I wish I could live here.”

I know she sensed something different in our home. I am hoping it was love, commitment, security, and a family that loved God and each other. She saw a mother and father who was first and foremost a husband and wife that were committed to God and to each other.

I learned something through all this. I was reminded to invest time where it really matters.

The little neighbor girl wanted to spend time at our house, even though the grass still needs cut!

My grass needs cutting | ViewsHound

My grass needs cutting | ViewsHound