Saturday, January 15, 2011

Snow melt.

I woke up this morning to the sound of water dripping. I thought it was raining, but no, it was snow melting from the roof. The temperature is in the 40's. It is a cloudy day with fog this morning. Rain is predicted for this evening. I do not care if it rains as long as the road does not ice, pipes do not freeze, and the electic service in not inturpputed.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Book Review: Unearthing Your Ten Talents

Yesterday I finished reading "Unearthing Your Ten Talents: A Thomistic Guide to Spiritual Growth" written by Kevin Vost. This book requires more than one reading. The first time you read it is just to become familiar with it's contents. The second time you read it, get out your notepad, highlighters and colored pencils. I believe this book will be a constant reference for anyone interested in spiritual growth. It doesn't just explain the virtues. It gives them a more in depth meaning that I had not been aware of in the past. The virtues are not redefined, but their meanings are so much deeper than I had ever realized. Mr. Vost proceeds to define the virtues in a whole new way, and then breaks them down into their componets with explanations. It took me quite a while to read this book. I had to really exercise my mental muscles. Once I had read a chapter, I had to stop and think about what I had read, review what I had read, and decide how to apply what I had read to my spiritual growth. I found I had plenty of areas that needed reevaluating, even areas in my life that I had thought I had taken authority over. This book is an occasion of learning and growing. It will be in my backpack for quite a while, my copy will eventually be highlighted and underlined, with notes in the margins. Don't all good books end up this way? Sophia Intitute Press sent me a free copy of this book for me to review. Mr. Vost has also written a book on memory, I have a copy, I will dust it off, and read it. He has also written a book about physical fitness. Understand one thing, I am not an authority in knowledge and learning, I am simply an ignorant redneck hick that has been impressed by a good book.