Daily Archives: February 26, 2009

Robert Benson has written a great book that challenges the believer to follow the Echo Within.  The Echo, as Benson describes, is the voice of God’s will in your life.  Throughout the chapters of this book, he beckons the reader to discover the life God has been preparing for us.

Benson reveals that even though the will of God seems like an Echo Within, it is actually more visible if we look at the things we have been through in life.  His premise is that God speaks to us through circumstances, relationships, impressions and many other ways that we often overlook.  Robert Benson encourages the believer to evaluate things in their life that create a portrait of the desires God has for our lives.

In The Echo Within, Benson shares from his personal journey to become an author.  He weaves his story throughout this book and helps the reader relate to his journey of fulfillment.  Benson’s book is an easy read, meaning that he engages the reader well and you look forward to seeing how his journey turns out in the end. 

By the end of the book, I was clearly seeing patterns in my own life that God has been speaking to me,  but I haven’t always recognized.  Anyone wanting to learn more about what God created them for must get a copy of The Echo Within.

Some quotes from The Echo Within:

“Sometimes what we want is to be allowed to hunker down in the life we are living, or are hoping to live, or are constructing for ourselves.  Without any upset, without any change in plans, without any of our ducks being disturbed…But sometimes when we say yes to some new thing that seems to be calling to us from the echo within, then we may as well be prepared to head for God knows where after that.  And to head there with God knows who as well.”

“To assume the One Who made us has only one way of revealing to us the thing for which we were made is to attempt to handcuff the Almighty.  (Something neither advisable or-I suspect-possible.)  We dream a dream, and it does not easily come true, and we conclude that perhaps it was not what God meant for us after all.  But I suspect far too many of us give up on our dreams far too soon.”

Robert Benson has written more than a dozen books about the discovery of the sacred in the midst of our ordinary lives, including Between the Dreaming and the Coming True, Home By Another Way, and Digging In. His work has been critically acclaimed in a wide range of publications from The New York Times and USA Today to Spirituality & Health and The Benedictine Review. He is an alumnus of The Upper Room’s Academy for Spiritual Formation and was recently named a Living Spiritual Teacher by SpiritualityandPractice.com. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

You can purchase a copy of The Echo Within at christianbook.com

   Today is Sonya’s birthday!  She is **! 

Surely Solomon was right when he wrote, “He that finds a wife finds a good thing!” “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband.”  I am fortunate to have Sonya as my crown!  I am blessed beyond measure to have a godly wife, a woman who loves me and a wonderful mother to our children.

I certainly have more than I deserve.  Happy Birthday, Smoopsy Poo!

John Maxwell Gives Us Six Habits of Highly Defective People.  I like Maxwell because he challenges the way we think and gives us some tools for self-examination.  How do you rate in these areas?  I know I have some work to do in my own life.

• They have a losing attitude: People generally get whatever they expect out of life. Expect the worst, and that’s what you’ll get.

• They quit growing. People are what they are, and they are where they are because of what has gone into their minds.

• They have no game plan for life. As William Feather, author of The Business of Life says, “There are two kinds of failures: Those who thought and never did, and those who did and never thought.”

• They are unwilling to change. Some people would rather cling to what they have rather than embrace what might be better because they are afraid of getting something worse.

• They fail in relationships with others. People who cannot get along with others will never get ahead in life.

• They are not willing to pay the price for success. The road to success is uphill all the way. Anyone who wants to accomplish much must sacrifice much.

HT: Buddy Cremeans