Let the Beatitudes Be My Attitude in You: Begin the Quest
I saw this book offered on Booksneeze shortly after the girls' retreat where I made a funny with my friend about the Beatitudes. She asked me, "Do you have a beatitude?" My response was, "You could rate it that." We have been talking alot about our attitude and the attitude of others, so it just seemed to fit together. Then I saw the title of this book and knew I just had to read it to see what kind of road I started on.
The book is packed full of good information. My favorite parts were the last two chapters. The last chapter was a great summary and insights into how to make the beatitudes a part of your every day life. The Epilogue was a fictional story about living through the beatitudes.
I was a little confused by the layout of this book. It may just have been because I was reading it on my Kindle, I'm not sure. The author showed the value in reading good books and listening to good audios. I just didn't think that adding full pieces of a song or pages of another book really helped with the flow of the book. There were cases where the insert did help the flow transition from part of one thought to another but not enough to fill the whole book. I was losing track of what we had been talking about when I read all the song inserts. I think if they would have been shorter or just a mention so that the reader would want to go and listen, may have been a better use.When Mr. Harris talks about his own experience in the book, you can feel what he truly wants to express. Which leads me to think, "Don't just take my word for it, these other people are saying the same thing (nothing wrong with that) and they are much more learned and respected than I (still nothing wrong with that)" but the "this is what I learned" seemed to have gotten lost.
I did enjoy the story at the beginning of each chapter directly (fictionalized a little) from the Bible to help show you where this "attitude" is used in the Bible. It gave me a reference point and a person to think about and guide my life after when I chose to work on that "attitude". I also enjoyed the Bible verse references at the end of each chapter to help expound on the thought and allow you to fill your mind with the verses that can help you with that "attitude".
My favorite quote from the book, "Become a soldier in this battle and plant peace in the lives of all around you."
I wouldn't suggest this book to everyone because of the lack of continuous flow. I would suggest parts of it to someone who is fighting with an attitude. I would definitely suggest the reading of the Epilogue to those who feel as though they have hit bottom. Then I would suggest that they read the Bible stories and verses from the book. Not sure if this book helped me with my attitude at all. I may need to go back to the character sketches and look them over again.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
