Brian Morris' Blog

A lot has changed since my last posts. For starters, I am now a college student. For the first time, I am living on my own. It has to be the most confusing experience of my life. It's freeing though. From what? I am not sure.
But nonetheless, I am very excited about life. I have begun the part of my life that I am in total control. From here on out, it is my life. My actions from this point on will shape the person I ultimently become.
A lot of change is taking place. Mostly good. There are also a lot on my mind as I change life stations and move to a city miles away as I begin preparing for the rest of my life.
For this, I am very excited.
More posts to keep you updated are to follow.

Okay, Okay, I’m here … as promised.

Oh, where to begin. This past month and a half (as I am reminded every day in Government class) has been CRAZY.

For starters, ABOAMO. I know, I know. Let me just point out the pink elephant in the room. I said this book was to be done by March 14th - I lied. BUT I did finish the great book they call “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins and it was VERY good. Who knew a book about mass murdering children could be so interesting? I surely did not! For anyone looking for a good read, you should definitely consider reading this.

Since my read of “The Hunger Games”, my literature selections have taken a more serious and frankly saddening assortment of books. First we have, “Desperate Hope” by Candi Pearson-Shleton. This book is about her and her family’s grieving during and after the death of her brother, Rick Pearson (who happened to be a Worship Pastor at MLC). It has been great to learn of the Worship Pastor I never really knew and how he had a great impact on so many. The other book I am currently reading is “The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion. This book is about the woman’s grieving after the loss of husband and how her thoughts shaped the year following his death. I have tried three times to finish this book and have yet to do so. I need to. For me.

Many of you, I’m sure (not really), that you are on pens and needles to hear of the book selection that has been chosen for the month of April. Well, wait no longer for I am about to tell you. Are you ready? Do you think you can handle it any longer? Wait for it. Wait for it. Here is comes! Patience is a virtue. Are you ready now? How about now? Ok, here I go. There will be no turning back. The selection for April is The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow. How is that for melodramatic? This selection is for the moth of April 2010.

Here is the Barnes & Nobles synopsis on the book:

“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”
—Randy Pausch
A lot of professors give talks titled “The Last Lecture.” Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can’t help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?
When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn’t have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave—”Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”—wasn’t about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because “time is all you have…and you may find one day that you have less than you think”). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.
In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.
SO, what do you think? I think it is going to be GREAT.

In the mean time, I have fulfilled all public duties and declare this post officially OVER.

Hey Folk!
So after our first ABOAMO selection is over and hopefully read, I thought I'd share my thoughts on The Shack by William P. Young.
If you haven't read the book and wish to in the future, you may not want to continue reading the next paragraph!

Brian Morris' Review on THE SHACK
At first the book was eh... predicatble and then when it began talking about the THE GREAT SADNESS, it became very interesting and kept my interest, and as he returns to the shack, it was quite interesting. I thought the author had a great idea on personifying God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus. It was interesting and I thought portrayed Mack's emotions really well. The problem I have with the book comes in when they begin dialoguing about spiritually and discussing religion, etc. Although I agreed with / found the things interesting that they were talking about, there were a few things that seemed a bit elementary! I say this with the fact that the author chose to include the information that Mack attended Seminary and was married to a very devout woman. It puzzles me that he was confused about what the relationship between the three forms of God and Jesus' crucifixion and sin. I'm not sure, that is where it got a little eh for me. Other than that and the extreme amount of dialogue in the book, I did really enjoy the book. Especially the ending with the car crash and hospital and loosing memory - genius! I would definitely recommend this book for any new Christian or anyone who doesn't understand the meaning of the local church.

Anyone else who read the book, I encourage you to also write a blog post with a quick review of the book! I am anxious to see how each of you liked / didn't like the book!

With the first ABOAMO selection winding down, the next selection is just beginning! Anyone interested in joining us, it is not too late! All ABOAMO is is a "book club" where we read through a book a month. Our next selection is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins! The RECOMENDED due date for this selection is Sunday, March 14th, 2010.

I think it is going to be a great book, a bit different than the first choice. Here is what Barnes & Noble has a synopsis:

"In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival."

Anyone interested in reading this book, be sure to just comment here saying you're in!

Hello all!

Change is good. And with that in mind, you can find this blog at blogspot / blogger here or now available on Tumblr here. So, be sure to bookmark one of those so that you can stay up to date on ABOAMO [uh-boa-moe] [a book a month] (renamed from PROJECT: BOOKSHINDIG) and all things going on in my life.

And speaking of ABOAMO, only a few more days to finish "The Shack" - William P. Young by January 30th, 2010. And although I haven't finished with is quite yet, I am eager to share with you all my opinions on the book and I hope if you read it that you would be willing to share yours as well - through blog post, etc. Also, on Saturday, I will be sharing with you guys the next book selection which I think will be a good one!

Some Things That I Have Learned This Year:

One thing that I heard at PASSION that has consumed my thoughts since the conference was that generosity and giving shows that the stuff that we own doesn't own us. This has become even more noticed with the recent devastation in Haiti. It has been truly inspiring to see people come together her in America and give to this broken nation in the form of MILLIONS. But why is it that for the most part people give ONLY in times of devastation. Each day there are thousands of people that die each day from diseases that could have been treated with just supplying them with clean water. My dream is that we will become a generation of givers and doers.

And similarly, something else that I have learned is that volunteering and service to others shows selflessness - something I struggle with. By nature, I am a selfish pessimist which is something that I am hoping to change. Is is definitely not a good habit that I have and it's a habit I do intend to break. But at the end of the day I hope I can to bed and be able to honestly say that I cared about people today and invested in others! Because if I missed that, I missed everything - it doesn't matter about how successful the rest of my day went. The most important thing for me to do is to care about everyone around me.

Lately, I have felt a little weird and I can sense that something HUGE is in store for me. I can feel it and know it and am just waiting eagerly! Can't describe it, but God has a plan that is going to rock me to the core in the weeks and months to come; I can feel it! So, please be praying for me for clarity and wisdom in the weeks to come.

What is something that has been weighing on your heart lately?

Share with us. Comment. To do so, post comment at bottom of this page.

I regret to inform you that PROJECT: BOOKSHINDIG has hit a speed bump. Our first book selection, The Shack deadline has been postponed until the end of the month. I know many of you were waiting on pins and needles to reach this deadline and share all that you have learned from this read. But, you are going to have to wait a few more days.

The new deadline is Saturday, January 30th, 2010. So, for all of you folks that have failed to join us on this quest, you now have a second chance. Because this PROJECT: BOOKSHINDIG is going to be HUGE and is going to EXPLODE and you will definitely be sorry that you missed the opportunity to join this shindig from the first month!

So, if you missed joining us the first time, comment and tell me that you are reading The Shack with us and if you have no idea what I am talking about read this post HERE and you should be caught up!

So JOIN, guys! it's going to be sweet! No lie!