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High Fidelity

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I used to keep a digital version and took notes from the books I read. It reinforces recollection and puts nuggets within reach. If I find a quote I like I look for it on Goodreads and save it.

Are you thinking of creating one yourself?
I used to keep them on index cards categorised by topic. I’d like to revisit that.
 
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bèlla

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I used to keep them on index cards categorised by topic. I’d like to revisit that.

Is it difficult to maintain when they're plentiful? You could probably use a flashcard app similarly.
 
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DragonFox91

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I am reading Making Choices For Godly Living. Here are summaries of the first quarter to first third.

Book opens discussing we think if the Bible is applicable to us as an individual. It quotes a wide variety of verses & some songs, & the truths in them we question.
Next chapter summarizes the early parts of Joseph’s life, starting with how God was working in his life even before he was born, up to when his brothers sell him.
Then each chapter is a different choice we need to make I’ll call truths

Truth 1: God is in control & we are not. Chapter discusses some characteristics of God: he is the creator of all things, he is holy, he is sovereign, he is good, he is powerful, he is incomparable, he is praiseworthy. He is these, so our responsibility is to trust him & his design
Truth 2: We need to confess our sin. We are responsible for our own sin. Sinning never happens in isolation. We need to acknowledge our need for a Savior. We must seek forgiveness from God & people we wrong, & repent.
Truth 3: We need to remain faithful. Even in horror, when circumstances are not ideal, or circumstances are routine. B/c God is faithful. Don’t complain. Keep your focus on the eternal. Stay faithful during personal struggles. Rejoice. Think right.
Truth 4: We need to be pure. Sinning is never the best choice. Resist temptation. Over & over b/c Satan usually doesn’t tempt just once. Even when it’s overwhelming. All sin is against God. Temptation to sin doesn’t just go away – if you’re able to defeat one, another will come. Put on the Armor of God for defense. Sin’s consequences never benefit.
 
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Tranquil Bondservant

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Dynasty by Tom Holland. The book itself is great in terms of information on the Julio-Claudian dynasty, however, weirdly enough there is occasional profanity and describing events somewhat vulgarly. Out of all the history I've read/listened to it's an absolute unicorn in this respect. I've never heard a history book using these kind of terms to describe events and it's actually pretty much soured me on the book as a whole. I actually really appreciate the writings on Augustus as he is my favourite emperor and there is a serious drought regarding popular information to do with him and his reign (weird considering he's mentioned in the gospels; Luke 2:1), but the vulgarity contained within the rest of the book makes me not even want to finish the thing.
 
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DragonFox91

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Dynasty by Tom Holland. The book itself is great in terms of information on the Julio-Claudian dynasty, however, weirdly enough there is occasional profanity and describing events somewhat vulgarly. Out of all the history I've read/listened to it's an absolute unicorn in this respect. I've never heard a history book using these kind of terms to describe events and it's actually pretty much soured me on the book as a whole. I actually really appreciate the writings on Augustus as he is my favourite emperor and there is a serious drought regarding popular information to do with him and his reign (weird considering he's mentioned in the gospels; Luke 2:1), but the vulgarity contained within the rest of the book makes me not even want to finish the thing.
Is this a historical fiction? Historical narrative?
 
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bèlla

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I'm in the mood for something different and I suspect it's time to revisit some old lessons and view them with different eyes. I'm reading a series of books by Pema Chodron. I need something gentle that strikes a chord.

~bella
 
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.Mikha'el.

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I ordered this off Amazon. I'mma start reading it tomorrow.

1714024739872.png
 
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angelsaroundme

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Louis L'Amour's War Party

I didn't know Western or Frontier short story collections were a thing. I enjoyed this a lot. Louis is good at crafting stories that are exciting yet grounded, and that sometimes have interesting twists. In a way, reading these feels like time capsules from that era. It's not too heavy or grim which is also nice. I think Christians would generally appreciate this book. Native Americans or Indians are often involved but usually there is clear respect for them. Cochise has a fun role in one of the stories.

I'd recommend starting the book with the second story, then reading the first. The first is a little challenging with some of the now less common word usages.
 
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Rebecca Jo

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When my grandpa retired, he took up reading along with his golfing. I remember there being quite a few Louis L'Amour books at his place, though he would read just about anything, especially if he got free books to try along with really cheap used ones. I haven't managed to get into Louis' books just yet, but I picked up a free one at the library the other day, so we'll see!
 
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DragonFox91

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I am reading Making Choices For Godly Living. Here are summaries of the first quarter to first third.

Book opens discussing we think if the Bible is applicable to us as an individual. It quotes a wide variety of verses & some songs, & the truths in them we question.
Next chapter summarizes the early parts of Joseph’s life, starting with how God was working in his life even before he was born, up to when his brothers sell him.
Then each chapter is a different choice we need to make I’ll call truths

Truth 1: God is in control & we are not. Chapter discusses some characteristics of God: he is the creator of all things, he is holy, he is sovereign, he is good, he is powerful, he is incomparable, he is praiseworthy. He is these, so our responsibility is to trust him & his design
Truth 2: We need to confess our sin. We are responsible for our own sin. Sinning never happens in isolation. We need to acknowledge our need for a Savior. We must seek forgiveness from God & people we wrong, & repent.
Truth 3: We need to remain faithful. Even in horror, when circumstances are not ideal, or circumstances are routine. B/c God is faithful. Don’t complain. Keep your focus on the eternal. Stay faithful during personal struggles. Rejoice. Think right.
Truth 4: We need to be pure. Sinning is never the best choice. Resist temptation. Over & over b/c Satan usually doesn’t tempt just once. Even when it’s overwhelming. All sin is against God. Temptation to sin doesn’t just go away – if you’re able to defeat one, another will come. Put on the Armor of God for defense. Sin’s consequences never benefit.
Truth 5: Trust God to use you. Even tho you don’t know how. Be ready to be used b/c you’ve been given an incredible identity in Christ. Have an attitude to be used.
Truth 6: Accept his schedule. His timing is always perfect. You will have disappointments, but remember truth, & be faithful & patient. His schedule is perfect & his timing does not stop. Be content
Truth 7: When you have plans that aren’t being met: accept his reality. Life is accepting his design. Re-assess your call from him. Review your actions – is there sin? Rejoice in his mercy – are your plans based on selfishness? Readjust your attitude – be thankful. Re-evaluate your plans – are they in harmony with his will? Realize he does sometimes answer prayer the way we want. Remember truth: when our plans fail, his perfect plan for us hasn’t.
Truth 8: Accept his blessings. Appreciate unplanned blessings b/c his design is perfect. The saints are blessed!
Truth 9: Remember his Word. Remember what he did in the past & will do in the future. Interact with his Word. Meditate on it. Memorize it. Trust it. Walk in it. Love it.
Truth 10: Don’t seek revenge. Live above the pain. Jesus says to his disciples to bless those who curse you. Desire to give him glory. Have his attitude. Rejoice in his work. Desire reconciliation & good for others.
Truth 11: Forgive. Don’t be bitter. Forgive even if it’s not requested by the other person. Guidelines: forgiving is never optional, it encourages healing, & is always motivated b/c God forgave us. There’s joy in forgiveness!

Here is the next set of chapters. Singles who aren't married but would like to be s/ pay special attention to # 6 & # 7.

There's a few more chapters left.
 
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DragonFox91

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I've just started reading this.

View attachment 350768
That sounds interesting. I was watching YouTube videos they used to rig gameshows, basically they weren’t contestants, they were paid actors b/c it got higher ratings - Average people can be boring. Then the government cracked down on it, & the genre died till Jeopardy. Some are still rigged to some extent by the producers. What are some things you're learning in it?

Don't mean to be spoiling some of it, it'll go into greater depth.
 
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DragonFox91

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Truth 5: Trust God to use you. Even tho you don’t know how. Be ready to be used b/c you’ve been given an incredible identity in Christ. Have an attitude to be used.
Truth 6: Accept his schedule. His timing is always perfect. You will have disappointments, but remember truth, & be faithful & patient. His schedule is perfect & his timing does not stop. Be content
Truth 7: When you have plans that aren’t being met: accept his reality. Life is accepting his design. Re-assess your call from him. Review your actions – is there sin? Rejoice in his mercy – are your plans based on selfishness? Readjust your attitude – be thankful. Re-evaluate your plans – are they in harmony with his will? Realize he does sometimes answer prayer the way we want. Remember truth: when our plans fail, his perfect plan for us hasn’t.
Truth 8: Accept his blessings. Appreciate unplanned blessings b/c his design is perfect. The saints are blessed!
Truth 9: Remember his Word. Remember what he did in the past & will do in the future. Interact with his Word. Meditate on it. Memorize it. Trust it. Walk in it. Love it.
Truth 10: Don’t seek revenge. Live above the pain. Jesus says to his disciples to bless those who curse you. Desire to give him glory. Have his attitude. Rejoice in his work. Desire reconciliation & good for others.
Truth 11: Forgive. Don’t be bitter. Forgive even if it’s not requested by the other person. Guidelines: forgiving is never optional, it encourages healing, & is always motivated b/c God forgave us. There’s joy in forgiveness!

Here is the next set of chapters. Singles who aren't married but would like to be s/ pay special attention to # 6 & # 7.

There's a few more chapters left.
Truth 12: Serve others. Have the right focus. God made us to serve. Serve where you are now. He is also equipping us now to serve later. See others as he sees them. Don’t be self-serving. He’s given us gifts to serve.
Truth 13: You have emotions. Honor both God & others w/ them. Grief: Being depressed won’t change anything. Fear: Keeps us from seeing God’s gifts. Anger: Doesn’t usually have the result we want. Physical Desire: Spirit indwells us. Sadness: The Lord encourages us
Truth 14: Celebrate w/ others. Celebrate God’s gracious work. Israel celebrated crossing the Red Sea & rebuilding the Temple. The women celebrated the Resurrection. The early church celebrated building the church. We must believe God’s work is good. We don’t have to enjoy the trials but we do have to know God is at work in them.
Truth 15: Glorify God. Give glory to God in everything. We fail at giving him glory. He commands us to give him glory. We give him glory in worship, because of his character, & because knowing Christ compels us.
Conclusion: Making choices for godly living always honors & pleases God
Foundations: One can come to the Lord only by the Holy Spirit’s prompting. The Bible is infallible. God is perfectly holy. Man is absolutely sinful & unable to remove his sin. Jesus Christ’s work redeemed us. Faith & repentance is a decision. God’s saving work is complete. Our hope is eternal.

I recommend this book. It emphasizes God’s character & how we must respond to it correctly. I like how it doesn’t try to sugarcoat sin ‘it’s okay if you mess up b/c Jesus!’ but how we must strive to make decisions that are in align w/ God’s order & his work.

I’ve been reading a lot of theology books but want to start reading the Bible more next.
 
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Rebecca Jo

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I’ve been reading a lot of theology books but want to start reading the Bible more next.
Highly recommend doing that without delay! :) The more you put in, the more you get out. Also, you'll know the truth and be able to spot the lies much easier. Experience talking here...

I just read Haggai and Ezra as part of the Bible reading plan I'm doing this year with friends. :)
 
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Abraxos

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Red Rising books by Pierce Brown.

Who doesn't like dystopian, anti-colonialism stories? The best people rise to overcome their oppressors—a relatable or recognisable tale. I just finished the second book, Golden Son, and it's so very good. For a seemingly simple story, it is deep in character development. It explores humanity as not as black and white as it appears to be in terms of the "good guys vs the bad guys", but there are very sophisticated worldviews and attitudes that are reminiscent of a caste system from our history. While I may not particularly like the books' definite bad guys, I do understand their reasoning behind being the way they are and not your typical moustache-twirling villain.

It is even better reading along with Audible's graphic audio version. Voice actors are so gory damn good! Prime.
 
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DragonFox91

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I read a Wolverine & Thor comic, a Flash comic, & a Punisher & Moon Knight comic.

I read a tract by a preacher from a long time ago. God's grace is evident to everyone because his mercy is all over his work. But he saves individuals with a supernatural grace.
 
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