Grandpa Project 5: Lessons Learned from a Real Grandpa

This is my maternal grandpa John Wesley Mitchell.  The handsome rascal getting a haircut is me at age 3 or 4.  Grandpa John was a union machinist by trade, democrat by politics and a grandpa in the purest sense of the word.  He taught me many lessons for life.  Some mom is proud of, some she isn't, and some I may never tell her about.  Grandpa taught me of sharpening knives, frying potatoes, catching fish, making things work with what you have,  and many colorful quotations that won't be used in any sermons. I have a number of pictures of him but this is my favorite.  He was a country man with only one leg.  He lost one to infection as a youngster.  He was never 'handicapped' that I could see and a lot of fun to be around.  He loved me and I love him still.  When life gets complicated, I catch my self thinking about throwing dirt clods in his garden.  It is a simple and quiet memory.  Another one of those lessons learned.

Photo of the day: Breastfeeding and Photo Studio

Houston Texas 2008

Photo of the Day: Apollo and the Pelican

Book Review: A Ridiculously Good Book; "Life WIthout Limits" by Nick Vujicic

All of our lives have challenges. Without perspective we can dissolve into our challenges rather than our purpose.  Nick Vujicic's (pronounced Voy-a-chich)book "Life Without Limits" gives a victorious perspective on how we are not defined by our "handicaps".  Nick was born without arms and legs.  He has overcome any handicap from this physical reality to become and successful philanthropist, motivational speaker and evangelist.  The mechanics of his abilities to drive, swim, surf, scuba dive and simply go to the bathroom are curious and amazing.  This book celebrates victory, "ridiculous" victory.

The first victory is that of hope.  Nick writes, "I was never crippled until I lost hope.  The second is faith.  Only a firm vision of being a child of God and working within God's purpose plan could he live in victory.  Thankfully he does not reduce his message into glib bumper sticker aphorisms.  He does not leave out dark thoughts of suicide and the times that people let him down.  Yet God's grace and Hope driven Faith is where he finds his motivation and sheds it onto the reader.  The final victory is less explicit.  His family system's response to his physical reality was miraculous.  They had faith when he couldn't and did not allow him to be or become a cripple.  His family paid a price for his resilience and the return on that investment is beyond dollars and cents.  His family is amazing.

The book gives a lot of stories from childhood through ministry.  His trip to South Africa is memorable but my favorite is when he took a ride on the luggage carousel in an airport.  He shares part of his motivational program with his "Ridiculous Rules" and other bullet pointed teaching moments.  "Life without Limits" is well written, a quick and infectious read, balanced with anecdotes and teaching, and shares an amazing network of ways to become a philanthropist.  I am better for reading this book.

Thanks to Multnomah Press for giving me this book free in exchange for this review as a part of their bloggers for books program and thank you for taking the time to read this review.     Alan Van Hooser, TheThoughtfulPastor Blog.

More details from the publisher are at http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9780307589736

Addendum:  The author is putting together a pretty respectable acting career. Check out the Butterfly Circus, a 20 minute short film, on YOUTUBE at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtxANzN2Woo   The Aussies are building an industry for these high quality shorts and this is one of them.  The more I see of this guy the more I like.