Dave Ramsey Town Hall for HOPE

If you missed the live Town Hall telecast with Dave Ramsey last week, you can go to his site or just Town Hall for HOPE to see what you missed.  He encouraged folks not to react with fear, not to feed themselves, nor be moved with fearful, Eeyore-like talk. Feed your brain and heart with the good stuff we know is true.  As usual, he was practical, as in telling us to be pro-active and positively active. Take some kind of good attitude action when you are in an undesirable situation economically.

Being frugal and conservative with resources is nothing new for some of us.  So we continue, not letting the fear-talk immobilize us, and, at the same time, learning and perceiving the signs of the times. The Lord is our strength, and His Word our true anchor.  So DO NOT be fearful, but be wise with God’s Word and knowledge. There are several good resources for specific knowledge, including Dave Ramsey’s little MONEY ANSWER BOOK, that contains answers to the 100 most asked questions, and is on sale in my store this month.

There are books like the new BANKRUPTCY OF A NATION, by Jerry Robinson, that gives historical as well as future perspective, to help you make informed decitions.  I know many people think they will get the best deal from Amazon, but it’s not always true.  For this new book, their price is $3 off, as is mine.  (And my Dave Ramsay’s MONEY ANSWER BOOK price is much cheaper than on Amazon!)

John Maxwell’s helpful books

John Maxwell’s newly released Thomas Nelson book, PUT YOUR DREAM TO THE TEST, looks like a book I am going to have to put to good use.  Do you know the difference between a daydream and a workable dream?  Maxwell begins by describing different kinds of dreams, telling us how to own our dream and work it out  with a plan.  It looks like the plan to fulfillment of the dream is found by going through the 10 questions that cover every aspect of dreams (like clarity, passion, reality, tenacity, significance).  Maybe someone like me (who often does everything by myself) can learn much from the the people question – How to get the people I need involved in a common dream.

Maxwell’s books revolve around the same theme – themes such as excellence in performance, leadership and motivation.  He often zeroes in to one necessity, such as in THE DIFFERENCE MAKER.  This simple litlle common sense book has helped many to overcome those oh-so-human traits of negativity and bad attitudes.  His reminder that, although attitude is not everything, even with all the skill and expertise, a person’s attitude will be the deciding will-it-work? or will-it-fail?  The Difference Maker books in the store are now 40% off!

I just started another book this author wrote in 2000, but its truths are timeless.  FAILING FORWARD helps folks see a failure as a common, isolated, temporary incident and as a lesson from which to move forward on.   Thus, failure, even if causing setbacks, can be used to propel us forward.  At the end of each chapter are steps to fall forward with the failures we all experience.   This would be an excellent book to study each week with a small group of like-minded people.

John Maxwell says he has dedicated his life to adding value to people.  Applying the teachings from any one of his books certainly adds value and direction to any reader’s life.

Jeff Miller – free concerts – May 2 and August 29

I can’t believe we’ve got Jeff Miller Again!  Saturday night this professional, very talented guy will perform for us, calmly, effortlessly – ha! he just is so good that it looks easy – using his guitar and loop pedal to creatively build his original songs – it’a all done live!  Stop by the last Saturday night in August at 8:00.  You can hear him on our website on the tour through the bookstore – His acoustic style is similar to Phil Keagy’s – His lyrics are worth listening to – He gives a great show without being show-y.  His musical style ranges – I think he likes the Beatles – from pop, to a little rock,  a little folk story telling, back to mostly pop if you just gotta’ categorize it.

The Worship Project Saturday Night, April 25

Come out to A New THing! Saturday to support a visiting contemporary christian group from near Paris (Tennessee, that is.)   One of the Up and Coming Christian bands, these guys want to impact the world for Christ.  Come eat at the Back Alley Cafe and worship with Chris Fox and the others from The Worship Project.

Friday night hispanic night

The hispanic community will meet at the store this Friday, April 24th, with music, fellowship, and messages.  Everyone is welcome, but remember the main language spoken will be Spanish!

And our course Sylvia will have The Back Alley Cafe OPEN the whole time – for everyone who wants to eat some great food – in any language!

Live Music with Lunch Wednesday, April 22nd!

Come for lunch to hear the wonderful Jeff Miller – just scroll down under Performance Stage to learn of him or watch the store video or go to Jeffmilleronline.    The Back Alley Cafe will have a full dinner (at lunch!) or soup and sandwich and/or salads.  Good, healthy, and fresh!

Stop in and say hi!     Jo Ann  – Get a new spring catalog with specials that start soon.

High schoolers give speeches

Everyone is welcome to watch the speech contest sponsored by Cheatham County Right-to-Life.  High school students will present speeches on important life issues, such as abortion and stem cell research.  Most of the contestants are from a local public high school and will present opinions on both sides of the debates.  This is an opportunity for the students to present their research and position as well as win a cash prize for the best speeches.  It is the community’s opportunity to show support for the students’  efforts and involvement by the school and local citizens.

Join us by 7pm, Tuesday night, April 7, at Stone Bridge Books & Gifts, in A New Thing at 116 N. Main Street in downtown Ashland City.  The Back Alley Cafe will be open before the event starts.  (The Cafe is another new thing within the whole New Thing venue, that includes a bookstore and giftshop, a meeting place, a music corner for piano and guitar lessons, and a performance stage where the speeches will be presented.)

New book – Meet the author!

I’m halfway through Don’t Let Me Go by David W. Pierce and I feel like I’ve made it-breathing hard – halfway up a challenging trail or see myself trudging on a city road surrounded by spiffy foot racers pounding past me.   To say, this book easily draws me into the outdoor experiences of David and his teenage daughter.   I’m right there with them as the author tosses around his subtle humor and light-hearted approach to the seriousness of life.  But he is transparent,  letting us in on his true thoughts as well as short reflections back to his own childhood.  This book reveals a tender, beautiful father-daughter relationship that reminds me of what’s real, what’s important.  I gotta finish reading this book tomorrow!

Meet David at our place on Saturday, April 11th, 12 – 2.