Book Review: TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT by Austin Gutwein (with Todd Hillard)
The moment I cracked open the first few pages of Austin Gutwein's TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT, I knew I was in for something all right. I had heard vague stories about a kid who had done something with basketball to help the AIDS crisis, and I knew that this book talked all about that. I'll be honest, charity stories always hit me with a slight bit of cynicism -- wondering if the money is really going to the place they say. So I went in wondering if this was going to be one of those books that makes me feel guilty for not sponsoring a child or for not living in the depths of Africa feeding starving people. But I was wrong. This book didn't make me feel guilty at all -- it made me feel hope.
Austin, only 14 years old at the time of this review, started with a deep desire to want to change the world -- in some way, somehow. And that started his organization Hoops of Hope -- which raises funds for kids in Africa who have been orphaned by AIDS. In TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT, Austin tells his story of visiting Africa, starting out with Hoops of Hope, and what all of it means for us as people living our day to day lives with the things we need: food, shelter, clothing.
Each chapter focuses in on different aspects of Austin's personal journey, and tying it into the larger picture -- taking the reader through almost a devotional-like atmosphere with thoughts from Austin, famous and non-famous people, the Bible, and personal stories from Africa. At the end of the chapters are a few questions to keep you thinking about the topic of the chapter, which makes it ideal for working through as a daily sort of devotional.
Teens who have read books like DO HARD THINGS by the Harris brothers or DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE by John Piper, would really enjoy reading Austin's story of hope and encouragement to get out in the world, do something to change it -- it doesn't have to be big, all you have to do is what Austin encourages from the outset: just take your best shot at it.
16 November, 2009
13 October, 2009
I Was A Rich Person.
I walked into the room of first through sixth graders, ready to tell a story and get the point across: that God is everywhere -- He knows everything -- He sees all of us and all that we do -- and He loves us so much. The kids were jumping around, talking -- ready to get started.
Jack had out an aqua-colored Nintendo DS and he was playing away at a Super Mario game. We talked for a little bit and I told him about my DS and which games I had.
Then one of the sixth graders -- Sam -- came up to me and said, "Oh yeah, so I think this week is when I'm going to get the Star Wars Millennium Falcon Lego set!"
"Oh yeah?" I said. "How many pieces does that thing have? Like 2,000 or something?"
"No, more like 5,000 something. It took this one guy three days to finish -- and he said that it must have been a world record."
"Wow... that's crazy." I smiled. That really was crazy. That was so many little pieces that had to be all put together just to build the set. "I love Lego's. They're just so fun."
"Yeah." Sam nodded and walked off.
And then Scott stepped up -- and I hadn't noticed, but he had been listening the whole time. He looked up at me -- with the most serious look on his face that I had ever seen and said, "You own Lego's and a DS? You're rich." He said it so plainly -- yet with this sort of pain behind his voice -- and I knew: this kid didn't have this stuff. He didn't have all the toys and things that the others did.
I didn't even know what to say. I just stood there. I had been really worried lately about my own financial situation. It seemed like every time I turned around I had to pay somebody else for something: school bills, textbooks, insurance payments, car payments, everything always seemed to come at once.
And as I stood there thinking about what this kid had just said, I kept thinking... I am pretty rich when I think about it. I have everything I need for sure -- I have food, clothes, a house to sleep in at night -- and I had a lot of things that I didn't need, but definitely made life simpler and easier. Things like a car, a laptop, a cell phone. I was a rich person and I didn't even realize it.
Recently I met a lady at the bookstore. She came in and told me about this book she had written and was getting published. We talked for a while about her book, and the title of it really caught me: Will Jesus Buy Me A Double Wide? The whole book is about America as a whole -- how we have so much already, but we want more.
Suddenly I kept thinking -- am I a selfish person for having all of this and not realizing it? Not necessarily selfish for just having stuff -- but for not realizing the fact that I had a lot. And for not thanking God for it -- but just taking it on the idea that it would always be there whenever I needed it.
Lately I've been addicted to playing Monopoly at McDonald's. I keep thinking -- you know, I have to get food anyway -- so why not try to win $10,000 while I'm at it? Maybe I'll get lucky and get a bunch of money and pay off everything: my car, college expenses, my cell phone bill for the next fifty year.
And I started thinking about that -- do I really need all that stuff? Why can't I just be satisfied with what I've been given?
So here and now -- here's my resolve: to remember who I am and the place I'm in. And to be completely grateful and satisfied. And to be looking out for those less fortunate than me -- because maybe I can help. Maybe I can be someone who's Dying To Give. Maybe.
Jack had out an aqua-colored Nintendo DS and he was playing away at a Super Mario game. We talked for a little bit and I told him about my DS and which games I had.
Then one of the sixth graders -- Sam -- came up to me and said, "Oh yeah, so I think this week is when I'm going to get the Star Wars Millennium Falcon Lego set!"
"Oh yeah?" I said. "How many pieces does that thing have? Like 2,000 or something?"
"No, more like 5,000 something. It took this one guy three days to finish -- and he said that it must have been a world record."
"Wow... that's crazy." I smiled. That really was crazy. That was so many little pieces that had to be all put together just to build the set. "I love Lego's. They're just so fun."
"Yeah." Sam nodded and walked off.
And then Scott stepped up -- and I hadn't noticed, but he had been listening the whole time. He looked up at me -- with the most serious look on his face that I had ever seen and said, "You own Lego's and a DS? You're rich." He said it so plainly -- yet with this sort of pain behind his voice -- and I knew: this kid didn't have this stuff. He didn't have all the toys and things that the others did.
I didn't even know what to say. I just stood there. I had been really worried lately about my own financial situation. It seemed like every time I turned around I had to pay somebody else for something: school bills, textbooks, insurance payments, car payments, everything always seemed to come at once.
And as I stood there thinking about what this kid had just said, I kept thinking... I am pretty rich when I think about it. I have everything I need for sure -- I have food, clothes, a house to sleep in at night -- and I had a lot of things that I didn't need, but definitely made life simpler and easier. Things like a car, a laptop, a cell phone. I was a rich person and I didn't even realize it.
Recently I met a lady at the bookstore. She came in and told me about this book she had written and was getting published. We talked for a while about her book, and the title of it really caught me: Will Jesus Buy Me A Double Wide? The whole book is about America as a whole -- how we have so much already, but we want more.
Suddenly I kept thinking -- am I a selfish person for having all of this and not realizing it? Not necessarily selfish for just having stuff -- but for not realizing the fact that I had a lot. And for not thanking God for it -- but just taking it on the idea that it would always be there whenever I needed it.
Lately I've been addicted to playing Monopoly at McDonald's. I keep thinking -- you know, I have to get food anyway -- so why not try to win $10,000 while I'm at it? Maybe I'll get lucky and get a bunch of money and pay off everything: my car, college expenses, my cell phone bill for the next fifty year.
And I started thinking about that -- do I really need all that stuff? Why can't I just be satisfied with what I've been given?
So here and now -- here's my resolve: to remember who I am and the place I'm in. And to be completely grateful and satisfied. And to be looking out for those less fortunate than me -- because maybe I can help. Maybe I can be someone who's Dying To Give. Maybe.
26 September, 2009
Candle on the Water
One thing that I love doing is work that is somewhat brainless. Things like washing windows, massaging bookshelves at work, those sorts of things. I love it because I can just work through the things in my head -- and usually that drifts over to things that I've been writing. I start asking myself, "How can I fix that plot point or that character or make the story better?" And today, as I was working on some rather brainless paperwork -- my head flashed through my most recent writing projects.
I'm getting closer to being ready to send out my novel into the publishing world. So far, it's called Crescent, but I don't know if I'm totally set on that title. In a nutshell, the story centers on a Prince of Arabia and what happens when his father's prized jeweled camel, Kochab, is stolen from the camp. Prince Maaz chases down the camel, and discovers the real reason why the evil Al-Jawn really wants Kochab. Flying carpets, disappearing villages, mysterious omens -- and everything points at unleashing the most terrible evil of all...
I talked with my wonderful Aunt the other night after she had finished reading through it. She was a librarian for years, and she gave me some good thoughts on the book. So I'm gearing up to head back in to the novel and re-write some stuff. Editing has always been my really weak point in writing, so this is definitely good for me. But it's going to take a bit of work to really get it done. Especially with National Novel Writing Month coming up, and a host of other writing-projects I want to work on.
Anyway -- we'll have to see what ends up happening. I've also been working on a huge story to tell the narrative of Genesis to 1st - 6th graders at our local PREP4kids ministry. Pretty much, I wanted to find a way to tell some of these Bible stories that a lot of the kids have all heard before in a new way. So I'm going to frame a story around each Bible story -- and see what happens. With what it's looking like now -- I think I'm going to be spoofing The 39 Clues a bit, but I think that will make it pretty fun.
And with NaNoWriMo around the corner in November, I've been really trying to figure out what I want to write about this year. I never finished a whole 50,000 word novel before last year, and so I want to have a good idea before I go in. I've been leaning toward doing something with Greece, but I'm worried that I've exhausted a bunch of ideas in some short stories and scripts that I wrote already. So I might do something with Chinese mythology, Yetis, and secret temples in the middle of the mountains... Who knows? Could be exciting!
All right -- signing off for now.
--Shaun
I'm getting closer to being ready to send out my novel into the publishing world. So far, it's called Crescent, but I don't know if I'm totally set on that title. In a nutshell, the story centers on a Prince of Arabia and what happens when his father's prized jeweled camel, Kochab, is stolen from the camp. Prince Maaz chases down the camel, and discovers the real reason why the evil Al-Jawn really wants Kochab. Flying carpets, disappearing villages, mysterious omens -- and everything points at unleashing the most terrible evil of all...
I talked with my wonderful Aunt the other night after she had finished reading through it. She was a librarian for years, and she gave me some good thoughts on the book. So I'm gearing up to head back in to the novel and re-write some stuff. Editing has always been my really weak point in writing, so this is definitely good for me. But it's going to take a bit of work to really get it done. Especially with National Novel Writing Month coming up, and a host of other writing-projects I want to work on.
Anyway -- we'll have to see what ends up happening. I've also been working on a huge story to tell the narrative of Genesis to 1st - 6th graders at our local PREP4kids ministry. Pretty much, I wanted to find a way to tell some of these Bible stories that a lot of the kids have all heard before in a new way. So I'm going to frame a story around each Bible story -- and see what happens. With what it's looking like now -- I think I'm going to be spoofing The 39 Clues a bit, but I think that will make it pretty fun.
And with NaNoWriMo around the corner in November, I've been really trying to figure out what I want to write about this year. I never finished a whole 50,000 word novel before last year, and so I want to have a good idea before I go in. I've been leaning toward doing something with Greece, but I'm worried that I've exhausted a bunch of ideas in some short stories and scripts that I wrote already. So I might do something with Chinese mythology, Yetis, and secret temples in the middle of the mountains... Who knows? Could be exciting!
All right -- signing off for now.
--Shaun
13 March, 2009
Leave the Lights On...
Book Review: Isolation
Author: Travis Thrasher
Pages: 296
Reading Level: High School-Adult
After being fairly disappointed with the latest offerings from Ted Dekker (Sinner, Kiss), I went in search of a new author of thrillers that I could enjoy. I saw Isolation at the local bookstore, and on somewhat of a whim, thought it sounded pretty good. And boy howdy -- was it good. I creeped myself out a couple of times while reading, and definitely had a couple of "gasp moments" when the plot twisted up a bit.
The story centers around a young missionary family that moves out into an enormous house in the middle of the North Carolina mountains. Strange things start to happen like bloody piles of meat falling from nowhere on top of Stephanie's car and secret passageways that lead to secret rooms. But when a killer heads toward the house, and a snowstorm traps them inside, they have nowhere to go and no way to escape.
The writing moves along very swiftly, and the chapters are all fairly short -- I think the longest one was around six pages or so. The character development is very strong, which was a good change for what really ends up being a horror novel. The inward battles that Jim, the father, faces with wondering where God even is in his life felt real and grounded. And definitely the creepy factor was notched up here. Thrasher definitely digs into his love of Stephen King novels for some of the meatier sections of just downright terror. I made the mistake of reading part while alone in the house, later at night, and I had to stop. The book just freaked me out that much.
Definitely a good one that leaves quite a few good twists until the very end. Don't pass up on reading Thrasher's Isolation. I know I'm really looking forward to his next one, Ghostwriter.
--originally posted on Amazon.com
Author: Travis Thrasher
Pages: 296
Reading Level: High School-Adult
After being fairly disappointed with the latest offerings from Ted Dekker (Sinner, Kiss), I went in search of a new author of thrillers that I could enjoy. I saw Isolation at the local bookstore, and on somewhat of a whim, thought it sounded pretty good. And boy howdy -- was it good. I creeped myself out a couple of times while reading, and definitely had a couple of "gasp moments" when the plot twisted up a bit.
The story centers around a young missionary family that moves out into an enormous house in the middle of the North Carolina mountains. Strange things start to happen like bloody piles of meat falling from nowhere on top of Stephanie's car and secret passageways that lead to secret rooms. But when a killer heads toward the house, and a snowstorm traps them inside, they have nowhere to go and no way to escape.
The writing moves along very swiftly, and the chapters are all fairly short -- I think the longest one was around six pages or so. The character development is very strong, which was a good change for what really ends up being a horror novel. The inward battles that Jim, the father, faces with wondering where God even is in his life felt real and grounded. And definitely the creepy factor was notched up here. Thrasher definitely digs into his love of Stephen King novels for some of the meatier sections of just downright terror. I made the mistake of reading part while alone in the house, later at night, and I had to stop. The book just freaked me out that much.
Definitely a good one that leaves quite a few good twists until the very end. Don't pass up on reading Thrasher's Isolation. I know I'm really looking forward to his next one, Ghostwriter.
--originally posted on Amazon.com
09 March, 2009
More Secrets, More Alliances, and More Bad Jokes From Dan.
Book: The Sword Thief
Author: Peter Lerangis
Pages: 156
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
I love being able to follow along with a series as the books come out. The anticipation of waiting for the next book always makes me somehow euphoric in a weird, booky way. I love it. So when the next entry in The 39 Clues came out, I had to pick it up. This time around, the book was written by Peter Lerangis, an author I must admit I had not heard of before picking up The Sword Thief, the third book in this highly marketable series by Scholastic.
The story picks right up from where One False Note (book 2) ended off, so it would definitely be hard to just jump right in. You've got to really start back at book 1 (The Maze of Bones) and work your way through. Not that reading these is work -- they fly through pretty quickly. In fact, The Sword Thief is the shortest of the three so far, coming in at a mere 156 pages.
This time, Dan and Amy are off to Japan, but they've been separated by their scheming relatives from their au pair, Nellie Gomez. And they'll have to work along with Alistair Oh in order to solve the next clue in the whole big puzzle. There is definitely plenty of adventure and Lerangis handles the action scenes fairly well. I felt that this book moved along a little more swiftly than One False Note, which had a few moments of "slowness." We find out more clues to the overall Cahill secret, and some interesting details about Amy and Dan's past.
One of the only things that somewhat confused me at times was the incessant head-hopping that Lerangis did. One minute we're in Dan's head. Then a few pages later we're in Amy's, then in Ian Kabra, then Alistair Oh, then back to Ian, and on to Natalie. It was a little bit confusing at times, but I can see how Lerangis wanted to build on a couple of the different characters and develop them a bit -- which makes for probably what will end up being a few different plot twists later on in the series.
Overall, this is another decent entry in a pretty fun, sometimes forgettable, series that has some really great potential. I can't wait to see what Jude Watson will do with book #4...
--originally posted on Amazon.com.
Author: Peter Lerangis
Pages: 156
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
I love being able to follow along with a series as the books come out. The anticipation of waiting for the next book always makes me somehow euphoric in a weird, booky way. I love it. So when the next entry in The 39 Clues came out, I had to pick it up. This time around, the book was written by Peter Lerangis, an author I must admit I had not heard of before picking up The Sword Thief, the third book in this highly marketable series by Scholastic.
The story picks right up from where One False Note (book 2) ended off, so it would definitely be hard to just jump right in. You've got to really start back at book 1 (The Maze of Bones) and work your way through. Not that reading these is work -- they fly through pretty quickly. In fact, The Sword Thief is the shortest of the three so far, coming in at a mere 156 pages.
This time, Dan and Amy are off to Japan, but they've been separated by their scheming relatives from their au pair, Nellie Gomez. And they'll have to work along with Alistair Oh in order to solve the next clue in the whole big puzzle. There is definitely plenty of adventure and Lerangis handles the action scenes fairly well. I felt that this book moved along a little more swiftly than One False Note, which had a few moments of "slowness." We find out more clues to the overall Cahill secret, and some interesting details about Amy and Dan's past.
One of the only things that somewhat confused me at times was the incessant head-hopping that Lerangis did. One minute we're in Dan's head. Then a few pages later we're in Amy's, then in Ian Kabra, then Alistair Oh, then back to Ian, and on to Natalie. It was a little bit confusing at times, but I can see how Lerangis wanted to build on a couple of the different characters and develop them a bit -- which makes for probably what will end up being a few different plot twists later on in the series.
Overall, this is another decent entry in a pretty fun, sometimes forgettable, series that has some really great potential. I can't wait to see what Jude Watson will do with book #4...
--originally posted on Amazon.com.
06 March, 2009
Ponchos.
I bought my first fishing pole last night. And I had no idea what on earth I was doing. But I was determined. That's what I did know. I walked straight into Joe's, and promptly started walking along "the circuit" -- that tiled path that winds around the entire store, and eventually brings you back to the front check-out lines. I kept going, moving past clothes, kayaks, and tennis rackets. And then I found the fishing poles.
I've actually been fishing only once that I can really remember. My grandpa came to visit when I was about thirteen and thought it would be a lot of fun to go out deep sea fishing. And I thought, Eh, why not? Could be fun. So I borrowed a pole from my dad and went out on the boat. There were a few other people on the boat too -- and I think most of them were drinking beer and laughing and then tossing their lines back out into the water.
I threw my line out, and waited. And waited. And waited. And finally -- I felt a slight tug on my line. I nearly jumped up right then, not sure at all what to do. Grandpa came over and told me to just start reeling in the line. So I started reeling. And just when I thought my arm was going to fall off, a guy started shouting behind me.
I kind of turned around and saw this guy, reeling in on the exact opposite side of the boat. He had his face somewhat tilted toward me. "Stop reeling, kid!" I stopped. I was thirteen. Angering adults wasn't high on my list of fun things to do. The guy kept reeling in, and within a minute or so, he had a huge sturgeon sitting on his lap. He came over toward me then and said, "Hey, I think your line caught up on mine -- don't worry, kid. You'll get it sometime."
I shrugged. Sure. I might catch a fish sometime. I returned to my fishing pole and just waited. That's when I noticed the line was still pretty taut. And since that guy had just pulled up his line, I couldn't possibly have still been tangled up. What can it hurt? I started reeling again. And soon, I felt something tugging right on the end of the line. I kept reeling in, and soon there was a fish slapping along the side of the boat... and up... and then over the railing.
Grandpa took my picture holding the fish. I was so excited to finally catch one. Some deckhand guy came over then and weighed the slimy thing. "Hey, kid. It's too small. You gotta throw it back." He pointed a grubby thumb toward the water. With a slight bit of sadness, I tossed the fish back over and watched it escape into the blue.
And now, ten years later, I finally have my own fishing pole. And I'm not even using it for fishing. What am I using it for? Oh yeah, for Junior Church on Sunday. To teach the kids about Jesus and how He called people to be "fishers of men." Should be fun.
Until then -- S. Stevenson
I've actually been fishing only once that I can really remember. My grandpa came to visit when I was about thirteen and thought it would be a lot of fun to go out deep sea fishing. And I thought, Eh, why not? Could be fun. So I borrowed a pole from my dad and went out on the boat. There were a few other people on the boat too -- and I think most of them were drinking beer and laughing and then tossing their lines back out into the water.
I threw my line out, and waited. And waited. And waited. And finally -- I felt a slight tug on my line. I nearly jumped up right then, not sure at all what to do. Grandpa came over and told me to just start reeling in the line. So I started reeling. And just when I thought my arm was going to fall off, a guy started shouting behind me.
I kind of turned around and saw this guy, reeling in on the exact opposite side of the boat. He had his face somewhat tilted toward me. "Stop reeling, kid!" I stopped. I was thirteen. Angering adults wasn't high on my list of fun things to do. The guy kept reeling in, and within a minute or so, he had a huge sturgeon sitting on his lap. He came over toward me then and said, "Hey, I think your line caught up on mine -- don't worry, kid. You'll get it sometime."
I shrugged. Sure. I might catch a fish sometime. I returned to my fishing pole and just waited. That's when I noticed the line was still pretty taut. And since that guy had just pulled up his line, I couldn't possibly have still been tangled up. What can it hurt? I started reeling again. And soon, I felt something tugging right on the end of the line. I kept reeling in, and soon there was a fish slapping along the side of the boat... and up... and then over the railing.
Grandpa took my picture holding the fish. I was so excited to finally catch one. Some deckhand guy came over then and weighed the slimy thing. "Hey, kid. It's too small. You gotta throw it back." He pointed a grubby thumb toward the water. With a slight bit of sadness, I tossed the fish back over and watched it escape into the blue.
And now, ten years later, I finally have my own fishing pole. And I'm not even using it for fishing. What am I using it for? Oh yeah, for Junior Church on Sunday. To teach the kids about Jesus and how He called people to be "fishers of men." Should be fun.
Until then -- S. Stevenson
05 March, 2009
Salutations.
I wanted to start out this blog with a bang. So: BANG. Blogs are a place for sharing -- ideas, thoughts, musings, opinions. And that is what I aim to do here each Evening in Arabia. What to expect from a blog from Shaun Stevenson? Random. That's what to expect. Be ready for everything from book reviews to excerpts from my writing to kid's ministry ideas and I guess, a bunch more other stuff. Pretty much whatever comes into my brain -- which can be quite a convoluted place at times.
Reading.
I've always loved to read. I think the first book I ever picked up off a shelf was one that my mother had saved from the family garage sale after my great grandpa had died. A stack of oldish looking books sat on one of the tables, and before the general public came along to pick through a dead man's things, my mother grabbed the books and put them in her car. They were a collection of vintage Oz books from the 1910's to 1930's. I think I first picked up The Lost Princess of Oz when I was in second grade, and I just started going -- I loved it. And ever since then I've read whenever I can.
Usually every year I try to read quite a few books. Last year I made it to 70. This year, the goal is to get to 100. I'll post here all the books that I read -- and if I write a review of it for Amazon, I'll post that up here too.
Writing.
I love to write. It's probably one of my absolute favorite things to do. Every now and again, I shall post a bit here for your consumption -- and comments and suggestions of course. Right now I'm in a big mythology phase, so I've been reading a lot of Arabic, Greek, and a bit of Persian mythology too. It's pretty interesting fodder for writing, and it's been a place where I can find some ideas for a few projects buzzing in my head. The other place I love to get ideas from is Balderdash. Best game ever created.
American Idol.
Yes, I do watch. And yes, I know some people think the whole show is a joke, but I really like it. I don't always agree with the final outcomes, but hey, it's a good waste of time on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Right now my current pick is: Allison. I really liked the way she came out and busted open "Alone" by Heart.
Until then -- S. Stevenson.
Reading.
I've always loved to read. I think the first book I ever picked up off a shelf was one that my mother had saved from the family garage sale after my great grandpa had died. A stack of oldish looking books sat on one of the tables, and before the general public came along to pick through a dead man's things, my mother grabbed the books and put them in her car. They were a collection of vintage Oz books from the 1910's to 1930's. I think I first picked up The Lost Princess of Oz when I was in second grade, and I just started going -- I loved it. And ever since then I've read whenever I can.
Usually every year I try to read quite a few books. Last year I made it to 70. This year, the goal is to get to 100. I'll post here all the books that I read -- and if I write a review of it for Amazon, I'll post that up here too.
Writing.
I love to write. It's probably one of my absolute favorite things to do. Every now and again, I shall post a bit here for your consumption -- and comments and suggestions of course. Right now I'm in a big mythology phase, so I've been reading a lot of Arabic, Greek, and a bit of Persian mythology too. It's pretty interesting fodder for writing, and it's been a place where I can find some ideas for a few projects buzzing in my head. The other place I love to get ideas from is Balderdash. Best game ever created.
American Idol.
Yes, I do watch. And yes, I know some people think the whole show is a joke, but I really like it. I don't always agree with the final outcomes, but hey, it's a good waste of time on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Right now my current pick is: Allison. I really liked the way she came out and busted open "Alone" by Heart.
Until then -- S. Stevenson.
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