The Happy Hammock

Empowering Books that You Should Know

Imagine feeling so down with your current situation but you don’t know what to do. What could be the best things to uplift your self-esteem and inspiration levels during these low points in your life? Surprisingly, reading can be the most ideal activity to do. Books will surely give you the comfort and lessons that you need. Without you knowing it, you are being empowered by these books to make a change and improve your life.

There are many empowering books in the literary realm, what you need to do is to find the best books that speak your truth. This could be a little too exhausting, but we have listed best uplifting and inspiring books that you should add to your reading list.

Patchwork: Conversations Between Generations by Carol Wilson-Mack

Carol Wilson-Mack’s promising book titled Patchwork: Conversations Between Generations was published last year by ReadersMagnet. It aims to encourage the readers to start communicating and telling their stories. Patchwork contains various tales of women that resides in Bamberg, South Carolina at around 1939-1959. The book motivates everyone to close the gaps between generations through reaching out to one another to exchange essential information. The young and old individuals must be welcome this two-way communication to achieve their goal. Hence, this book will surely inspire you to communicate and tell your story.

The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates

This New York Times bestselling book was written by Melinda Gates and was published in 2019. This debut novel of the author has been on a journey to look for solutions for individuals with extreme needs, wherever they reside. In this entire mission, there was a single aspect that is clear to her, which is if you desire to improve a society, you should stop dragging ladies down. The Moment of Lift contains great insights and learning from Gates that are results of her experiences of mingling with others and travelling across the world. Writing with feelings, honesty, and grace, Melinda presents us to excellent females and showcases the power of lifting one another.

Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals by Rachel Hollis

Rachel Hollis has penned another bestselling self-help book once again. The illustrated edition of Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals was published last March 05, 2019. She as witnessed a lot of women that are not unleashing their full potential too often. They have always felt something that is pulling their hearts for more; however, they are scared of humiliation, of failing to reach perfection, and of being insufficient. Hollis plays a wake-up call for women to own themselves. She also pointed out the reasons to let go of, the actions to embrace, and the abilities to obtain on the way to development, self-esteem, and believing in your own self.

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown

This editor’s pick in nonfiction on Amazon was written by Brené Brown. Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. it talks about how becoming a leader is not all about designations, rankings, and power. A true leader is someone who carries out the responsibilities for acknowledging the potential in individuals and concepts, as well as courageous enough to grow that potential. However, bold leadership in a culture determined by insufficiency, terror, and doubt demands ability-molding around characteristics that are profoundly human. This book is truly perfect for those who desire to take the risk and be a brave leader.

The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz

In 1987, the reprint edition of The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz was published by Fireside. The book offers practical ways instead of empty promises. The author introduces a well-designed program for acquiring the best out of your work, family, community, and married life. He showed that people don’t need to turn out to be smart or possess a natural ability to achieve success and contentment; however, what everyone has to learn and comprehend is the habit and ways of thinking and behaving in methods that will bring them to success.

Understanding Repentance and Forgiveness

As the world is progressing, many tend to forget the value of repentance and forgiveness. These two things are, in fact, the most important things that every person should try to achieve. Individuals, especially those that are parts of the Christian community, must know the essence of these aspects in order to realize their purpose and live a better life.

When you read the Bible, you can definitely see a lot of passages that refer to repentance and forgiveness. However, do you really get the gist and significance of these terms? If not, then here’s what you need to know.

Repentance

To turn away from sin and devote yourself to change your life — is the common definition of repentance. There are different words that refer to repentance if you try to read the Old Testament and New Testament in the Holy Scripture. Hebrew words “namchan” and “sub” pertain to the former while the Greek term “metanoia” refers to the latter. Although they are of different roots, these words center on the same meaning, which is repentance.

The meaning of repentance is basically to change your mind about a particular thing. It is connected to your method of thinking about things. For example, you think that eating food even if you’re already full is fine; but, when you think about it deeply, it isn’t and you are committing a cardinal sin. You changed your mind and stopped gluttony. Hence, that is considered repentance.

Humans are sinners. Some of them are just brave enough to turn their back from temptations and sins in order to cultivate a better relationship with God while others are still in the process of acknowledging their bad deeds and repent from them. The book by Marilyn Taplin titled A Law from Eden: Solving the Mystery of Original Sin helps us understand sin and repentance better. According to the book, “Adam and Eve may not have been the only two people on earth at that time; however, they are alone in their story to show that sin began with a man and his wife and not with two men or two women.”

Moreover, there are 5 steps that you should take to achieve repentance. These are the following:

Recognize the sin
Confess the sin
Ask for forgiveness
Deflect from sin
Mend your wrong doings

Forgiveness

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the denotation of the root word of forgiveness, which is “forgive”, is to stop feeling resentment against an enemy. But, when it comes to the meaning of forgiveness in the Holy Scripture, you can find a wide array of it. The Old Testament centers on the forgiveness of the Lord bestowed upon a person or a group. The teachings of the Son of God also conveyed the way people can and must forgive one another.

In the New Testament, forgiveness has been highlighted multiple times. There is a Greek term called aphiēmi that basically means to forgive when translated; but, it also has other corresponding meanings apart from the one mentioned. Moreover, nothing is more significant in our lives as Christian than to obtain forgiveness not just from God but also from those that we’ve wronged.

Listed below are the verses in the Bible that centers on forgiveness for your to get a better grasp about the true meaning of forgiveness in the Holy Scripture.

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” – Colossians 3:13
“Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.” – Luke 23:34
“Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.” – Psalm 32:5
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” – James 5:16
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” – Luke 6:37

The Perfect Books to Read to Ignite Inspiration within You

Nothing can compare to the power that books hold. Their amazing ability to create a big impact on the lives of their readers and generate great levels of inspiration is surreal, especially after knowing that they are physically made with only ink and paper. The ideas and concepts of the authors have truly created a bunch of inanimate teachers that can live from one generation to another.

Many books can become a good source of motivation. All you need is to allocate some time to read so that you will experience how great books are. So, if you are low on inspiration these days — then this must be your lucky day! Listed below are the ideal books to read to ignite encouragement and inspiration within you on days.

Stations of the Risen Christ: Resurrection Meditations by Frank Heelan

This book aims to motivate everyone to pray and meditate on the Bible passages referring to the rising of Jesus from the dead. Stations of the Risen Christ: Resurrection Meditations by Frank Heelan also centers on the Scriptural passages about the emergence of more than 500 disciples. Hence, the book has truly expressed 14 headpieces from John’s, Luke’s, and Matthew’s Gospel writings. A short form of meditation comes after every Scripture readings to encourage each Christian to pray and obtain a better grasp on the said divine mysteries.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

Robert Kiyosaki’s bestselling book has been inspiring people for over 20 years now. In this book, you will know the common misconceptions about earning a great amount of income to become wealthy. It also evaluates the belief that your home is an asset and differentiates what an asset is and what a liability is. Moreover, there are parts of the help parents know the reasons why they shouldn’t and cannot depend on the educational system to educate their children about finances. Hence, it is a great book to help you teach yourself and your children about finances for their upcoming money success.

The Three Keys to Our Relationship with God by Roslynn Bryant

Last July 31, 2020, the book The Three Keys to Our Relationship with God by Roslynn Bryant was published. It centers on a personal account of the ways of cultivating a great relationship with God that is eased by having faith in Jesus. The connection between the Father and child is being developed as everybody carries out the three keys to grow a deeper relationship with God, namely loving, trusting, and obeying Him. Therefore, the book grants us wonderful insights into the way that Lord Jesus has loved, trusted, and obeyed God the Father.

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

Outliers: The Story of Success is one of the editor’s picks and best nonfiction books on Amazon. It was published in 2011 by Back Bay Books. This remarkable book brings the readers on an intellectual trip to the realm of “outliers.” Gladwell tries to ask everyone about the aspects that mold high-achievers to be different. The answer to this question is also given by him, which is that people tend to focus on what successful individuals are like but concentrates less on where they currently situated in life today.

Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo

2 years ago, the bestselling book by Marie Forleo titled Everything is Figureoutable was published by Portfolio. It will reteach your mind to think in a more creative manner and keep a positive outlook even in facing difficulties. This is the best source of motivation and inspiration if you are struggling to hit your goals or deal with the lemons thrown at you by life. All you need to know is that you are not the problem. The only concern is that the belief that will turn the tables has not yet instilled in your mind.

12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson

This top international and national bestselling book by Jordan B. Paterson is full of both humor and substance. In 12 Rules for Life, the author starts to share the reasons we need to let skateboarders be, know the dreadful destiny that awaits people who judge easily, and the points why it is essential to pet a cat. The book truly breaks the contemporary routine of science, faith, and human nature.

Keys in Writing a Great Mystery Romance Book

Mystery fiction is already a hit genre ever since. There are many mystery classic books that inspired some of the best contemporary mystery novels today. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, JB Clemmens, and J.D. Robb are among the top mystery writers in literature. Romance, on the other hand, is also a powerful literary genre that readers from all over the world have read once in their life. Daniele Steele, Patricia Sims, Monique Boyd, and Nora Roberts are some of the best romance authors in this period.

But, how wonderful would it be if these top genres will be combined? Readers will surely be anticipated to read every chapter because of the twists and turns of the story. So, if you desire to write the next bestselling mystery romance novel, then here’s the guide to writing a great story.

Identify the type of mystery

There are different kinds of mystery that your story can feature. Disappearances and killings that are connected to the protagonist are the typical mystery showcased by mystery romance books. Since there is wide array of conundrums and cases to choose from, it is important that you identify the puzzle that the characters of your story needs to solve. This is essential so that your readers will not be confused and in order for them to perfectly follow the story. Thus, ensure to know the type of mystery that needs to be solved before you jumpstart the writing process.

Conduct a proper research

Research is vital. Even though this is a fictional story, you should never go wrong in inputting the crucial details — such as legal terms, investigation process, and such. Conducting a thorough research adds to the authenticity of your story. Hence, the readers will be more drawn into the tale and create profundity to it. Another benefit that you can get in doing the study is that you can come up with new concepts and ideas that can help your story arrive at a certain point that is better than what you’ve planned. So, start studying the important aspects of your mystery romance book and make sure that they are relevant to your plot.

Use appropriate language

Language contributes to the overall impact of you novel. With the wrong usage of it, your work might be on the risk of losing its readers. That said, you should focus and identify what language is appropriate base on your target readers and the theme of your book. Since this is under mystery romance fiction, your targets are definitely not children. You are allowed to use terms that are appropriate for adults, scenes that are romantic, events that are passionate, and happenings that are full of suspense. It is all about relevancy and hitting the spots. Hence, it is truly essential to use the right language so your readers can also fully understand the story and the meaning of every text.

Ensure to convey both romance and mystery

It wouldn’t be a mystery romance novel if there are no mystery and romance scenes on it. Do the best that you can to convey and show the romantic events that the characters create in the story. But, make sure that these situations full of affection and love don’t compromise the journey towards revealing the mystery. It should always be balance. Take for example the unique love on A Major Hurdle book by Patricia Sims, there is a harmony between the romance of the main character and her love interest and the mystery that revolves around an invisible enemy.

Pay attention to plot holes

Plot holes can definitely throw your story to the edge. These are some of the things that you should be careful of in writing a great mystery romance book. Each inconsistency in your plot has the ability to elude the logic of the tale. Readers will surely lose interest in your book if they spot more than one gap in the storyline. Therefore, check your manuscript after you finished the draft. You may also want to get the help of a professional editor for a more engaging and cleaner manuscript. The bottom line is that you have to make sure that the plot of your story is gapless and engaging.

Educational Gift Ideas for Your Kids

Kid on a blue pajama and socks playing with shape blocks

Giving presents to your kids is a great way to show them that you love them. You can hand them special little things that can boost their confidence and make them feel good about themselves after doing a good job. Getting them something after doing a poor performance is also a wonderful way to enhance their self-esteem and strive to do better next time. However, you shouldn’t spoil them too much with gifts because it can also create a negative impact on their growth and characteristics.

What you should prioritize in looking for things to give to your kids is if can both entertain and teach them. Enjoyment and learning should always be present and be put first so that they can grow into great individuals with great potentials. Thus, here are some of the best educational gift ideas for your children that you might want to check out!

Children’s books

Books are the best gift. They don’t cost you too much but they offer a lot of lessons. Children’s books can help the kids to enhance their emotional intelligence, as well as their creativity. With the attractive and vibrant covers and wonderful and heartwarming stories, the kids will surely love this type of gift! Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss, Katie and Kenny Tour the Railroad by Keith N. Corman, Lizzie and Leopold by Patricia A. Gummeson, and Grandpa Nick’s Bump by Lynda Daniele are some of the best books that you should consider gifting to your kids.

Shape and number sorting set

Shape and number sorting set is perhaps one of the beneficial toys that you can get your kids. They primarily enable the children to enhance their hand-eye coordination, motor skills, and problem-solving abilities. This sort of toy can also develop their vocabulary and mathematical skills. Your kids will surely love this as a present because of the colorful shapes and numbers.

Jewelry making kit

Who doesn’t want to create cute jewelry? Kids would definitely love getting jewelry-making kits. At their age, they may already have a childhood best friend. With the jewelry-making kit, they can create matching friendship bracelets for their friends, adorable bead necklaces for their own, and other accessories that they want to create. The benefits that this gift can give include the improvement of their creativity, enhancement of their fine motor skills, and development of their cognitive skills.

Board games

Chess, snakes and ladders, monopoly, backgammon, connect four, and scrabbles are some of the best board games that people of all ages are playing. With these games, you can also bond with the kids because they can be played by both children and adults. These board games have the means to improve your kid’s focus, develop their vocabulary, learn more about teamwork, and get them away from gadgets. Hence, they do not only offer fun and excitement but also personal development and learning.

Activity cube

Activity cubes are a great present to give to your kids. These large block-formed objects typically have moving aspects and activities that children can do. Some of the cubes are powered by batteries and can create a sound, have different lights, and other cute features. The kids will surely love this gift because they will be entertained by just the physical aspects of the cube. Apart from that, they will have fun doing the activity and improve essential parts of themselves.

Maze puzzles

Building a maze puzzle can bring out both good and bad. Your kids will be taught how to appreciate hard work and effort. Although this can really make them impatient and frustrated, this kind of puzzle is one of the best ways to develop their problem-solving skills. Also, the more they try solving the puzzle, the more they become patient and persistent. Hence, the value of effort, patience, and determination is being highlighted and showcased by this toy.

Drawing board

Drawing boards surely capture the attention of kids. At their young age, they are into scribbling and doodling; and, gifting them withdrawing boards just boosts their creativity and motivation. These boards also help you prevent them from messing around the wall because they already have a medium to draw on. Moreover, the best benefits that drawing boards bring are developing hand-eye coordination, boosting confidence, improving problem-solving, and more.

Inspiring Nonfiction Novels that You Should Check Out

In these tough times, increasing our inspiration levels might be a little too hard to achieve. Everything is just so overwhelming. What we need is a time to reflect and relax. But, how can we arrive at the state of relaxation without risking our health by going outside? Reading is the best activity that promotes both meditation and unwinding.

Nonfiction books are just the perfect genre to dive in and uplift our spirits. The realness and genuineness of the works can help us to view the word in different angle, as well as uplift us up in these trying times. Hence, here are some of the best titles to check out!

The Other Side of Fear by W. Veronica Lisare

Written by W. Veronica Lisare, this story will surely inspire you to know God’s love even in your darkest times. The Other Side of Fear by Veronica centers on how the author experienced a life-changing moment after she acknowledged her real identity as the daughter of God. Bravery, happiness, and freedom took over her life instead of abuse, fear, and low confidence. She allowed the readers to know some of the personal details in her journals including her gloomy childhood, affectionless marriage, heartbreaking divorce, saddening death of a grandchild, and a tough battle with cancer. W. Veronica also shared how the tables have turned and she started to have a fulfilling job as a nurse and rewarding work as a minister.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

This National Book Award winner, The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, documents the time that follows the death of the author’s husband. The literary icon Joan Didion has been through a lot way before the loss of her beloved. It was their daughter that was hospitalized and put on life support. But, what she didn’t saw coming was that her husband will suffer a huge and deadly coronary that led to his death on the night before the New Year’s Eve. Moreover, the book will surely provide you with a raw and uncloaked depiction of grief and anger, as well as spectacular unguarded confessions.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

When Breath Becomes Air is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and a #1 New York Times bestseller. The author has already faced the probability of death almost each day in his job as a neurosurgeon — until one day that his own life becomes at risk. This book is Dr. Paul Kalanithi’s memoir that accounts his acceptance of his future mortality after being diagnosed with a stage 4 cancer of the lungs. The author, unfortunately, took his last breath in 2015. However, his heartwarming memoir attests the effect of his life on thousands of readers.

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

You probably have heard the name Alexander Hamilton countless of times because of the popular musical titled Hamilton. However, Ron Chernow has written a biography of the great Alexander Hamilton. For those who didn’t know him, he was one of the most important figures of the history of America. Thus, this book has clearly featured Hamilton’s personal life and his impact on people. And, this masterpiece has also preserved the significant figure of the person who molded the political soul of the country.

All the Single Ladies by Rebecca Traister

Rebecca Traister has successfully conveyed the united power of every single lady through her New York Times bestselling book All the Single Ladies. It has created a clear and variety of images of unmarried ladies in the U.S. Furthermore, it contains the study of the female’s sexual, economic, and emotional lives. This is the ideal book to read if you are a single woman with the desire to obtain a better grasp of this crucial moment in the history of America. The book has been included in The Boston Globe, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, and Chicago Public Library’s best book of 2016 selection.

On Writing by Stephen King

The anniversary edition of On Writing by Stephen King was published by Scribner in 2010. It is a memoir written by the bestselling author that aims to inspire and help writers-in-the-making about the art of writing. King wrote about the challenges that he encountered in his early years of becoming an author. Personal, raw, and communicative, On Writing is the most ideal book to read by every aspiring writer. It is an inspiring memoir that creates something out of the power of memory and the significance of determination.

The Proper Vibe for Being a Likeable Friend

Much like in the beautifully-crafted children’s book by Rosella Calauti, many of us have enjoyed the company of good, childhood friends in the past. Here…There…Everywhere!!! by Calauti shows us the value of good friendships and how they prepare us for life in the future. However, for many young teenagers around the globe, the making friends in the corporate world aspect of life after college becomes somewhat difficult, especially for certain people who are just starting out in their careers, fresh out of graduate school, and still adjusting to an new, unfamiliar and competitive working world.

These young people are introduced to a foreign and previously-unknown setting in which they may potentially associate with anyone from the leading minds of the industry, skillful professionals, or even newbies and newcomers just like themselves. In this challenging new environment, much of a person’s success can be attributed to the firmly well-woven connections that they have solidified throughout the course of their professional lives, and many of these influential and beneficial companions that they make on this path are usually like-minded friends who share similar goals and interests, who always learn from and motivate each other to strive for higher feats and accomplishments. It is true enough that opposites attract – but in the corporate network of similarly-thinking creatives and brilliant entrepreneurs, it’s much more accurate to see it otherwise – in the sense that birds of the same feather flock together.

It could be a considerably daunting or uncomfortable experience to integrate oneself into new and meaningful friendships in a corporate setting, especially if that particular person was not the best socializer or extrovert back in their schooling days. So, some may be stuck with a dilemma that they eventually find themselves self-asking – something along the lines of: “How do I make solid friendships as an adult in this industry? How do I make find and befriend people who think just like me?”

Now usually this is a highly-subjective and varying process, as people-skills vary from person to person – as do office settings, colleagues, work politics, and the attitudes and behaviors of our co-workers around us. However, there are a handful of tested and proven ways to achieve this proper connection with like-minded workers in any industry. These universal methods transcend fads and societal trends, as they are the basic and fundamental psychological components that facilitate improvement in one’s life through practicing effective social skills at work – a hallmark of future success wherever you work.

Here are a few ways to adapt to a new work environment and meet friends of the same vibe and frequency in the corporate world:

Avoid condemning or criticizing others

Constructive criticism is direct advice with the intention of influencing improvement, delivered in a positive light. On the other hand, complaining or condemning others, their work, or anything about them merely serves as a medium for nit-picking and pointless negativity. Instead, offer positive suggestions and avoid being a bully in general.

Be highly optimistic about the success of others

It’s truly inspiring to behold the degree of self-improvement in workers responding to the positive praise of approval and admiration as compared to the negative pull of criticism and ill-intended comparison.

Be particular with people’s names and titles

It’s not easy to recall everyone’s names, especially in the casual setting in which many employees and workers meet. However, it is important to remember how flattering it feels when others remember our names. The feeling is mutual and universal, so make sure to call people by their names when you can – it could brighten their day, and portray you in a good light.

Be honest in recognizing when you’ve slipped up

Mistakes can happen to the best of us, especially to people who are new to any particular industry of course. People tend to agree to you more and respond better when you accept your own faults immediately and take active measures to correct them. Being accountable for your own actions is a hallmark of professionalism and integrity.

Find common ground when you don’t see eye to eye with a colleague on a particular subject

Rather than attempting to win an argument with a co-worker, try digging deeper and analyzing different aspects of your differing conclusions, and persuade them that your thoughts align with theirs by highlighting the common ground by which you both stand. This is an integral key-factor in team-building and effective internal communication.

Book Editors: What Do They Do? Should You Hire One?

Why authors have to hire book editors?

After writing your book, what do you do next? Or rather, what should you do next? Submit your work to agents and publishers – or have a professional review your work? If you deeply care for your story and the people who will read it, you will probably do the latter.

In the book publishing industry, there is always someone who could help ensure the quality, brevity and clarity of your book, be it fiction or non-fiction, a memoir, thriller, devotional, etc. Such is the job for the book editor, who could be either a copy editor or line editor or even both.

If you are an author, whether aspiring or experienced, you need people to review and critique and work. Many authors would be content with just having family and friends read their work and provide feedback. Some others don’t bother seeking feedback, believing or thinking their work is already perfect and is just going to get positive-only feedback or are just too timid or shy to ask for feedback.

A smart author, however, will seek and implement feedback as needed. If you are a smart author, you will proactively seek constructive feedback to improve your overall writing and storytelling skills, help your ideas grow and your stories succeed, see what’s working and what’s not, and, above all, write the best book ever. The best person to help you achieve such objectives would be your book editor.

Why should you seek professional help for your book? If you are a smart author, you will know it’s essential to have your manuscript reviewed by a pair of critical eyes. If it’s difficult for most people to spot every error in a written document, it’s practically impossible for an author to pick up every error in their manuscript because all too often, one’s brain will read what he/she thinks he/she wrote, making makes it easy to overlook mistakes.

What does a book editor really do?

It is the book editor’s business to pick up authors’ mistakes. The book editor will approach your manuscript differently as he/she has the capability to scan your manuscript for any sort of grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors that you and other authors routinely come unstuck over. Book editors are impartial; though they can get invested emotionally and/or intellectually in your story or narrative, they will not have the same attachment as yours to words or phrases. They will not hesitate to delete words, phrases, and even paragraphs to improve the overall flow of your story or narrative.

Book editors got their start by excelling on their languages subjects in schools, which is the best place for aspiring authors and editors to develop their love for reading and writing. Many editors also honed their craft by working at related jobs, such as teaching. There are also authors such as Greg Van Arsdale (author of Beyond Mere Belief, The Genesis Project, and The Chuck and Lisa Series) who transitioned into full-time book editing. Given his versatility and range, Van Arsdale’s Copy Editing and line editing services cater to both fiction and nonfiction authors.

Book editors exhibit the following skills:

Exceptional Editing. It is the book editor’s job to spot and rectify grammatical errors, sentence construction problems, redundancies, overuse of phrases and words, and other languages issues – barriers to an author’s publication goals. A book editor can iron out all such errors without compromising your story or narrative.

Excellent communication. A book editor should know how to communicate with their author-clients to get a better view and understanding of their work. This skill is best exhibited in their work – the edited manuscript.

Ability to handle pressure. Book editors have time to read manuscripts and deal with authors but only a few seconds or a few minutes to decide whether a sentence needs a period, a question mark or an exclamation mark, or a paragraph needs to be trimmed or tightened or an adjective or an adverb.

Ability to meet deadlines. For full-time book editors, things go round the clock. There are scores of manuscripts to read, tons of grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors to blot out, and decisions to make. Book editors cannot keep the authors waiting or let the manuscripts collect dust.

The Historical Contributions of the Catholic Church to Science

Few issues are as prone to confusion as the association between spirituality and logic. The current conflict between creationist theory and the theory of evolution obscures the fact that Christianity has historically played a much more constructive part in the development of science than is generally accepted. Evidently though, many of the supposed instances of faith pushing up scientific advancement have turned out to be incorrect. For example, the Catholic Church has never told us that the World is spherical and, in the Medieval Period, no one has ever believed otherwise. Popes have not attempted to prohibit the number zero, protest human experimentation, or flashes of lightning, and fortunately, nobody has had their life stolen from them for having scientific beliefs. However, a significant amount of instances of church interference are, to this day, commonly cited as being religious hindrances to the pursuit of adding to the body of scientific knowledge.

It is correct that Galileo was arrested and persecuted for thoroughly maintaining his belief that the World orbits around the sun, rather than seeing is as merely a theory, as the Catholic Church has ordered. Today, scholars have verified that indeed, his execution was as much a matter of the pope’s larger-than-life ego and desire to crush all opposing trains of thought that contradicted his own. In actuality, this single incident fails to outweigh all the assistance the that the Christian religion has provided to scientific exploration throughout the ages.

This assistance was evident in a variety of ways and processes throughout history – one being the case of monetary support. Prior to the events that transpired during the course of the French Revolution, the Christian Religion was the largest supporter of science investigation. Beginning in the Medieval Era, missionaries, nuns and priests were compensated to research at colleges. The Bishop also insisted that science and mathematics ought to be a necessary feature of the curriculum. Following a series of intensive deliberations and discussions, it was agreed upon that Greek and Middle eastern scientific theory were important resources for the preservation of the faith. By the late 1700s, the Jesuit order has taken the worldwide title as the best research group in Europe, producing thousands of articles and disseminating new findings around the globe. The Catholic church had commissioned the renovation of hundreds of churches in order to incorporate star observatories to get a clearer grasp of the date and time. Christianity has, for the most part, side form a few isolated instances throughout history, been highly supportive of scientific research as a whole, and has generally been known to fund countless facets of research in the pursuit of maintaining faith as their interior motive.

Given that the Church has not been an enemy to science, it is less surprising to find that the era which was most dominated by Christian faith, the Middle Ages, was a time of innovation and progress. Contrary to popular belief, this period of history has seen much encouragement between science and religion rather than deterrence and criticism. Inventions like the mechanical clock, glasses, printing and accountancy all burst onto the scene in the late medieval period. In the field of physics, scholars have now found medieval theories about accelerated motion, the rotation of the earth and inertia embedded in the works of Copernicus and Galileo. Even the so-called “dark ages” from 500AD to 1000AD were actually a time of advance after the trough that followed the fall of Rome. Agricultural productivity soared with the use of heavy ploughs, horse collars, crop rotation and watermills, leading to a rapid increase in population.

Since the Christian faith was not a main adversary of the pursuit of scientific knowledge, it is significantly less shocking to note that the period mostly controlled by Christian religion, the Medieval Period, was a period of invention and development. Advancements such as mechanical clocks, goggles, publishing, and accounting have all come to light in the later middle ages. In the world of physics, researchers have recently uncovered ancient, pre-modern ideas about rapid acceleration, the orbit of our planet, and kinetic equilibrium preserved in the writings of Copernicus and Galileo. Many believe the medieval period to be a period of artistic and scientific censorship, a period in which the church dominated and controlled all expression and unconventional beliefs – however, in many cases, it was quite the opposite.

8 Enlightening Religious Books To Read Today

How best to expand one’s horizons and increase or challenge one’s beliefs during the pandemic than to read books? Indeed, this is the best time to study – and challenge one’s religious beliefs, as well as gain new insights into one’s religious and spiritual beliefs> one could start by reading the following titles:

From Science to Spirituality by Neil C. Griffen

In From Science to Spirituality: Finding Spirituality in Science, Neil C. Griffen sets to prove the science and religion are not at odds. The author, who is a medium and spiritual healer, attests to the compatibility between science and spirituality, saying science and spirituality can exist alongside to answer humanity’s questions. Griffin exhorts readers to use these two major sources of knowledge to live their fullest lives. From Science to Spirituality: Finding Spirituality in Science received positive reviews from independent book review publications.

Revelations: Told From a Buddhist and a Christian Perspective by Edmund Anthony Talmont

Ex-Marine Edmund Anthony Talmont aims to fill in the knowledge gap about Buddhism, a religion that predates Christianity. The author, who also practices Christianity, attempts to present the Buddhist religion objectively and compares both Buddhism and Christianity side by side. He also exhorts his readers to examine their religion of choice and decide for themselves which religion to follow.

From Salvation to Sanctification; Then Eternal Life by Zadia Brown Tyson

The author, who is a born-again Christian, was inspired to write this book after cleaning and preparing her backyard for a family gathering. While pulling up the weeds and watering her garden, she could not help but notice that the grass and the weeds grew together and that there were more weeds than grass. The book is her response to God’s calling in her life and introduces readers to the basic teachings on God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, sin and salvation, sanctification, and eternal life.

Beyond Mere Belief by Greg Van Arsdale

This book is written for those who have never questioned the answers the Church gives regarding spiritual matters such as God, the soul, spirit, salvation, sin, Heaven, and Hell. This book is designed to help believers step in their understanding of the Bible as they struggle with doctrines, particularly pertaining to Jesus, that are being promulgated in the Church. For the author, it is never enough to “just believe” or accept that there are things we are not supposed to understand. We should strive to understand what the Bible really says and discover who we are, where we came from, and where we are going.

Jesus of Nazareth: A Man of His Time by Dean R. Eyerly

Many books have been written about the ‘divine’ Jesus but rarely about the ‘historical,’ ‘earthly’ Jesus. This book digs deeper into the earthly background of Jesus and unveils the Jesus that most Christians have never known about, that is, the ‘historical” Jesus, who is also the son of human parents and not just of God. The author believes that Christians ought to know the earthly aspects of Jesus’ life, not just the ‘divine’ aspects, so he discusses various topics about him and sources information from the Dead Sea Scrolls, Pseudepigrapha, New Testament Apocrypha, and other historical sources and contemporary works on Christian biblical history.

The Bible was not Written in English by David Murdoch

The author helps believers avoid spiritual blindness and stay true to the Bible with his intriguing and compelling book. He exhorts believers to study the Bible themselves and not rely on church traditions put forth by pastors who are never fluent in ancient Hebrew and Greek. This book will help the believer uncover the original message of the Bible, so they could fully understand God’s overall plan.

Spiritually Circumcise Your Heart & Mind by Timothy L. Walker

This spiritually sound book introduces the concept of spiritual circumcision, that is, the Christian circumcision of the heart and mind. Unlike the Jewish circumcision of the flesh that is only available to males, spiritual circumcision is available to all men and women who desire communion with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Musings on Doctrine: Christian Beliefs Revisited by John C’ de Baca

As its title suggests, this book tackles Christianity’s essential doctrines, almost everything from the Antichrist to salvation, as well as beliefs specific to certain denominations, such as the Catholics’ veneration of Mary (“Mariolatry”) and Reformer John Calvin’s doctrine of predestination. The book also explores contemporary religious and social issues, such as marriage and divorce, crime and punishment, feminism, and ecumenism.

As the COVID-19 pandemic drags on and vaccinations are underway, it is essential that believers increase in their faith, take heart, and cultivate perseverance in uncertain times. Continue to pray, believe, and read.