The Noticer

So, very, very long ago, I signed up with Thomas Nelson to do book reviews. They give me a book and I review it. And I am sure you have all enjoyed reading my reviews. What? Oh, yeah. I haven't accomplished that yet. Its the new year, time to get to work. I had the privilege of reading The Noticer:Sometimes all a person needs is a little perspective by Andy Andrews. I really had no idea what I was going to be in for, and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised...for the most part. I dove right into the book for the first half and sadly found myself tapering off mid-way and losing zest for it. Not the point didn't continue to be great, it just was more of the same. It is hard to tell if this is a fiction story, auto-biography or what. That may be where it lost me. It does have lots of short stories, rolled into one. My review is still positive and I will admit, my busy-ness of that time may have contributed to not feeling the book after awhile. If you are familiar with the 5 Love Languages, some of this may seem familiar. I guess that's what brings life full circle, applying what we know. High points are plenty in the book. Here are some excerpts to give you a taste: His name was Jones. At least, that's what I called him. Not Mr. Jones... just Jones. He called me "young man" or "son." And I rarely heard him call anyone else by name. In this book, you will see Jones often. He enters into lives which are hurting, helps by just noticing and talking, and he leaves just as swiftly and quietly as he entered. No one knows his age, or more of his name. No one even knows his race. They just know that he has helped each of them. His legacy was to notice and to be a seed in which others noticed. I want to share with you the best paragraph early in the book. "Think with me here...everybody wants to be on the mountaintop, but if you'll remember, mountaintops are rocky and cold. There is no growth on the top of a mountain. Sure, the view is great, but what's a view for? A view just gives us a glimpse of our next destination -- our next target. But to hit that target, we must come off the mountain, go through the valley, and begin to climb the next slope. It is in the valley that we slog through the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life's next peak." Jones dispenses morsels of wisdom, in its simplest form. He has a different perspective on life. We all struggle in this world, and if you need a little perspective and a lot of heart, then I recommend you swing by amazon.com and pick this morsel up for yourself. *Thomas Nelson has not paid me to review this book or any others. I am only given a free copy of the book to review on my blog. *