Monday, July 15, 2013

Ed Douglas Publications: 25 Truths {Schoolhouse Crew Review}

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For my latest Schoolhouse Crew review, Ed Douglas Publications sent me 25 Truths: Life Principles of the Happiest Among Us.


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About the Author

Ed Douglas is a certified financial planner and currently runs Ed Douglas Certified Financial Planning/Consulting. Before that, he spent almost 32 years with Citizens Bancshares Bank located in Chillicothe, Missouri. During his last 20 years there, he served as president and later chairman and CEO. Besides 25 Truths, Ed has authored Making a Million with Only $2000: Every Young Person Can Do It, and The Money Marathon: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom.

Ed is also a husband, father, tennis coach, and marathon runner. He's an active member of his church, and he currently acts as president of the Chillicothe Education Foundation and serves on the William Jewell College Board. Be sure to check out all of his accomplishments and more on the website!

About the Book

What began as Ed Douglas's personal, three-page list titled "Life's Truths" or "25 Tips for an Enjoyable Life" that he routinely shared with friends, family, acquaintances, and students, is now a 150-page motivational guide written to help others live life to the fullest. It's great for individuals, families, Bible study groups, etc. Books like this one which encourage people to live ethical, honorable lives are definitely needed in our current culture of rapidly declining standards.

Of course these 25 truths aren't meant to be a substitute for Biblical wisdom, however, they are based upon Christian principles centering on morals, values, character, positive thinking, and perseverance. There's even a prayer of salvation included at the end of the book to give non-believers the opportunity to pray and receive Christ as their Savior.

Each truth in the book begins a new chapter and is immediately followed by an inspirational quote or Bible verse. Truths are briefly explained and reinforced by personal stories from Ed's own life. He often shares stories from other people's lives as well.


After each truth is identified and explained, there is a one-sentence summary to recap the heart of the truth. Following that is the Workshop. This is where you learn how to apply the truth to your own life by answering 5 questions. The first question after each truth asks, "Do you think this is an important truth? Why or why not?" The last question after each truth basically asks how you can implement the truth in your own life and what steps you can take in order to achieve success. The in-between questions deal with thinking about times in your life when you did or didn't model the particular truth or people in your life who do or don't model the particular truth and how it makes you feel. All of these questions really make you think about what you can do to truly live a better life and make a positive difference in the world.

Included at the very end is a bonus truth. The most important one of all, actually. Without it, the truths simply won't work. You probably already have a good idea of what it is, but I will let you read the book to find out for yourself!

Opinion

While I've only read the book for myself so far, I plan on reading it aloud to my kids and discussing each truth in detail. (Best for older elementary children and up.) I think 25 Truths will make a great Bible study tool to kick off our school year in just a few short weeks! I am going to add one more task to the Workshop portion, though: find and write down more Bible verses that support/reinforce each truth.

While I think it would be feasible to cover one truth per day, I may stay on one truth for several days to let each one really sink in. I'm really looking forward to hearing my children's thoughts during our discussions!

I did find several typos toward the end of the book, but they didn't take away from the message in any way. I still recommend it, and I hope this book will be as much of a blessing to you as it has been to me. You can order your copy for $12.50 plus $3.00 shipping and handling.


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