I knew there were plenty of areas in my life that needed attention. But I really was trying to follow what I believed to be God's will. I hoped that would be good enough. Then it hit me: God is more concerned with who I am becoming than with what I am doing--He would undoubtedly use this experience to shape me into someone more closely resembling His Son. This wasn't just Army training; it was life training.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Book Quotes: Life Training
From A More Elite Soldier by Chuck Holton (pages 33-34):
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Aromatherapy for Health Professionals by Price, Price
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Source: Bought from Books-A-Million
Back Cover Description (slightly modified):
The new edition of this highly successful book provides a clear and authoritative in depth study of aromatherapy as practiced in modern (mainly UK) health care settings. It gives valuable information for any health professional wishing to develop their understanding of the subject, providing the in-depth knowledge needed to use essential oils in the practice environment.
Outstanding Features:
* Reader-friendly layout and design makes the material accessible and easy to follow.
* All oils specified in the national (UK) curricula are covered in detail.
* Case studies illustrate practical applications for concepts and techniques discussed in the chapters.
*Contributed chapters, written by nurses and midwives from various hospital and community settings, address topics such as Midwifery and Childbirth, Learning Disabilities, Stress, Intensive and Coronary Care, Care of the Elderly, and Supportive and Palliative Care.
New to this Edition:
* Fully revised and updated discussions throughout include 24 new essential oil profiles added to this edition.
* Updated information on health and safety provides crucial information on safeguarding both the practitioner and the client.
* Additional references and new research have been added to this edition, as well as updated and revised tables.
* New illustrations make key points easier to understand.
* Chapters on carrier oils and essential waters have been updated and expanded.
* The touch and massage chapter has been thoroughly revised.
* The index has been extensively revised to include essential oil properties and indications.
Review:
This will be my last review of an aromatherapy book, which will doubtlessly be a relief to most of you. But I've been astounded by the results I've gotten using essential oils (some of which I'll post later on this blog so you can understand my interest), and I wanted to learn even more.
I found Aromatherapy for Health Professionals tremendously interesting. It offered information on practical application with a focus on healing while explaining the science (what we know of it, anyway) behind why essential oils work the way they do.
It was basically a medical textbook and often used medical terms. Most of the terms were defined in the glossary in the back, but their meaning was usually obvious from or defined in the text, so you don't have to have medical training to understand this book.
The book included information on tests and case studies in which essential oils were used to treat medical conditions (both for physical healing and to calm or lift the mood). I also gained an understanding of why the cautions given in other aromatheraphy books where given so I now feel confident that I can use essential oils effectively and safely. The charts on lethal doses (for ingested and topical) for a number of common essential oils were also tremendously reassuring.
Most of the book (Sections 1 and 2) was for a general audience and wasn't specific to the UK. Section 3 was more about using essential oils for specific problems (in the critical care unit or a nursing home, etc.) in the UK medical setting, but there was still a lot that was applicable to anyone using essential oils. Section 4 was short, but got very specific about practicing aromatheraphy in a medical setting in the UK and then worldwide.
The Appendix contained useful charts and lists showing which essential oils are effective in treating which problems. It also listed safety information, like which essential oils can be toxic in high dosages or have potentially unwanted side-effects, like irritating the skin. Finally, it listed about one hundred essential oils, their chemical content, what actions they cause and what they are good at treating, and safety information specific to that oil as well as observations about its use taken from case studies, etc.
If you're really into using essential oils and enjoy making up your own blends, especially for health problems, I'd highly recommend this book as a wonderful resource.
If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.
Contents:
Section 1: Essential Oil Science
*The Genesis of Essential Oils
*Chemistry of Essential Oils
*Quality and Safety
*Power and Hazards
*Traditional Use, Modern Research
Section 2: The Foundations of Practice
*How Essential Oils Enter the Body
*Hydrolats: The Essential Waters
*Touch and Massage
*Aromas, Mind, and Body
*Aromatic Medicine
Section 3: Aromatheraphy in Context
*Aromatherapy and Primary Healthcare
*Stress, including Critical Care
*Pregnancy and Childbirth
*Learning Disabilities and Autism
*Care of the Eldery, with particular reference to dementia
*Palliative and Supportive Care
Section 4: Policy and Practice
*Aromatheraphy in the UK
*Aromatheraphy Worldwide
Appendix A
I: Essential oils for general use
II: Indications for uses of essential oils
Appendix B
I: Uterotonic oils which facilitate delivery
II: Emmenagogic essential oils
III: Disputed emmenagogic oils
IV: Neurotoxic and/or abortive oils not used in aromatheraphy
V: Neurotoxic and/or abortive oils occasionally used in aromatheraphy
VI: Potential skin irritant oils
VII: Phototoxic oils
VIII: Contact-sensitizing oils
IX: General properties of essential oils
Appendix C
Occupational Health and Safety
Appendix D
Essential oil: definition for aromatherapeutic purposes
Glossary
Useful Addresses
Friday, January 15, 2010
Book Quotes: Boston Fire
From Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women by Harriet Reisen (page 247-248):
Four months after the Emerson fire, she found herself an eyewitness to the calamitous blaze that swept Boston on the night of November 9, 1872. Her taste for lurid spectacle and personal danger was excited as soon as word of the downtown business district conflagration reached her boardinghouse on the other side of Boston Common. She raced out to watch the souring flames and their dramatic effects. "Trinity Church was beginning to smoke, & all the great granite blocks of stones were melting like ice in the awful heat," she reported, awed by the transformation. The behavior of "venerable Beacon Street gentlemen" attempting to rescue inventory from the inferno while plate glass windows melted interested her no less. So did the sound: the fire "created a whirlwind & an awful roar." She saw "blazing boards, great pieces of cloth & rolls of paper flying in all directions falling on roofs & spreading the fire," while "fire men could not go up their ladders the heat was so intense & many were killed by falling walls." The scene was chaotic. Most of the city's horses were unfit for service because of an outbreak of distemper; as a consequence, the firefighting equipment had to be pulled by male volunteers hitched into the animals' traces. When water proved useless against the flames, citizens were allowed to blow up buildings in (failed) attempts to create breaks in its path. "The red glare, the strange roar, the flying people, all made night terrible & I kept thinking of the Last Days of Pompeii," Louisa later wrote to Anna.
Once back in her room, she took in clerks exhausted from rescuing their bosses' account books. She was giving them tea and cake when a friend came to warn that the fire was moving in their direction. Louisa wrapped her manuscript of Work, her best dress, a pair of new boots, and some books in an old army blanket and boarded an open wagon to be hauled to safety across the river in Cambridge by men--not horses--in harness.
When the excitement was over and Boston, already struggling to contain a smallpox outbreak as well as the horse distemper epidemic, began its massive cleanup, Louisa pushed on with Work, now subtitled A Story of Experience.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The Male Factor by Shaunti Feldhahn
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Source: Review copy from publisher.
Back Cover Description:
Millions of women gained eye-opening insights about the inner lives of men through Shaunti Feldhahn’s best-selling book For Women Only. Now with The Male Factor, Feldhahn brings her innovative research approach to the workplace to help women understand their male colleagues. Based on a nationwide survey and confidential interviews with thousands of men whose anonymity was guaranteed, her book reveals the private thoughts and attitudes that men rarely disclose but every woman needs to know.
Never before has an author gotten inside the hearts and minds of men in the workplace—from CEOs to nonprofit managers, from lawyers to factory workers—to discover what they commonly think about women on the job, what their expected “rules” of the workplace are, what “managing emotion” means, and what factors improve or harm a man’s respect for a female co-worker.
Among the little-known but critical insights The Male Factor reveals are:
o how men, with rare exception, view almost any emotional display as a sign that the person can no longer think clearly (as well as what men perceive as emotion in the first place)
o why certain types of trendy attire may actually sabotage a woman’s career
o which little-known signals ensure that a man’s perception of a strong female colleague is positive (“assertive and competent”) instead of negative (“difficult”)
Even women who have navigated male-dominated work environments for years have expressed surprise at these and other revelations in the book. Some readers may find them challenging. Yet The Male Factor delivers a one-of-a-kind opportunity for women to understand how male bosses, colleagues, subordinates, and customers privately think, and why they react the way they do. These vital insights enable each woman to make informed decisions in her unique workplace situation.
In this expanded Christian edition, Feldhahn builds on the same research and information as in the general-market edition, but speaks directly to the interests and questions of women of faith, whether their workplace is a part-time ministry or a Fortune 500 corporation. This edition of The Male Factor also delivers invaluable advice from senior Christian women who have broad experience in dealing with these questions, understand and share the reader’s values, and want to help other women achieve the best possible work relationships.
Review:
I've read several of Shaunti's other books (For Women Only, For Men Only, For Young Women Only, and For Parents Only) and loved them. I'd highly recommend those books. As I read them, I'd say, "Really? Wow, but that does explain..." and feel enlightened. I also felt like they gave insights without pigeon-holing "all men" or "all women" as being a certain way. The survey questions also opened up dialogue with my dad and my boyfriend-of-the-time and helped me learn which points applied to them.
So I was excited when I was offered the chance to review The Male Factor...even though I've been self-employed most of my adult life, and I've never had trouble dealing with men in guy-centric situations.
After reading it, I think the women who will most benefit from this book are those who were moving up in a company but now feel like they've hit the "glass ceiling"--they're being passed over for promotion or leadership responsibilities or are feeling like their input is being deliberately ignored. The information in the book can help them understand how their actions may be perceived by their co-workers (and not always just by men) and what they can do to fix the situation.
Unlike her previous books, very few survey questions were actually shown (the exact question with the results), which disappointed me. Instead, especially in the first half of the book, each chapter was mostly references to problems she heard mentioned frequently by men and the real life examples they gave to illustrate the point. Shaunti usually tied this in to how men are geared differently than women and thus behaved differently in the workplace--or were at a loss of how to deal with women who act differently in the workplace. At the end of each chapter, she gave excellent and do-able advice on how to deal correctly with those situations.
I really enjoyed chapter 12, the "Counsel from Experienced Christian Women." I also thought that chapter 10 had information that all women, working or not, would benefit from reading.
However, I found some sections and chapters--especially in the first third of the book--more confusing than enlightening. Often the issues raised weren't really male-female differences, and I'd agree that the behavior in the example wasn't appropriate work behavior (for men or women). Other times I was ticked at the guys because the woman in the example picked up on something "because she was female" but lacked experience in dealing correctly with the situation. If trained how to do it correctly or allowed to learn from the experience, she would have become a real asset in the same situation in the future. Yet the men assumed that the mistake was also inherently "because she was a female" and gave up on her instead.
These sections left me feeling frustrated and depressed. Why? Because I didn't feel like this book was intended for or could be used to open dialogue and clear up misunderstandings in the workplace. The book was intended to help women change their behavior (if they choose) to avoid triggering these misconceptions.
So, as I said, I think The Male Factor would definitely be helpful to women who are "stuck" on the corporate ladder. Women who work in a male-dominated field and who want to learn how to get along better with the men at work will also find the book useful.
If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.
Excerpt from Chapter One
“Are you saying women don’t already know that?”
The charismatic African-American businessman sitting next to me in first class looked at me in disbelief. I was flying home from speaking at a women’s conference, and we were only a few minutes into the usual “What do you do?” airplane conversation. Then I shared something that apparently stunned him.
I had explained that I was a financial analyst by training, had worked on Wall Street, and was now, unexpectedly, an author and speaker about relationships.
His inevitable question: “What’s your main topic?”
“Men.” I grinned at his wry expression. “I spent a few years interviewing and surveying a few thousand men. My last book, For Women Only, identifies ways that men tend to think and feel privately, that women tend not to know.”
He folded his arms across his chest, and it was his turn to chuckle. “OK,” he said, “hit me with one.”
So I shared one of my findings about men—one that I will share with you in the following pages—and that is when the amusement turned to disbelief.
When I confirmed that even the most astute women may not know that particular truth about men, I could see that suddenly, his thoughts were off in a universe of their own.
“That explains something!” he finally said. “You see, I’m a corporate trainer and consultant. Fortune 100 corporations bring me in to help with leadership and strategy at the highest levels of the organization. And all too often, I see skilled and talented women sabotage their careers because they treat the men they work with in a way that no man would treat another man.”
He looked at me with awakening interest. “But from what you’re telling me, these women probably don’t even realize that that is what they are doing.”
Read the rest of chapter one.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Book Quotes: Confederate Uniforms from Slave Cloth
From A Woman's Civil War by Cornelia Peake McDonald (page 228):
The 20th of March had come, and Harry was within three weeks of being seventeen years old. He said he was old enough to go into the army, and seemed so anxious to go that I felt it would be wrong to refuse him. To get him equipped was the great consideration. He said if he could get the clothes that his brother Edward had promised to furnish him with a horse and equipments. So I determined to let him go, and bethought myself of a remaining piece of finery, a crepe shawl. I took it up to a shop and exchanged it for a piece of grey cloth, such as before the war had been worn only by negroes, but which now was the only material used for soldiers' clothes. Course and rough as it was, it was worn by the best of the land, and no gentleman himself above wearing it. Some were fortunate enough to get a finer quality of grey cloth, but grey it must be.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Undaunted Heart by Suzy Barile
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Source: Review copy from publisher.
Book Description from Publisher's Website:
When a brigade of General Sherman’s victorious army marched into Chapel Hill the day after Easter 1865, the Civil War had just ended and President Abraham Lincoln had been assassinated. Citizens of the picturesque North Carolina college town had endured years of hardship and sacrifice, and now the Union army was patrolling its streets. One of Sherman’s young generals paid a visit to the stately home of David Swain, president of the University of North Carolina and a former governor of the state, to inform him that the town was now under Union occupation.
Against this unlikely backdrop began a passionate and controversial love story still vivid in town lore. When President Swain’s daughter Ella met the Union general, life for these two young people who had spent the war on opposite sides was forever altered.
General Smith Atkins of Illinois abhorred slavery and greatly admired Abraham Lincoln. Spirited young Ella Swain had been raised in a slave-owning family and had spent the war years gathering supplies to send to Confederate soldiers.
But, as a close friend of the Swains wrote, when Atkins met Ella, the two “‘changed eyes’ at first sight and a wooing followed.”
The reaction of the Swains and fellow North Carolinians to this North-South love affair was swift and often unforgiving.
In Undaunted Heart: The True Story of a Southern Belle & a Yankee General, author Suzy Barile, a great-great-granddaughter of Ella Swain and Smith Atkins, tells their story, separating facts from the elaborate embellishments the famous courtship and marriage have taken on over the generations. Interwoven throughout Undaunted Heart are excerpts from Ella’s never-before-published letters to her parents that reveal a loving marriage that transcended differences and scandal.
Review:
Undaunted Heart gave an interesting look at post-American-Civil-War conditions and how citizens of both the North and the South felt about the changes occurring around them. The book was an easy read and covered details of Ella and Smith's life before they met (including how Ella and Smith felt about the War and the issue of slavery), how they met, and their life after they married. Their life together contained many sorrows, but the marriage was a happy one. Letters, neighbor's journals, and newspaper reports were frequently quoted, giving an inside, personal look at events.
The book briefly touched on the greater issues of the time period--the hardships faced due to shortages and prejudice, the problems with unifying the nation after the War, and how various people dealt with the freed slaves. But these issues were only revealed where they impacted the lives of Ella and Smith and their families.
The level of vivid detail was excellent in some parts (especially after Ella and Smith moved North and she wrote vivid accounts of her life in her letters to her parents) and much less in others (like the few known details about how Ella and Smith met and courted, which mainly seemed to come from a neighbor's journal and a few surviving love poems).
There were black and white pictures of Ella's family, Ella, Smith, and the surviving children from Ella and Smith's marriage. There was no bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in the post-Civil-War era as seen through the eyes of a well-to-do family in both the North (Ella and Smith) and the South (Ella's parents).
If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.
Excerpt from Chapter One
Easter Sunday 1865 in Chapel Hill was unlike any other. Despite the brilliant spring day, villagers were anxious. The news was grim: Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, had fallen; so too had Raleigh. Rumors of General Robert E. Lee's surrender had just been confirmed.
The small Southern town that was home to the University of North Carolina, the nation's oldest state university, braced itself as the Union army approached. About mid-day, a paroled Confederate prisoner arrived, wrote local merchant Charles B. Mallett to his soldier-son, alerting everyone to a brigade moving "at full force on the town road, which of course produced great excitement."
Intensifying fears were reports that the brigade was under the command of the notorious General Judson Kilpatrick, nicknamed "Kill-Cavalry" by his own men. He was rumored to have once boasted that his route through the South would be marked by "chimney stacks without houses."
Everyone had thought Chapel Hill would never be captured. The war that had raged through much of the South for four years had never come close enough for town residents to worry about their safety, much less that of the university. When Union General William T. Sherman's troops left Savannah and marched north toward the Carolinas in early 1865, Raleigh resident Kemp Plummer Battle sent "a silver coffee-pot and other silver articles for safekeeping" to his parents, Judge and Mrs. W.H. Battle, in Chapel Hill.
Now nothing seemed safe.
Chapel Hillians prepared for the worst. Judge Battle buried five packages of money, jewelry, and a silver service (possibly the same one his son had sent earlier) in the woods near his home. Professor Charles Phillips and his family hid their silver in a horseradish bed and their watches in the university's telescope, assuming Sherman's cavalry would have no interest in stargazing. Out of concern for the university and its property, library books and other valuable papers were moved to Old East, the students' dormitory, and President David Lowry Swain's home.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Book Quotes: Working Class Women
From A Passion for the Impossible by Miriam Huffman Rockness (pages 77-78):
The role of young single women at that time was strictly defined by the class into which they had been born. For the middle and upper class woman, such as Lilias, idleness was considered a mark of gentility, with domestic servants absolving her from household tasks. Potential boredom was offset by the seasonal round of social events or by charitable work, until a "knight in shining armor" carried her off to the bliss of married life. Only the working class women were expected to "work," their choices being limited to the few occupations open to them: domestic servants, farm or factory workers, dressmaking, street traders, and shop assistants. As a result of the industrial revolution many of these women came to the cities where there were greater prospects for jobs--and for loneliness--often separated from their families by considerable distances. The warm, supportive atmosphere of hostels like Welbeck Street Institute, to which Lilias devoted her time, was a lifeline for these women.
While active in the program of the Welbeck Street Institute, Lilias could not help being aware of the spiritual needs of a different group of women only blocks away--the businesswomen employed in the high-class shops in Oxford Street and Regent Street, catering to the fashionable trade of London. Ever strategic in her approach, she began to offer "at homes" or social hours and drawing-room meetings at her Montagu Square address, where she could provide spiritual nourishment and fellowship in the comfortable surroundings of a home.
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