conversations.from: human
conversations.value: a description for a book titled How to Ruin Your Life about DIV><P><BR></P><P><B>the, Ruin, HAPPEN</B></P><P>&#160;</P><P>Most with the genre: Christian Books & Bibles, Christian Living. Start with the sentence '<DIV><P><BR></P><P><B>the author - How to Ruin Your Life by 30 - revised copy 1'.
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conversations.value: <DIV><P><BR></P><P><B>the author - How to Ruin Your Life by 30 - revised copy 1.27.12</B></P><P><B>&#160;</B></P><P><B>DON'T LET YOUR 20s JUST HAPPEN</B></P><P>&#160;</P><P>Most of us have an internal alarm clock that goes off when we're about to make a bad decision. Yet some of us spend the entirety of our 20s hitting the snooze button. This book is your wake-up call.
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conversations.value: a description for a book titled How to Ruin Your Life about Renaissance, Win, Money with the genre: Humor & Entertainment, Humor
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conversations.value: the author, a nationally renowned "Renaissance man," was host of the long-running quiz show Win the authors Money and is currently a judge on Star Search. He is a former White House speechwriter, Wall Street Journal columnist, trial lawyer, law school professor, scriptwriter, and novelistand author of several self-help books; including How to Ruin Your Life; ISBN: 1-56170-974-3, sold 50,000 copies. He has seen the biggest (Richard Nixon) and the most famous (many Hollywood stars) ruin their lives. He has also seen how some seemingly ordinary people made something great of their livesby doing the opposite of what he sees as ruinous acts and modes of thought. He resides in Los Angeles, California, with his wife and son.
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conversations.value: the first five paragraphs for this book
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conversations.value: How to Ruin Your Life
  If you ignore erosion of your integrity, you will implode. If you shrug at the explosives beneath the surface, explosives that threaten to weaken your character, you will implode. If your competence and gifting outpace your integrity, you will implode. If the weight of your responsibilities and burdens is greater than your character, you will implode. Sadly, some will stand by, watch, and cheer as you topple—and quickly move on to look for the next person they can watch fall.
  While some love the buzz and chatter a ruined life provides, implosions are devastatingly miserable for the person and horribly painful to watch in the lives of people we love. And they are too common.
  As my leadership team filled our conference room, few people spoke. It was obvious that everyone was anxious to learn why we were gathered for a meeting that had been scheduled only an hour earlier. Glances of "what in the world is going on?" were shared back and forth as people wondered what prompted this urgent and awkward meeting.
  Most of our team had served alongside one another for five years, and this was only the second time an urgent meeting had been called. The previous time was when our board of trustees alerted me to anonymous communication asking them to oust me. So the team knew a meeting called so hastily meant something very somber and serious.
  The team that gathered was the one responsible for leading the largest division of LifeWay Christian Resources, the ministry where we served together. We were in the middle of our most fruitful year together and the most fruitful year in the history of LifeWay, as more and more churches and individuals were being served with the resources we provided. Leadership and ministry offer ups and downs, and this year was one of the brightest years—filled with laughter, joy, and optimism about the future.
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conversations.value: another paragraph
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conversations.value: If you are "just in a phase of life that is boring," you are in a phase of life where you are not staring at God. When you are not staring at Him, you will find something else to stare at. And as you stare at something else other than Him, your heart will be drawn from Him.
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conversations.value: the last four paragraphs. End with the sentence ' When we are unable to stand, He is able to keep us from falling.'.
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conversations.value: Years after David, another King was born in Bethlehem, the same town where David was anointed as king. Jesus, the One who the prophets wrote about and the bloody sacrifices pointed to, entered our world to rescue us from ourselves. The Gospel of Matthew opens with the lineage of King Jesus. In the lineage, we find this phrase, "Jesse fathered King David. David fathered Solomon by Uriah's wife."
  In the lineage of Jesus is the marriage of David and Bathsheba. David's sin was not the end. The destruction and the fallout from his sin was not the end either. From the union of David and Bathsheba came Solomon, and the sacred lineage continued all the way to Jesus. God fashioned a beautiful story from the mess David made of his life, and God can fashion a beautiful story from our ruin too.
  David as an earthly king gives us a glimpse of Jesus as our King. As David defeated the enemies of God's people, Jesus defeated sin and shame for us. As David represented all of Israel as he stood before Goliath and emerged victorious, Jesus represents us. His victory over death is our victory. As David ruled over his kingdom and shepherded the people well, Jesus rules over His kingdom and shepherds us with great wisdom and compassion.
  When we are weak, He is strong. When we are unfaithful, He is faithful. When we are unable to stand, He is able to keep us from falling.