Kim Gentes

[Free Devotional Download "7 Sacred Steps" from writer Dan Wilt- see at the bottom of the review.]

OK. Confession time. I'm one of those people who prays everyday, and reads most days. For a long time, I would go on the "energy" of a scripture section, allowing the concepts, fused as they are with a perfusion of love and truth, to propel me through an ongoing desire to read and meditate on the Bible. But what I found is that I actually need to be more intentional about my devotional life. Not because God is standing over me, frowning for my lack of enthusiasm, but because at the core of my human condition is a lack. A lack of the real material of heaven that is required to live life on earth.

When I feed regularly on the scriptures, my soul is filled with what Jesus promised - "a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." But often enough, as silly as it sounds, I just forget or let myself become overwhelmed with the cares of daily life that I don't leave enough space in my day for meditations on God's word. When I lose focus, I find it is helpful to reset myself by using a guidebook or plan to help structure/lead my devotional time. The last month, I was privileged to get an early copy of Dan Wilt's "A Well-Worn Path" book. 

It was just the kind of simple structured path I needed to get my daily walk into a regular rhythm again. I've read a number of things Dan has written, and this may be his most piercing work yet. He doesn't mince words or paint pictures for pages. He gets to the heart of an issue in short order. Each scripture. Each day.

In fact, as I read each day through, I felt as though the devotionals were a sort of scriptural, even prophetic, declaration over my life. "Believe, Then See", "Enter Light", "Cease Worry", "Do Good", "Create With God", and on it went. Rather than giving placid generalities, Wilt throws a spear into the heart each day, by taking the most poignant edges of scripture and punctuating it with a simple phrase of instruction. After a further paragraph or two of clarity he offers up a prayer that we can join in immediately.

The devotions are simple, one page, and a pure gasp of clean air from the atmosphere of heaven. Much of Dan Wilt's writings are crafted stories and imagery meant to bring you into the heart of the matter. "A Well-Worn Path" is much more direct and works well as a month-long progression that doesn't tire you out from his style or topics. In fact, the nice thing about using a well-written devotional like this is that the choice of topics makes the journey authentic and prone to learning. I wouldn't have chosen to challenge myself in the same way the author does, and this is good. We are often too easy on ourselves.

Having gone through the devotional, I can honestly and completely recommend it to you. It is powerful, succinct and absolutely worth-while. In my opinion, it is Dan Wilt's best writing yet.

Amazon Book Link:  http://amzn.to/18RRXdx

Review by Kim Gentes

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Free Devotional Download "7 Sacred Steps" from author Dan Wilt

Easily the best music theory book I've found for those who know very little theory. Intensely formally trained musicians will balk at this book, but "garage band" musicians will love it.  The book covers four main areas: Notation, Rhythm, Chords (4 sections), and Writing Music. The breakdown of the various topics into clean sections makes it easy to use the book as a reference for later. I often grab it when I need to refer back to some point on chords (for which it has extensive information). In addition to a good structured outline to the book, it starts off easily and takes nothing for granted- you learn as quick as you can pick up, because he starts off assuming you need to learn everything from timing to notes and more. If you are a beginner, its all there, if you somewhat knowledgeable you can move along quicker.

This is a compressed music theory book that is easy to pick up and learn from. It is tremendously helpful for musicians with gift and abilities, but little formal musical training. It gives the basics in excellent format (simple and straight forward) and style (humorous). The pithy style of this book makes it like reading a music book written by David Letterman.

I recommend this book to two crowds: first, if you are a rock musician that has played for years and just never got around to having a good grasp of theory, this book is made for you. Second, if you are a worship leader or musician in a local church but likewise finds yourself with a less than clear understanding of the all the salient musical theory points, then you will likely be helped a lot by reading this book as well. 

When I first read this book (back in 1999) I bought a printed paperback copy (literally just 100 pages long). When I lost the book about 10 years later, I bought another copy, simply because it is such a helpful reference. The book is now available on Kindle/eBook format too.

Amazon Link: http://amzn.to/12sLxBe

Review by Kim Gentes