#29 Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Bradberry & Greaves, 2009. Audible.

This book comes with an online self/social awareness inventory. I took it back in July of last year and was disappointed with my score. After all, sometimes I think all I have going for me is my emotional well being. But the inventory said differently. Then I listened to the book – and finally finished it last week and retook the test. There is some improvement. Not much.

Here are a few of the questions they ask:

Are you confident in your abilities?

Do you admit your shortcomings?

Do you understand your emotions as they happen?

Do you recognize the impact your behavior has upon others?

Do you realize when others influence your emotional state?

Do you play a part in creating the difficult circumstances you encounter?

That’s how I did. I went from below average to average. And surely that’s because I put my best emotional foot forward, and instead of marking usually, in my second shot at emotional intelligence, I changed my response to almost always.

If this is something that interests you, do what i did; download the book with your audible credits, and get a free shot at their online test – once before the book, once after the book. I don’t think it was because I listened to the book that my score went up slightly. It was because I tried to be over-confident in my evaluation.

#30 Jesus, Justice, & Gender Roles by Kathy Keller, 2012

Little book. It’s about the case for gender roles in ministry. If you’re in a denomination where they don’t ordain women to positions of pastor or elder, then you visit this issue every now and then. I don’t like visiting this issue. So, I’m not going to here. But I will say a couple things, in bullet form that I believe with all my heart.

• God loves women, and He delights greatly in using them to advance his Kingdom.
• God created men and women to have dominion over the earth.
• The fall of humankind still has consequences, and it ain’t pretty at times.
• It is a beautiful thing to be a part of a church where the pastoral staff and elders value women and enjoy partnering with them to build his Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.