Luci Swindoll (–2020)

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

John 10:10 is one of my favorite Bible verses. Obviously, it's one of Luci Swindoll's, as well. In I Married Adventure: Looking At Life Through the Lens of Possibility, she shares her delight in once-in-a-lifetime events, such as seeing leopards on an African safari. She also encourages us to enjoy every seemingly-mundane minute. Watching a bird in our own backyard can be just show more as wondrous as viewing exotic animals on another continent, as long as we have the right attitude. Every moment is a gift from God and He wants us to love and appreciate our lives for the time we have here. show less

Simple Secrets to a Happy Life
by Luci Swindoll

Contentment, gratitude, generosity, faith, common sense, self-awareness and independence are just some of the themes in this inspirational book.

Swindoll’s writing style is warm, friendly, and encouraging. The stories she tells on herself make the book relatable to life, interesting, and authoritative. Sometimes they add humor. But more often than not they have an “ouch” quality that makes it easy to see why they have stuck with her and show more underline the important life-lesson they illustrate. For example, there was the time she got an invitation for breakfast from a co-worker, said she’d attend, but come Saturday morning simply stayed away. Later she discovered that her friend had anticipated her visit all week, prepared for it at length, and was deeply hurt by her no-show — told in Chapter Two: “Be On Time for Everything.”)

...Simple Secrets to a Happy Life would be good to read any time, but would be an especially great choice for when one is at one of life’s crossroads like graduation, starting a new career, marriage, retirement, or simply as preparation for making the next set of New Year’s Resolutions.

Excerpted from a review on Blogcritics.

I received this book as a gift from the publisher for the purpose of writing a review. show less

The layout is simple and effective with short chapters. Each chapter title is five words long and starts with an action verb. Examples include Keep Your Word Every Time, Acknowledge Your Need for Help, and Do All Your Homework First.

This was the first book I read by Luci Swindoll. Unfortunately it fell flat for me. The title and introduction warn that the advice is simple. A simple reading of the table of contents as a bulleted list might have been as satisfying as the couple hundred pages show more of text. It just wasn't enough to sink my teeth into.

That is not to say that Simple Secrets is without merit.
There was one chapter that I would like to pluck out and give to my reading-adverse friends—Build Yourself a Small Library. Swindoll explains how as a child, her family treasured books, a fact that led her on a rewarding path in life. Today Swindoll and her siblings each have home libraries and live by Mark Twain’s reported quote “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.” I love that.

There are lots of interesting tidbits about the Swindoll children including her brother, well-known pastor and author Chuck Swindoll. From reading the book, Luci Swindoll seems like a very pleasant and interesting woman, with a great deal of wisdom to share. Sadly, as far as this book is concerned, that wisdom could have been condensed into a pamphlet.

The publisher provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. show less

Just finished this book. I was going to take my time reading it because of my very busy schedule, but I got hooked.

The book is about the freedom that God has given us, how he loves us regardless of what we do, and why we should let go of anything that chains us down and prevents us from truly being free so we can really start living. If we make good choices, we will live better lives. If we make bad choices, God will use the consequences to help us grow and mature in Him, if we let Him.