The Little Book of Virtues

By Edward Goble

The Little Book of Virtues is like a walk through a garden of flowers. Somehow each blossom is the most beautiful, the most fragrant, and the most desirable. In each flower you see the beauty of the Creator, a deep, colorful beauty that is at once Full of heaven and at the same time grounded in rich, earthy soil.
The virtues are like those flowers.
Reading and meditating about them draws us toward the beauty of their source, and encourages us to gain them, practice them, and in their quest become fully human. The Little Book of Virtues will help people of all ages be the person they were made to be, virtuous and strong, leaders, confidants, parents, teachers, and presidents. Because the virtues are the building blocks of morality and ethics. As such, they are desirable among all people to help create a reasonable, prosperous culture and society.
"A different measuring stick for success!"
"These concepts are simple enough for children, yet vital for anyone who wants to live a richer, fuller life."
The Little Book of Virtues is the perfect size for small group study, Bible studies, or Sunday School as each chapter includes helpful discussion starters.
The book makes a great gift for people entering a new season of life—graduates, newly engaged, baptisms or birthdays, or any gift-giving holidays.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Edward Goble
• Release date: Oct 27, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463880494

Edward Goble

Edward Goble is a creative generalist who is at once a designer, artist, musician, author, cook, and anything else that sparks creative imagination. Chiefly, though, he would describe himself as a follower of Jesus, focused on observing the goodness and beauty of God in everyday life.Among Ed's books, is the inspiring "The Bible Devotional", an easy-to-read, refreshing addition to contemporary devotional books. Each book of the Bible is featured individually in Ed's conversational, story-telling style that will make you feel as if you are just sitting with a friend talking about Jesus."Ed is an amazing storyteller who has absolute faciltiy of words, both spoken and written, as well as the visual arts that require no words." Dean Arvidson, HarperCollins Christian Publishers

Book preview

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, IL 60188. All rights reserved.

Scriptures marked TLB are taken from the THE LIVING BIBLE (TLB): Scripture taken from THE LIVING BIBLE copyright© 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture references marked KJV are from The Holy Bible: King James Version

Let Us Ask of the Lord - The Prayer of St. Ephraim. St. Ephraim the Syrian, a sainted monk and venerable father of the 4th century.

ISBN: 9781702545921

Copyright © 2019 by Edward Goble

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without the permission of the copyright holder, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in review.

For more information contact:

Ed Goble

edgoble.com

To my daughters, who live steady, virtuous lives before God and man, with selfless humility, overflowing grace, and practical, unfailing love for all. God grant me the faith to follow your example.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to beautiful Mila for gracing the cover. You are truly a virtuous young woman. Grow with grace.

Thank you to Danece for the cover photo, it says as much, or more, about virtue and the beauty of God as does this little book. God bless your photography.

Thank you to Melissa for editing and input—I am thankful for your sound and gracious theology.

Thank you to Kelly for showing that all this is possible, you are an inspiration.

Thank you to MaryAnn, my Proverbs 31 virtuous woman, constant reader, and companion in each writing excursion, we have one heart.

Finally, to my pastor-friends, Dave, Rob, Neal, you are virtuous men who continually inspire others, especially me, to dig deeper and be better. Thank you.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Virtue: Reflecting The Beauty Of God

Faith: The Foundation Of Virtues

Hope: The Partner Of Faith

Knowledge: Experiencing Truth

Wisdom: The Path Of Peace

Honesty: The Reflection Of A Pure Heart

Humility: The Mother Of Virtues

Obedience: The Path To Freedom

Patience: The Virtue Of The Long Run

Courage: The Key To Patience

Faithfulness: The Trustworthy Virtue

Self Control: The Virtue Of True Freedom

Kindness: The Disarming Virtue

Gratitude: The Rhythym Of A Peace-filled Life

Love: The Greatest Virtue

Epilogue

325Books

Virtue

Reflecting The Beauty Of God

People are like a bag of apples. In most bags, even if they are the same variety, there will be juicy, delicious apples, if you’re lucky most will be like this. But mixed in with the yummy apples there may be few that are a little bruised from the rough trip in from the orchard, or a bit soft due to mishandling by careless shoppers. Some apples may even taste a little funny, on account of being unripe or pithy. Once in a while there may even be one or two in your bag that are downright rotten — right to the core. You never know what you’ll find.

With the exception of youngsters who are, for the most part, untarnished by the orchard or the people tending it — at least for a while, in most groups of people there will be an assortment of pleasant, bruised,