b'Preface Iextent through thoughtful reading of the Gospels, think Jesus is a great example for anyone and everyone. By Jesus, I mean the man in history who we can discover to a great especiallytheearliestones:Mark,Matthew,andLuke.Asa Christian, Jesus is more than that to me. The more, however, does not overwhelm his model as a human being both in how he lived and what he taught. Sometimes for Christians, the stel-lar model for living now that Jesus provides can get lost in his deification and worship. I think the opposite should be true. My belief system about Jesus, which elevates him to the Lord I seek and worship, makes me pay closer attention to what he taught and how he showed us to live as a rabbi (and more so simply a person) in time. Following Jesus is about practical action now, rooted in love and care for others. Thus, within my faith traditionandunderstandingthesound-bitementalityofour current generation, I prefer the term disciple or follower to believer for a person who is Christian.For people of any or no faith, Jesus is a wonderful source for a potentially authentic and meaningful life. This book includes an initial chapter centered on the daily practice of qualitative living, especially but not exclusively from a faith-based per-spective. A collection of shorter and more focused chapters follows that offer some practical suggestions for thought and application. Many of them are based on certain aspects of the life and teachings of Jesus. Most of these writings were initial-ly published on the weekly faith page of the Austin American-Statesman for about a decade between 2009 and 2019. They appearhereprimarilyintheorderofpublicationandwith'