"Fearless" By Max Lucado

It goes without saying that we have all found ourselves paralyzed by fear at one time or another. Whether it was based on real life circumstance or paranoia that a fear might come, we can all sympathize with the grip fear has on our lives. I just finished reading Max Lucado's newest book, "Fearless", which focuses on many typical areas of fear that often paralyze us. In each chapter Lucado offers witty over-exgagerated examples of each of these specific fears and supplements them with a Biblical example when believers are encouraged to trust God's hand and provision.

I could not help but think as I read "Fearless" of times in my life when I needed to hear that message. Lucado's writing style is easy to follow and makes "Fearless" difficult to put down. While I found myself underlining or marking something in every chapter, the final ones were most memorable. In the last chapters Lucado address the fact that things will get worse before they get better. In a world where we are faced with a new "crisis" every time we turn on the news, it is so important to remember that chaos is a part of God's plan. Lucado reminds readers that God provides reassurance that there will be wars, rumors of wars, sorrow and happiness-- but that He remains faithful in it all. It seems to come naturally to freak out when these things come to be, but Lucado paraphrases Jesus in Matthew 24:6 saying "Don't freak out when bad stuff happens" (pg. 153). Bad things have, are, and will continue to occur, but as believers we should hold strongly to the knowledge that our Lord is control of it all.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I know that I will continue to refer to it when in facing fear. Lucado wrote, "Feed your fears, and your faith will starve. Feed your faith, and your fears will." (pg. 74). Reading this book is one way to feed your faith, not your fears.

If you wish to purchase this book, you can buy it here on Amazon:

Building Excitement

Remember this post about my excitement for Donald Miller's new book? Well, now you can read part of it right here on my blog. I love how high tech Thomas Nelson Publishers are!


A Million Miles In A Thousand Years by Donald Miller

Review of "The Principle of the Path"

I recently signed up for Thomas Nelson Publisher's Blogger Book Review program. This program allows bloggers to receive copies of Thomas Nelson's newest books to read and review. It's a pretty great deal, because I just get to do what I love-- read and write, and get free material to do those things! Without further ado, here is my first book review for this!

I was initially drawn to Andy Stanley's "The Principle of the Path" for the sub-titles on the cover-- "How to get from where you are to where you want to be". As someone who is hoping to move a community from one place to another, I thought this might have some great insight for my work and life.

Stanley's thesis is pretty clear from the beginning- the choices we make determine our outcome. Making a series of poor choices probably will result in some poor outcomes. While this point is true, and something I hope my students learn during college, that seems to be the meat of the book. Each subsequent chapter outlines more examples of how people were faced with choices and how those choices led them to where they were. I kept hoping the next chapter would provide new information, or more advice on guiding one's self or organization down the path to where we want to go. But, I felt like Stanley left me hanging.

I will say though, the book was a fairly easy read and his examples are relatable. While I felt like I needed something more and deeper from this book, I do think there are those in the world need to know that making reckless choices now will only harm them in the end. I would recommend this book for those who would like encouragement in the truth that making wise choices now is making a choice for goodness in your life. I wouldn't rank it at the top of my favorite books list, but it certainly is not at the bottom either.

You can find this book on Amazon here.