Summer Reading List

The weather has been warm, my grill has been used, the garden has been planted, and tomorrow is June first, it must be summer!  What would summer be without a summer reading list?  Here's a look at what I'm reading this summer, check it out:

1.  Fearless: by Eric Blehm - True Story about the life of Adam Brown a Navy Seal on Seal Team Six who was KIA a couple years ago.Amazon Link

2.  Surfing for God: Discovering the Divine Desire Beneath Sexual Struggle by Michael John Cusick - If you're like 90% of men and 60% of the female population then you probably in some way struggle with online porn.  This book seeks to help you break out of that cycle and into freedom.Amazon Link

3.  Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw - Written a few years ago (never got around to reading it) deals with the political forces involved throughout the Old and New Testaments... it is an election year you know!  Amazon Link

4.  The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler and Jared Wilson - What is the Gospel?  Why do we make it something it isn't?  Amazon Link

5. Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus by Kyle Idleman - I read it when it came out, but this summer I'm leading a small group through it.  If you haven't read it yet, you must!  Amazon Link

What are you reading?

Love Does Review

Title: Love Does
Author: Bob Goff

Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World sets out to list the adventures of Bob Goff (the author) who you may remember from several of Donald Miller's books.  Bob Goff is one of the founders for an organization called Restore International and this book is really a conglomeration of his stories in his life.  Using these stories though Bob Goff sets out to demonstrate that love isn't static, it isn't something to read about in a book, or think about while sitting in a chair.  Love is an action.  Love is an adventure.  Love compels us to move.  Love....Does.

As I picked up the book to review I noticed Donald Miller had written the forward and praised the book as well.  While I don't know Bob Goff at all, I know of Donald Miller.  The first time I picked up Blue Like Jazz I felt linked to Donald (as did many in my generation).  His story spoke to me and drew me in more so than anything else I had ever read.  So I hoped Bob Goff's book would do the same.

Honestly this book reminds me a lot of Blue Like Jazz (BLJ), which is good and bad.  It's good because of the high esteem I have for BLJ.  I liked that it felt as though I was in the room with Bob listening to his stories of adventure.  I liked that Love Does goes further than BLJ to explain the authors own spiritual interpretation of the story told (one of the detractors of BLJ was that it left too much for the reader to make from the story, this book is more clear).  However, since much of it reminded me of BLJ it also made me feel redundant, like it was a stories manufactured into the same mold as BLJ (which also happened to the rest of Donald Millers' books).

Love Does is a great book and I certainly wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it, but some will be disappointed with it's similarity to Blue Like Jazz.  Bob Goff is an interesting character that you can laugh with/at, cry with and feel connected to in just 200 short pages.

Read this book if you loved Blue Like Jazz.
Read this book if you hated Blue Like Jazz.
Read this book if you find yourself sitting more than doing.
Read this book if you're involved in Bible Studies and no Bible Doings.
And above all don't just read this book, do this book.  Get out of your chair and live the adventure, live your call, live out the Gospel.

Five out of five stars.

uDisclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”ides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Review of Enemies of the Heart

Written by Andy Stanley

Andy Stanley is the founding pastor of North Point Ministries in Atlanta, GA.  I have been familiar with him for quite some time through his messages online, some of his other books, as well as the resources his church produces and release online for other churches to use.  While I think this whole 'fan of a pastor' culture is awkward, I would say I am a fan of him and his ministry.  So when I received this book, I knew it was going to be good, and Andy didn't disappoint.

Enemies of the Heart is written to shed light on the hidden (and not so hidden) debts that we carry within our hearts and helps to focus on how to remove these debts.  While the book is divided into three sections, there are really three main enemies of the heart that he deals with: guilt, anger, greed, and jealousy.  Stanley describes each in detail, as well as provide the reader with the antidote to these enemies.

As I stated earlier Andy looks at these enemies of the heart as debts within ourselves that we try to pay for, but many times just leave us bankrupt.  Guilt is seen as a debt from yourself to someone else, the 'I owe you'.  Anger is the opposite of guilt, it's the belief that 'You owe me'.  Greed is the thought that 'I owe me'.  Finally jealousy is the concern that 'God owes me'.  The problem when we live in these debt-filled relationship roles our heart responds to the world around in these ways.  As the author continues throughout the book, he demonstrates that you don't have to continue to live in these debt-filled roles but can be set free from the debt if you are willing.

Honestly there is very little negative I could say about this book.  Ever wonder why you reacted to that situation awkwardly?  Read this book!  Ever wonder why you avoid certain people, or they avoid you?  Read this book.  Are you tired of living your life as the victim, the pressure cooker waiting to explode, or the person stuck on things in the past?  Read this book.  Overall this is a great book and everyone should read it!

Five out of five stars.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review