Religion Books

One thing I learned a long time ago: Never let a book (or Bible teacher, or preacher, or friend, or long-held belief about a thing) ever replace God in your life. When the Holy Spirit abides in us, we have access to the discernment that will say to us, "yes, this is right," or "no, don't be so quick to weave that into the fabric of your soul." I have a relationship with God. Relationship. Which means as I have read this book, I have given room to the Holy Spirit to speak to me about what I am reading. This book is not the Bible. But neither is Oswald Chamber's My Utmost for His Highest, and yet God has used both of these books (in addition to Bible study) to lift veils from my eyes, encourage me, convict me, give me vision and hope . . .

I don't know this author, but I'm awfully glad he wrote this book. Oswald often points out scripture that details a really simple walk with Christ: "Do you find your walk with Jesus simpler than it ever has been in your life?" The Shack has pointed me more in this direction.

I suppose I could take the time to pick apart the book out of context, attempting to highlight what could be considered "unbiblical." Or, I can simply ask God to show me what He wants me to learn from it and enjoy it for what it is: One man's best attempt to express the trinity as he sees and experiences it.

Whether fiction (as it is categorized), or not (as the foward somewhat suggests), it is wonderfully encouaraging and thought-provoking. I'm considering purchasing extra copies to give away - which is exactly how I came to read it!

This is not my normal reading genre and I'm often uncomfortable reading "Christian" books but I was pleasantly surprised with The Shack. Whether or not you're open to the anthropomorphism that casts God as a black woman or the Holy Spirit as an ethereal Asian nymph like creature you should take the time to listen to their dialogue as written by William P Young.

It is an easy call to say that folks who buy into the Laws and Letters of Theology as presented by many mainstream churches today will squirm in their britches at the loose cannon approach taken here. Young writes from his heart and is brave enough to admit that most of us have railed at the Lord for the perceived injustices we see in the world today. Many of us have gone so far as to hate him (her, it) for taking loved ones in horrible ways before we're ready to let go. We question wars and why they're allowed if indeed God has the power to "just say no".

The courageous thing that Young's done in this book is not just to ask the hard questions but to attempt to offer answers that actually make a little sense.

I loved this book! I have read many of the reviews from 5 stars down to 1. Seriously, readers, why can't we just take the book for what it is, an entertaining read! There are too many people out there who try to psyco analyze everything in print. I didn't see it as heresy. I didn't even see it as slightly disrespectful to our God. We are merely human and there is much that we do not, and never will understand. God's ways are not our ways. Why should anyone put God in a box? I believe that He wants to have a very personal relationship with each and every one of us, and if He wants to appear as a large African-American woman called "papa" who are we to say He can't?
You need to read this book with an open mind, so not everyone is going to "get" it. It is open to interpretation, but so is the Holy Word. I believe God intended it that way - different passages speak to different people in different ways.
God has a sense of humor, and I think He must have smiled when He read this book.

The Shack (Special Hardcover Edition)
This is a great book about relationship. It is about you loving God and God loving you. It is about sharing your life together as you would with your best friend who lives down the street. Don't get caught up in theology or it may trip you up in getting what you need out of this book. It is fiction and it is kind of outside the box.

It would be a better book if the author had left out the vast amount of doctrine. For example, trying to explain the trinity while telling a story fails to to both.

The Secret is intriguing and gives anyone with need of money, hope or health, a lot of hope. It is hard to believe, however, that one can get whatever one wants just by thinking about it or asking for it.

This book is a wonderful companion to the movie, "The Secret." I highly recommend seeing the movie and reading the book--if you are interested in learning how to create positive changes in your life and manifest your desires.
Also about relationships i find a book amazing to read to manifest the love that you areI Love You. Now What?: Falling in Love is a Mystery, Keeping It Isn't

The main thing is that a group of people devised a well packaged scheme with a well known "secret" to make people believe they will get rich to get rich, themselves. The question is whether one should be a party to this kind of activity, and every buyer is. The claims at their site are utterly outrageous - Plato and Beethoven got where they were after finding the "Secret" - and should be really shut down by an outpouring of qualifiers. They should not be rewarded but rather shamed.

While this information wasn't especially new, it was a great reminder. I run decluttering and time management workshops for a living for Inspired Honey (inspiredhoney.com) and so I like to have a break once in a while give my mind a tune-up (like my car). While this information is certainly not new. See the book You Can Heal Your Life written decades before or even lots of ideas from proverbs in The Bible), it is still interesting information. If it gets people analysing their thoughts more and being more in control of their choices - I'm all for it!

I saw this book last night and picked it up. I had seen it in stores on the best seller racks, and it had a catchy cover. At first I thought it was some kind of story until I opened it up. After I read the first page I realized it wasn't, but being bored I read on. The first chapter is quite interesting. But as I kept reading the book, I honestly felt like I was reading the same page over and over and over again. This has to be the most redundant book I have ever read. The only thing I have gotten from this book, is to sell the idea that hard work and dedication never got anyone anywhere. Telling people that their bad spending and eating habbits aren't cause for them being broke or overweight. I simply finished the book because it was quite funny. This book takes the idea of staying positive with everything in your life, having hope and a motivation to reach your goals, and makes a total mockery of great scientist and inventors. Everything great that has been done was created by trial and error, not because some mysterious "universal mind" or genie wanted them to have it. If you purchased this book, the only real secret is that you have wasted twenty-five dollars.

This book is by far the best book I have read to date. This book will open your eyes and heart to those who suffer so greatly over in Iraq, not only that but it is a tremendous story of love and courage that a mother has for children. A must read!

I have never read another book that has touched me the way this book did. It sure made me think about women in other countries in a different light.
I can't wait for another taste of these books by Hosseini.

I read this book a couple of weeks after I finished "The Kite Runner." This book took me a few chapters to get into, and then I again fell in love with the characters. I think if you liked "The Kite Runner" you will also enjoy this book as well. I am now a big fan of Khaled Hosseini and can't wait for him to come out with a new book.

What a fabulous story filled with depth, feeling and haunting moments. I was sorry when the novel ended and with such a bittersweet conclusion. The story and the characters will stay with you long after you finish the book.

I truly didn't think I could love another book as much as I did "The Kite Runner." However, this one is as good! Just as his earlier book concentrated on relationships among men, this one focuses on relationships among women - and what relationships they are! This is a simply wonderful book - I can't wait for his next one!

This book is excellent for younger kids. For older kids 12-18, I like the following two books. The Edge Effect: Achieve Total Health and Longevity with the Balanced Brain Advantage and Don't Like to Read, Then Don't, Listen!: How to Turn Any Type of Text Into Audio Files That Can Be Read to You!

I recently saw Dr. Kevin Leman on Fox and Friends and I immediately went out and bought Have A New Kid By Friday. After reading this book, the whole atmosphere in my house has changed. I used to have kids who were disrespectful, and mouthy, but now I have kids who listen to me-- I almost fell over the other day when my son asked me what he could do to help.

I liked the book so much that I am buying a few extra copies for my friends and family. And I am also purchasing Dr. Leman's Birth Order Book.

This is a book for any parent.

I have three kids and can always use some new ideas and some review on old ideas. The book really helped my husband and I get on the same page. Liked it a lot. Worth the money

This is a great book but you have to have a lot of patience to follow through. It does work so keep trying.

This book was recommended to me. I was at first skeptical, but was amazed to see that if used consistently, it works!

An excellent book that makes the convincing case that everyone has a view about spiritual reality, whether they deny the supernatural or not. Keller points out that even those with the most "skeptical" of views place their trust in unprovable assumptions about the world; "strong rationality" is impossible. Therefore everyone needs to think carefully about their worldview, holding to beliefs only with the strength the evidence permits. Keller's main point is to clear away brush that may have hindered your journey, and encourage you to seriously consider whether Jesus really rose from the dead and all that entails.

Keller deals with several objections to Christianity in a compassionate, but no-nonsense, manner. He takes some common views to their absurd, and self-annihilating, ends, and shows other criticisms to be ethnocentric, essentially imposing a Western, Enlightenment, individualistic, democratic, privatized view of religion (held by a minority on the planet) onto spiritual matters.

Some notable aspects of this book I haven't seen in others, or at least not tied together as they are here:

* the distinction between slavery in the ancient Roman world and more recent (and heinous) New World slavery

* an excellent discussion of how a good God could allow pain and suffering and the Christian resources to deal with suffering

* careful articulation of the lack of any objective moral grounding for human rights on the secular view

* a insightful discussion of "sin" as not merely wrongdoing, but the making of good things (e.g., children, career, social justice) into ultimate things

* a comparison of "religion" and the "gospel " (salvation through moral effort versus salvation through grace)

* a clear discussion of the resurrection and the history of the early church which basically leaves Jesus' actual bodily resurrection as the account which best explains the evidence

* a concise and accessible description of the Christian view of the complete restoration of humanity and the entire universe, as opposed to the uninspiring caricatures of heaven sometimes found in the popular mind (think clouds and harps)

All in all, a persuasive and insightful discussion that will enrich both the skeptic and believer. I would recommend this to anyone with ANY interest in spiritual matters. Keller's book may be the best work of apologetics for this generation of Westerners.

p.s.: You can listen to and watch free lectures by Keller on his book by visiting the Veritas Forum website www.veritas.org The man seems even more humble, compassionate, and even humorous in person.

This is an excellent book. While the majority of the material is the "standard apologetic material," all of it is packaged in a very helpful and accessible way for young Post-moderns. Several of the "old ideas" are even given a new, fresh twist by Dr. Tim. No ivory tower here: obviously the work is the result of interaction with real people with real questions.

This book is definitely worth the price; definitely worth the read. Do Christians just take it all on blind faith? You won't be able dismiss Belief that simply after reading this book!

Nice to see a little optimism and common sense mixed in with all the fire and brimstone. The arguments are there for all to read if given half a chance.

While I have some problems with the presentation of the book (I say the author doesn't rely on himself as much as he should and when he is in doubt quotes C.S Lewis) his main point is a good one.

Simply put if Christianity is going to survive in this age of secularism the church has got to stop saying "we are the light of the world" and start acting like it.

I'm a recovered alcoholic active in A.A. and devoted to researching and reporting A.A.'s Biblical roots and early successes.Making Known the Biblical History and Roots of Alcoholics Anonymous: A Sixteen-Year Research, Writing, Publishing, and Fact Dissemination Project, Third Edition. The road block to believing in present-day A.A. is "thinking." Many newcomers are told to just drink, not think, and go to meetings. That said, they become suckers for the commonplace nonsense that "your" higher power can be a light bulb, a radiator, the group, Gertrude, Something, or a tree.God and Alcoholism: Our Growing Opportunity in the 21st Century, and The Good Book and the Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible (Bridge Builders Edition). Contrast with such talk the emphatic statement of A.A. cofounder Dr. Bob on page 181 of the Big Book that he feels sorry for the atheist, agnostic, skeptic, and critic who doubts the program. He concludes, "Your Heavenly Father will never let you down!"Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous: His Excellent Training in the Good Book As a Youngster in Vermont. Despite A.A.'s early Christian Fellowship, history of religious connections, and pioneer reliance on God and the Bible, the trend goes the way of idols.Real Twelve Step Fellowship History. My thinking is that Psalm 115 provides an adequate answer. But AAs are often told not to read the Bible. Hence, however meritorious this author's presentation may be, it stimulates thought. And stimulated thought will not, I believe, opt for prayer to a chair for recovery.

The Reason for God has two purposes in mind. First, it seeks to provide answers to some of the most common arguments against Christianity. Second, it seeks to positively present the argument that Christianity makes sense. Both purposes are achieved admirably; the pastoral tone and absence of specialized jargon make for plain talk and clear illustrations. The message of the book, which is not particular to any denomination, comes out loud and clear: Jesus died and rose again, and this means something radical for how we live our lives and the meaning behind them. You won't find fresh perspectives--the theology is orthodox in that sense, but there is plenty to stimulate an inquisitive mind. As an example of this, consider this excerpt from the book. "It is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that actually saves you. Strong faith in a weak branch is fatally inferior to weak faith in a strong branch." I recommend this to anyone, but especially to those who are seeking or still are young in the Faith.

This is a wonderful book. It's a quick and easy read, but a heartwarming story. It made its way onto my favorite book list.

This is a well told slice of life story set in the 1960's that deals with the racial tensions of the time and warmly portrays some very eccentric characters. Fourteen year old Lily tragically lost her mother when she was just a toddler and that moment has haunted her throughout her young life. She has been raised by her mean to the core father and a black woman named Rosaleen whom her father plucked from the peach farm to become her stand in mother. Strong willed Rosaleen causes a stir when she attempts to register to vote and ends up getting herself thrown in jail. Lily, desperate to save her, concocts a plan to spring her from jail. They escape their town and end up in Tiburon where Lily believes the truth about her mother will be found because left among her mother's things was a picture of the Black Madonna with only "Tiburon" written on the backside. They are taken in by a kindly trio of quirky sisters who raise bees and whose logo happens to be the Black Madonna. There Lily finds a home, acceptance, forgiveness and love.

great for a summer read. I teach 8th grade and use this for my students. They love it!

I wouldn't recommend. Mother in Law raved about this book & even borrowed it to me. I just kept waiting for something to happen & it never did. Just to slow paced for me.

I surveyed my class and 80% gave it two thumbs up: 5 stars. That's 28 out of 35 students. The rest of the class gave it an OK: 3 or 4 stars. So my giving it 5 stars has been backed by research into the general public's taste. ;=)

Now, I'm not much for spending time on fiction. I don't need entertainment, I need information. But as a story teller, occasional writing class instructor, I like to keep up with some of the new fiction.

Bees is pretty good. I don't get a sense of the forced or trite here like I do in a lot of fiction. In reading most fiction, I can almost hear the writer thinking. I guess it's because I write and my intimate knowledge of the craft allows me to see a lot before it comes. Kind of like an actor who you know is just acting. But Kidd's writing is like Will Smith in Ali or Jamie Fox in Ray. In Ali there is no Smith and in Ray there is no Fox. Art works best when it's done by the talented who tap into the moment so right, so purely it stops being art and becomes real. Bees is real.

Some readers on Goodreads and Amazon had trouble with such things as the bee quotes at the start of each chapter being a bit obvious, passage of time, Zach driving around with Lilly without being accosted, the religious theme (didn't state but I'm sure it has to do with the women eating cake as the body of Mary), the triteness of a coming of age story and some of the characterization (ie: stereotypical African / American women) and so forth, but these are minor or petty problems. In the overall scheme of analysis, these issues were superficial at best.

Every story has problems simply because ONE person wrote the book. Not millions. Not you. Just the individual with the ideas, courage, focus, and discipline to do so--the author. We all come from different experiences, upbringing, religions or lack of, cultures, ages, etc. If you think you're ever going to read a book that matches perfectly with your perceptions . . . stop reading. I'm tired of people nit-picking. And most have never written a book in their lives. I also have the same problem with people (90%) who don't have ANY IDEA WHATSOEVER what it's like to have a public life who are hypercritical. One of the secrets to the successful is an open mind. Too many closed one's out there. Sorry, tirade. Back to the book.

Bottom line, I was impressed and I've read a lot of stories and written many myself. I know the difficulties involved in making a story work, making is real, and connecting to readers. This book does all that and more. And that's where we focus as readers looking for something human, something humane to enliven and enlighten our lives.

Highly recommended.

I like this one better than i liked satanic bible. But, actually, I like both.
Dawkins is very eloquent and persuasive. I think that everyone who is interested in religions should read this book

As an agnostic who believes in evolution and the possibility of God, I found the first half of Richard Dawkins book to be an excellent excercise in logical thinking and his refutations against a belief in God impossible to argue against. At first, I found his reasoning disturbingly air-tight (disturbing since I like to believe, as I think most people do, that there is more to existence than this life, and more meaning to existing than natural selection, which is for whatever reason unsatisfying to me). But as I gradually gave in to his arguments and became more skeptical about God, I started to become skeptical about the assertion that there is most definitely no God. Whereas Dawkins skillfully knocks down every argument one could think of for God, he seems frustrated by his inability to disprove God altogether. I will give in to the caveat that God is most definitely a more complex solution to life than natural selection, and is probably a result of natural selection himself . . . but so what? If there can exist a multiverse and collapsing universes of space-time of varying laws of physics, why could there not be an evolved supreme intellect out there, perhaps of infinite complexity that evolved from one of these other universes? And if the laws of physics breaks down beyond our own universe, what is to say that logic and science also does not break down? (Science is, after all, limited to human thought and human senses. How differently might a dog, if it had the brain, describe the universe? Probably as a series of smells.) Perhaps thought and imagination and faith have more substance in these spaces between universes. This isn't, of course, an argument for God, but an argument that atheists such as Richard Dawkins lack imagination when it comes to matters beyond their field of study. (Why must, for example, everything be described in evolutionairy terms? Dawkins views are almost too colored by his expertise.) Humans have been thinking about the mysteries of the universe and coming up with improved theories for ten thousand years, and neither Darwin nor Dawkins have found the ultimate truth. New discoveries will be made that will flip our world view upside down and be as upsetting to Darwinists as Darwin must be to Christians.

The biggest problem I had with this book, however, is in Dawkins' anti-religious tyrade. While I may not be religious myself, I learned long ago, while arguing with a Jehovas' Witness who I nearly made cry, the value of personal belief. Dawkins compares religion to a side-effect of natural selection, like a moth that flies into a candle flame. His dogmatic contempt for religion is clear and belies the clear-headed and non-subjective attitude of a good scientist. In one chapter in particular, Dawkins is confounded by the pan-cultural phenomenon that is religion, but while he shows the ridiculousness of some of the beliefs of people around the world and mirrors that with Christianity, he oversimplifies and downplays the value of religion as nothing but hokum. The Bible, however, served in ancient times as the collection of all human knowledge, covering fields of academia from literature to poetry, history to science. Yes, even science has its roots in religion, and the same need for truth that so passionately drives Dawkins is what also drove early theologians to write the books of the Bible. Dawkins erroneously suggests that religion may have evolved as a symptom of knowledge passing between adults to children, and that children, whose minds are gullible, developed a trait of gullibility and superstition. I find this in error for two reasons: 1) Children are by nature rebellious and usually seek out their own truth, anyone who has a child will tell you this. 2) Dawkins presupposes that religion is rooted in the irrational mind, when this is not the case. A careful study of most ancient religions will find a considerable amount of reasoning behind its teachings, including the passing of moral and pratical lessons. To the ancient Egyptians, for example, it was rational to believe that gods caused the Nile to flood every year, and this knowledge was passed on to help plan for harvests; in this case, though the prime causation was in error, the logic behind the belief was sound. For this reason I postulate an alternate theory for the natural selection of religion, being simply that it was advantageous for humans to pass on genes for imagination, or the ability to see things not as how they are but as how they might be. Imagination helped the first humans make fire, build homes, and dig graves. Religion developed alongside these early discoveries, and early cave drawings can attest to the imagination involved in faith: recombining animals and humans to create god images, and myths about gods also developed. Imagination was a great tool that helped early humans survive; it's what developed into religion and later into science.

Perhaps Dawkins would benefit by putting down his scientific lens and trying to see religion from a different perspective.

Dawkins doesn't mince words or try to be politically correct. He's also not rude, so the book doesn't come across as whiny or angry.

Very compelling attack against all the mumbo-jumbo in the world.

Was immensely useful to me personally.

Someday, when all is said and done, and we come to accept the fact that God is not a superman dressed in an elegant white robe sitting on a golden throne with a notepad recording everything each one of us does from the time we are born until we take our last breath, this book will take its place as one of the more important works of the new millennium. It is sad that so many will give it low grades for its philosophical content vs. their mythical convictions. Dawkins' work is the great ally of Sam Harris's 'The End of Faith' and a lesser known work, Lucien Gregoire's 2008 biography of the 33-day pope 'Murder in the Vatican: The Revolutionary Life of John Paul & The CIA, Opus Dei and the 1978 Murders'.

John Paul's atheist father, who had spent a lifetime trying to change the Church from the outside, decided it could only be changed from the inside. He secured a grant from the Communist Party of Italy and placed his son - Albino Luciani - in a minor seminary at the age of eleven with the commission to bring change to the Church. A year later, the boy wrote an article in the school newspaper that reached all of Europe, demanding that nations live up to their copyright laws and place a warning on the Old Testament, "This is a work of fiction. Keep away from children." Most laughed at the boy. Yet, Albert Einstein brought world attention to the boy's article, when he called it, "The first bit of common sense to have ever come out of the Roman Catholic Church."

Often labeled the 'Atheist Pontiff' by right wing elements, in his last audience the day before his unwitnessed death, John Paul told a group of bishops, "The fundamental difference between the believer and the atheist is that the believer believes in ghosts and the atheist does not. We must always keep in mind that God is a ghost - a creation of man's imagination. . ." One reason for his demise was that he threatened to bring an end to mysticism in the Church, being a realist, he did not believe in apparitions and miracles claimed by the Church.

Anyone who picks up this book and seriously reads it in its entirety should not walk away the same person or at the very least would have to seriously question their faith. Unfortunetely, those who really need to read this book won't because of childhood indoctrination of faith. Those who think independently or think critically will appreciate it greatly. It's amazing that this world has reached the 21st century and we are still holding on to bronze age biblical rantings that are beyond logic, reason, and critical thinking. Thanks to Dawkins, he illuminates very eloquently the absurdity of religion, its dangers, and its stunting of critical thinking, science, and advancement of technology. Anyone who still believes in this day of age the virgin birth, being raised from the dead, or the turning of water into wine might just as well believe that the earth is only 6 thousand years old and it's still flat.

This book is a much needed look at the state of adolescence in our society. There is this odd idea out there that adolescents are basically useless, and should bide their time until they get a certain level of education and experience under their belts. This book prompts the teens in our society to flush that idea, and embrace a new one: Teens can take on responsibility, do hard things, and impact their own lives and others in meaningful ways.

The twins are, of course, Christian; therefore, this book is written from that perspective and so it contains references to Christian themes and scriptural teachings (as I plan to talk about more in depth on TheChristianScribbler.com) . However, this book is actually a great resource for people from all different religious backgrounds because the message is quite capable of carrying through. Also, I'd recommend this book to older children, teens, tweens, and anyone who is going to be working with kids; pastors, parents, teachers, counselors, etc...

This is a great book that really challenges the way you think and the way you live. This is a book that causes you to get up and do something. In a world of low expectations, I'm OK you're OK, whatever, I don't know I don't care, and endless mindnumbing entertainment with the click of a mouse.... this is indeed a refreshing book. Read it as a family or with 2 other friends and DO HARD THINGS together.

We listen to this audio in the car, and relisten to chapters. We've accessed the blog to get the Harris twins favorite books to read and order. Not only has the book motivated my teen daughters, 15, 16, 17, and 18; it has greatly motivated my 10 year old daughter.
I urge Christian teens and young adults to move into this movement. Do not fall to the low expectations of the world. Rise up and be the people of God. David was young when he slew Goliath. Mary was a teen when she gave birth to Christ. The book has examples, both Biblical and current. It talks about how to move through the low expectations placed by a selfish society.
Parents, please, have your kids read this. Help them become what God calls them to be.

Today, a teenager is considered a "good kid" if he gets good grades, gets into a good college, and stays out of trouble. In a culture where the perceived norm for high school students is drugs and detentions, making the honor roll is an accomplishment worthy of a bumper sticker. But the sad reality is that at many schools even the honors classes are so dumbed down that merely showing up and turning in all the work gets you an A. So if a student gets straight A's, plays a sport and joins a club he is considered top-notch. And if he regularly attends church, well...that is even better.

Alex and Brett Harris (yes, the younger brothers of Joshua Harris, and yes, that Joshua Harris) have noticed this trend. They have noticed that teenagers are consumed by low expectations, and by and large have bought the myth that reaching a bar knee-high is something to be proud of.

The Harris brothers point out that this expectation of worthlessness has produced years of wasted potential. In their book, Do Hard Things, they expose this culture of mediocrity as the teenager's enemy. They make it clear that the victims in this are teens who squander their first opportunities in life to excel--to do things that count for eternity.

Where did this culture come from? They blame the myth of adolescence (a term Al Mohler and Rick Holland have been using for years). They assault the idea that there should a be a time period between being a kid and being an adult, and that in that fictional time period it is acceptable to squander your years staying out of trouble, instead of seizing them to serve God. The first way the myth gets teens to waste their life is by convincing them that being above average is actually something to be proud of. Excellence is defined by getting good grades in easy classes, and if the grades are to hard, at least trying to get good grades should be sufficient. The second way, the Harris brothers say, is by getting teens to be known for what they don't do, rather than what they do. "Tim doesn't do drugs or get in trouble at school--what a good boy he is!"

This book is refreshing because it is unlike most other books written for teens; it challenges them with real challenges. It challenges the both the myth and the culture of mediocrity the myth creates. And it encourages teens to try things at which they might very well fail. In this vei it reminds me of John Piper's Don't Waste Your Life.

The Harris brothers are 19, and they write for a teenage audience. I heard someone say that this book would be suitable for adults to read, but I'm not sure how the Harris brothers would take that. After all, the point of the book is that teenagers need to grow up and act like adults. If culture has set the bar too low for adults too, well that almost misses the point of what the Harris brothers are trying to say. They are not calling teens to rise to the level of the average adult--they are calling teens to excellence.

The most helpful part of the book for me was the examples of hard things the authors give. There are five categories of hard things given, and while I won't give you the list here, I will tell you that they range from making your bed and working out consistently to ending childhood poverty in Africa. The most common example the book gives, and some might find this the book's most obvious weakness, is political activism. The Harris brothers themselves worked on a campaign for a state supreme court candidate, and the longest example in the book is about a girl who ran a county-wide election in Colorado.

The appendix of the book is an explanation of how the Gospel fits into this call to do hard things, and it is very evangelistic. I would have liked to see the Gospel at the front end, and I would have liked to see them show in each section how the call to follow Christ fits in with the overall message to teens. But this is a minor concern, and the book is replete with Scripture passages and allusions, so it is not as if they were trying to obscure the Christian message. I just wish it would have been more integrated to the theme.

I would recommend this book be given high school students, and the younger the better. It could be a good graduation gift, but at that point the thrust of the book would already be in a person's rear-view mirror. It is more suited for freshman. Those who read it will be challenged to escape the trappings of modern-American adolescent-mediocrity.

Finally, the Harris brothers have a website, www.therebelution.com, which is an excellent source of information and forums for Christian teens. It is worth exploring, and youth pastors especially will mind much that is helpful there.

Like several reviewers wrote, I picked up this book for my 13 year old and first read it myself. It not only inspired me to do some "hard things", it helped me realize how I can challenge my kids to stretch beyond what they think their limitations may be . My daughter is reading it now and loves it and I want my husband to read it next. I will recommend it to everyone I know who has a teen or preteen. We sell our children short in this society by expecting so little of them. How refreshing to get a glimpse of how things can change when we expect more of them and they expect more of themselves.

Best book I've read in years. Very moving. You'll look at people differently!! God bless those who give to others.

This book wil bring you heart to a ribbiting stop. You will never see The homeless the same. It will make you want to change and really serve God. You will cry, laugh, and the memory of the words & charater will be written on your heart. Levave you with I want to know more about this story.

this book moves you to volenteer what a blessing this family was and true servents of God. we need more people like this!

I am an avid reader and this is undoubtedly one of the best I have read in quite awhile. I have shared it with others and am getting similar feedback from them.

My two older sons (age 25 and 27) recommended this book to me. I was immediately engrossed because, like me, one of the main characters grew up in the DFW area and had relatives in East Texas. He attended East Texas State University (my alma mater) because it was the cheapest college in Texas at the time. Then he transferred to TCU so he could meet some pretty, rich girls. I never had that luxury, but I did just fine at ETSU because that's where I met my wife! Anyway, the other character is a black man from Louisiana who was the son of a sharecropper and describes his life as modern day slavery.

The lives of these two men are eventually brought together by a remarkable woman as the story of the breakdown of racist stereotypes begins and a lifelong friendship is developed. Having lived through much of the racism in this area from the 50's onward, it was an eye opener to see the elements of racism that we sometimes are blind to. Seeing this from two very divergent perspectives was especially helpful, and seeing how those who perspectives can come together and actually create a loving bond was inspirational.

I stayed up until 5 in the morning finishing the book because I couldn't put it down. The last few chapters of the book were so emotionally moving (and draining) that I had to stop reading several times because my eyes were filled with tears.

Anyway, this is a true story, very inspirational, and a must read. It will give you lots to think about, especially for those of you raised in the south, and you won't want the book to end.

This was a great book and a real eye opener into how so many relationships fail due to the lack of respect and love in a relationship. Woman tend to shut down when the feel unloved and men in turn shut down when they feel disrespected. This book shows you as a couple how to work through these difficulties and teaches you how to show one another love and respect! This is a must read for any couple young or old alike.

Although Part One (of three) in this book is slow reading (and 100 pages long!), it is well worth slogging through it to get to Part Two (how men can show their wives how they love them) and Part Three (how women can show their husbands they respect them).

For the people who complain that the book takes too strong of a stance on the differences in roles, expectations and positions of men and women (which the author supports with Biblical references), I would say - wait until you've lived a little longer, then set aside your notions and truly OBSERVE the truths about the differences between men and women - we are NOT the same!

I plan to give this to several friends, even the ones who probably wouldn't admit that it will improve their marriages. A lot of people in my age group have been married for 10 to 20 years and are struggling with a lot of the long-standing issues (the Crazy Cycle) detailed in this book. This book WILL save some marriages, but only if it gets the attention of those that need it most! Pass it on!

Don't be fooled by those who down-talk this book. The book was right on point. Some reviews say the author talks down on women and say it's their fault men don't love them. They fail to mention that it teaches form men to make peace humbly in order to defuse the disagreement and it promotes unconditional love and a stronger relationship with God as the reward for faithfully trying to reconcile the marriage whether or not your spouse is willing to do the same.

While reading this book, I could see myself as well as my fiancée in the stories and illustrations he gives. I know my fiancée loves me but I feel joy when I know she looks up to me and respects me and uplifts me to her friends and co-workers. I also can feel a warmness from her when I stroke her face, look in her eyes, play with her hair, talk with her about her problems without being Mr. Fix-it.

This book goes over all this and more. Everything is backed up by scripture - something none of the negative reviewers can refute.

Have an open mind and more importantly, an open heart when reading this book so that God through this book can reveal your true self and counsel you to a blessed marriage. I'm convinced that the negative reviewers did not have this mindset when reading this book. Else they would have focused on the truth and not the rinky dink things like his mentioning of PMS-ing or their belief that he was blaming women for the reason men being the way they are.

Get the book, its worth it!

This book can change your marriage! It helps husbands see that their wife's greatest need is for love; and wives see that their husband's greatest need is for respect. Dr. Eggerichs reveals three cycles in a marriage that helps you understand how love and respect compliment each other.

I passed this book onto a couple who where having marital problems and this is one of their most recommended books on the shelf. They had nothing but good things to say except they wish they had it when they first got married.
Other book that really worked for me and my friends and I highly recommend it is: I Love You. Now What?: Falling in Love is a Mystery, Keeping It Isn't