Tag: reading

Consider: “Crazy Busy”

Published on by Kim1 Comment

Kevin DeYoung has written a “(mercifully) short” book on busyness and its effect on our hearts. It is full of questions to consider about our theology of time and self and how that theology shows up in our schedules. Here are two excerpts for you to enjoy, which will perhaps whet your appetite:

“As Christians, especially, we ought to know better because we understand deep down that the problem is not just with our schedules or with the world’s complexity—something is not right with us. The chaos is at least partly self-created. The disorder of daily life is a product of disorder in the innermost places of the heart. Things are not the way they ought to be because we are not the way we are supposed to be.”

“Busyness, as I’ve been diagnosing it, is as much a mind-set and a heart sickness as it is a failure in time management. It’s possible to live your days in a flurry of hard work, serving, and bearing burdens, and to do so with the right character and a right dependence on God so that it doesn’t feel crazy busy. By the same token, it’s possible to feel amazingly stressed and frenzied while actually accomplishing very little. The antidote to busyness of soul is not sloth and indifference. The antidote is rest, rhythm, death to pride, acceptance of our own finitude, and trust in the providence of God.”

These books are set here as possibilities for you to explore. Posts and links are not blanket endorsements or paid publicity.

Consider: “Fear and Faith”

Published on by Kim
Fear and Faith: Finding the Peace Your Heart Craves by Trillia J. Newbell is both saturated with gospel truths and practical on a daily life level. We all know fear and how powerful it is. Newbell walks through several common fears with encouragements for answering those fears with faith. Two excerpts are below for your evaluation.
 
 
There is safety in God. You and I think we have to be in control of how we are viewed or of what others think, but God says no, we are safe. We think we need to worry about the harm others could inflict, physical or otherwise, so we withhold speaking about Jesus; but God says no, we are safe. The fear of man leads us into a trap, like a caged animal, but the fear of the Lord leads us into the arms of a safe Father. (Kindle 18%)
 
 

If you fear you won’t measure up because there’s just so much that needs to be done and you simply can’t do it all, leaving you feeling guilty and depleted, some of the best news you and I can hear is that we actually cannot do it all. The problem with guilt is that it condemns us and leaves us weary and without hope. Guilt says that the finished work on the cross was not enough, so we must bear our burden alone. (Kindle 38%)

These books are set here as possibilities for you to explore. Posts and links are not blanket endorsements or paid publicity.