Well I’m excited and nervous about my first book review. Why? Well I know that it took alot of work to write a book, just like it takes alot of work to write a good blog piece. But in all of these reviews I plan to be honest and forthcoming in my critique.
Anyway let’s get started. I was originally drawn to this book because of my experience with Simple Church. Great book for me mainly because I was trying to figure out some basic church philosophies and methodology on ministry. It was written by Thom Rainer who is also co-author of Simple Life. So that is why I was interested in this title.
Over 1,000 people surveyed confirmed that their lives are really stressful and lack focus. The Rainers intend to give insight on how simplifying your life can lead to joy and meaning. This book lays out a plan for simplicity in people’s lives.. Why simplicity? Well because we get bogged down by things that aren’t necessarily what we would call priorities. They show you four areas to key in on: Time, Relationships, Money, & God. Then for each area they guide you through a process consisting of four steps.
- Movement-doing something about it
- Alignment-making sure what you are doing is matching up
- Focus-final push to move from bogged down busyness to a renewed Spiritual walk.
My Thoughts:
Practical Plan with Effective Guidance
They give you a simple plan. They give you encouragement to get it done. Effective and short. May a little more detail but I believe they accomplished their purpose.
Spiritual Perspective
It’s nice to hear how to focus your daily tasks on life changing behaviors. I think they do a great job by showing the need to focus on the things that matter most. Our relationship with God, family, and other people.
Geared Towards an Older Crowd
I thought that providing everyone with a plan for creating a more meaningful, goal oriented push in their daily lives is an encouraging thing. I quickly realized however that this book seemed to be geared toward a bit of an older crowd. I don’t have kids, a house, or overwhelming amounts of extracurricular activities so later in life this book could have a more meaningful place. But for now alot of the situations didn’t apply to me.
Commercials
Don’t get me wrong I don’t have a problem with an author pushing their other resources, however, a break would be nice. It was a little bit uninspiring to hear about the Love Dare and Facing the Giants so much.
Lack of Statistical Analysis
Now forgive me because I am a stats guy personally so the lack of statistical analysis is something that I really missed. However, most people as they clearly state in the book probably aren’t interested.
Overall an ok book. Again alot of the stuff I felt didn’t really apply to me and my current life situation, however stuff to remain in my mind when the time comes. It you’ve got kids and you just feel like a plate spinner hoping it doesn’t come crashing down, then this is a must read for you.
For more info on Simple Life, check out Thom Rainer’s site or pick up the book on Amazon.
Primal, great book. It’s about getting back to the core of Christianity. And it does that. It’s challenging, stretching, and it pushes you to action. I’m definitely a fan of the way Mark Batterson deals with these two issues specifically: Scripture and Worship. I love how he challenges us to get back to the basics of Scripture and pushes you to redefine worship in your own life.
