As a fan of Max Lucado’s children’s books, such as You Are Special and Because I Love You, I was excited to read one of his books aimed at adults (he has over 50 of them, apparently.) With a title like Fearless, I expected to read a lot of stuff that I already knew—I’m familiar with what the Bible says about fear and I don’t consider myself a very fearful person—but the title of Chapter 5 froze my hand in mid-page turn: My Child Is in Danger—Fear of Not Protecting My Kids. The only nightmares I ever have are about something happening to my one year-old daughter. Before I had children I used to welcome most dreams of action and peril because they felt exciting, like I was in an adventure movie. But now I wake up sweating from dreams about fires, floods, diseases, and strangers, and the only thing that makes them horrible is that they threaten my child. Even when I’m awake I hear news stories about infants/toddlers/children dying or disappearing and I feel sick. Max Lucado gently leads the trembling parent by the hand through three New Testament examples of parents who feared for their children and the Savior’s response to them. Ultimately, when we realize that our children are also the Lord’s children, and when we trust Him with them, we will have the strength to face whatever comes.
The only complaint I have about this book is the author’s use of new and modern translations of the scriptures, which goes against the grain for someone like me who has always used the King James Version of the Bible. It was as if someone was singing a well-known song, like the Star Spangled Banner, but changing the words to synonyms “O, tell me, can you see, by the light of the rising sun, what we all proudly saluted last night before the sun set?” It felt weird. I would be reading along, enjoying an anecdote from the author’s life, when I would be brought up short by the scripture he would use to reinforce his point. I had to continually remind myself to look past the wording at the message. For those who are used to the formal language of the KJV, the modern scriptures may seem overly-casual, or at least distracting.
However, I really enjoyed this book, and I think it has something to offer everyone. I challenge those of you who think you are without fear to read this book. You will undoubtedly find something in it that applies to you and you will come away from it with a reminder that God is in His heaven, and that He is in control. Then, why should we fear?
I belong to a free club of Book Review Bloggers where I get books for free as long as I read them and post a review. You can do it too!
2 comments:
hmm, I might just have to read that book. your book club you belong to really sounds cool. I really really enjoy reading, so much that my life and house and everything else goes on hold. I've not been able to find a good balance between motherhood and reading yet. What do you do with the book if you don't like it after reading it? How many books do you get a month?
The books are free, including postage, and they're yours to keep. I've reviewed three books so far, and one of them I kept (children's book), one I gave away in a giveaway on this blog (it was an okay book but reading it once was enough) and I will probably give away this one too. You can review as many books as you can read, as fast as you can. When you finish with one and post the reviews then you can order another. The books take a few days to arrive because I think they send them by media mail. However, there is not a huge selection of books to choose from at one time, usually 3-8, so you might not do it a lot even if you found the time, just because all 8 books wouldn't interest you. The biggest majority of the books are Christian, I've noticed, but right now there are also a lot of success or business books too.
You have to have a public blog to publish it on because the company has to be able to see your review, but maybe you could put it on your craft/project blog if that isn't private. Have fun!
Post a Comment