"How Are Things Going?" ... oops, what's my line?

A little while back I posted about a book that was a little deviation from my paranormal...umm… normal.  This one goes WAY beyond that!  It is almost as far off that path as it could possibly be.  This is a book that isn’t even fiction, but I have to say… it may be one of the best books I’ve ever reviewed!!!

You might call this a self-help book… but I didn’t really see it that way.  I hope, for me, it is actually life-changing (and I don’t say that lightly).  Why do I not see it as “self-help” when others might?  Because I usually think of those as first of all having to do with helping yourself (duh!) and this one was more about letting God help you.  Also, when I think “self-help,” I think of it giving you a To-Do list of things that will make you a better person… this was the opposite. 

How many times a week does this happen:  You see someone you know and they ask: “How are things going?”  My guess would be, more than you can keep track of.  And of those times, how many times do you respond with “I’m keeping busy!” (because that’s the only thing you can think of that isn’t a complete lie like the response “Doing fine!” would be).  

I’m guessing that either you’ve never stopped to think about how many times you lie by saying you’re “fine” OR you’ve said the “busy” line more often than you’d like to admit.  Because in Western culture that’s what we’re supposed to be… busy.  Now step back and ask yourself… “But do I live like this because I LIKE it or because that’s what’s expected of me?”  If you fall into the “expected” category (like me) then this is definitely a book you should take the time to read (don’t worry, the tagline “A mercifully short book…” is true.  It’s only 128pgs).

This was a book about how we try to do too much.  How we try to BE too much for too many and too long.  It is a challenge to the way many of us (myself included) tend to measure our worth in life.  Have I done enough today?  Have I impressed enough people?  Have I not “wasted” any time?  And yet… in our soul, we long to just sit, or to just NOT do, for even a little while.  This is why a picture of a quiet beach sells people on a vacation.

Of course, there are always the opposite kind of people.  Those who, if they are really honest with themselves, are terrified of the idea of doing nothing for even a little while because then they would have to listen to themselves think.  They would have to take stock of their lives, thoughts, and purpose which can be very scary (and this is why the shore excursions sell so fast on a cruise… you crave the vacation but are scared to just sit still and think on the beach you longed for).  If pondering in stillness scares you, this book is for you too.  It is a challenge to recognize that the world won’t fall apart without us and that we need time to recharge and look to God for direction and purpose.  Without that, all the busyness in the world won’t fill our souls.

There was not a prescribed outcome on how your life would be different after reading, but for me, it brought perspective on what is important and needs to be done in life versus the things I do only to stay busy. There are lots of books that I post about and I know full well you probably won’t run out and read.  There are many that I even warn you NOT to read.  This is one I CHALLENGE you to read.  Who knows… it just might change your life too.