Book Review – Fearless

Fear – it’s all around us.  Fear of the economy getting worse (or of not being able to feed their family in the current economy).  Fear of the the culture’s influence on our children.  Fear of terrorism.  Fear of Swine Flu.

And our culture feeds into it.  The media tells us how awful the Swine Flu pandemic will be (which it might be, so get your vaccine if it’s recommended).  They make it sound like each tropical storm is going to be another Katrina.  Conservatives tell us that Obama is going to corrupt our children with a speech to children in school.  Liberals tell us that Christian fundamentalists are going to take over the government.  Environmentalists want us to believe that we have only a few more years of life on this planet.

According to “It’s a Jungle Out There” by Randy Newman (theme song from Monk),

People think I'm crazy, 'cause I worry all the time
If you paid attention, you'd be worried too
You better pay attention
Or this world we love so much might just kill you
I could be wrong now, but I don't think so
It's a jungle out there

But Jesus tells us (more than once!) not to be afraid.  According to everything above, we absolutely should be afraid.  But, Jesus tells us otherwise.  And that what Max Lucado wants us to learn from his book, Fearless.

With his signature prose, Lucado goes through the most common fears of mankind and reminds us that Jesus is the answer to all of them.  He tells us that we don’t have to worry about not mattering, because we mattered enough to Jesus that He died for us.  We don’t have to fear loss of stuff because we can’t trust stuff in the first place.  The answer to all of our fears is Jesus.

A couple of things really stood out to me in this book.  I loved the chapter on the fear of disappointing God.  In this chapter, Lucado reminds us that we can have courage to tackle whatever God puts before us because we know that God has forgiven us.  The connection between forgiveness and courage is one that I had not seen before but it makes sense.  I can have courage because of God’s grace.  How amazing!!

My other favorite chapter was “Fear of God Getting Out of My Box.”  In the last several years, I have seen God do lots of things in my and my family’s life.  We are stronger and love each other more deeply.  Yet, God didn’t work in the box I had made for Him.  If He had done that, I would be done with my headaches and be back at work.  Instead, He has done what He wants to do.  This chapter was affirming to me that God is God and I don’t have to be afraid of letting Him be Himself.  God knows what He’s up to, even when I don’t.  And the end result is much better than I could have imagined.  So, there’s no need to be afraid.

This is an excellent book that I can highly recommend.  It is quite readable.  Lucado includes a number of stories and examples, but not so many that the message gets cluttered.  He remains focused on how we can leave a Fearless life in Jesus.

For more information, check out the Fearless website.  You can purchase the book at Amazon or Thomas Nelson.  There are discussion resources at the back of the book and a small group discussion guide is sold separately.  Enjoy!

Book Review – This Is Your Brain On Joy

I am privileged to review This is Your Brain on Joy by Dr. Earl Henslin for Thomas Nelson Publishers.  In consideration of this review, I did receive a copy of the book.

Dr. Henslin is a licensed counselor who has been working with Dr. Daniel Amen and integrating brain imaging into his clinical practice.  This is Your Brain on Joy is a book for the lay person summarizing the basics of psychopathology and it’s correlation with SPECT (single photon computerized tomography) scan results.  But, he doesn’t stop there, he goes on to recommend dietary changes, exercise, supplements, and other things that a lay person can implement on their own to help mild symptoms.  At times, he gives information about medications that can be used by physicians for treatment of more serious symptoms.

This book is written for the lay person and is really quite easy to understand.  Dr. Henslin’s writing style is pleasant and entertaining.  He makes the concept of SPECT scans simple to understand (I think, although I may be biased because I already understood how they work).  The layout of the book is clear with pictures and outlines (for those of us with analytical brains).  He ends with a wrap-up chapter tying the spiritual side of mood into the rest of what he has written.

It’s hard to explain this book in a short review.  Let me give you an example.  The part of the book that really resonated with me was the chapter on the deep limbic system since that’s the area that is mostly associated with depressed mood.  The chapter starts with a discussion of depression, then moves on to what the limbic system does when it is working well and what happens when it is not working well.  He then moves on to a comparison of grief and depression and then shows some SPECT images of a brain of a person who is depressed.  Next, he discusses the role of false religion in depression and then moves on to how God sees the depressed person.  The rest of the chapter is spent discussing diet, exercise, supplements, Scripture, etc. that may help depression.

This is an excellent book that I strongly recommend to anyone who struggles with mood issues.  If you are trying to deal with mood issues without medication, this is a good place to start.  If you are using medication to deal with mood issues, this book can give you some recommendations of things to help the medications work better.  Dr. Henslin and Dr. Amen also encourage those who have unresolved emotional issues consider getting a SPECT scan done and have their treatment based on the results of the scan.  As a physician, I can’t really comment on that recommendation since I haven’t read the relevant literature, and I’m not a psychiatrist.

One of the things that I most appreciated about this book was that it is based on the assumption that Christianity is true, God is real, and Jesus is the basis of our joy.  Dr. Henslin wants to use all of the science that’s available to help people feel better, but knows that the ultimate source of our joy is Jesus.  Everything he recommends in this book is consistent with a Christian view of the world – read it and find out for yourself!

Book Review – The American Patriot’s Almanac

My book reviews are generally done on books that I’ve recently gotten from the library and are kind of a “public service” to help readers decide if they should read one of the books.  This review, though, is my first review for Thomas Nelson Publishers.  I received a complimentary copy of the book in order for me to review it. 

The American Patriot’s Almanac is a book of daily readings about people and events in the history of the United States of America.  The authors are William J. Benett and John T.E. Crabb.  The format of the book is pretty straightforward.  There is a daily reading of less than a page about some event related to that date in history.  Below that is the “American History Parade” – a list of five or more “this day in history” entries.  Between months are readings about other topics of interest such as “Fifty All-American Movies” or “How the Constitution Was Written and Ratified”.

This is a really fun way to get introduced to American History.  It’s little nuggets of info that leave the reader wanting for more (but in a good way).  I generally prefer World History to American History, but I thoroughly enjoyed the selections in this book.  As a trivia buff, I also loved the factoids at the bottom of the page.  Here are some random examples of the kinds of things included in this book: February 25 – Why the flag is called Old Glory; March 22 – Anne Hutchinson; July 14 (my birthday – which was NOT included – I’m crushed) – Presidential trivia; October 24 – the transcontinental telegraph; December 18 – the Tuskegee airmen.

I plan to use this book next fall when both kids start studying American History.  Already, Ga’hoole Girl has picked up the book several times to see what events were discussed on each of our birthdays as well as holidays.  She’s chomping at the bit to start reading this as a family.  The entries are just enough information to whet the kids’ appetites for more.

I strongly recommend The American Patriot’s Almanac for all families.  I certainly think it would be an excellent part of an American History curriculum, but it would also be nice just for a daily short reading.  Each entry gives us a reason to be thankful for our country and those who made it what it is today.

You can order this book from Thomas Nelson directly or from Amazon or Christian Book Distributors.