Review: Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World

Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World by Max Lucado
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My wife and I listened to this book on audio book while we traveled back home. Overall, this is a fairly decent book. One of the things I really appreciated about it is how it feels almost as a devotional/spiritual formation/practical commentary on the Letter to the Philippians. Lucado did a good job of continually bringing in multiple parts of Paul's letter to help the reader/listener understand various parts of the letter in light of other parts. One caution I had, that I've noticed is a common practice today, is the usage of so much Scripture in references. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for using a lot of Scripture (I've had students tell me time and again that I use A LOT of scripture when I teach/preach/etc.). What I mean is the passing references to a verse here or a verse there, without the surrounding context of some of that verse. I'm not saying Lucado took any verses 'out-of-context', but what I am saying is that this practice can lead people to believe that they can do the same, having no regard to the author/preacher/whoever's work at studying and summing up the rest of the context while just referencing one verse. I personally believe this one practice has led to much of the division we see today among Christians, but I digress. This book is a great short read/listen. It serves as a challenge and an encouragement to deal with the anxiety present in your life. Using the acronym C.A.L.M. (Celebrate God, Ask Him for help, Leave the problem with Him, & Meditate on good things), Lucado also helps walk the reader/listener through a process by which he/she can practically follow and begin to identify and address the areas and sources of anxiety that are currently present in his/her life. I recommend this book, especially because of its simplicity and brevity to read/listen to and digest.

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Review: Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters

Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters by N.T. Wright
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is a must read (as is most of what I've read thus far by Wright). My mentor said that "Mere Christianity" had been a book that he believed every Christian should read (especially college students), but this book takes the same mission that "Mere Christianity" did and fulfills it from a different angle, with a more modern feel. Having read "The Day the Revolution Began" prior to this one, I can see some of the ideas present in this book that Wright later developed more in that one, but still it was a great read to be challenged, encouraged, and refreshed in my understanding and journey of knowing who Jesus is and why that really matters.

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