Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado

Before Reading - Put on your Combat Boots!

It's not for fighting purposes.  It's purely self-preservation as your toes get stomped all over. 

I wasn't prepared.  I really wasn't. 

This is another book that I've had for about a year.  I was actually supposed to do the review by a certain date, which as you can tell I did not make.  I got this book right around the time I was changing jobs, dealing with a whole lot of anger and resentment with my former job, and I just didn't want to read anything about God's plan for my life.  Besides, my puppy used the book as a chew toy, so I couldn't read it...right?

About three months ago, after a lot of effort on God's part, and a lot of fighting on mine, I began to want to get back to where I had been.  I had those niggling little sensations in the back of my head telling me that really deep down I wanted more of God.  Then about 6 weeks ago, He lit a fire under my behind again.  I wanted to read and blog again, something which I haven't done a whole lot of in the last year, but I really wasn't prepared for this book..

When given the opportunity to review Max Lucado's Outlive Your Life, I signed up for a couple of reasons.  One, my husband has always enjoyed Max Lucado, so I wanted to see for myself why he liked him.  The second, was I could say I actually read Mr. Lucado's next book before my husband.

SPOILER ALERT! 

If you don't want your life changed, leave this book alone.  If you are happy being selfish, content with focusing on your own wants, wishes, and needs, then you won't like this book.  BUT...if you are looking for someone to challenge you to get out of your own way and let God perform supernatural feats through your mustard-seed size faith, this is the book for you.

This book will  make you want to match up with the character examples that Max gives.  People like Mother Theresa who gave up everything to love Jesus through the poor in India or the little boy who challenged his father, his pastors, and his church to give money to build clean water wells in a third-world country.

Max Lucado does what I've come to understand is quite normal for him.  He mixes humor, examples from the Bible, and examples from people he knows to quite literally, hit you over the head with a baseball bat, and try to wake you up to the life that is lived outside of your own existence.

One thing I would recommend is to read it twice.  The first time, just read.  Let yourself smile at the picture of the man with the new ox and cry with the story of the Turkish pastor who lost his life for not recanting his belief in Jesus.  Enjoy the way Mr. Lucado brings life to some of the stories from the Bible you've heard time and time again.

Then, after you've absorbed everything, go back through with the study guide provided at the back of the book and really let God teach his lessons through this book.

I think it's a book you will thoroughly enjoy and be challenged to "Outlive Your Life".

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”