Just Do Something: Book Review

Title: Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will
Author: Kevin DeYoung
(Forward by Joshua Harris)
My Rating: 5 Stars
Buy the Book -HERE-

"Pastor and author Kevin DeYoung counsels Christians to settle down, make choices, and do the hard work of seeing those choices through.
Too often, he writes, God's people tinker around with churches, jobs, and relationships, worrying that they haven't found God's perfect will for their lives. Or--even worse--they do absolutely nothing, stuck in a frustrated state of paralyzed indecision...waiting...waiting...waiting for clear, direct, unmistakable direction.
But God doesn't need to tell us what to do at each fork in the road. He's already revealed His plan for our lives: to love Him with our whole hearts, to obey His Word, and after that, to do what we like."

After becoming increasingly stressed with an assignment I was given for college homework, my mom picked up this book from my Aunt. This went along very well with the theme of some the assignments put forth in my college book where I would find myself constantly running around trying to come up with an answer to what the Lord's will was for that area of my life. As soon as I sat down in the car, I began to read. Through the entire journey of the book, my anxieties over what God's will could possibly be in my life were put to rest.

"God is not a magic 8-ball God we shake up and peer
into whenever we have a decision to make. He is a
good God who gives us brains, shows us the way of
obedience, and invites us to take risks for Him."

So what exactly is the will of God? As Kevin DeYoung so cleverly points out, the will of God is that you love Him with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. As His Word says in Matthew 6:31-33: "Therefore do not worry saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'. For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (NKJV)

"We can stop pleading with God to show us the future
[being] confident that He holds the future."

"Our search for the will of God," Kevin DeYoung says, "has become an accomplice in the postponement of growing up, a convenient way out for the young (or old) Christian floating through life without direction or purpose. Too many of us have passed off our instability, inconsistency, and endless self-exploration as "looking for God's will," as if not making up our minds and meandering through life were marks of spiritual sensitivity."

"Let's not spiritualize our inability to make
decisions in the quest to discover God's will."

To follow up with the previous paragraph, Kevin DeYoung says that, "As a result, we are full of passivity and empty on following through. We're tinkering around with everyone and everything."

So what should we do about this?

"When it comes to our future, we should take some responsibility, make a decision and just do something."

I highly, highly recommend this book to everyone. Especially those who are confused as to just what God's will is in their life. I came out of reading this with a whole new outlook on just what God's will really is.

"Wisdom is what we need to live a godly life. God does not tell us the future, nor does He expect us to figure it out. When we don't know which way to turn and are faced with tough decisions in life, God doesn't expect us to grope in the dark for some hidden will of direction. He expects us to trust Him and be wise."

What's Coming Up Next?

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Raising Dragons by Bryan Davis

The Magician's Nephew: Book Review

Title: The Magician's Nephew
Author: C.S. Lewis
My Rating: 5 stars
Buy the Book -HERE-


"Narnia...where the woods are thick and cool, where Talking Beasts are called to life...a new world where the adventure begins.
Digory and Polly meet and become friends one cold, wet summer in London. Their lives burst into adventure when Digory's Uncle Andrew, who thinks he is a magician, sends them hurtling to...somewhere else. They find their way to Narnia, newborn from the Lion's song, and encounter the evil sorceress Jadis before they finally return home."

I picked up this book earlier this month for the first time in over five years. What a refreshing experience! To travel back into the world of Narnia after such a long time away is an incredible thing. I forgot how much I loved this first installment to the classic tales of Narnia.

We first meet Polly Plummer in the back garden, where she suddenly happens upon Digory Kirke, the boy who has just moved in next door. After getting to know each other over the span of the summer, they ramble inside one cold, wet rainy day and discover a tunnel that runs the length of their connected line of houses. Upon an accident, they end up in Digory's eccentric Uncle Andrew's study and to their horror, the man himself is inside the room. After tricking Polly into touching one of his magical rings, for he considered himself a magician, she disappear into a world unknown. Digory follows her to find if she is safe. Enter the Wood Between the Worlds, a magical and enchanting place full of pools that lead to different worlds. Through their adventures, Polly and Digory unleash the powers of the evil sorceress Queen Jadis, unintentionally bring the Queen back to their world where she seeks to make it her 'kingdom', and witness the birth of Narnia. All in all, The Magician's Nephew is a great tale of adventure, intrigue and entertainment. Step into the book and watch as the great Aslan sings Narnia to life.

"He thinks great folly, child,' said Aslan. "This world is bursting with life for these few days because the song with which I called it into life still hangs in the air and rumbles in the ground. It will not be so for long. But I cannot tell that to this old sinner, and I cannot comfort him either; he has made himself unable to hear my voice. If I spoke to him, he would hear only growlings and roarings. Oh, Adam's son, how cleverly you defend yourself against all that might do you good!"



What's Coming Up Next?

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung (foreward by Joshua Harris)
Raising Dragons by Bryan Davis

I'm back!

Wow. Could it be possible? Is Tippie really coming back to the blogging world? There has to be a catch, right?

Well, after a very long break, I'm finally making my way back. A lot, and I do mean that quite literally, has happened since October of 2009. A whole year of growing older and making new memories!

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Some Highlights:
♥ Started College
♥ Took up Swing Dancing and completely fell in love with dance. I go every week now.
♥ Actually applied for a job, even though I didn't get it.
♥ Went to Chicago and fell in love with that place
♥ Went to a wedding in another state. Completely enjoyed myself!
♥ Got to hang out A LOT with my new best friend
♥ Have some new favorite bands
♥ Have some new favorite TV shows
♥ Spent a lot of time with family
♥ Got my ears pierced ((actually, I got this done last week :P))
♥ Got my license!

I wish I could organize this and remember everything, but it is simply too hard! What did I do this year that disappointed me? I totally ditched writing. :( I seriously didn't work at /all/ on writing.

What am I going to do to change this? I'm going to bump up my writing skills and work on shining up a completed novel enough to hopefully send in to possibly get published. It's a big goal and will I accomplish it this year? Probably not, but I can at least try!

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So, what does me returning to you exactly mean? First off, I'm going to work on reinventing my blog. It needs a makeover, don't you think? After that, I plan on giving you guys updates on my life, posts about my progress on a certain challenge I am giving myself, book reviews, and other fun stuff.

I think something I lost this year was a love of reviewing books. Before, I used to sign up to be a pre-publication reader for HarperCollins Children's books, but when that finished, I kind of gave up on reviewing books. That was a silly thing to do! So, you guys can look forward to book reviews from me. I need to revise that in my life as well...I read hardly any books last year. This year I am changing that!

See you guys after my blog's makeover! I'm excited for this!