Book #2 - In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day

This is a second attempt at posting this (grrrr). Last night I spent about a half hour writing/ editing this post and I couldn't get it to post, I also was unable to cut/paste it somewhere so I could bring it back. Here goes again...

This was my first contact with Mark Batterson's writing and it will not be my last. One of the reasons I feel the book resonates so well is that the author is transparent. In the process of sharing the "how tos" he share how they have played out in his own life and the lives of those around him. It also is timely (one of the key points pf the book) in that I have been visioning how to draw and involve men more in our church. This material speaks to the heart of why I think so many men are dissmissing the church, they need a purpose and something to chase! What follows are justa few highlights...

• God places us in the right places at the right time. We need to see the opportunities and seize them
• Impossible odds set the stage for miracles to happen
• the more we grow, The bigger God gets. The bigger God is, the smaller our lions become
• the failure to unlearn irratinal fears and misconceptions keeps us from becoming all that we should be
• Scripture rewires our brains to conform to reality
• we need to stop asking God to get us out of difficult circumstances and ask ourselves what God wants us to get out of them
• God will recycle our pains and use them for someone else's gain
• you have to do something counterintuitive if you want to reach you god-given potential
• some things just will never make sense this side of heaven - we can trust The God is "connecting the dots" in ways we can never see or imagine
• small changes and small choices become magnified over time and have major consequences
• we need to learn how to give up something that is good in the name of something that is great
• we will never regret the mistakes we have made as much as the God-given opportunities that we have missed
• God brings bigger opportunities your way when you prove yourself faithful with the smaller ones
• Never let what you can't do keep you from doing what you can
• If you wait for perfect conditions to seize the day; you will be waiting until you die
• EVERYTHING IS AN EXPERIMENT!
• you have to be willing to look foolish in the world's eyes
• Christ followers should be the most passionate people on the planet!!!

This ius material that I will return to and use. As a bonus, I just read that there will be a small group curriculum come from this book.