Start Here by Alex & Brett Harris

I was invited to preview the Harris brother's new book, Start Here, for the publishers. I have read and loved several of Joshua Harris's books and was intrigued with the Rebelution and Do Hard Things, so I jumped at the chance to read what Alex and Brett had to say. I had yet to read Do Hard Things, so I checked it out from the library and have been reading it out loud to the family. Everyone is enjoying it and being challenged by it and thinking about the hard things we can do.

Start Here is a practical guide to getting started with, following through and "getting done" with hard things. It gives good advice on how to know which hard things to tackle and when to start them. They remind us that what we think is the challenge we need to take up is not always what God has for us at that moment. Sometimes we need to work on seemingly small things to be better equipped for the bigger project. One quote that stood out is "It's easy to confuse 'do hard things' with the idea of 'do big things.' A push-up isn't a big thing. Winning the championship is. But, doing push-ups when you don't feel like it is what it takes to win in a championship fight." I appreciated the list at the back of the book of 100 Hard Things. It was another good reminder that you don't have to sail a boat solo around the world (my favorite story from the book!) to be doing hard things. Sometimes just stopping gossip is a hard thing. And it is an important thing. But sometimes we are called to do really big hard things, like sail around the world or plan a big event.

They discuss the challenges that sometimes come with our hard things and remind us that just because we are doing the right thing at the right time (and that "the right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing"), doesn't mean that we won't have bumps along the road.

They discuss what happens when you finish a hard thing and where you go from there. Dealing with the attention you might receive and turning the glory to God. Learning from the process and applying it to another project.

There are lots of stories from other Rebelutionaries sharing what they have done and the ups and downs of doing those things.

A great practical guide for rebelutionaries wanting to do hard things where they are. A great companion to Do Hard Things. A must read for teens (or anyone) who want to make a difference for the Kingdom.


Publisher's Summary:

At the age of eighteen, Alex and Brett Harris wrote Do Hard Things—and launched a movement that would change a generation. Young people around the world were ready to be inspired, ready to move beyond complacency, ready to rebel against society’s low expectations.

Now the highly anticipated companion book, Start Here,How do I get started? What hard things does God want me to do? How do I keep from getting discouraged or burned out? What is the best way to inspire others? answers the questions Alex and Brett have received from thousands of teens on their worldwide conference tour and popular online community:

Filled with stories and insights from Alex, Brett, and other real-life rebelutionaries, Start Here is a powerful and practical guide for young people who are ready to take the next step and blast past apathy. Let the rebelution continue.

Author bio:

Alex and Brett Harris are the coauthors of the best-selling book Do Hard Things, which they wrote at age eighteen. Today the twins speak regularly to audiences of thousands on The Rebelution Tour, maintain a hugely popular online presence through their blog, TheRebelution.com, and have been featured on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, and in the New York Times. Raised in Portland, Oregon, the brothers currently attend Patrick Henry College in Virginia.

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This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Dinner With a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory

From the back of the book:

What Would You Discuss. . .
Over Dinner with Jesus?

That’s the dilemma facing cynical but successful businessman Nick Cominsky when he accepts an invitation to join Jesus of Nazareth for dinner at a local restaurant. Nick is convinced that his friends at work are pulling a prank. But the man sitting across from him appears to be quite serious, introducing Himself as “Jesus. My family called me Yeshua.”

Nick accepts his dinner companion’s suggestion to suspend his disbelief and “proceed as if I am Jesus.” What follows is a fascinating conversation that covers family relationships, world religions, and the afterlife, among other topics. Along the way, Nick confronts his own unfulfilled longings, spiritual uncertainties, and anger with God and he begins to wonder if the man across from him holds the answers to his deepest questions.

We listened to this book on the way to the ILs yesterday. We all enjoyed it. Serious doctrinal issues are served up with humor. It is very entertaining and yet also educational. Many of the questions that unbelievers and even Christians struggle with are addressed. Of course you must keep in mind that even Jesus's answers are still being created by a human author who doesn't have the omniscient knowledge to truly answer from God's POV, but I didn't have any problems with the doctrine presented.

One of the lines that I found funny was when Nick questioned the contradictions in the Bible. Jesus asked him to name one. Nick couldn't think of one "but I know there are supposed to be some." How typical. How many times have people spit out a statement like that and have no knowledge to even back it up. It's just the thing to say. Like "what about socialization" in the homeschool circles.

This would be a good book to share with anyone dealing with questions about Christianity. One of Nick's beefs is that Jesus claims to be the only path to Heaven and Jesus deals with that by discussing the failings of the other religions. But then he points out that even Christianity is not a "path" to Heaven. That, in fact, there is no path. Forgiveness and eternal life are a gift given freely.

I am thinking this would make a great book club book.

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