When I was asked to review the new book by Max Lucado, I was a bit reluctant.  Allow me to explain: early in my ministry – after I got past the ‘I’m sick of reading’ phase (years immediately following Bible college) – I was introduced to Max through his book “On the Anvil“. I loved it!  So, I started buying every book he wrote and, wow, did he churn them out!! Eventually they all started sounding the same and like any good thing, too much was not good and I got sick of his writing and stopped buying his books, reading them or even owning them (gave them all away – including “On the Anvil” – which, now, I want back)! No offense to Max, but I just felt like it became more about producing books than saying something new.  In my mind, ALL of his books became one, unending, vanilla-flavored, devotional – that’s not a good thing… at least for me.

So, all of that to say, I was a bit jaded (and way too sarcastic) to give this book a fair shot. So I procrastinated and buried it underneath other stuff I was more interested in…  then, right before vacation, I spotted it and threw it in the bag.  Then a miracle happened:  I READ IT!  And, well, I liked it!  Shhhh! Don’t tell Max!

Each sunrise seems to bring fresh reasons for fear.

They’re talking layoffs at work, slowdowns in the economy, flare-ups in the Middle East, turnovers at headquarters, downturns in the housing market, upswings in global warming. The plague of our day, terrorism, begins with the word terror. Fear, it seems, has taken up a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversized and rude, fear herds us into a prison of unlocked doors. Wouldn’t it be great to walk out?

Imagine your life, wholly untouched by angst. What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? If you could hover a fear magnet over your heart and extract every last shaving of dread, insecurity, or doubt, what would remain? Envision a day, just one day, where you could trust more and fear less.

Can you imagine your life without fear?

So being fearless doesn’t mean having no fear but, instead, learning to fear less…  and less and LESS!

For the most part, I liked this book.  I found a lot of things shared very useful and reassuring.  At times it was repetitious but not annoying.  Yeah, I could still tell that Max Lucado wrote it – that’s ok – I’m going to hold on to this one for a while and check back and read a few of the marked parts again.  I’m glad that I read it!

If you’re interested in it, click the picture of the book and grab a copy.

Fearlessly reading Max again… Chilly