Book Review: Couragous Living

"Be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord." Psalm 31:24

Catch a fresh wind of bravery through the bold biblical accounts of Abraham, Joshua, Ruth, and many others in Courageous Living by Michael Catt, pastor and executive producer of the unforgettable film COURAGEOUS.

In the movie, four police officers are focused and confident with it comes to facing danger on the job. But leading their families at home in God-honouring way? That takes courage.

Because we are all called to take a faithful, fearless, stand in all that matters, Catt sheds new light on the stories of people in the Bible who displayed great courage when it would have been easier to play it safe. They challenge and inspire us now to keep moving forward, to examine our priorities, and to deal with anything that brings fear to our heart.

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Powerful. Insightful. Inspiring. These are the three words I would use to describe this book. While primarily aimed towards men, I found it very encouraging to me as a wife and mother.

The author writes about his favourite bible characters while weaving in stories of people from modern day, powerfully encouraging the reader to step out of their comfort zone and to lead courageously by example. To not just sit idly by, enjoying the comforts of this world and being led into a passive life.

We live in world of cell phones, ipods, computers, video games, time spent selfishly. More is more, right? Only the best for our generation. When we take a step back and look at what our world is coming to, what is has already become, we see that courageous, godly men are in short supply. We need to pull away from that, step out of the places that make us feel safe, and start investing and training our young men to become great men of faith.

With the books I read, I tend to fold down the corner of pages where a line or two had an impact on me. My copy of Courageous Living has a lot of folded corners! Here is one of the takeaways that really got me:

Some of us are too big for God to use. We are proud of our strengths, gifts, talents, personality, education, and training. But God is looking for desperation, brokenness, humility, faith, and obedience, and He shares His glory with no one. (page 56)

Encouraging, don't you think? I love hearing about how God uses the weak to show His glory. It gives me hope that He might use me for something!

I am so blessed to be able to honestly say that I am married to a courageous, godly man. He leads our family well and I am so inspired by him. He invests in his children and encourages them to be bold in their faith.

I encourage you to suggest this book to any of the men in your life. It is definitely worth the read.

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"Book has been provided courtesy of David C Cook and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from B&H Publishing Group".