Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The Exceptional Life by Stephen Arterburn

You know you want more from life.



Popular author, speaker, and talk radio host Stephen Arterburn identifies eight roadblocks to living the life you've always wanted, including guilt and shame, resentment, fear, anger, or isolation. Candidly sharing his own story of setbacks, mistakes, and disappointments--and ultimately how he overcame them--he helps you identify the things that are holding you back. With wisdom and insight, Arterburn also provides easy-to-follow steps that will help you tear down the negative barriers in your life, resulting in a life of hope, love, trust, forgiveness, connection, and so much more.


Here's your opportunity to have the fulfilling, exceptional life you've always wanted.

My review:
Stephen Arterburn is one of those authors who, when you see a book authored by him, you know it is worth reading. Such is the case with this book. Some Christians may tend to shy away from books that sound like self-help, and this book may sound like a self-help book, and in some ways it is. Though the end result is God helping, anyone dealing with the issues in the book needs to take the steps themselves to get help.

There are eight steps Stephen describes that we need to do to have an exceptional life. They are:

1) Give up guilt and shame,  Get back hope.
2) Give up resentment, Get back love
3) Give Up fear, get back trust
4) Give up anger, get back forgiveness
5) Give up instant gratification, get back patience
6) Give up learned helplessness, get back power
7) Give up isolation, get back connection and community
8) Give up addiction, get back freedom

Each chapter breaks down into:
1) what needs to be given up
2) why it needs to be given up
3) how to go about giving it up
4) what you'll gain from God in giving it up
5) what you'll be able to do and be once you've given it up

Also included are discussion questions at the end of each chapter.

This book is easy to read, yet deals very well with some issues that hold too many Christians back and bound. The author gives illustrations throughout the book of people who dealt with the issues being discussed and how they did or did not overcome them. I admit to needing this book, and found it not just interesting, but helpful and full of hope. I'd recommend it to anyone who may be struggling in one of the mentioned areas.

About the author:

Stephen Arterburn is founder and chairman of New Life Ministries and host of the nationally syndicated New Life Live! daily radio broadcast. A nationally known speaker, he's been featured on Oprah, USA Today, US News & World Report, the New York Times and many other media outlets. Steve founded the Women of Faith conferences and is a bestselling author of more than 70 books including the multi-million selling EVERY MAN'S BATTLE series. Steve and his family live in Fishers, Indiana.


The Exceptional Life is available from Bethany House Publishing.

Thanks to Bethany House for the review copy.

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