Street Smarts From Proverbs by Mitch Kruse & D.J. Williams

STREET SMARTS FROM PROVERBS reveals Solomon's steps to divine wisdom while providing tools to navigate out of conflict into community.
Mitch Kruse learned the hard way that going to church three times a week while growing up did not answer the question:

Have you ever thought about changing the scorecard of your life from money to wisdom?

His pursuit to find the answer sparked a lifelong journey through the ultimate wisdom book, Proverbs, one that connects God's heart with street smarts.

STREET SMARTS FROM PROVERBS introduces Solomon's twelve words to the wise:


righteousness, equity, and justice
wise behavior, understanding, and wise communication
prudence, discretion, and wise counsel
discipline, knowledge, and learning



Each is paired with a real-life story of someone who experienced God's miraculous restoration after humbling their heart to Him. It explains, illustrates, and applies one of the twelve words, providing an easy-to-understand, yet life-transforming step-by-step process to assimilate each respective trait of wisdom.

STREET SMARTS FROM PROVERBS gives memorable prompts for the reader to recall every point with the purpose of applying it to conflict at work, with family, among friends, and in ministry. It provides tangible tools to be shrewd, yet harmless, in business dealings; to separate wisdom from foolishness through discretion; and to seek wise counsel for life's decisions.

My review:

 I ran across an ad for this book before I got a review opportunity, and thought it sounded like an interesting book to read. Then I got a review opportunity for it, and was happy to review it.

 The book is split up into two parts. The first three chapters address the cycle of conflict, the fool defined, and the key to unlocking wisdom. The second part of the book has a chapter dedicated to each of the 12 words mentioned in the book description: righteousness, prudence, wise counsel, etc.

 The author uses a lot of anecdotes from his own life throughout the book to help get his points across. I found the book an interesting and helpful read. I have always liked the book of Proverbs, but the author does a great job of really applying it to our lives today.

 The subtitle of this book is "How to Navigate Through Conflict to Community." The author addresses conflict all through the book, and does an excellent job of pulling truths out of Proverbs to better deal with conflict.... which we all experience at times in our lives.

 I enjoyed reading this book. It was a great read, and I would recommend it.

About the authors: 

MITCH KRUSE is known for his contribution to the collector car and real estate auction arenas. For seventeen years, he was owner, CEO, and auctioneer of the world's largest collector car sales organization. Kruse and his father developed the world's first auction park, home to the annual Auburn, Indiana, collector car auction that attracted three hundred thousand collectors each year. Mitch and his wife, Susan, live in Auburn, Indiana, on their family farm, first homesteaded by Kruse's great-great-great grandfather in 1854. They have four daughters.

D.J. WILLIAMS has been in the entertainment industry and nonprofit sector for twenty years. His writing credits include Restoration Road with Mitch Kruse, The Disillusioned, Waking Lazarus, and contributing writer for Holy Bible: Mosaic. Currently based in Los Angeles, Williams continues to add to his producing and directing credits by continuously developing new projects for television, film, and print.


Street Smarts From Proverbs is available from Faith Words, part of the Hachette Book Group.

Thanks to Faith Words for the review copy.