Run with the Horses-a book review

Hey, figured I'd share this from my Goodreads. Really, just check out the quotes. This book has in many ways enriched my life recently. I will probably have plenty of blog topics that spawn from within this writing by Eugene Peterson.

Here it is:

This book was strangely just what I needed. Peterson talks through the life of Jeremiah and his story. He takes the narrative of Jeremiah's life and connects it to the narratives of all believers. He talks about being the best that you can be.

I found this book to be very enriching to my soul. In a weird sort of way, I couldn't read it quickly. I felt as if I needed a few days to deal with the truth of each chapter, applying it to each and every part of my life. For something that I thoroughly enjoyed, this book took me a strange amount of time to finish; however, I'd recommend it to anyone looking for some challenging and convicting truths about Jesus and a life pursuing Him.

I highlighted a ton in this book, so let these highlights be my review!!

-The thorough integration of strength and sensitivity, of firmness and feeling, is rare. We sometimes see sensitive people who are unstrung most of the time. They bleed profusely at the sight of blood. Their sensitivity incapacitates them for action in the rough-and-tumble cruelties of the world. In contrast others are rigid moralists, ramrod stiff with righteous rectitude. There is never any doubt about their dogmatically asserted position. But their principles are hammers that crack skulls and bruise flesh. The world makes a wide circuit around such persons. It is dangerous to be in their company for very long, for if they detect any mental weakness or moral wavering in us, we will be lucky to escape without at least a headache. location 516

-Religion became what it must be but often is not-a way of discovering the meaning of life, of ordering justice in society, of finding direction toward goals of excellence, of acquiring the discipline to live with integrity, of realizing how God loves and of learning how to love God in return. location 567

-All truth must be experienced personally before it is complete, before it is authentic.Read more at location 735

-What is wrong is to evaluate the worth of words and deeds by their popularity. What is scandalous is to approve only what is applauded. What is disastrous is to assume that only the celebrated is genuine. Read more at location 808

-Scripture cannot be used. It is God's word calling us to a personal response. The word of God addresses us, calls us into being. The only appropriate response is a reverent answering. It is always more than we are, always previous to us, always over us. Read more at location 1167

-An accident, a tragedy, a disaster of any kind can force the realization that the world is not predictable, that reality is far more extensive than our habitual perception of it. With the pain and in the midst of alienation a sense of freedom can occur. Read more at location 1325

-The aim of the person of faith is not to be as comfortable as possible but to live as deeply and thoroughly as possible-to deal with the reality of life, discover truth, create beauty, act out love. Read more at location 1368

-"As long as matters are really hopeful," wrote Chesterton, "hope is mere flattery or platitude. It is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength at all. Like all the Christian virtues, it is as unreasonable as it is indispensable."5 Read more at location 1559

-It is, of course, far easier to languish in despair than to live in hope, for when we live in despair we don't have to do anything or risk anything. We can live lazily and shiftlessly with an untarnished reputation for practicality, current with the way things appear. It is fashionable to espouse the latest cynicism. If we live in hope, we go against the stream. Read more at location 1609


-God does not send us into the dangerous and exacting life of faith because we are qualified; he chooses us in order to qualify us for what he wants us to be and do: "I've just put my words in your mouth.... I've given you a job to do among nations and governments-a red-letter day!" location 451

-In Jeremiah it is clear that the excellence comes from a life of faith, from being more interested in God than in self, and has almost nothing to do with comfort or esteem or achievement. location 106

-It is enormously difficult to portray goodness in an attractive way; it is much easier to make a scoundrel interesting. location 110

-If I am frequently and authoritatively treated impersonally, I begin to think of myself the same way. I consider myself in terms of how I fit into the statistical norms; I evaluate myself in terms of my usefulness; I assess my worth in response to how much others want me or don't want me. location 21

-Apart from the before, the now has little meaning. The now is only a thin slice of who I am; isolated from the rich deposits of before, it cannot be understood. location 300

-If we are going to live appropriately, we must be aware that we are living in the middle of a story that was begun and will be concluded by another. And this other is God. -location 323

-We are so used to considering everything through the prism of our current feelings and our most recent acquisitions that it is a radical change to consider the vast before. But if we would live well, it is necessary. Otherwise we live feebly and gropingly, blind to the glory that we are known, chosen and given away by God.  location 399

-We underestimate God and we overestimate evil. We don't see what God is doing and conclude that he is doing nothing. We see everything that evil is doing and think it is in control of everyone.location 505

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Persisting

"All demand for constant light, for ever the best, all attempt at eliminating or minimizing the cross and trial, is so much soft folly and puerile trifling." -Baron Friedrich Von Hugel

I remember once telling a mentor of mine that I just wanted to be a mature believer, close to God and connected intimately with His desires and purposes. This wise mentor told me that I needed to be patient, that maturity takes time.

So many things in our society are instant or, at the least, conveniently quick. Cars, microwaves, grocery stores, data plans, Mbps, highways, streaming _______, Starbucks, apps, airplanes, digital cameras, status updates, pneumatic nail guns, text messaging, warm air hand dryers, light switches, the drive thru, narcotics, online learning, quickrete, money transfers, and pre-approved anythings-these things fill our daily lives. We are so used to getting what we want or "need" on our timelines. We barely ever have to wait for anything.

Imagine you're at a Wendy's and you order a biggie fry, a Dr Pepper, and a spicy chicken sandwich to go. How long does it take before you start to look over the counter at the "workers," as if them seeing you peer around the counter(designed to hide what's really happening in that "kitchen") will actually speed up the process of heating up your fresh meat? Maybe 5 minutes will go by if you're a patient person. Or maybe you don't like fast food; instead, you're at the DMV and you get your little ticket and are initially excited because you're number 103 and the scrolling marquee has number 99 on it. Soon you realize that there are five sequences of tickets being pumped out from that little machine at the entrance and yours is actually about 15 people deep. This discourages you a little bit until you realize that, of the 12 DMV employees, only 3 of them are actually working and 1 of the 3 is only doing drive tests. Now, how are you feeling? We're so upset when we have to wait for something that realistically should or could take a lot longer than we would ever be willing to wait.

We're just so used to getting what we want quickly. The concepts of cultivation, delayed gratification, savings, or commitment are not too liked by a lot of us. We like to get things as quickly and easily as is possible.

I've noticed that this mentality has caused me several frustrations over the years, especially in my relationship with the Lord. Often I feel as if the Lord should just go ahead and let me in on His master plan for my life. He knows I want to obey Him. He knows I am willing to listen. If He'd just let me know exactly where I am going to be, what I am going to be doing, how much money I will have in my monthly budget, how many kids I'm going to have, and which kind of car will have the least mechanical failures, then both of our lives would be much simpler.

That's the thing with the Lord though-He's not like our society. He tends to make big movements over long periods of time. He doesn't seem to be as concerned with immediate results or tomorrow's projections as you and I do.