Friday, July 25, 2014

REVIEW: A Beautiful Defeat by Kevin Malarkey

Title: A Beautiful Defeat: Find True Freedom and Purpose in Total Surrender to God
Series: none
Author:  Kevin Malarkey
Published Date: July 8, 2014
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Format: hardcover
Pages: 192
ISBN: 9781400206391
Genre: nonfiction, Christian self-help
Add to: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon

Rating: 2 1/2 stars

Synopsis: "Total surrender to God: the surprising key to experiencing the sense of peace and purpose you crave.
There is a gnawing feeling inside all of us that says we could be better. If we would just be more organized or work a little harder, we'd finally have the rich and fulfilling life we want.
But the message of the cross is different.
The message is not one of God saying, "I died for your sins to work as a consultant to help you achieve the life you're determined to have." Jesus died to reconcile us to God so that we can die and give our lives to him and to others--a total surrender that is truly "a beautiful defeat"!
Perspective and peace in the midst of the stormy chaos of life are always available to the person who lives a surrendered life. The result is a rich existence basking in the pleasure and approval of God.

My Review: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I'm not too impressed by this book. The author had some points that he made, but I don't see much of a difference between his points and the points that every other "Give your life to God completely" book out there makes. It was good to read that the author had his own struggles to deal with, so that he didn't sound like a preachy, holier-than-thou author. It brought a level of realism to the situations that he wrote about.
However, the biggest issue I had was the step about dying, especially the action step of writing your own death certificate. Morbid? Yes! If you have ever been the one to sit at the table to give the details of your departed loved one's life, to be the one to fill in the blanks on that death certificate, you will realize how morbid this step really is, and how emotionally troubling it would be to fill out your own death certificate. Can anyone imagine how disturbing that would be if a spouse or child came across that?
A suggestion here I would make would be to make a death certificate not for yourself, but for your struggles. You struggle with anger? Take his action step and make a death certificate for your anger. Let it die, let God take over.

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