Monday, June 15, 2009

Book 28: The Way of the Wild Heart by John Eldridge




Title: The Way of the Wild Heart by John Eldridge

Pages:
256.

How it was obtained:
A gift from some of my youth group kids.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf:
2 years.

Days spent reading it:
5 days.

Why I read it:
I received this book from one of my youth group kids. So I figured I would be thankful and actually read the present that they gave to me! And I was interested in reading the book when I started it.

Brief review:
In this book John Eldridge talks about the different stages of a man's life. (Sorry ladies, no guidance for you). He talks about how we develop from the beloved son to the cowboy to the warrior to the lover to the king to the sage. I was not quite sure what I would think of this book, but for the most part I appreciated it.

The audience of the book is parents (and I'm not one yet) and specifically for fathers. Eldridge wants to reclaim the idea of Biblical manhood because as a society we have lost or distorted it so badly. I agree that there are areas that we can definitely work on as a society, but at the same time I do not have the same experience as Eldridge and many others in America who never had a father growing up. (Thanks for being there dad).

Eldridge does a great job of talking about these different stages of life and he then goes on to talk about how we can raise our boys to go through these phases of life as intended (by God).

This book was worth reading, but not transformational for me. Maybe, when I am a little further along in my own journey and raising my own boys, this book will mean a little more to me. But right now it was just an alright book. However, I would encourage other men to read it, especially fathers. I think it has a lot to say to men today.

Favorite Quote: Now, for you younger men, don't worry much about this stage (the sage), for it will come in due time. When you are young, commit yourself to take as few shortcuts as possible. Learn your lessons. Take note of all that God is teaching you. Submit to the journey. Be a student of Scriptures. Hang out with the wise, living or dead, for that is how we, too, become wise.

Stars: 4 out of 5.

Final Word: Manly.

1 comment:

Rob said...

I liked the quote: "Hang out with the wise, living or dead." A good reminder for reading and relationships.