Blog Tour - Fearless by Max Lucado

Fearless
Max Lucado
Thomas Nelson Publishers
180 pgs, Discussion Guide, Author Notes

Format
Fearless is divided into sections and each one, except the first, tackles a different fear. In the usual Max Lucado style, there is an anecdote illustrating the fear in action and then illuminating what we would be better off doing, complete with corny jokes.

Summary (from the publishers)
Each sunrise seems to bring fresh reasons for fear.

They're talking layoffs at work, slowdowns in the economy, flare-ups in the Middle East, turnovers at headquarters, downturns in the housing market, upswings in global warming. The plague of our day, terrorism, begins with the word terror. Fear, it seems, has taken up a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversized and rude, fear herds us into a prison of unlocked doors. Wouldn't it be great to walk out?

Imagine your life, wholly untouched by angst. What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? If you could hover a fear magnet over your heart and extract every last shaving of dread, insecurity, or doubt, what would remain? Envision a day, just one day, where you could trust more and fear less.

Can you imagine your life without fear?

My Thoughts
I've mentioned before that I wear two rings - one engraved Pray Hard and one engraved Fear Not. Fear is my biggest, ummm, fear. It puts caution where none is needed and stops me from doing the very things I so want to do. So, the rings serve as my daily reminders. If I remind myself to look at them.

I wanted this book as another hedge against stopping myself from "being all that I can be." I'm familiar with Lucado's work: I've read his children's books, You Are Special and Because I Love You as well as his adult book, Every Day Deserves A Chance. I like his upbeat style and the way he doesn't let things get bogged down in seriousness.

Fearless tackles the various ways in which people get stalled by fear. Lucado walks us through overcoming our fear that what we do doesn't matter. "Fear of insignificance creates the results it dreads..." (26) He reminds us that fear can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. We can think we can or we can think we can't. Lucado looks at they way we let our worries overtake us. He gives us "eight worry-stoppers" (50) including living in the present. Which we forget to do. We get pre-occupied with the future but Max says "Everything will work out in the end. If it's not working out, it's not he end." (157) I think Fearless attempts to teach the reader to be intentional. To "make the deliberate decision to set your hope on him." (73)

Fearless was encouraging without being condescending. Max Lucado didn't pretend to have all the answers. I enjoy his corny sense of humor which also helps me to to laugh at myself. Fearless is timely without being dated It served to remind me that I'm not in this alone. so "Pray Hard" and "Fear Not".

Be Fearless
The Fearless Times
Fearless Excerpt

Fearless Book Trailer
No Fear Year