#CrashTheChatterBox

Crash the Chatterbox is the first Steven Furtick book I’ve read. The title piqued my interest although I wasn’t sure what the chatterbox was. In the book he not only explained the chatterbox, but described how to deal with it.

He describes the chatterbox as the lies we believe that keep us from accurately and actively hearing God’s voice. He referenced a stat that said the average person has more than 60 thousand thoughts per day and over 80% of those thoughts are negative. Whether that stat is true or not, we’ve all had the experience where we have had a silent discussion with ourselves – that chatter that goes on in our head about whether we should attempt something new or even chiding ourselves for a mistake we just made. In Crash the Chatterbox Furtick gives some tools for silencing that chatter.

One of the things I appreciated about the book is that Furtick kept pointing back to God’s Word as the main way to silence the chatter. In one chapter he used Jesus as the example of how to silence the lies of the enemy. He said this in chapter 4: “That’s why Satan’s temptation of Jesus had no more chance of succeeding than a Guns N’ Roses original lineup reunion tour. Because Jesus was fully loaded with the Word of God. He was literally preloaded with the truth of scripture in a way that only He could be: He was the Word of God.” As Jesus used God’s Word to silence the chatter of the enemy, we need to do the same.

Furtick’s book is filled with both personal stories and other people’s accounts of how the chatterbox has tried to defeat and derail. He balances the personal experiences of people and the truth of God’s Word to provide insight on crashing the chatterbox. At the appropriate time he inserted some humorous story or comment to keep the reader engaged.

I earmarked several pages in the book for future reference. It was a good read and provided insights to help followers of Jesus hear Him above the chatter.

Surfing for God – a review

A hundred years ago, G.K. Chesterton wrote, “Every time a man knocks on a brothel door, he is really searching for God.”  That summarizes well the premise of author Michael John Cusick in his book Surfing For God.  The book is an honest and open look at a problem with which so many men face.  Cusick shares from the perspective of one who has battled issues with pornography and sexual struggles and as one who now helps other in their own battles.

The author focuses on sexual struggle as a symptom of a man’s brokenness and not simply as an issue that stands on its own.  Relating pornography to the quote above by Chesterton, Cusick digs into the heart of a man, identifying the brokenness and the lies the individual believes.  One sentence from the book explains it well.  In telling the story of man’s struggle, he described the man this way, “His soul was thirsty for God but absorbed by porn.”  Cusick does a good job of handling a difficult topic with grace and truth, mercy and honesty.

Another quote from early in the book reflects his candor:  “No matter how we may justify or rationalize it, in two decades of counseling, not one man has told me that pornography made him a better man, husband, father, employee, minister, or friend.”

One of the things I appreciated about the book was the author’s honesty regarding his own struggles and the struggles of other men he assists.  He brings this difficult issue into the light and deals with a dark topic in an open and transparent way.  He shares stories from his own life and relates similar experiences other men have faced.

Surfing for God is a good read not just for those who are struggling with pornography, but for leaders in a local church or other ministry.  It gives keen insight to the root of this issue and how God can bring men out of it.

(I received a copy of this book from Booksneeze in exchange for my review)