Unstoppable by Nick Vujicic (book review)
I'll be honest, I'm a sucker for stories about people overcoming disabilities, sicknesses, etc for God's glory. This is why I wanted to read Nick Vujicic's book "Unstoppable."
I think I'd seen him on daytime tv once but hadn't paid much attention; otherwise, I've never seen any of his YouTube videos or heard much about him. I saw what I saw on the cover - a man surfing with no arms and no legs.
Yet, through this book, I learned that he is so much more than what he isn't. Vujicic is a man after God's own heart - and he wants you to be too (unless you're a woman, then he wants you to be a woman after God's own heart, of course!). I just love the premise of this book: to not let circumstances stop our mission of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In the pages, Vujicic talked a LOT about finding your passion. I've been soul-searching and praying and talking about this very thing! I don't 100% know my passion. It used to be to teach English literature and while I still love to read, I have no real desire at this moment to teach it to high schoolers. While I love my storytime job and kiddos, I don't know if that's my passion.
One thing Vujicic said is that sometimes you don't always like what God is calling you to do at first. That's hard! We live in a very demanding society where if you don't like what you get, you can take it back and order again! But "When God calls you to do something, you may not understand or be enthusiastic at first. But you should always be passionate about HIm, which means you'll do anything for Him." I'm at a point in my life where I am willing to do anything for the Lord and I am trying so hard to listen for His voice to point me in the right direction on a multitude of things for our family!
I love that Vujicic said to "ask God to be the One to define the purpose of your life for your life." You can't follow other people's passions - at least not for long. God created us all to be different and that means our passions are different. There is no room for herd-mentality in pursuing our passions! Sometimes pursuing our purpose means putting aside our selfishness for God's glory. And "denying self interests...is not an easy or natural thing for most people." Talk about preaching to me! I have noticed in the last few months (possibly longer?) how selfish I've been with my time, my wants, everything. And I hate that. I want to be a selfless person to show God's love to others, so my children can learn to be selfless, too!
At the end of the book, Vujicic got to meet with Reverend Billy Graham (wouldn't that be amazing?). Graham told him about some of the regrets from his life and this just got me to thinking about what things I wouldn't want to regret at the end. They line up with Graham's regrets of not spending more time with family, not having memorized more Scripture, and not spending more time at the "feet of Jesus, telling HIm how much he loves Him." I don't want to get to the end of the race only to regret not spending time on the most important things: God and family.
I want to fully engage in my life today and tomorrow and so on. I want to put God first, spending the time I need to memorize, pray, listen, read, and just be with Him. Look to Him for answers instead of talking (or complaining/whining) about them. Read His word so that I can learn it and hide it in my heart so that when I need an answer I can pull it from His "mouth" rather than my own desires or emotions. And I want to be here for my family, fully engaged at traveling the road of faith, showing my kids what my faith looks like in action.
While this book seemed a little scatterbrained, jumping from various topics and back, it centered around God's purpose and not letting circumstances be an obstacle from sharing the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ with those you're around - whether on a large or small platform. I'm excited to put what I've read to use in my life by making some really hard decisions in the coming weeks.
Disclaimer: I received this book in order to write an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I think I'd seen him on daytime tv once but hadn't paid much attention; otherwise, I've never seen any of his YouTube videos or heard much about him. I saw what I saw on the cover - a man surfing with no arms and no legs.
Yet, through this book, I learned that he is so much more than what he isn't. Vujicic is a man after God's own heart - and he wants you to be too (unless you're a woman, then he wants you to be a woman after God's own heart, of course!). I just love the premise of this book: to not let circumstances stop our mission of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In the pages, Vujicic talked a LOT about finding your passion. I've been soul-searching and praying and talking about this very thing! I don't 100% know my passion. It used to be to teach English literature and while I still love to read, I have no real desire at this moment to teach it to high schoolers. While I love my storytime job and kiddos, I don't know if that's my passion.
One thing Vujicic said is that sometimes you don't always like what God is calling you to do at first. That's hard! We live in a very demanding society where if you don't like what you get, you can take it back and order again! But "When God calls you to do something, you may not understand or be enthusiastic at first. But you should always be passionate about HIm, which means you'll do anything for Him." I'm at a point in my life where I am willing to do anything for the Lord and I am trying so hard to listen for His voice to point me in the right direction on a multitude of things for our family!
I love that Vujicic said to "ask God to be the One to define the purpose of your life for your life." You can't follow other people's passions - at least not for long. God created us all to be different and that means our passions are different. There is no room for herd-mentality in pursuing our passions! Sometimes pursuing our purpose means putting aside our selfishness for God's glory. And "denying self interests...is not an easy or natural thing for most people." Talk about preaching to me! I have noticed in the last few months (possibly longer?) how selfish I've been with my time, my wants, everything. And I hate that. I want to be a selfless person to show God's love to others, so my children can learn to be selfless, too!
At the end of the book, Vujicic got to meet with Reverend Billy Graham (wouldn't that be amazing?). Graham told him about some of the regrets from his life and this just got me to thinking about what things I wouldn't want to regret at the end. They line up with Graham's regrets of not spending more time with family, not having memorized more Scripture, and not spending more time at the "feet of Jesus, telling HIm how much he loves Him." I don't want to get to the end of the race only to regret not spending time on the most important things: God and family.
I want to fully engage in my life today and tomorrow and so on. I want to put God first, spending the time I need to memorize, pray, listen, read, and just be with Him. Look to Him for answers instead of talking (or complaining/whining) about them. Read His word so that I can learn it and hide it in my heart so that when I need an answer I can pull it from His "mouth" rather than my own desires or emotions. And I want to be here for my family, fully engaged at traveling the road of faith, showing my kids what my faith looks like in action.
While this book seemed a little scatterbrained, jumping from various topics and back, it centered around God's purpose and not letting circumstances be an obstacle from sharing the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ with those you're around - whether on a large or small platform. I'm excited to put what I've read to use in my life by making some really hard decisions in the coming weeks.
Disclaimer: I received this book in order to write an honest review. All opinions are my own.
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