Wild Goose Chase

Wow! That's my reaction after reading Wild Goose Chase. I felt excited even before I started and I wasn't sure why. Mark Batterson's energy and passion for pusuing God just leaps off the pages!

The title is somewhat misleading if you think about it. My Random House dictionary defines a wild goose chase as "a wild or absurd search for something nonexistent or unobtainable". Do you ever feel that pertains to your walk as a Christian? However, the title Wild Goose Chase is chosen from a Celtic Christian name for the Holy Spirit, An Geadh-Glas, meaning "the Wild Goose." Through personal anecdotes and scriptural references, the author challenges the reader to come out of his Christian "cage" (i.e. the safety of the church) and live out the adventure of following Christ.

Some tidbits, pages 8-9:
"...many, if not most, Christians are bored with their faith...
...too many of us end up settling for spiritual mediocrity instead of spiritual maturity...coming out of the cage means giving up the very thing in which we find our security and identity outside of Christ."

Batterson outlines six "cages" in which Christians find themselves: Responsibility, Routine, Assumptions, Guilt, Failure, and Fear. He challenges us to be courageous, come out of our cages, and live a life of spiritual adventure.

Uncertain about where you are going? Are you looking for something more? Read Wild Goose Chase. It might just shake that cage door open.


Mark Batterson is the lead pastor of Washington, D.C.'s National Community Church.

New from Multnomah, the book is available for purchase here.
I have one copy to give away.
For more info, also see: www.chasethegoose.com

A Trio of Children's Books

Three delightful new children’s books are due out this month from WaterBrook Press.

Dandi Daley Mackall penned When God Created My Toes and God Loves Me More Than That. Large, colorful illustrations drawn by David Hohm accompany the rhyming lines in each book.

When God Created My Toes*
features a little girl wondering about God’s reaction when he created her toes, knees, hands, etc. Each question is asked in a light-hearted, rhyming form, such as “When God created my eyes, could I see him too, playing peek-a-boo?”
I liked the way each query featured a penciled drawing on “lined school paper” accompanied by a lavishly detailed colorful illustration on accompanying pages.

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A little boy wonders how high, deep, wide, loud, soft, etc. is God’s love for him in God Loves Me More Than That.* Colorful, whimsical illustrations fill the pages.


“How much love does God have for me?
More than the letters between A and Z.
More than the bumbles in a bumble bee.
God loves me more than that!”

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Lisa Tawn Bergren brings us another special offering in God Gave Us Heaven.** In this precious book, a little polar bear cub spends a day fishing with her daddy and asks him, “Papa, what’s heav’n?” There follows a litany of more questions and well-thought out answers as to how wonderful heaven will be.

“Can we take our stuff to heaven?”
“No, we won’t need our stuff there….
“Sometimes we think we need stuff, but it’s just more weight for us to carry.
Our best stuff doesn’t weigh anything at all---stuff like love, family, friends, and faith.
That’s where our real blessings are.”

Also tucked inside this book is a simple presentation of the gospel message of Jesus being the bridge between us and God. Illustrations are beautifully done by Laura J. Bryant.

*tested by my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter. She liked the first one I think because she knows what her toes, knees, etc. are. The second has broader concepts which may not have meaning yet for her, though she did like the pictures.

**my granddaughter enjoys these pictures, but the story/questions are for a slightly older child.

New from WaterBrook Press. All three are hardcover.
I currently have one set to give away.
They can also be purchased here.