Tested And Approved: 21 Lessons For Life And Ministry by Tom Lane, Review and Giveaway!!

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read this book through the BlogAbout Blogger Network through the Blythe Daniel Agency. I wasn’t fully sure what it was about, but I knew I was working on life routines and disciplines, as well as working in ministry. I knew there was something here for me to glean, but I didn’t realize how God would use it to speak to me in the many ways He did here.

The first chapter pulled me in right away. It is titled; “Ministry and Life Are Not Fair”. That statement alone got an “Amen” from my heart. So many times I get stuck there and I know many of us do. Every Chapter spoke to me in a profound way. I went through three highlighters in this book. I won’t spoil the book for you, but I do want to share some quotes that stood out to me.

I loved that Tom talked about our jobs and careers being ministry as well. Ministry doesn’t just mean serving in the church. I remember as a young stay at home mom feeling discouraged about not being career minded or as important as someone who was out working and bringing home a paycheck. Even though I didn’t do it perfectly, that time in life was ministry and still is today as I nurture those relationships with my children. Wherever God has us, He is using us there.

Tom’s words confirmed my heart in so many areas. People are the most important to me. I can get that out of whack sometimes but ultimately God’s heart is for people. This quote summed it up well for me.

“A business mindset focuses on producing results and sees people as one of the resources to bring about those results. On the other hand, a ministry mindset looks at people as the ultimate result God wants to produce.

Ch 3. confirmed truths God had been speaking to my heart. I had just written a blog about fruit, then I opened the book to Lesson 3, which was titled; “We Will Be Known By The Fruit We Produce”. This book shows the fruit that has been produced in Tom’s life.

One of my favorite Chapters was Lesson 18. “Love Is Courageous, Yet It Does Not Enable”. I am in the middle of an in depth study on love and what God’s love really means. This Chapter was helpful and built upon what I had been studying. It was confirming and encouraging.

I loved every chapter. I gleaned from each one, and my spirit was encouraged and confirmed all the way through this book. Being part of the launch team, we were able to hear Tom speak about some of these chapters and he is the real deal. I was blessed to be a part of this experience and I am incredibly excited about this giveaway.

I would like each one who is interested in winning this book to comment, but I also would like to know why you would like to win this book. I will draw a winner on Wednesday.