A Review-- Chris Tomlinson's "Crave"

Chris Tomlinson’s new book Crave is perhaps the most straightforward and honest Christian book I’ve ever read. It’s simple, but profound, and not only am I a better follower of Christ for having read it, I am thinking more deeply about my own cravings as a result. To be honest with you, little of what I crave has anything to do with God. I crave recognition, and financial security. I crave ease. I crave the simple things– sugar, beer, and red meat. I crave popularity even. But when faced with the question, “Do I crave God?” I have to say that I don’t as much as I used to. It’s easy to become apathetic–I ‘m proof– and Tomlinson’s book helped me realize that. (click the picture to the left to order from Amazon!)

When I write a review for a book I do my best not to give away

anything that’s actually in it. Part of the joy of reading is experiencing a book for the first time. So I will try to keep this detailed but vague. (I will say that I especially enjoyed Chapters  2, 4, 10, and 13! Chapter 13: Suffering was my favorite of the book. )

Below is the byline description of Crave found on Tomlinson’s site.

There’s a certain feeling writers have about their first book, or so I assume because I have this feeling.  There’s the sense that I will never again write another book, because all has been said, and because writing doesn’t get any better than this.  And there’s another sense of discomfort that this book will be in print, because people are going to realize writing does get much better than this, and there’s far more to say than the simple words I’ve written.

Even so, Crave represents a season in my life that all Christians have passed through or will encounter.  At its core, it’s a story of desire, of wanting so much more of God, and the struggle that ensues with God, purpose, faith, and setbacks.  For years, I sensed there was more to my faith than I knew or had experienced, and I wanted more, but I didn’t know how to go about getting it.  So I dove into church, and study, and service, and evangelism, and spiritual disciplines, and I ended up a burned out Christian.

I didn’t yet know the source, or the purpose, of our cravings.  But God was content to write one chapter in my life at a time.  And as He put the finishing touches on this season of my life, I came to see something about my cravings I hadn’t seen before.  Something simple.  Something profound.  Which has just started an entirely new story.  Join with me in this journey and find how your own pages will be written.

(Source  of Description http://cravesomethingmore.org/book/)

Now here’s where the rubber meets the road. Should you buy Crave? I believe that you should, but not unless you are ready to humble yourself to the very truth of your own cravings.

This book is a mirror. It forces you to look at yourself and see past the lies and the excuses, to the very heart of your present condition. If you are too afraid to see what is looking back then this book isn’t for you, but I can tell you that it has been a painfully refreshing experience and I am thankful to own this book and to know Chris Tomlinson.

Well done brother!

~

To follow Chris on Twitter: twitter.com/christomlinson_

To learn more about Chris: http://cravesomethingmore.org

To ORDER Crave: CLICK HERE!

[Via http://timothykurek.wordpress.com]

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