STAND AGAINST THE WIND

I finally finished Erwin McManus' new book "Stand Against the Wind" on Saturday morning. I say finally because I got the thing the day it came out (feb. 13) and well, I should have finished it that freakin day! In fact I probably read the thing twice since I started over midway through.

Anyway ... The book is a more condensed version of "Uprising" which was one of the best book I have ever read. It walks through a variety of characteristics such as integrity, perseverance, generosity, humility and courage among others. He weaves this amazing matrix of when all these characteristics are used correctly; we live the life God truly wants us to live.

Just a few lines on some of those characteristics:

Humility - "Humility brings us to God not out of obligation but out of gratitude. When we humble ourselves we choose the place of least honor and allow God to call us to any role of servant hood He might desire. Humility begins with emptying ourselves so that we can receive from God all that we need for the journey."

Perseverance - "God desires us to become faithful, trustworthy people. Perseverance is the ability to remain faithful through the duration ... Faithfulness keeps your character from going bad."

Integrity - "Integrity is not about being flawless but being 'falseless.'"

Generosity - "Generosity in its primal essence is love ... Jesus always gave more than He took."

Courage - "Courage isn't the absence of fear, it is the absence of self."