I wasn’t surprised the first time I sat down with my Higher Ground group this summer. I asked this small group of counselors and summer leaders what one thing they wanted to be intentional about as they walked through the seven weeks of summer camp. I knew that the weeks would fly by, for them and for me, and that our one time together each week had the potential to bear more lasting fruit if we all knew—and could hold one another accountable for—one thing.
As a campus minister for 10 years before I came to work at camp, I had the opportunity to counsel with many college students, and the theme of this summer’s group was no different than I had heard before. College students, in their time of transition from being in school and living at home to being adults and living on their own, almost always mentioned the same three distinct areas of focus:
- A deeper passion for and commitment to prayer,
- A renewed focus on the reading and study of God’s Word, and
- Wisdom about their future.
So, as I’m embarking on my own time of transition, I’ve found myself drawn to three books, which I am reading every day. And, it just so happens that they address these same three topics. Perhaps you will find them helpful as well, whatever transition you are facing in your life today.
Why Pray? by John Devries, the founder of Mission India.
This little book arrived in the mail just last week from a friend and former pastor, Matt Schantz. He had recently gone through a transition of his own, as he joined the staff of Mission India, and this book, he said, had been tremendously helpful to refocus him on prayer as a primary vehicle for relationship with God.
John wrote, “I believe that we limit ourselves to a boring and predictable life when we eliminate God’s surprises in answer to our prayers and ask Him merely to bless our plans. God loves surprises, and the only certainty He desires in our lives is that we be certain of Him.”
The One Year Bible, NIV.
I’ve had this book on my Kindle for several years, and have taken several stabs at using it daily for reading the Bible. This summer, it was my one thing, the thing I asked my Higher Ground guys to ask me about and encourage me in. And, here we are 10 weeks later, not perfect in reading every day, but finding my longing for and focus on God’s Word growing through this disciplined daily reading.
Today, the reading schedule took me to 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
Do Over by Jon Acuff
Just over a year ago I went to an early morning meet-up with Jon Acuff in the Detroit area… just a few weeks before the launch of this book. I remember, as he shared the basic premise of the book—sketching it out on a piece of copy paper—he said, “Not every one of you is in a job transition today, but every one of you will be someday.”
Knowing I was a fan of Jon Acuff, my friend Andy Hust gave me a copy of this book a while back—and I put it on my shelf. But now, as I am actually in my job transition, I’m enjoying Jon’s combination of humor and practical wisdom for taking the next steps.
Jon wrote, “Day one of our new adventure behind us, we are shocked to learn the hardest lesson of chasing a dream. When you go for it, you don’t escape fear, you land in it. Fear is not a dragon to be slain once, it’s an ocean to be swum daily.”