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Book Report: Wild Goose Chase

Sometimes I'm really surprised that the kind folks over at Waterbrook Press/Multnomah still let me participate in their new release blog tours. I'm notoriously late getting my reviews posted.
In my defense, I could very easily post the summary they provide me. But if you know me (and you should know me by now if you read this) you know that I generally don't care for that level of ingenuineness.

When I agreed to be part of the blog tour for "Wild Goose Chase" I couldn't wait to read this book. The book's title comes from the Celtic word for the Holy Spirit. Loosely translated it is "wild goose". I think you get the idea.

With such a hectic schedule these days, I didn't have much spare time for reading. I forced myself to read it this week. The week the review was due. But I knew that this book deserved at least my own impressions.

I'm glad I read it. The book is about following the leading of the Holy Spirit. You know...the raw, passionate, completely wild Holy Spirit. The one that lead Paul to Malta via shipwreck. The one that gave Peter the ability to overcome his guilt and be part of the early church.
Mark Batterson's writing sytle loosely reminds me of Max Lucado. He mixes plenty of personal anecdotes, biblical references, and scriptural insights. However, it's not the writing style that stands out most to me.

The book is filled with all sorts of quotes. Good quotes. Inspiring quotes. One of my favorites is "It's never too late to be what you should have been." Batterson is kind of like a life cheerleader, urging you to release yourself from life's cages, forge on, and to embrace the untamed paths before you.

And the quotes aren't even my favorite part. I'm still haunted by Batterson's comparison of the rooster crowing after Peter denied Christ and Pavlov's dog. He asks if Peter cringed every time he heard a rooster crow (for the rest of his life). I had never before considered what that must have been like.

I certainly have my own crowing rooster moments in my life. Those seasons and streets and songs that fill the pit of my stomach with that twinge of "What was I thinking?"

Now that I've completed my whirlwind reading session, I have lots to process. I've spent a lot of time lately trapped in what Batterson calls the Cages of Guilt and the Cages of Failure. That Cage of Guilt is one of my personal favorites.

I also have one copy of the book to give away to the first person who requests it.

Comments

Dawn Ward said…
I found your blog for the first time today. I was stunned by the rooster crowing comment. I had never thought of that before. Wow. I would love to read the book.
Christy said…
It sounds like a good read. We were looking at opening a coffee shop with friends some years back. We were going to call it Wild Goose Coffee for the same reason.
Requesting it. I could use some Wild Goose!
frabjouspoet said…
Dawn - that crowing rooster comment completely floored me. I love finding pieces of humanity in the Bible.

I'll get the books out as soon as I can. (Maybe we can all share a copy, Christy and Becky!)

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