By Chris Folmsbee, Nate Severson
Zondervan, 2011, 192 pp., $12.99
Ruin Your Life? Sounds like a book I’d like to read. There are enough how-to books about succeeding. We need to know how to go the opposite direction. I didn’t know what the book was about when I agreed to review this one by Chris Folmsbee and Nate Severson. The title alone grabbed me. Imagine my surprise when I realized I would be joining the authors in writing this book. That’s because it’s a journal, but not just any journal. As they explain in the intro, this book is about discovering your thoughts and feelings through creative expression. Each day has a creative exercise, then invites you to explore what you learned from that. We’re also given a prayer, Scripture to read from the Bible and an inspirational quote. The original authors are not scared of what happens to the actual book along the way, as they believe beauty often comes from messiness. Sounds like a great idea to embrace. My good friends at YouthWorker Journal have hooked me up with this book. Very likely I’ll be passing this on to a teenager very soon.
–Rick Nier, Pastor of Youth and Education, Winona Lake Free Methodist Church
The idea behind this interactive devotional is a lot of fun and intriguing. The focus of each chapter and the interactive element are very creative ideas and easily lend themselves to be adapted for other purposes. I think this is a resource that a youth worker easily could equip a student with. However, some of the activities seem to be more appropriate for younger students, while many of the accompanying questions seem too abstract for a younger student to understand. My concern is that a younger student would only focus on the fun part, while an older student would be turned off by some of the creative elements.
–Joel Heald
I’ve never been given such permission to mess up a book before, from slapping mud onto its first page to dripping candle wax halfway through it. It’s all a brilliant way to invite students to let God have His way in their lives, creating a devotional that is bathed in Scripture yet as gritty as sandpaper. This resource is perfect for virtually all ages, including young people and adults looking for something to process together.
–Tony Myles, author, ministry coach, volunteer youth worker and lead pastor of Connection Church, Medina, Ohio
You can pretty much tell what kind of book you’re getting by the size, weight and wow it feels in your hand. What you don’t know is how that book could impact your life, and this may be the case for Ruin Your Life. Chris Folmsbee and Nate Severson have put together a journal that does not appear to be a journal. Each journal entry begins with a photo, then asks the student to answer a few questions. Its big, bold, artsy print and interactive starters are sure to catch a student’s attention and give him or her a different slant to growing in Christ. As I thumbed through the pages, I wondered which age group of kids I might use this with, and I lean toward middle school students. The artistic slant of the book may scare off the less crafty and more brainy kind of student, but I think the book allows a youth leader to take creative license with the book. For instance: Take the journal page and make it a real life lesson, using real pictures and supplies. The questions are easy enough to expound on, and each lesson ends with a quote that makes for great discussion. This book has multiple uses from giving it to that arty eighth grader who draws anime on everything to supplement pages for your next retreat.
—Paul Turner, Youth Pastor, Pleasant Grove Assembly, Pleasant Grove, Alabama
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