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Satisfied - Discovering Contentment in a World of Consumption (by Jeff Manion)






The book Satisfied by Jeff Manion is now on my "Favorite Book List".  It's subtitle, Discovering Contentment in a World of Consumption, does give you an idea of what the book is about; but Satisfied is much more than just another Christian book on finances, tithing, generosity, the effects of greed, budgeting, and so on. It's not like any other book I've read on the topic of what followers of Christ do with their money. The chord it struck within me was unique, and this book is not only one of my new favorites, it is also now required reading for my children during their high school years in our homeschool.

So, why do I think Satisfied is such a great book? It's not confrontational, it's simply the truth. The truth is, we in America are much more prosperous than most of the rest of the world will ever dream of being...and yet we don't live as if we have enough. The truth is that many followers of Jesus do not know how to live a contented, satisfied life - we chase after more, more, more and end up looking exactly like the rest of the world. Which means we end up offering nothing of value to those in our circles of influence who need a Savior. And we do all this gathering of stuff, stuff, stuff so that our children and grandchildren can sort through all of the stuff, stuff, stuff when we've moved on to heaven (where, BTW, we will walk on streets paved with something more valuable than the stuff, stuff, stuff we spend our lives chasing...think about that for a moment).

How many of us dreamed big dreams when we were young? Dreams of adventure and a thrill-filled life. Then as adults we fall into the rut of work to buy, stress to pay the bills, drool over the neighbor's latest toys, battle health issues that are a direct result of the stress... This is not God's will for our lives. I think He gave us hearts that dream big dreams and long for adventure. And one sure-fire way to live a life full of adventure is to become radically generous toward God and man. This isn't in the book Satisfied, it's my own personal opinion, but I think many of the same ideas can be found in the book. Who doesn't want to live the dream? I know I don't want to miss out on one single thing the Lord has for me, and I'll gladly go on an adventure with Him because there's no where safer for me to be.

In Chapter 1, Jeff Manion says, "The amount of junk we surround ourselves with is insane." Do you agree with him? If you do, even a little bit, then you should read this book. In Chapter 3 he says, "If our goal is more, then whatever we have is never enough. It's like running a race where a finish line doesn't exist." From Chapter 6 - "The heart that believes God has ripped it off can justify anything." & "Trust is the glue that holds any relationship together, and if you fundamentally distrust God's goodness, it is highly unlikely that you will follow His leadership in your life." And my last quote is from Chapter 15 - "Though greed can stifle generosity, the more frequent culprit is fear."

I really hope you pick up a copy of this book and read it - share it with others, lead a small group, read it once more yourself. It's really that good.

On my "Page Turner Scale" of 1 to 5, I gave this book a 5.

Disclaimer ~ I received this book free of charge for review purposes from BookSneeze. All opinions shared here are solely my own.



Day 305 done :)


Jan L. Burt
author of The Homeschooling Mothers Bible Study


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