BOTW: In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day

Long title from a short Bible verse. Still an awesome book!

After a couple of books that seemed to under-deliver, I am happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading my ninth book of my year-long challenge.

In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day, by Mark Batterson, is one of those books that it seems every Christian has already read, and so it’s probably been long overdue for me to pick it up.  Even though I’m a bit late to the party, I’m am thrilled that I did finally do so.

The first thing that I learned as I read it was that I don’t really like to read borrowed books, or library books, or books that smell like they’ve been in the bottom of a trash can filled with week-old shrimp in the middle of the summer.  Not that I found this book there, but it was borrowed from a friend and that meant I couldn’t highlight anything in the book.  It also meant that I’d know if my friend thought something in the book was really good, and that we’d have to talk if I thought the part he thought was good was actually heresy.  That didn’t happen, but it is a risk you run when borrowing books from people who you’re friends with (it ranks right up there with restaurant recommendations from friends and hating the place that they said had “the best steak ever!!”).

Having said all that – and that was a very verbose (bonus vocab word!!) paragraph – we should probably get to my rave review of Batterson’s book, which will be called “Snowy Lion Pit” from here on out because I’m too lazy to type out the whole thing.  In fact, we’ll just go with SLP because I’m even lazier than I give myself credit for.

If you only read one book in the next few minutes, it should be this one.  SLP is one of those books that you read and keep thinking all the way through about how you would have written it, too, if you had just thought of it first.  Practical, inspiring, and full of great real-life examples of people Batterson knows who have chased lions from time to time in their lives.  No, not actual lions.  Just the big things in our lives that make us pee ourselves because they’re really scary and much bigger than we are.  But Batterson talks us through the steps we need to take if we’re going to jump into a pit chasing a lion on a snowy day.  And you thought he made that title up all by himself?  Nope, it’s right there in that Bible you’ve been reading all your life (see for yourself in 2 Samuel 23:20).

One of the things I really enjoyed about the writing style was the transparency with which Batterson writes.  He shares plenty of his failures, and also what he learned from them.  He is one of those guys who makes you think, “God, if he can chase a lion, then I can, too.”  And anyone who has faced, or is facing, seemingly insurmountable odds, needs to know that others have faced them, too, and come out with a lion skin.

Some of the more notable parts of the book (which would have been highlighted if it had actually been my book – instead I learned to love Evernote even more):

It is harder to get old thoughts out of your mind than it is to get new thoughts into your mind. (p. 44)

Your fear is worse than the actual thing you’re afraid of. (p. 51)

I’m concerned that the church has turned into a bunker where we seek shelter when we’re actually called to storm the gates of hell. (p. 57)

Maybe we should stop asking God to get us out of difficult circumstances and start asking Him what He wants us to get out of those difficult circumstances. (p. 64)

Their fear of missing out is greater than their fear of messing up. (p. 108 – speaking about lion chasers)

Success is doing the best you can with what you have where you are. (p. 131)

And my absolute favorite thought from the book:

More often than not, the only thing between you and your dream is a rational excuse. (p. 140)

RATING MY REVIEW HELPS FEED MY BOOK ADDICTION! THANKS!!!

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