Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are

by Alex & Brett Harris, with Elisa Stanford
Multnomah Books, 2010

Do start here - or better yet, start with the authors' first book, Do Hard Things: a Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations. I wish both titles had been available when I was in high school. As the subtitle for Do Hard Things (DHT) indicates, society's expectations of its youth are quite low, but the writers point out that historically and biblically the teen years are about preparation, about growing into "mature, competent, and responsible men and women who know when and how to have fun." Start Here picks up where DHT leaves off, and deals with getting started, keeping first things first, persisting in the face of challenges, etc. It is also peppered with personal stories from teens who have caught the fire of "rebelution." I found the writing superior and accessible, and was impressed by the authors' evident spiritual depth as well as by the variety of projects and issues teens were tackling. Oops, I guess my low expectations are showing... I stand corrected.

I highly recommend this book and encourage you to visit the authors' website - The Rebelution as well. Get inspired to do hard things for God. Doing so isn't necessarily easy (that's why it's called "hard things"!), but taking the initiative is changing teens' lives, and could just as easily improve yours and cause you to rethink the future - in a good way. I intend to pass my copy along to my teenage daughter, who I am sure will take its contents to heart. You can purchase your own copy by visiting http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781601422705&ref=externallink_mlt_starthere_sec_0127_01 Also makes a great gift for that special teen in your life!

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.