Wild at Heart by John Eldredge

I was wrong about this book.  When Wild at Heart by John Eldredge arrived in the mail, I thought it to be another in a line of the overdone cliche of following Jesus as a rugged outdoorsman.  Instead, the author must have been reading my prayer journal because he well understands my continuing struggle.  As it turns out, he and countless others, perhaps you, certainly I, wonder if we have what it takes to be a man and if we can fight our battles and win the love of the beautiful woman.

We wonder because somewhere on the journey from boy to man, we are wounded, sabotaging the journey.  My wound came when my parents divorced.  Fortunately, my Christian walk already taught my about surrender, grief, the love and Fatherhood of God, and how I am to forgive.  But I never figured out what to do next.  Until now.

The second half of the book came alive for me as I found myself formulating a plan.  My battle is not against "defeating the trials in my life," but against the flesh, the world, and the devil (we've heard that before, but it is real).  My strategy is understanding that Bible reading and prayer are not duties that good, effeminate men to, but weapons in the hands of a fierce warrior.  As I gain strength against the enemy, I earn the right to rescue the beauty, the Darling Bride of my life.

As I review the underlined and highlighted ares in this book, I truly believe that I am on my way to be free to pursue the unknown with God.  Eldredge writes :  "So there comes a time in a man's life when he's got to break away from all that and head off into the unknown with God.  This is a vital part of our journey..."

God may have intervened in my life and given me this book as a weapon to live the adventure I want.  I hesitate to say that because I received this book for free from the www.booksneeze.com program where they send participants books in exchange for publishing reviews on blogs and commercial book sites.  I am under no obligation to write a favorable review.  However, I do believe that God allowed this book in my life to "..live this adventure (with) an ongoing, intimate relationship with God."