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Thursday, March 18, 2010

Book Review and Giveaway: Start Here

Summary:
At the age of eighteen, Alex and Brett Harris wrote Do Hard Things—and launched a movement that would change a generation. Young people around the world were ready to be inspired, ready to move beyond complacency, ready to rebel against society’s low expectations.

Now the highly anticipated companion book, Start Here, answers the questions Alex and Brett have received from thousands of teens on their worldwide conference tour and popular online community: How do I get started? What hard things does God want me to do? How do I keep from getting discouraged or burned out? What is the best way to inspire others?

Filled with stories and insights from Alex, Brett, and other real-life rebelutionaries, Start Here is a powerful and practical guide for young people who are ready to take the next step and blast past apathy. Let the rebelution continue.

Author Bio:
Alex and Brett Harris are the coauthors of the best-selling book Do Hard Things, which they wrote at age eighteen. Today the twins speak regularly to audiences of thousands on The Rebelution Tour, maintain a hugely popular online presence through their blog, TheRebelution.com, and have been featured on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, and in the New York Times. Raised in Portland , Oregon , the brothers currently attend Patrick Henry College in Virginia .

My Thoughts and Review: 
Do you believe that teenagers are simply irresponsible and just do whatever they want?  That's what this culture in general embraces.  However, God does not want His children to be like that.  "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." (1 Timothy 4:12)  That's what Alex and Brett Harris have tried to do, starting with the Rebelution blog.  They have been encouraging young people to do hard things for the glory of God.  Their first book, Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations, made a great impact on my teenaged daughter.  She and I attended one of their conferences.  I am not biased (even though they are fellow Oregonians :)) to say that they are excellent examples/role models for teenagers.  In this book, Start Here, they offer practical guidelines to begin doing hard things right where you are.  It includes answers to frequently asked questions such as How do I get started?How do I ask people to support my cause?, How do I keep my motivation for doing hard things pure?, What if I try to do something hard and it doesn't work out? Does that mean I didn't hear God right?, Am I missing out on anything because I'm not doing the "normal" things teens do?, and much more.  The authors share from their own experiences and use the stories of other real life rebelutionaries as examples/lessons to learn.  The book also includes 100 Hard Things (ideas to get you moving, not just thinking/wishing) and discussion questions (great for small group discussion).  I highly recommend this book (and Do Hard Things) to anyone, especially teens.  Don't waste your life (at any age); be intentional about how you live...how you use your time, talents, and treasures.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Note: Please turn off my music playlist at the bottom of this page before starting the video.

Download and read the first chapter of START HERE.
Download the chapter by chapter discussion guide for START HERE.
Visit their website at http://www.therebelution.com/

Please rate this review. Thanks so much!

Giveaway:  You can win a copy of Start Here.
To Enter: Leave a comment here sharing what hard things you or your child(ren) are doing for the Lord or plan/desire to do.  Make sure you leave your email address or blog address, too.
For extra entries: 1. Read any of my posts (besides this one) and come back to comment about it here.
                           2. Follow me on Twitter (treasuredbyGod) and tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment here letting me know.
Deadline: March 31st at midnight (Pacific time)

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

11 comments:

  1. I heard about their first book from a blogging friend's daughter. Although I don't have children of my own, I've recommended it to all of my nieces and nephews and friends' teenaged children.

    It gives me hope for this next generation when there are people like the Harris twins. So glad to read that others are being impacted.

    Blessings,
    Debbie

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  2. I would put the book in our High School library at church. We have so many great teens. They are going to Guadalajara this summer to serve street kids. I hope my 5 year old will grow in their footsteps.

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  3. My children are 11 yrs & 9 yrs old. I am praying that they will continue to live a life directed by God. We will probably be standing alone at times in the future, & that's ok....with God before me, who can be against me!

    Pls enter me in your giveaway:
    kimspassion4kids@gmail.com

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  4. I like the idea of putting good books in the library. Donate them. Their budgets are so short these days.

    Bill ;-)

    billsmith2003 (at) gmail (dot) com

    Hope you'll check out my book giveaway:
    http://drbillsbookbazaar.blogspot.com/2010/03/book-giveaway-reliable-wife.html
    http://eduscapes.com/v2a/back_to_the_homeplace.html

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  5. I know that I would enjoy this book a lot, especially it would be helpful for now in my life. Graduation & moving on into adulthood.

    Have a blessed week,
    ~ Tarissa

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  6. (this is my 2nd entry)
    I saw the Photo Hunt you did at the beginning of March.
    http://bornagainandblessed.blogspot.com/2010/03/photo-hunt-foreign.html

    What cute dolls! I especially like the wooden one.

    I'm going to check into this Photo Hunt - it might be something I would like too.

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  7. What a lovely giveaway. I think my teens & I would benefit from this book. It would be just great to have it.

    Have a nice day.
    Tamara

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  8. Also, I was reading through more of your blog posts & saw your last Friday's Fave Five post. My family enjoys reading books aloud together. One that we have talked about reading before is the 'Mr. Pipes' book that you mentioned.

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  9. I would love to have my 14 year old son read this. Pick me! Pick me!

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  10. Oops, I just saw that you wanted us to tell what hard things our teens would do. Well, living in a neighborhood with almost all public schooled kids is a hard thing in itself. We have been shining our light in subtle and overt ways. My 14 year old is very outgoing and loves to have lots of people around. When we first moved here, the kids asked him, "haven't you even tried public school?" Now many of them tell him they wish they were homeschooled too. He tells them how male/female relationships at young ages are really not good. He speaks out about what is right and what God wants from us. I'm proud of him. I would like for him to see that he's not alone in what he believes. That's why I would like for him to read this book. I would also like their first book for him.

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  11. I just started following you on twitter. I thought I already was!

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