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  1. Justin Joseph
    Age: 25-34
    Gender: male
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    A (mercifully) short review, a (really) good book
    February 22, 2014
    Justin Joseph
    Age: 25-34
    Gender: male
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    Source: http://bit.ly/1djhYWZ

    Several Sundays ago, despite never having heard the name Kevin DeYoung, I was delighted to see the bulletin announcement for our church's January 2014 men's leadership breakfast series. It detailed that we'd be using Kevin's latest book, Crazy Busy, to help us broach a topic that precious few seem to know how to effectively. I thought, "Wow, this sounds perfect for our [busy] guys!" I was eager to purchase my copy from our assistant pastor, along with the study guide, and I'm about to complete my second read-through. Sinful busyness is a topic about which we need to be challenged and encouraged.

    The book is divided into three sections: three dangers about busyness to avoid (chapter 2), seven diagnoses to consider for why you're busy (chapters 3-9), and a conclusion that encourages believers to absolutely do one thing to get on the road to being biblically busy instead (chapter 10). After all, it's not bad to be busy. But why you are is of utmost importance, because sinful busyness will inevitably tear you apart spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Crazy Busy can help you see your schedule differently. Each chapter is an easy read. You won't necessarily relate to every issue Kevin tackles (chapter 6 is intended for parents), but every page contains comments that will challenge your mind and encourage you to reconsider the choices you're making regarding your daily and weekly agendas.

    The main reason Crazy Busy instantly drew me in is that Kevin doesn't try to hide his own failures when it comes to how he's had, and sometimes still has, a crazy busy life for the wrong reasons. From the onset, Kevin makes no bones about the fact that he wrote Crazy Busy especially for himself, and also as his best attempt to cause us to think about the biblical ramifications of being an unbiblically busy Christian. I always appreciate when Christian authors don't act as though they've arrived regarding what they write about. He also never suggests to have composed Crazy Busy to be a magic bullet manual on how to cure sinful busyness. He's not capable of that, and makes it clear immediately. In fact, he hilariously mocks one book in particular that tries to do just that. His well-timed, gentle sarcasm and jokes about being a laboring American Christian are a breath of fresh air to me. Often as I read through the 118 pages, I thought... "Wow, this guy is the real deal. He's not afraid to just say what we often think but hesitate to verbalize or publish in writing for lame fear of being looked at funny or as though we had a mental disorder."

    Content-wise, Kevin does a wonderful job of putting the spotlight on just about every conceivable reason why a 21st-century western Christian would be unbiblically busy. Not everything of course, but the pertinent matters are there. Whether it's wrestling through a gauntlet of pride manifestations, the sinister belief that all Christians must do everything, the critical concept of establishing and maintaining clear priorities, the dangers of technological addiction and dependence... Kevin has it covered. And there's no way, if you're wondering how to tame your own life, that you can read Crazy Busy without coming away with valuable wisdom. It actually reminds me of an adult Sunday School class I sat in at church a few years ago about I Corinthians. One hour in particular, our assistant pastor emphasized that every last thing we do must be Bible-based (I Corinthians 10:31), and Crazy Busy is another helpful extension of that study we shared, obviously in this case from the perspective of Kevin DeYoung.

    What stuck out to me the most is how in chapter 5, DeYoung highlights a small portion of Mark 1 to explain how in spite of Jesus being God in the flesh, even He didn't do everything He possibly could. I wouldn't be surprised if Christians today (including myself) would criticize Jesus for that; His disciples did after all. But God gave Him a mission, and our Savior stuck to it. The reality is that no Christian is Christ, and the sooner that we realize that we can't be...nor does God expect us to be, the better. Kevin does very well to explain how this truth applies to us in our sin-cursed daily living.

    I'm looking forward to covering this book in my church's Men's Leadership Breakfast series. The accompanying study guide is available at the book's website for free, and we'll be using it for sure. We need to discuss what Kevin does about sinful busyness just as frankly, and encourage each other toward actual change! It's exciting to anticipate how God's grace will do this not just in each of us breakfast participants, but in every believer who reads Crazy Busy.
  2. Ruth
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Crazy Busy
    June 26, 2015
    Ruth
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    Excellent book, excellent length, excellent truth and challenge.
  3. Dema
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Crazy Busy
    January 7, 2015
    Dema
    Excellent book, easy read, and so true.
  4. danybob
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Timely book
    December 16, 2014
    danybob
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    This is a great little book about a big problem in our culture today. It's worth the time to read it!
  5. David Gough
    Alexandria, VA
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: male
    4 Stars Out Of 5
    You're not too busy to read this book!
    August 10, 2013
    David Gough
    Alexandria, VA
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: male
    Quality: 4
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    From time to time I will receive from a Christian publisher an advance copy of a newly written book about to be released. Such was the case a week or so ago.

    Although I love books and plow through them fairly quickly, when I saw the title I placed it in my "someday" pile. (Yes, I have two piles of books waiting to be read. I affectionately refer to them as "next" and "someday").

    The title was "Crazy Busy." At the time I was going through one of those...well, crazy busy weeks. Pulled in what seemed to be a hundred directions, the last thing I needed was for someone to tell me how "out of order" my life was.

    I was just finishing up a J.I. Packer book and planning to dig once again into a Martyn Lloyd-Jones classic. (Neither of those authors ever wrote a word for bedtime reading! ) Faced with a full schedule, I nevertheless violated my self-ordained protocol and pulled "Crazy Busy" from the "someday" pile and began reading. I'm glad I did.

    Perhaps the allurement of being drawn to the book came from the fact that I enjoy reading Kevin DeYoung. He is both humorous and convicting...sort of like telling you that you're ugly in such a way that you say "thank you." "The Hole in Our Holiness," which he wrote last year is one of the most significant books on practical Christian living I have read in years. Besides, the subtitle to "Crazy Busy"--"A (mercifully) short book about a (really) big problem"--threw down the gauntlet for me to read it. After all, how long does it take to read 118 pages?

    How about a few short hours...and that counts underlining and taking notes in the margin!

    "Crazy Busy" is not intended to add more guilt to one who is already well aware of his shortcomings in the area of time management. In a self-effacing manner, he steps into the role of everyman and addresses how we got to be the way we are. He identifies twelve "killer-Ps" which are manifestations of pride that slowly but certainly drag us into the abyss of busyness.

    He then gets specific with seven diagnoses that take aim at the specific areas that consume our time. The reader will identify himself in some of these more than in others, but it is doubtful that anyone will escape unscathed.

    "Crazy Busy" is not a "how to" book (I really can't stand those!), but it does hold up for us a mirror in which we are able to see ourselves and, with God's help, make the lifestyle changes that will lead to a more manageable routine.

    Several words stand out to me in the aftermath of having read the book. One is "priorities." We all have them, and they are able to be detected by how we are investing our time. As we take stock, we may need to reorder our priorities to reflect God's plan for our lives.

    Another word is "rhythm." Unless there is a routine and structure in the way we pattern our lives, we will become slaves to the urgent while the important often slips through the cracks. We need to make sure that we are intentionally investing in those things that count for eternity.

    "Devotion" is probably the most important word that I took from the book. As DeYoung points out in his retelling of the story of Mary and Martha, taking time to draw near to our Lord in is the one indispensable ingredient.

    I commend the author for not promoting a legalistic list of do's and don'ts. In fact, there is not a great deal of Bible-referencing to be found here, but everything the author says is biblical. Read it for yourself and you'll see what I mean.

    If, more often than not, your life seems to be spinning out of control and you never seem to be able to get a handle on what you know you need to be doing, then hit the pause button for a just few hours and read "Crazy Busy." It may just save your life.

    Note: I was provided an advance copy of this book for review by Crossway.
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