"Gotta Have It! - freedom from wanting everything right here, right now" by Gregory L. Jantz, PhDHow do you define the difference between wants and needs? How do you determine when life’s excesses have replaced life’s necessities? Too many people spend so much time trying to get what they want that they have no energy left to get what they need. Dr. Gregg Jantz, founder of The Center—A Place of Hope, calls this phenomenon excessity—when excess becomes a “necessity.” In his latest book, Gotta Have It!, Jantz directly addresses the societal tendency to overindulge in a plethora of pleasures and takes a scriptural look at what God has to say about this not-so-new phenomenon.
Written in Jantz’ conversational style, Gotta Have It! takes the reader on a journey of self-discovery that helps identify “never enough” wants and desires that have replaced genuine needs in their lives. Jantz recognizes that today’s world is harsh and demanding, creating a deep need for people to feel reassured in the midst of the anxiousness that surrounds them. He also realizes that there is no activity, relationship, or chemical substance able to satisfy the soul’s true longing for God’s peace and provision. Using God’s Word, Jantz begins to define both needs and desires and then truthfully reveals that a healthy and fulfilling balance can be achieved between the two. True freedom from overpowering wants and desires is not only possible, but it is also necessary in order to understand and thrive within the truth of God’s will for our lives.
Gotta Have It! provides the reader with the knowledge and tools needed to live a life free of the excesses that ensnare them. Rather than looking at the excessive behaviors themselves, Jantz encourages readers to recognize the root cause of unchecked behaviors as the attempt to stuff wants into their hearts instead of satisfying true needs. Once readers are given tools to discern the difference between the two, they can then begin to recognize and change the out-of-control behaviors that imprison them.
In addition to the scriptural truth and professional wisdom offered by Jantz on a variety of topics, Gotta Have It! also includes a section entitled “Planting Seeds” that makes it useful as an individual study or as part of a Bible or accountability group study. Freedom from wanting everything right here, right now will allow readers to live with assurance and eternal purpose amid a demanding and insecure world and to offer hope and light to others along the way.
My Thoughts:
This was one of those books that God seems to place into my life at just the right time. If I'd read this a year ago I would have thought it was good but reading it right now it got to a part of me that needed it. The title grabbed me, so I agreed to do the book tour. As soon as I started to read it started to really reveal to me beyond the original assumption of what I thought the book was about. Not only does the book talk about excess that we all automatically think of such as shopping, alcohol, gambling, tobacco, overwork, etc., etc. You know the ones that come to mind but shockingly and not so shockingly it placed it's finger on those I would not have named such as caffienne, anger, guilt, control, relationships, just to name a few. It starts by teaching how to define wants and needs and then it goes from there helping you to examine where your excesses lie and where you personally draw comfort from and then shows how God is longing to fulfill your true needs. Each chapter ends with a section that helps you examine where you are at and pinpoints why you turn to certain things so that they can be recognized and dealt with.
I did much underlining and writing in this book. It opened my eyes to why I react and find comfort in some coping mechanisms that were screaming out in excess in my life but not really filling the real need. I will be redoing this book when I can do it at a more leisurely pace so that I can get even more out of it. I would so recommend this book to anyone who wants to figure out their "never enough" desires and wants and find what they really need. It's a very easy, understandable read and the exercises are deep and cause you to think but are not unmanageable. Chock full of scripture references that really get to the heart of the matter.
"Gotta Have It" is available here for purchase.
Thanks to B&B Media for providing the book for review.
4 comments:
I really like the sound of this..sounds like a need-read for all of us.
Sounds like this book contains some excellent food for thought!!!
What a great topic for a book, thanks for sharing. Nice God wink--putting it in your hands when you could use it.
WOw....this sounds like a really GOOD one for me, my husband, our families and our children!! I am gonna have to go get this one Susanne!! Thanks for sharing about it.....and how awesome of God to have you read it now when you are able to receive from it! HE IS GOOD!
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