Jon Acuff's Blog, page 73

A New Book From My Friend Frank Viola

My friend Frank Viola has just released a new book called God’s Favorite Place on Earth.

The premise of the book is simple: when Jesus was on the earth, He was rejected everywhere He went . . . from Bethlehem, to Nazareth, to Jerusalem. The only exception was the little village of Bethany.

A lot of people write books, but Frank writes stories and in this one we once again see why he’s such a master.

If you get the book between May 1st to May 7th, you will also get 25 free gifts from 15 different authors including Leonard Sweet, Jeff Goins, Andrew Farley, Steve McVey, DeVern Fromke, Pete Briscoe, Frank Viola himself, and many others.

Go to GodsFavoritePlace.com to read an excerpt from the book, watch the trailer and get the bonus content!

 

Peter doing what Peter does.

I thought this was funny. (If you know who the artist is, please let me know so I can add it to the post.)

START Images for iPhone + Facebook + Twitter

The Dave Ramsey graphic design team has put together tons of cool START wallpapers you can use all over the place on your social networks or desktop. There’s even a lock screen image for your iPhone! Want to make your iPhone into an “awesome switch”? Okay, done!

See below for links to all of the various sizes and designs.

iPhone Lock Screen

Slide to Start: iPhone 4 | iPhone 5

Desktop Wallpaper 

Punch Fear in the Face:

1280 x 800 | 1440 x 900 | 1920 x 1200 | 2560 x 1440
Do Work That Matters:

1280 x 800 | 1440 x 900 | 1920 x 1200 | 2560 x 1440
Average to Awesome Switch:

1280 x 800 | 1440 x 900 | 1920 x 1200 | 2560 x 1440

Facebook Cover Images

Escape Average
I Am Ready to Start
Punch Fear in the Face
It’s Time to Start
It’s Time to Start (with book cover)
Average to Awesome Switch
What Are You Starting?

Twitter/Facebook Profile Images

Escape Average
I’m Ready to Start
It’s Time to Start
What Are You Starting?

 

Wondering why God created allergies.

Ahh, spring is upon us. Bluebirds are singing jaunty tunes. Pastel flowers are poking their heads out after long winter naps. Woodland creatures are dancing about.

And I am sneezing.

And sniffling.

And constantly looking like I’m crying from watching a particularly heart-wrenching Lifetime Channel Movie.

I have allergies. And in Nashville, spring blooms like a big bowl of pollen-covered frosted mini wheats.

I’m taking Claritin D. I’ve scheduled an appointment with an allergist. I’m drinking throat coat before I speak on stage because my voice kind of sounds like a smoky lounge singer right now. But why?

Why did God create allergies? Have you ever stopped to think about that? Why do they exist? Here are five possible explanations I came up with:

Reasons God Created Allergies

1. Keep me humble.

One Sunday at church, I was snorting so much that the lady next to me just handed me a tissue. She didn’t ask if I needed one. I didn’t ask her for one. She just thrust it in my hand, which is church aisle language for “Shut up. Please shut up already with that nose of yours.” Maybe God created allergies to keep me humble. It’s my thorn in the flesh, or thorn in the sinus if you will. Seems a little extreme that he would create a planet impacting form of pollen just to keep me humble, but me even thinking that probably proves why he needed to do it.

2. Support pharmacies and pharmacists.

My sister-in-law Marci is studying to be a pharmacist. I have friends who are drug reps. I’m sure someone I know worked on one of the bajillion allergy commercials you see this time of year. There are tens of thousands of people with families and kids and lives supported by people who have allergies. Maybe that’s why God invented them.

3. Teach me patience.

Have you tried to buy allergy medicine lately? In order to prevent illegal purchases, you now have to fill out a form, show your driver’s license, buy one small box at a time, submit to a retinal scan, and write a 300-word essay on why you feel you deserve the Claritin D. Maybe this is all just a lesson in patience.

4. Bees need pollen.

In the current issue of National Geographic, there’s a story about pollen and bees. I didn’t read it because just looking at the photos made me sneeze, and there was an article on kung fu that I found very distracting/awesome. I like honey. Maybe that’s the tradeoff. God created allergies because honey is so fantastic. I think I can get down with that.

5. In all things God works for the good.

Is this a Romans 8:28 situation? “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Should I recite that verse every time I feel my itchy red eyes tearing up?

It has to be one of those reasons. Or maybe allergies are part of the fall? Was the Garden of Eden hypoallergenic, and then when Adam and Eve got kicked out they were expelled to a pollen-filled land of woe? Am I overthinking this? Probably.

Why do you think God created allergies?

Do you have any allergies?

(This post originally appeared on SCL in 2011)

Free Start 1st Chapter Download

What an amazing week it has been! We’ve been on the road on the Start Book Tour for going on a week now and having a blast!

For those of you who haven’t had a chance to pick up a copy of my new book START yet, today I wanted to give you the first full chapter for FREE.

If you’re ready to escape average, do work that matters and punch fear in the face, I believe this book is for you!

START Free First Chapter Download

If you like what you read and want to purchase the full book, here’s where you can do that:

Buy it on Amazon

Buy it on DaveRamsey.com

Buy it on Barnes & Noble

Buy it on Books A Million

 

My 3 Excuses for not watching The Bible on the History Channel

(It’s guest post Friday!  Here’s one from Scott Higa.  You can check out his blog here and follow him on Twitter.  If you want to write a guest post for SCL, here’s how!)

My 3 Excuses for not watching The Bible on the History Channel

I have a confession to make.

I didn’t watch The Bible on the History Channel.

There, I feel better. My load is definitely easier, and my burden is much lighter.

I’m not opposed to Christian programming. I endured The Passion of the Christ and shared how it made me feel with my small group. I have watched numerous Veggie Tales movies and have even sung “The Hairbrush Song” at the top of my lungs. I even sat through Psalty, the singing praise book, which scarred me more than Mel Gibson ever could.

I’m not opposed to watching The Bible, but here are some reasons why I couldn’t:

No Cable

Dave Ramsey told me that I couldn’t have cable. As long as I have seminary loans and a fledgling emergency fund, I feel like cable is a luxury I should be ashamed to even want, much less have. Most of the time, it feels really good to tell people that my wife and I don’t have cable. I’ve noticed a lot of Christians wear their lack of cable like a badge.

“We spend too much time settling Catan and having family devotions to watch TV.”

“We use that $60 a month to fund clean water projects in Africa.”

“We don’t want to provide a smut-conduit directly into our living room. Would you want your toilet to empty next to your couch?”

But what do Christians do when not having cable comes in conflict with watching The Bible? I suppose we just have to hope it comes out on Hulu or Netflix because we all know those don’t count as watching TV.

Church

I also couldn’t watch The Bible because I was at church with our high school group. A lot of churches have Sunday night services or small groups. Are we supposed to ditch church to watch TV? I thought that was only acceptable during the football season. I know that I missed out on The Bible, but I was more than happy to spend that time with a small group of high school guys. It’d be really convenient to attend virtual church on a Sunday night: you could watch church on one screen and The Bible on another, all while eating Chicken and Waffle Lays potato chips.

I Like the Book Better

The book is always better than the movie. Even though they might be evil, I read all of the Harry Potter books and then watched the movies. The books were much better than the movies. As a book, the Bible has been a best-seller for years and years. No matter how amazing the movie is, I can’t imagine it will live up to the source material. Mark Burnett is a talented producer, but even he can’t hold a torch to the inspired word of the creator of the universe.

I hope to eventually see The Bible, even if I have to wait until it’s on Netflix. More importantly, though, I hope others will see it and draw closer to God because of it.

What did you think of The Bible? Or, what’s your excuse for not watching it?

For more great writing from Scott, check out his blog!

Whoa.

Interview with Dave Ramsey about START!

I recently sat down to talk about my new book START with my mentor, Dave Ramsey. It was fun getting to talk with him and dig a little deeper into the heart of what I want START to accomplish. I hope you enjoy it and hear something that encourages and challenges you to START!

This interview clip is courtesy of the EntreLeadership Podcast. Check it out for great teaching on business, team building, and leadership.

The failure gift.

I got fired once and they made the right decision.

I was a horrible employee. The work I did was lazy, my attitude was belligerent, and I somehow managed to be cocky at the same time.

So they called me into a room and fired me.

It was a humiliating experience, and you know what the worst part of that failure was?

I didn’t get a gift.

Not one single person responded to my failure with a gift.

Nobody threw me a party or gave me a new coat or showered me with jewels.

I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right: I have some loser friends.

Why would I expect that reaction to failure? Because that’s how God acts throughout the Bible.

Have you ever noticed that?

People fail and God responds with love and a gift.

Take Adam and Eve for instance. They failed and hid in the bushes in clothes they had made. In response, God sacrifices an animal and gives them new clothes.

I don’t know how great Adam and Eve were at sewing. Maybe their clothes were ridiculous. Maybe they had an ETSY account before anyone else and they dominated Eden’s version of Pinterest, but chances are God’s clothes were better. The garments he personally made for them were better constructed.

And he just gives the clothes to them! Even as he ushers them out of the garden, it’s like he can’t hold back his love.

Fast forward: Cain kills Abel and God touches him with his mark of protection.

Then Abraham lies about his wife and tells the king that’s his sister. What happens when it all comes out? God tells the king and the king showers Abraham with riches.

Then the prodigal comes home and he gets a party.

Is God a failure ATM, doling out whatever we want? Nope, not even a little bit.

But he is the guy who throughout the Bible gives failures second and third and 50th chances.

Come out of the bushes. Stop wearing clothes you made in shame. There’s a father who wants to give you something pretty amazing. It’s the gift of forgiveness.

#StartBook Tour Update

Hey guys! This is Jon’s friend, Grant. As I shared last week, I’m on the road with Jon for a couple weeks, helping him out in all kinds of ways on the Start Book Tour.  Seeing as how Jon only releases a book every couple years, we’re going to be bringing you updates and chronicles on our adventures from road for a bit. SCL will return to normal the week of May 6!

We’re officially on day 4 of the tour and things are going great! The New York City launch event was an experience I don’t think anyone there will soon forget!  From Jon’s talk in the intimate setting of Sofia’s to the open-air all out celebration right in the middle of Times Square, the NYC Tour launch was massive. In the late night/early morning hours following the event, I was sitting in our hotel saying to myself, “Whoa! That. Just. Happened.”

It was just amazing to see so many people come from all over to help Jon celebrate the release of Start and send him off on the rest of the tour.  In case you missed the ridiculous NYC recap video the Dave Ramsey video team created, you’ll want to check that out!

Jon had the opportunity to talk about Start early the following morning on Fox & Friends, which went off without a hitch… once the huge “Average To Awesome” switch battery was jumped with cables from a nearby hot dog vending cart!  True story. Once the switch had juice, Jon killed his interview, fitting about as much content into a 2-minute segment as you possibly can. You can check out his interview online here.

We left FOX and headed to DC where we got to do a “hit & run” style book signing at Ebenezer’s Coffee House, which is a ministry of Pastor Mark Batterson’s National Community Church. It was a great venue and was fun getting to meet and talk with some DC area folks who are fans of Jon’s work. Pastor Mark even dropped by to say hello and show his support!

The tour is currently in Nashville where Jon spoke at Kairos in Brentwood last night and will be signing books at the Cool Springs Barnes & Noble today from 6pm-8pm. He’ll also be on the nationally-syndicated Wally Show at 6am Wednesday morning as well as some local television this morning and the Ken Coleman Show in Atlanta this afternoon at 5pm ET. Early Thursday morning the bus rolls to Atlanta for the Orange Conference!

Here’s a listing of the remaining START Book Tour stops:

4/24    Brentwood, TN – Book Signing @ Cool Springs Barnes & Noble

4/25    Atlanta, GA – Speaking @ Orange Conference

4/25    Lawrenceville, GA – Book Signing @ Lawrenceville Books-A-Million

4/26    Tampa, FL – Book Signing @ Brandon Books-A-Million

4/27    Phoenix, AZ – Speaking @ Central Christian Church

4/28    Phoeniz, AZ – Speaking @ Central Christian Church

4/29    San Antonio, TX – Book Signing @ Books-A-Million

4/30    Austin, TX – Book Signing @ Barnes & Noble

4/30    Austin, TX – START Night *SOLD OUT*

5/1      Dallas, TX – Lab @ Catalyst Dallas

5/1      Dallas, TX – Book Signing @ Northwest Hwy Barnes & Noble

5/2      Dallas, TX – Main Stage @ Catalyst Dallas

5/3      Houston, TX – Book Signing @ Mardel’s

5/5      Albany, GA – Speaking @ Sherwood Baptist

5/6      Los Angeles, CA – Book Signing @ Santa Monica Barnes & Noble

You can get all the full details, times and addresses on the Speaking Events page here.

We’ve also got lots of fun stuff in the works, including a Google+ Hangout chat, some book scavenger hunts, opportunities to win a phone call from Jon and more! You never know what we’ve got up our sleeve!

We’re looking forward to seeing you on the road!