Your Best Life: My Review

Your Best Life Begins Each Morning: Devotions to Start Every New Day of the Year by Joel Osteen

Click here to read the first chapter.

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
Ok, I have a confession to make. Joel Osteen gives me the creeps. Now, I've never watched him on television beyond a snippet or two on someone else's program. I'd never read anything he wrote, but he gave me the creeps. It is a prejudice, pure and simple. My thoughts about him are not based on reason fact but on first glimpses and emotion. Given that impression of him, my first thought when this book came across First Wildcard was to pass. I get few of their books about religion because they usually aren't writing about my religion, and it is just silly for me to criticise a book written by a Protestant for Protestants for being too Protestant. I almost chose not to get this book, but curiosity got the best of me, and since these review copies are sent at no cost to me, I hit the reply button. Now, I can say I've reviewed one book Osteen wrote. I say reviewed, because I didn't read every word.

The book is a daily devotional, one page per day for a year. The page starts with a Bible verse or two and then has an essay that is at least slightly related to the verse. The verses are drawn from all over the Bible and Osteen relates them to some positive thought for the day. There is nothing wrong with any of the essays at which I looked, my issue with the book and what I've heard of Osteen in general (and since I've heard little, and listened to him even less, I'm not sure it is the truth) is that this book is Christianity without the cross. It is all about God wants you to be happy, you can be happy if you want to be. In an essay about Joseph being sold into slavery in Egypt, Osteen says "Because Joseph kept the right attitude, God brought him out much better than he was before". That's pretty typical of the book.

This is an attractive devotional book but it seems as dedicated to the power of positive thinking as to God.

First Wildcard will tour this book December 10. Check back then to read the first chapter and to learn about Osteen.

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