In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day

The timing couldn’t have been better for us.  As I read this book it constantly seemed like this book was written just for me.  I think that’s just because God’s timing is always perfect.  God placed this book in my hands at just the right time, and he used just the right person to communicate truth to me just the way I needed to hear it.

Actually, I believe this book was written for you too!  Everyone could benefit from reading this book.  If you are bored with life, then read this book.  If you have a dream and need some inspiration and encouragement to pursue it, then read this book.  If your life is filled with problems and uncertainty, then read this book.  If you are ready to use your God-given potential to something big or crazy, then read this book!

If you read this book Mark will challenge you to:

• defy odds
• face fears
• reframe problems
• embrace uncertainty
• take risks
• seize opportunities
• look foolish
• pray the unthinkable
• attempt the impossible

The book is PACKED with truth, encouragement, inspiration, and wisdom.  Here are some of my favorite highlights from this book:

• “God is in the business of strategically positioning us in the right place at the right time. But the right place often seems like the wrong place, and the right time often seems like the wrong time.”
• “[God] is always using past experiences to prepare us for future opportunities.”
• “Success is doing the best you can with what you have where you are.”
• “I’m absolutely convinced that our greatest regrets in life will be missed opportunities.”
• “Lion chasers know God is bigger and more powerful than any problem they face in this world.  They thrive in the toughest circumstances because they know that impossible odds set the stage for amazing miracles.  That is how God reveals his glory–and how He blesses you in ways you never could have imagined.”
• “God loves impossible odds.”
• “How you think about God will determine who you become.”
• “The greatest breakthroughs in your life will happen when you push through the fear.  The defining moments will double as the scariest decisions.  But you’ve got to face those fears and begin the process of unlearning them.”
• “The only God-ordained fear is the fear of God.  And if we fear God, then we don’t have to fear anyone or anything else.  Unlearning our fears is really a process of learning to trust God more and more.”
• “Jesus never ran away from anyone or anything.”
• “The alternative to fear is boredom.  If you’re bored, one thing is for sure: You’re not following in the footsteps of Christ.  At some point in your life you have to make a choice between fear and boredom.  Lion chasers choose fear.”
• “Opportunities often look like insurmountable obstacles.”
• “It’s our past problems that prepare us for future opportunities.”
• “Maybe our problem isn’t our circumstances.  Maybe our problem is our perspective.”
• “Maybe prayer is less about changing our circumstances than it is changing our perspective.  Maybe we need to quit praying safe prayers.”
• “The circumstances you complain about become chains that imprison you.  And worship is the way out.  Worship reframes our problems and refocuses our lives.  It helps us get through the bad days by reminding us how good God is.”
• “If you don’t turn your adversity into a ministry, then your pain remains your pain.  But if you allow God to translate your adversity into a ministry, then your pain becomes someone else’s gain.”
• “The more problems you have, the more potential you have to help people.”
• “One of the most paralyzing mistakes we make is thinking that our problems somehow disqualify us from being used by God.”
• “Trials have a way of helping us rediscover our purpose in life.”
• “Lion chasers are more afraid of lifelong regrets than temporary uncertainty….You have to do something counterintuitive if you want to reach your God-given potential and fulfill you God-given destiny.  Sometimes you have to run away from security and chase uncertainty.”
• “Faith embraces uncertainty.”
• “Some of the best things in life are totally unplanned and unscripted.”
• “God uses risk-takers….The more you’re willing to risk, the more God can use you.  And if you’re willing to risk everything, then there is nothing God can’t do in you and through you.”
• “Most God-ordained dreams die because we aren’t willing to do something that seems illogical.”
• “God is in the business of making sure we cross paths with the right people at the right time.”
• “If you wait for perfect conditions to seize an opportunity, you’ll be waiting till the day you die.”
• “What really matters is what we do with what we know.”
• “If you aren’t willing to look foolish, you’re foolish.”
• “Normality is overrated.”
• “I’d rather be disliked for who I am thank liked for who I’m not.”