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The Faith Dare by Debbie Alsdorf
Reviewed by Melissa Lockcuff
"...a potentially life-changing book."
Many books come and go, but
then there are those books that infinitely leave an imprint on your heart.
The Faith Dare is one of those books, for
me personally, that has left an imprint on my heart, and continues to do
so as I use it for a daily devotional. Written by Debbie Alsdorf, it is
30 Days to Live Your Life to the Fullest. Designed to take the reader through
30 days of faith-building readings, Scriptures, and challenges, it’s
aimed towards strengthening our faith and helping us to live the life we
were meant to live.
The book is very eye-opening, and for me personally, helped me to feel
that I
was not alone in some of the thoughts that I’ve had, some of the things
that I’ve done, etc. The first two chapters were especially significant,
as they not only introduce the main part of the book, but they describe faith,
give examples of faith, give examples of real-life struggles, and help the reader
to realize that faith is an integral part of the successful Christian walk. The
author definitely supports everything that she writes with Scripture; there are
Scripture verses on almost every page in these first two chapters and then within
each daily reading/dare.
After the initial portion of the book, it is divided up by day into different
faith dares. There are three different sections, including Live Up! In Relationship
to God, Live In! Surrender of Self, and Live Out! In Relationship to Others.
She really covers the basics of faith in our personal lives, as well as faith
in action. Each day that you complete has a Praise/Prayer, a Truth, a Dare, a
Journal section where you can write your thoughts, a Prayer for the day, and
a reaffirming belief. Some of the dares make you look inside your own heart,
some focus more on God and His attributes, and others place your focus on other
people (hence, faith in action).
Even though this book is meant to be gone through in 30 days, sometimes life
can be so busy, and if you truly wanted to take more time with it and live it
out, I feel that taking one chapter a week would be a wonderful way to do so.
It would definitely not feel quite as rushed. This book would even be a wonderful
resource for small groups, Bible studies, or women’s groups. If you had
someone who could be a sort of accountability partner, it could be an even more
positive experience. You could help each other along, encourage each other, and
ultimately, share ideas and thoughts, thus gaining different perspectives on
the material.
I definitely recommend The Faith Dare, as I feel it is a potentially life-changing
book.
