"40 Days in the Man Cave" (Todd Stahl)

TITLE: 40 Days in the Man Cave: Men's Devotional
AUTHOR: Todd Stahl
PUBLISHER: Winnipeg, MB: Word Alive Press, 2015, (96 pages).

Too busy? Spaced Out? No time for any leisure? Wanting to find a place to chill out but can't? If you belong to that category of men who are constantly on the run but unable to find a place to rest, this book may very well be a safety float for people drowning in an ocean of responsibilities and anxieties. Using the popular 40-days method to inculcate focus and intentional doing of the same discipline, Todd Stahl has written this devotional for men to experience what Jesus had experienced during his quiet time with God. For Jesus, time with God means time alone in a quiet secluded place away from people. For Stahl, it is a metaphorical mancave where one can squirrel away from the world into a place to refresh, to recharge, and to be renewed from the inside out. It is not just an escape from the world. It is a retreat in order to have a more meaningful and purposeful work out there. With forty brief devotions based on a biblical verse, Stahl helps readers to refocus their minds on God's Word. He shares simple examples on the day to day problems in this world and how we need to learn to exchange doubt with faith, uncertainty with assurance, irritation with patience, enslavement with the past to liberation for the future.

There is encouragement in the pages of this book geared particularly to men in positions of leadership. Stepping back to a mancave is not some cowardly act, but a sensible breather in order to catch a fresh perspective of the whole situation. With God's Word as a guide, the encouragement is always God-centered but human-sensitive. Toward the end of each chapter, there are a few biblical verses for further reflection. It is tempting for one to simply skip this, which is why I suspect the main devotional is intentionally kept brief. A devotional should not be too lengthy or theologically heavy. It needs to be simple and to inspire one to pray and to seek God more. At the end of the 40 days, it is hoped that the reader would have cultivated a regular time-out and to be more independently assured to do his own devotion, hopefully with regular reading of the Bible.

Rating: 4 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book is provided to me courtesy of Word Alive Press and Graf-Martin Communications in exchange for an honest review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.