Invaluable for all

Kirk Byron Jones has given some invaluable information for anyone living in the 21st century and challenged by all the 'divine opportunities' of family, church, school, and life in general. It is one that I intend to share with friends and family. In fact, I already have!

It is of particular value for persons seeking to find the peace and calm of the day, centered in their spirituality, rather than in the physical, which often destracts and frustates.

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For every Christian

I am not a theologian or pastor. I am an ordinary Christian, housewife and homeschooling mom. But I read a lot to help me live closer to Jesus. This is by far the best and most helpful book I've read in years. Dr. Jones has many helpful examples and life applications for slowing down and living a more deliberate life. If you've bought or read The Purpose Driven Life, you need this book to be the other side, the balance to your purpose. I fully intend to read it again, to savor it with slowness and apply it more deeply to my daily living.

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Jim Royston Reviews

The hectic pace of life in the twenty-first century creates a fertile garden for this empowering book. Pastor and professor Kirk Byron Jones confronts his audience with the cultural expectation for speed and hurry in our lifestyles. Jones explores issues from technology and the explosive amount of information it brings, to our hidden fears as reasons for our addiction to hurry. The questions raised for our addiction to hurry are very revealing.

The first half of the book explores various factors that create an addiction to hurry including running away from God, running away from our fears, and running away from ourselves.

In the second half of the book, Jones introduces a method he calls "Living life at a savoring pace." The discussions around The Savoring Pace Alternative focus on "seeing more clearly," "listening more carefully" and "thinking more deeply." Jones gives us a wonderful road map for the discipline to manage life at a savoring pace.
Jones combines a scholarly mind with a profound imagery of language to challenge his readers to "relish" rather than "rush" through life. The use of poetry, scripture, famous quotes and anecdotal experiences from the author's personal pilgrimage make this work jump off the page and into the reader's frenzied lifestyle. One gets the impression that Jones has lived every one of his illustrations to the fullest.

This book is a provocative and challenging exploration of our compulsion to hurry. The author prepares us with his profound insight and equips us with chapter-by-chapter learning exercises. Learning exercises at the end of each chapter are important to fully comprehend the value of the author's presentation.
Jones uses a quote from an unknown author to illustrate one of his savoring pace alternatives, the art of listening more clearly. "The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow, but the rainbow won't wait while you do the work."

Anyone who needs to take a long, deep breath during his or her busy day will benefit from this easy but life-changing manuscript. Published by Judson Press, the manuscript is one hundred twenty pages in length.

This review was completed by Dr. Jim Royston, Executive Director/Treasurer of the Baptist State Convention of NC.

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