I really, really enjoyed this book, even though it is pretty "out of the box". I really identified with a lot of it. I felt the same things with my youth ministry "failure" that Sean Feucht felt with his running for Congress failure. God, why did you call me to this to have me fail? I liked how vulnerable he was about all his emotions and fears. I liked how his church members were against his marriage. Sometimes well-meaning advice isn't the best. I liked everything about it! Here are some of my favorite quotes:
"My belief in the power of God manifested right there in the midst of people's desperate need." pg 16
"Music, however, has a way of bringing people together and crossing the divide. Those times in the village with my guitar broke down all our walls and misconceptions about one another. I know I came in with so many wrong perceptions and stigmas about the culture, the people, and the religion. But singing each day with my guitar and a crowd of Afghanis changed everything for me. The power of music was bringing us together. The power of music was bringing us together and God's presence showed up every single time." pg 35
"God was removing a spirit of performance and man-pleasing from me. He was inviting me into a realm of being known by Him, and killing the desire to be known by people." pg 41
"This was the scenario and the very question that we thought we would never face. Yet, it is also the very question every believer faces as we contemplate our personal loyalty to Jesus." pg 82
"Although it was painful to leave before the dream was fulfilled, we knew the seed God called us to sow would one day yield a harvest." pg 92
"The tone of his voice and the lightness of his eyes changed the entire atmosphere in that crazy situation that day. I looked over at Kate and said, 'My new life goal is be that happy and joyful when I am his age!' From that day forward, our relationship began to grow." pg 98
"It was not that I stopped believing in God, but it was His ability to heal and care for the things of my heart that I questioned." pg 109
"But I knew there was no one kinder, gentler, more humble, or more deserving of a miracle than my dad. He was the most blameless and meek human I had ever met. And God didn't heal him. I was very offended." pg 109
"I did not want easy answers to my questions, either. Instead, I needed lasting, deep understanding." pg 110
"I know that God is not afraid of, embarrassed by, or upset with our questions. In fact, He welcomes them. Truly the only way for us to live authentically before an authentic God is to 'work out our salvation with fear and trembling' (Philippians 2:12). King David always kept the conversation going, and it eventually led to a resolution - even if if wasn't the resolution he wanted." pg 111
"Those who have walked through extravagant loss understand that the last thing people need when walking through the dark night of the soul is answers. They just need friends." pg 113
"Just before we finished our conversation, Bill turned to me and said, 'If you want to have a peace that passes all understanding through this loss, you must lose your right to understand." pg 113
"Not only was it a profound experience for our family, but we felt that it was also pivotal to show the world that God can meet you at the end of your fear if you simply become obedient to His voice." pg 137
"All the while, my kids were unaware of the danger they were living in and actually never even asked. It was a massive lesson to me to becomes like a little child to inherit the kingdom God was bringing. My own kids were the greatest agents of healing, kindness, and joy to the refugees. They showed up with smiles, toys, candy, and the occasional jet-lagged meltdown as well. But they thrived in that environment and Kate and I went to sleep every night astonished at the light they carried with them into the war zone. It was a testimony of God's grace." pg 137
"I was praying and fasting to see if what God was doing inside of me was the beginning of another massive transition. Even thought things were going great with my family, our home, our prayer and mission organizations, and the music label, there was a new level or risk God was calling us to. I just had no idea what it was. I wanted to live on the edge again with God. I felt very safe in that season and being with the Saudi underground church reminded me of how I was called to live - with brazen faith." pg 146
"After traveling to over sixty nations around the world, however, and understanding the cultural, political, economic, and social paradigms of so many other places, I began to have a greater sense of patriotism." pg 147
"'You should let your wife make the final decision. She needs to know what you are stepping into. Whatever she says, goes.' That was the moment when I knew I could trust them." pg 151
"We had experienced a fair amount of resistance over the years, but I knew it was nowhere near what we would face in the political arena. It was an invitation into hardship and resistance. The level of warfare (seen and unseen) was tangible." pg 154
"Anytime I travel, I try to explain clearly that there is another 'California' inside of California that many people do not know about." pg 157
"Yet my advisers and consultants urged me never to 'punch low' and retaliate. That was the old school mob mentality of politics and I truly aspired to run a different kind of campaign. Even though it took everything inside of me not to lash back and defend myself, I remained silent. We kept pressing forward." pg 172
"The most painful resistance was not from the outside or from our own party, but it was from our friends. Many pulled away in silence and distance once I announced that I was running. I was naive to believe we could secure backing from many of our friends." pg 172
"The worst was when they would voice their support in private but then purposefully stay silent in public. There were, however, many surprising relationships along the journey that God brought our way. New face and new friends arrived from very diverse backgrounds who we may have never met if I hadn't chosen to run." pg 174
"I am not sure how a season can be one of the most relationally traumatic and encouraging at the same time. That season fit both of those descriptions." pg 174
"I fully expected God to break in and prove to the skeptics, cynics, and haters of the world that we were actually called to do this. In the process of us being vindicated, only God would get all the glory for the victory." pg 175
"I just felt utter failure, shame, and embarrassment. Not only that, but for the first time in a long time, I questioned my ability to hear God." pg 178
"My biggest battle, however, was with my understanding and faith in the promises of God over my life." pg 180
"One of my favorite Billy Graham quotes sums up our vision for Hold the Line: 'Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened." pg 186
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