Title Tuesday: S.H.A.P.E

Welcome to  Title Tuesday, my favorite day of the week! This day is dedicated to book suggestions and reviews. I write this portion of my blog because I am a big believer in the motivational speaker Charlie Jones' quote which says, "You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” I try to meet as many new people as possible and to read everything I can. This is my way of sharing that information with you. If you are interested in understanding my rating system for books you can read my Book Review Explanation here and What I Believe here.

Today I want to share a book with you that legitimately changed my life. Erik Rees wrote the book S.H.A.P.E. Finding and Fulfilling Your Unique Purpose In Life in 2006. This was towards the end of the Purpose Driven Life phase of modern Christianity. While I disagree with many of the Purpose Driven Resources (The Message "translation" of the Bible being one of those things) this book is on an entirely different level. I have read and re-read this book seven times since I first read it in 2011. It is my #1 resource (after the Bible) for people that ask me how best to serve the kingdom of God. 

S.H.A.P.E. Finding and Fulfilling Your Unique Purpose In Life  is broken into three sections: Uncovering Your S.H.A.P.E., Unlocking Your Life, and Unleashing Your S.H.A.P.E. for Life. 
In the first section, Rees breaks down what you S.H.A.P. E. actually is: spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences. Each of those chapters have exercises so they the reader can determine their S.H.A.P.E. on their own. Some of these exercises are easy, others of them require some pretty serious and honest vulnerability. The rest of the book takes you through getting a mentor, reaching out to others, passing on what you have learned and making this a lifestyle, not a passing fad. 

Overall, I would give S.H.A.P.E. Finding and Fulfilling Your Unique Purpose In Life a solid A+. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that is struggling to figure out how to glorify God. I think every youth group should go through this book and the small group guide at least once a year. It could be very valuable tool for parents to help guide teens in deciding how to use their God given abilities in adulthood. I keep hoping that they will come out with a S.H.A.P.E. for teens or kids, but so far no luck. 

(Just so you know, the links are part of the Amazon affiliate program,
if you purchase any of these things from my links I will receive a small commission off of your purchase.)