Firstly a huge thanks to WaterBrook & Multnomah for my complimentary copy and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

I suffer from a hurried life (is that even a thing!?) I am that babe that will change the queue faster than I can spell Tyrannosaurus and I probably have not been noticing the blooming Jacaranda trees or roses. If I am being honest I am always in a hurry and even my prayer life is hurried sometimes because I just have to do 1000 things leaving me stressed out, burnout , skin breaking out and unhappy . John Mark Comer in the wisdom of a father tackled why rest is key , intentionality with whatever we are tackling and why the Sabbath is important. In the book you will find yourself nodding , sighing, critiquing self and above all finding ways that can help you tackle rest. If you feel anxious, hurried, tired then this book is for you!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading/listening to this book. It was full of wise advice and thoughtfulness. Each time I opened it, I was left encouraged to continue certain practices I already have in place and emboldened to make a few further changes.
Lots of good quotes in here…but I picked this one to share:
“Hurry kills relationships. Love takes time; hurry doesn’t have it. It kills joy, gratitude, appreciation; people in a rush don’t have time to enter the goodness of the moment. It kills wisdom; wisdom is born in the quiet, the slow. Wisdom has its own pace. It makes you wait for it—wait for the inner voice to come to the surface of your tempestuous mind, but not until waters of thought settle and calm. Hurry kills all that we hold dear: spirituality, health, marriage, family, thoughtful work, creativity, generosity…name your value. Hurry is a sociopathic predator loose in our society.”

#goodreads #bookstagram #johnmarkcomer #theruthlesseliminationofhurry #netgalley

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry is an impactful and insightful book that keeps you engaged throughout the book. I truly loved this book, both in its simplicity and its message. I love how Comer breaks down the book with the problem, the solution, and practices for a slow, simple way of life as a disciple of Jesus. It's quite eye-opening with the statistics and facts of the busyness of our life and the harm it is doing. The humor is a nice balance and the suggestions/solutions are easy to understand and follow.

I have begun the "ruthless elimination of hurry" in my life and Sundays are becoming my true Sabbath.

I have already recommended this book to family and friends and plan on a small book study at my church.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of the book for my review.

#TheRuthlessEliminationOfHurry #NetGalley
#nohurry #nobusy

Despite saying "How To" in the subtitle, this is a not a book that will give you a formula. Rather, it will help open your eyes to the life that is happening to you and help you start to take control of the things in your life, instead of those things controlling you.

I actually really liked how often JMC said that he was not offering up a formula. He also regularly reiterates that what works for him might not work for others and that he knows that his life is not necessarily representative of the readers of his book. Another thing that he stated over and over again is how this approach to life is supposed to be full of grace and freeing, not legalistic. All of these things are crucial to be able to read this book and actually have it be beneficial to you.

I have "accidentally" employed a few of his suggestions in my life for years. I think it's due to a mixture of other influences in my life and my own personality. For example, when I first got social media, I was SUPER strict with it, so that I would not get addicted. Some business owners in my industry whom I've learned from recommended turning off notifications on all devices. I love living that way!!

But while I have done a lot of things well, there are definitely areas in which I can improve. Silence and stillness are big ones for me. I try to habit pair a lot and I reach for a book in every spare moment. I don't think those are problems in and of themselves, but since it means I don't leave space for just being, I am going to try and cut back a little bit.

These are just a few examples of the ways the ideas in this book have benefited my life. I could go much longer and deeper, but you get the idea. I highly, HIGHLY recommend this book.

What a great book. So many wonderful, much-needed reminders to slow down, breathe, and trust in Jesus. I definitely related to the part about driving and needing to get wherever I'm going as fast as I can. I think I'll take his advice and just slow down. The only part I did not like was a few of his more socialist-type views, but I got a lot out of it otherwise.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really appreciated John Mark Comer's wisdom here and his authentic vulnerability. You read this book not as someone who has it together giving you advice, but as someone you are going through the journey with.

I’ve heard many people talk about this book, and was interested to read it and see if it would gel with me. It definitely did. I found myself telling friends and family about different points the author made and found it particularly profound to consider living how Jesus lived, not just doing what Jesus said. It reshapes how we spend our time and therefore how we live our life. I’m not sure I’ll ever master this way of living but I’m happy to have read this book regardless. As the book got further in there were definitely things I think I will just never go all the way in on. Simplicity just isn’t for everyone 😆 I’m too much of a maximalist for it. I also found some of the tips (only check email once a week?!) literally impossible as a parent or a working mother. But a really inspiring read regardless.

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry is a wise invitation to a slower pace of life. It is about being intentional in developing a habit of rest and relaxation. It is a display of how full our lives can be if we live through the lens of "learning the unforced rhythms of grace."

Comer points to notable ideas by established authors and practices, like Marie Kondo's thoughts on minimalism, or The Shallows' author, Nicholas Carr and his research on what phones are doing to our brains. Comer also notes facts and history that point to how ridiculous our lifestyle is  -  from our phone addictions to how we're being brainwashed by capitalism and advertisement  -  all to show that slowing down, putting your phone away, driving the speed limit, or decluttering your house is entirely countercultural.

I feel lighter, happier, more at ease  after reading this -  not even fully in a religious sense but in a humane one. Just so much simplistic, yet beautiful wisdom in these pages.

A great read! My church based a Sunday morning study off this book and watched John Mark Comer's video study on RightNowMedia. It was so good that I decided to read the whole book as well and I'm so glad I did! I like JMC's writing style a lot, it feels very genuine. A very culturally relevant book and one that every twenty/thirty-something year old should read! Highly recommend!

Enjoyable, easy to read, yet so informative. John Mark Comer does his best to explain the peace of God that we can get from slowing down and stepping away from the rat race of societal pressures to truely experience the life that God intends for us. When we slow down and stay focused on God, rather than the next TV show, our relentless cell phone notifications, the next promotion, more money, etc, we can live lives that reflect the joy we experience through our Savior. Getting bogged down by life and it's burdens is not what we are intended for, rather to live lives that reflect Jesus when he says to bring your burdens to him and he will give you rest. Many of those burdens were not meant for us to carry and by letting them go, no only can we unburden ourselves, but also lead others in the way of simplicity in Jesus. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the message it conveys and plan to buy a copy for myself to reread on a regular basis. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I loved this book. I read a lot of books about minimalism, and I read a lot about living more like Jesus, and so I was a big fan of combining the two.

Let's just start with the writing style. John Mark Comer writes very similarly to how I talk/think, and so I am fully convinced that we would be instant friends if we were ever to meet in person. He is so sarcastic, and reading this book made him a real person. It was so relatable, but bigger than that, it was enjoyable, because it felt like having a conversation with a friend.

Moving on to the content. I loved how he frames the Christian life as being apprentices to Jesus, and then went on to pull out details of Jesus' life that so often get missed or overlooked as he convinces readers why we all need to slow down. He goes on to offer tips and guidelines for how to help achieve this elimination of hurry, but does so in a way that is so relatable and doesn't feel judgy or condescending at all. I also loved how much of a human he is. So often Christian pastors/authors can come across as next-level Christians who only ever talk or think about Jesus, but Comer talks openly about his struggles, his love for The West Wing, enjoying a glass of wine, and other completely normal human things.

Overall, while not everything in this book was something I could implement (my job literally requires me to keep my notifications on), I am thoroughly on board with eliminating some of the hurry in my life, and Sundays are now fully protected to be a Sabbath.

“The Hebrew word Shabbat means ‘to stop.’ But it can also be translated ‘to delight.’ It has this dual idea of stopping and also of joying in God and our lives in his world. The Sabbath is an entire day set aside to follow God’s example, to stop and delight.”

Some books change your life; some books change how you see life. ‘The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry,’ might have done both. Comer helps us reimagine our everyday life along the lines of perhaps the most overlooked of the ten commandments; “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

Turns out, there is a rhyme to the reason and Comer powerfully unveils how our cultural epidemic of hurry, is hurting us, and the world around us with truly massive ramifications.

John Mark Comer has a way of writing that just feeds the soul and this book was no exception; whether you prefer audiobooks, ebooks, or paperbacks, find a copy and read it. Reread it. Let this book transform your life and let your life transform the world. One sabbath, at a time.

I have really enjoyed working through this book! There was much that I am challenged by and have been given a lot to think about. I highly recommend this book for literally everyone. The epidemic of hurriedness doesn't discriminate against any particular group but ensnares all people in its life-sucking grip. At our church we've even begun incorporating this into our discipleship resources that we will walk with people through. HIGHLY recommend this read!

Easily one of the most impactful books I've read in quite awhile. I already know that I'll be re-reading this. I took a bit of a break from it, but I wish I hadn't. I wish I had just read it through and gotten the concepts down so that I could go back through them and apply them practically to my life. I just downloaded the workbook that goes along with it (johnmarkcomer.com/howtounhurry) and I'm excited to apply these concepts to my life. I need it. We all do.

I needed the message of this book. I often try to do more and not rest enough. I have been caught up in the busyness of life. What a needed message for us all in these times!

I appreciated this book's focused simplicity - we need not be so busy and the way of Jesus invites us into a better, healthier, and more human way of living. The book is practical and pointed - an invitation to change!

Do you want to find a way to deal with the struggle of Hurry?
Pastor and author John Mark Comer presents his book "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. How to Sty emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World" published by WaterBrook & Multnomah. The title of the book is based on a conversation John Ortberg had with Dallas Willard when Ortberg was in the danger of "getting sucked into the vortex of megachurch insanity (in: "Hurry: the great enemy of spiritual life"). The book starts with a prologue, two parts (The Problem / The Solution), an intermission, a third part which is the majority of the book (Four practices for unhurrying your life - Silence and solitude, Sabbath, Simplicity, and Slowing) and ends with an epilogue. Comer asks a simple question in regard to technology: "What is all this distraction, addiction, and pace of life doing to our souls?" (in: "A brief history of speed").
Comer included many practical tips for readers to work on the elimination of hurry. E.g., in the chapter on "Slowing" he takes some rules from driving and other areas of life in order to show readers how they can slow down. He writes: "Here are a few ideas to gamify driving into the spiritual discipline of slowing: 1) Drive the speed limit, Get into the slow lane, 3) Come to a full stop at stop signs, 4) Don't text and drive, 5) Show up ten minutes early for an appointment, sans phone, 7) Turn your smartphone into a dumbphone, 10) Keep your phone off until after your morning quiet time, or 15) Walk slower".
This was the second book by Comer which I read (after "God has a name") and I really appreciate it. The book is personal and based on Comer's research. He also quotes from other personalities (e.g., Corrie ten Boom, Ronald Rolheiser, John Ortberg, Eugene Peterson). The book also offers notes for reference and further study at its end. Comer offers exercises for readers who want to applied the learned to their lives through a workbook and videos that are available through a link in the book. At the end of the Prologue he clearly states for whom the book is and I highly recommend it to these readers: "Above all, if your time has come and you’re ready to go on a counterintuitive and very countercultural journey to explore your soul in the reality of the kingdom… Then enjoy the read. This book isn’t long or hard to understand. But we have secrets to tell…"
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#TheRuthlessEliminationOfHurry #NetGalley

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer is a rich guide, filled with personality and humor. Instead of feeling like Comer is condemning me for not being there yet, it read as an encouragement, an invitation to join him in these practices, as Comer once was stretched and stressed and overwhelmed and has now found a welcome balance.

Whether influenced by my time of life or the pandemic, this book resonated with me. Comer offers recommendations for how to resist the culture's pull for more, for busyness. Through discussing four practices (silence and solitude; sabbath; simplicity; slowing), Comer offers a rich read that had me marking up the pages. Practical suggestions that challenge and convict me had me pausing and reflecting.

One intentional act I instituted recently was to give up showers as much as possible, replacing them with bathing. I draw a piping hot bath, disconnect from doom scrolling, temporarily withdraw from my family, and take a book or magazine with me. I have determined this is a valuable, worthy indulgence, meaningful for my mental health. With the summer ahead, I have intentionally orchestrated a light work schedule, so as to allow wide swaths of time that have not yet been earmarked. I see value in the opportunity to slow down, to be more present in the moment, to delight in time outdoors. While I didn't necessarily take those steps as a direct correlation to this book, this book helps provide support for the pause, for the quieting from the daily rush, for allowing me to acknowledge how this has been a taxing season and how such a practice, of living an unhurried life, can reap dividends. I highly recommend this book for those who are feeling like it's all too much and are seeking ways to be revived and restored.

(I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry is a must read! I loved this book and it’s simplicity but much needed message. It’s written in a way that draws you in, informs, and encourages you. If you have read other books on time management, phone usage, and the pace of life, you might have felt condemned and overwhelmed after you finished. I loved that John Mark Comer’s book leaves you feeling renewed in your love for Jesus and looking at the big picture of your life. I highly recommend this book!

Something with a foreword by John Ortberg catches my eye as I enjoyed his "If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat" (2001).

Part one: The problem
Part two: The solution
Intermission: Wait, what are the spiritual disciplines again?
Part three: Four practices for unhurrying your life
Epilogue: A quiet life

A short workbook with exercises to get you started on each of the four practices is available at johnmarkcomer.com/howtounhurry

The Notes at the end are fairly humorous.