Kathy Koch writes another thought provoking book about our relationship with God. Reading her thoughts and creating a more focused look at my God given purpose has been beneficial in helping my teenager find their purpose, too. This is a great companion to 8 Great Smarts and Screens and Teens. Great resource from teens through adults, no matter where you are in your walk with God.

I have read other books by Kathy Koch and I can relate and use everything I have read from her. Five to Thrive - are you thriving in life or just surviving? I am looking forward to sharing this book with my son to help him understand why he chooses certain reactions. Wish I had this years ago but I’m blessed that I was able to read an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. I can definitely apply what I’ve learned. If you are looking to make positive changes in your life this is a good read for you especially as we are given a chance to reset your life right now.

By becoming more aware of beliefs that cause the unhealthy ones, the pursuit to be like Jesus is a lifelong journey.

We have 5 core needs that if not being met, we will not thrive but loose hope. We are not created whole and because of what we believe determines how we live and respond, we need to identify those needs in light of God's word and purpose. Those needs are meant for us to turn to him and to love others well. The 5 core needs are foundational so when the first one is not meant, usually you will have a breakdown on the next 4.

Security asks the question who can I trust? This question is meant to lead us to God and his word.
Identity asks the question who am I? We try to find this answer in culture and others and when the answer is who God says I am.
Purpose asks the question why am I alive? The answer to this question is how we live. Do we live our lives with God as the center?
Competence asks the question what do I do well? Many times we fail as we try to live our lives in our own strength and wisdom.

The book answers how we wrongly live when these 5 core needs are not being met and when our core needs are centered on God. For example on security. How do we view God's sovereignty? Do we long to know God and the plan of redemption. Do we try to please many or one. The text is filled with self-examination and scripture to help you mine these truths to thrive in your faith. It takes resolve to take these steps however, it is well worth it in knowing the Lord and how he meets those needs.

A Special Thank you to Moody Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review

Kathy Koch is a brilliant, wise sage. This was my introduction go her work, but I Sill now devour everything she puts out into the world.

There is something g in this book for everyone! Every story is practical. E dry scripture reference is relevant.

Our basic needs, met or unmet, drive behavior, Kathy shows us how to address our behavior and change our u deflating thought patterns. This is a practical guide to
One that you will want to refer to over and over again.

This book is well written in an easy to read style that will draw anyone in,

Every person should read this book this shear. Every counselor, pastor and coach should point their people here to this book. Buy this book, read it and read it again,

This book gets my highest recommmendation!

I received a copy of the book from the publisher Via NetGalley for the purpose of reviewing it. The opinions I have expressed are my own honest review.

Kathy Koch is a brilliant person-- and she is SO gifted in sharing what she knows in a reachable way that all can understand and learn- and she is a natural motivator and cheerleader as she writes- she graciously thanks you for reading-- she engages you with questions as you read, and then stops you as the concepts change with an assignment-- and these are challenging but with her input so achievable.

As I found in her 8 Great Smarts and Start with the Heart books- you can hear in her writing that her faith and her personal relationship with God continues to be active and growing, and the richness of scripture she shares as it applies to what she knows as an educator and psychologist is such a fresh and insightful way to apply research! As well as her consistent perspective that we are His workmanship.

She encourages all of us to see our gifting and to see who we are through God's lens. This book surprised me as my knowledge of the core needs has always been rather dry and limited- knowing that if we don't have security or identity- we can't belong- and that all three lead us to competence and purpose... But the concept that only God can really meet these needs and He desires to make us whole! This is truth- I knew it when we fostered a child and worked first on his security, identity and belonging- and as we did- he calmed and trusted us- but that we were really helping him realize humans are broken and can't always meet his needs we will fail. But God can!!

Read this book- you won't be disappointed. The core needs are something that helps us realize who we are and Dr. Kathy helps us see and plan to IMPROVE and grow- and her suggestions are the clearest and simplest- and set to support the reader in making a real change for the positive.

The physical book is worth owning-- it's the perfect size to throw in a bag and it just feels good!! Also it's written in contrasting colors- with charts and boxes- and plans to accomplish identifying your core needs and ways to grow. I suppose the kindle will look as good- but if you waver at all- get the book!! Moody is thoughtful about making it worth owning!

Blessed- to launch this my fourth book of Dr. Kathy's and to have read and used 5 or more of her books in my personal and professional life. Thank you Moody Books and Netgalley for the opportunity.

I love Kathy Koch and her books- but this one wasn't my favourite. She focuses on our core needs and how to know if they're being met. I loved the core needs she highlighted, but felt that the book was quite repetitive and over-simplified. I am sure this book would appeal to some - but it wasn't my favourite!

The popular cliche says: "Don't just try to survive, thrive!" It is a nice way to inspire one to grow beyond the status quo. Yet, there is also a sense that such motivational phrases might have become too common, or overused. Strangely, many people still pay lots of money to go to motivational seminars and lavish conferences to get a new kick at life. The trouble is, once the initial hype is over, everything goes back to square one. What happens next? Another motivational project? If only there is a proven way not only to get a motivational impetus, but to make it sustainable. This book acts on that principle, not just driven by our human determination, but linked intricately to divine dependence. At the same time, there is sufficient qualitative and quantitative data to support the way to thrive. Thanks to Kathy Koch, we have one helpful avenue to improve our lives. The way to do that is to determine our core skills in our journey to being whole persons, fully in tune with who we are and what we are created to be. We cannot be less than who we are. The moment we are able to be the best of ourselves, that is where thriving begins. Author Kathy Koch lists five things that can make us whole. She calls these the "five core needs."

Security: Who Can I Trust?
Identity: Who am I?
Belonging: Who wants me?
Purpose: Why an I Alive?
Competence: What do I Do Well?
These needs have been ordered for a reason. Generally, there is an inner-to-outer movement. For instance, before one can be effective externally, one needs to be in tune with oneself internally. Another key truth is that before we can help others, we ourselves need to be helped first. Using her early dance classes as an example, she shares about her sequence of needs being met as she moves from fear to faith and from faith to fruitfulness. Security is the base of all the core needs. Our search for fulfilment and recognition of our calling needs to go through these five core needs. More importantly, Koch tells us that our search for fulfillment of our core needs must never exclude God. For only God can truly and completely fill us. In each of these five core needs, Koch shows us two angles before giving us a path forward. Negatively, we need to beware of trying to fulfill our needs through things temporal. Positively, we can benefit from role models and various grace we have received from people, such as our parents or benefactors. As the foundation of Koch's five-core-needs model is security, it is important to not to skip this particular chapter.

My Thoughts
I think of three questions as I read this book. How scientifically proven are the five factors? Are the Scriptures used an after-thought addition to a personal technique? How different is this from other self-help books?

First, how scientifically proven is this book? Given that Koch holds a PhD in educational psychology, as far as the credibility of the author is concerned, readers should feel a sense of ease to know that the author is someone who has spent considerable time working through and proving that the theories are sound. The other factor is that this work combines the experiences and knowledge gained through her ministry of "Celebrate Kids, Inc." Koch has given this messages in many countries, in churches, schools, and other organizations. However, if we are looking for numbers, factual evidence, and statistics, we will not find them here. This work is thus more qualitatively oriented.

Second, how are the Scriptures used here? Every chapter begins with a passage from the Bible as an anchor. There is not much biblical exposition here, probably because this book is not a Bible commentary in the first place. It is more application with the Bible in mind. The key to linking Scripture with the five thriving core needs is to see first that everything begins with God. Our first security, our core identity, our belonging, our purpose, our competence, are all linked with God. Without God, there is no path forward. We are no different than any other secular organizations. I think the biggest pointer to God is that without His Word and His anchor, all of our plans will fall flat in a matter of time.

Third, how different is this book from other self-help books? I would say that chapter on the "Change Process" is quite special. Apart from just giving us a plan for establishing our core needs, Koch goes into not just the psychology but the theological view of the human being. It is not just mental or psychology at play here. We are also deeply spiritual beings. Transformation is never something that we can do on our own. We need divine help. Humans can only do so much. With God, there is no limit.

I like this book and warmly recommend it for anyone seeking to improve their lives and to establish a deeper dependence on God. It must begin with a willingness to let go of our own stubborn old ways and to let God change us from the inside out.

Dr Kathy Koch is the founder and president of Celebrate Kids, Inc., based in in Fort Worth, Texas, and a co-founder of Ignite the Family, base in Alpharetta, Georgia. She earned a PhD in reading and educational psychology from Purdue University.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Moody Publishers and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

A great book about the core needs we have as people and how to fill them through Christ. This book would be a great help to anyone who counsels others, is a parent or is a Stephen Minister, as I am.

I love Five To Thrive! The author has an amazing style and writes in a way that anyone can apply her concepts to life. This book teaches that the "five to thrive" concepts are as follows: security, identity, belonging, purpose, and competence. Along with each of these concepts, the author includes practical suggestions and Biblical advice.

This book teaches that the "five to thrive" concepts are as follows: security, identity, belonging, purpose, and competence. Along with each of these concepts, the author includes practical suggestions and Biblical advice. I found this book to be a very helpful resource.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.