Thursday, January 3, 2013

Review of Eric Blehm's book "Fearless"


    I have read several books about Navy Seals and their exploits. Eric Blehm tells the story of Adam Brown from a more personal perspective than some of the other books. It is a testimony to Adam Brown and his family to want all of the good, the bad and the ugly of Adam's life revealed. This is not the story of a perfect Christian boy grown into a hero. It is a story of a man and his family overcoming what could have been tragic circumstances in his life.
    Adam earned his fearless reputation as a small boy daredevil. That reputation followed him through high school. He took a wrong turn after high school by getting involved with drugs and progressing to the hardest forms of crack cocaine. His family stuck by him and tried every intervention possible to no avail. Adam's father had him arrested and put into jail. After a jailhouse conversion to Christ, Adam went into a Christian rehabilitation program. He made it through but was not completely healed of his addiction. He met his future wife Kelley two months after graduating from rehab. Kelley stuck with him as he had several relapses. Finally, Adam escaped from his familiar drug hangouts and went to a friend in Texas. He convinced Kelley to marry him. The father of a childhood friend helped him get into the Navy Seal program in spite of his past record.
    Adam and Kelley endured many trials as Adam successfully completed his SEAL training and further exploits in the SEAL program. Adam overcame a debilitating eye injury in one accident and a hand injury in another. Adam's story is one of unbelievable bravery and perseverance in the line of duty. His is also the story of a devoted husband and father at home and a compassionate man in the field. Adam had his family at home collect shoes to give to Afghan children in the winter. Adam ultimately died a hero's death in Afghanistan. He was received back with a hero's welcome in his beloved state of Arkansas. Adam's family, friends, teammates and our nation were impacted positively by his actions in life and by the telling of his story after his death. Another sad fact is that many of the brave men interviewed for this book were later killed in action as well.
    This story is a compelling and inspiring account of bravery and a great testament to Adam's favorite scripture "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil 4:13, NKJV).
    Although the language is much less graphic than in "Lone Survivor" there is some profanity. The few occurrences of these could have been omitted without adversely affecting the quality of the story. I realize the culture of the military and the nature of high school kids, but this could have been left out.
    I received this book from Waterbrook Multnomah publishing in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion of the book. Rate my review at http://tinyurl.com/bzyct84
Fearless by Eric Blehm (Chapter 1 Excerpt)

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Adam: A Man of Hiding

Where was Adam when Eve was deceived? He was close enough to get a bite when the buffet was opened up. Adam was not there where he should have been. Notice Eve has a whole conversation with Satan with not a word from Adam. He was content to sit back and watch her. Perhaps, he was curious about Satan or the tree. Regardless of that, he left his God given position to Eve. He let her take the lead. He left her to deal with the devil then fell in with her as she succumbed to his wiles. Satan won the victory without a fight from Adam.
Notice the first words of Adam after the fall are of his fear. His second words are his blame of Eve and God for his situation. God said that Eve was given to Adam as his helper or helpmate. When a person has a helper, the person takes the lead and the helper follows the lead. Adam was there first. God gave him the responsibility of caring for the Garden not Eve. She was to be his helper.
If we are to be the men that God has surely called us to be, we have to do it different. We have to step up to the front. We cannot let our wives and children go unprotected. God gave us the responsibility to protect them, lead them and be the priests of our households. Let's start today by doing a few things right.
1. Get up a little earlier, pray for your wife and children. Every day before they leave your home. Start with at least 15 minutes.
2. Read your Bible. Start with at least 15 minutes again. If you are not in the habit of reading your Bible, start with the Gospel of John not Leviticus! Read one or two chapters, but read for understanding not as a "I read 10 chapters today" checklist. Read one chapter and remember the basics of what you read.
3. Make decisions for your family, where to eat, what to eat, not "I don't care." One note here guys, if you haven't been leading, you cannot start tomorrow with the George S. Patton routine. Pick a place to go, decide to go to church, pick a restaurant after church etc. Make it manageable. You do not have to dictate and not take others feelings into account, but you can suggest.
4. Make sure of your relationship with Christ. All of your relationships are related to this one. If you are not right with Christ, you are not right with anyone.
5. Accept the responsibility for the things gone wrong and then work to right them.

Come out of hiding. Be the man! God's Man!