This week we’re reviewing, discussing, and giving away a copy of the new book This Ordinary Adventure: Settling Down Without Settling by Christine and Adam Jeske. Keep reading to learn how you can win a copy.
Christine and Adam Jeske spent the first 11 years of their marriage living extraordinary adventures serving God and others in Nicaragua, China and South Africa. Upon returning to the U.S. they feared getting ground up in the gears of the dominant middle-class, American life style. This Ordinary Adventure interweaves stories of their adventures around the globe with stories of their struggle to find meaning and adventure in Wisconsin.
Personal Thoughts
I’m asked to review more books than I can possibly read every year, but when came across Adam’s blog and saw the description of This Ordinary Adventure, the topic so resonated with me that I requested a copy.
While not to the degree of Christine and Adam, I’ve had moments here and there where I lived on the edge by faith – driving around the state of Florida leading youth ministry events, a week building a church in Costa Rica, quitting my safe job to start company that helps churches and Christian ministries with their websites, serving in an orphanage in Kenya. But recently I feel less like a world-changer and more like “the establishment” – a married father of 3, leading a 15 year old company, serving as a church elder. Often I feel far more like I’m meeting obligations than living adventures.
I was hoping This Ordinary Adventure would tell me how to resolve the tension between my desire to live amazing days in a culture that values routine, efficiency, caution and more stuff. I was hoping Christine and Adam would provide me with some radical solutions I had never thought of before. Maybe they had joined an urban commune or moved into college dorm as residence hall directors or found jobs they could do remotely with satellite Internet connections as they spent 9 months of the year living in remote villages around the globe.
But no.
This Ordinary Adventure doesn’t resolve the tension. Instead it looks at it from different angles, pokes at it, embraces it, and wrestles with it. It shows where God is present in the ordinary (or what we perceive as ordinary).
Christine and Adam remind us that no matter where you live or what your circumstances, there are opportunities for meaningful adventures and amazing days if we have the right attitude, an ear toward God, a little creativity and some courage.
They don’t claim to have all the answers, but they share their challenges and the insight gain from them in the book and invite us to join on The Ordinary Adventure blog as they continue to wrestle with these issues.
Win a Copy of This Ordinary Adventure
I’m giving away a copy of This Ordinary Adventure to one lucky winner. To be eligible, here’s what you have to do.
- Do something amazing (fun, weird, faith-filled, good…) It doesn’t matter how big or small it is. (BTW, here’s what happened when Adam asked his friends to do something amazing)
- Tweet or share this post on Facebook
- Post a comment here telling us about the amazing thing you did. If you did something recently and want to share that instead, that’s cool too. (Please also mention the Twitter or FB username you used to share the post in the comment).
I’ll select one winner around 4 PM ET Friday, Oct. 5.
But don’t wait to see if you can get a free copy. Buy This Ordinary Adventure now. If you do and you win the giveaway copy, you’ll either have an extra copy to give away to a friend or I’ll reimburse you for your purchase.
Alrighty friends, thanks for all the retweets and shares so far, but it’s awfully quiet here in the comments.
If you’re looking for some ideas and encouragement to live an Amazing Day, check out today’s post about Adam and Christine’s 31 Amazing Days Challenge:
http://www.liveintentionally.org/2012/10/04/take-the-31-amazing-days-challenge/
On Sunday I helped in our small church nursery, in which there were only two babies/toddlers in the latter half of the service. It was warm and stuffy inside, and we were cramped in a small room. It was the baby’s first time in nursery and she was not super-happy. Knowing it was a gorgeous day outside, I suggested to the other nursery helper that we take the two kids outside for some fresh air. It was amazing how happy both children were as soon as they got outside. We enjoyed the last part of the service spotting birds and cars, touching grass and leaves, and feeling the breeze on our faces. I think it blessed all 4 of us! (FB: Lisa Blyth Gertz)
Hey Lisa, thanks for sharing your Amazing story. 🙂 Way to go turning what might have felt like a burdensome situation into a fun little adventure for kids and adults alike!
I quit my job at World Vision to go travel the world with my husband and two teenagers. It was a leap of faith to leave a job and an organization that I loved. But the window was closing to do this adventure, and it was a lifelong dream for us. So we cut our ties, rented or house, loaned our dog to a friend, signed up to homeschool and threw on the backpacks. We are one month into our adventure and have no regrets. Tomorrow we are headed to the Auschwitz concentration camp outside of Krakow. No better classroom for the kids. And the time with each other can’t possibly be beat even by the best job in the world. Life is short – live it. Follow our blog: loribrownworld.wordpress.com. Twitter: @loriacbrown
Wow, Lori! That is quite an adventure! Way to go!
Hey Lisa and Lori, thanks for sharing your Amazing experiences with us. Instead of giving away just one copy of the book, I’m going to make sure you each get a copy.
Congrats!
I’ll contact you privately to get your addresses.
Have a Amazing Day everyone!
We were stuck in the middle of the middle-class. We went from adventure being ordinary in our life to needing to find adventure in our ordinary lives, as ordinary people in an ordinary place.
Hi Sugel, thanks for the comment. I’m not sure I follow. Can you explain in a little more detail and share what you’re doing to live the kind of life you want to live?