Making It Real: Whose Faith Is It Anyway?

From a Youth Pastor's perspective, this book hits at the heart of everything that I should be striving to teach my students. Chapter one addresses the fact that my faith in Christ must be based on more than just my feelings. It sounds like a simple concept, but communicating that to teenagers can be difficult. T. Suzanne Eller does a fantastic job of helping students discover who God created them to be and what they believe! This book receives my highest recommendation!

Marcia is heart broken over her best friend. They used to be so close, praying for each other, encouraging each other, prodding each other. Now her friend won't even talk to her. She has decided she doesn't want to be a Christian anymore. What should Marcia do? Another name for "Making It Real" could be "Where the Rubber Meets the Road for Young Adults". In easy, conversational tone it tells the true stories of teens struggling to stay close to God amidst the temptations and distractions of their world. It doesn't patronize or talk down to them in a prudish way, but meets the level of sophistication young adults now have. Like Matthew, who envies his friend Kris. Kris' dad is a youth pastor, while Matthew's dad has just gotten out of prison. His efforts to share God with his father are shot down with anger, and now Matthew's begun to resent Kris for what he has. Can God take away his jealousy? Talk about problems. King David was trapped in a web of lies and lust, and he knew what he was doing was wrong. Even though he got the girl in the end, can he ever get right with God again? This is how seamlessly Eller weaves the Bible into the real life stories throughout the book. Suddenly, these guys in the Bible are just like us, dealing with the same timeless issues teens face daily. Each chapter begins with a quote from a random teen, like a blog entry or a poem: "I found a kitten and it was cold and dying. I warmed it up and it survived. Last night I was laying on my bed with the little lucky kitten on my chest. I thought that what happened to the kitten is what happened to us. Jesus picked us up out of the coldness of sin and warmed us up to God's love." At the end of each chapter are several "devos", applications which make the topic relevant to the realities of day to day life. There are "heart check" blurbs in little grey boxes throughout, which are clear and concise, almost proverb-like: "Don't be afraid to ask questions about God and your faith." At the end of the book is a journal space to write thoughts about each section. Many of the situations occur in a youth group setting. Like Erin, who's making her first visit home since going away to college. She visits her youth group and is faced with a video of her when she was on fire for God. She is horrified at how far she has strayed in such a short time without any fellowship. But now she knows she must find some at school. It's wonderful to have such common pitfalls explained to teens in a practical how-to way so they can avoid them. Issues like fear of public speaking, self esteem, sin, parents, missions trips, peer pressure, and living through unexplained tragedies are explored. Tate is a track star. But after being hit by a drunk driver, he may never run again. "When he let go, he took the hand of God and talked to him about his confusion ... He thought he trusted God before, but it was easy because things were going his way." Not as in-your-face as a Lookadoo book, M

T. Suzanne Eller's Making it Real: Whose Faith is it Anyway is a great study for teens as they wrestle with who God is to them, how He works in their lives, and how they can change the world for His glory. In an upbeat, conversational and always non-judgmental tone, Suzie incorporates true-to-life stories that will inspire young men and women to trust God in the most difficult circumstances, get to know Him more deeply, and seek His purpose for each stage of life. Making it Real is set up like a Bible study, with thought provoking 5-Day sections of questions, prayers, and blank space for recording thoughts at the end of each chapter. This is a wonderful book for either individual or group Bible study, or for one-on-one mentoring. I haven't been a teen for . . . I won't even say how many years and I related to many of the issues that came up in this book. Highly recommended!

This book is great! Suzanne did a really good job on touching on some of the issues that Christians face in their faith life. Recomended read to anyone who is struggling with their faith, or anyone who just needs a "booster shot" of faith!

Suzanne is one of my favorite authors and I believe this book is a must read for kids, teens, and those who know or have ever known one! All ages will benefit from the devotionals within "Making It Real: Whose Faith Is It Anyway?".