Second Chance, Second Act: Turning Your Messes into Successes

"A runner can never expect to win a race while looking back at ground he has already covered," writes Robert Jeffress. Turning your messes into successes is the premise of Second Chance, Second Act. Everyone makes mistakes. We all experience slip-ups, mess-ups, blow-ups, missed opportunities, and forfeited chances. Poor choices can look like moral failure, such as divorce, abortion, bankruptcy, difficult relationships, or ruined health. Welcome to life. While some people accept failures as a normal part of life, others become stuck in a mire of regret. This book is for those who desire to move forward but are confused about how to go about it. "Remember, failure is not an event but a judgment about an event," Jeffress says. "Unfortunately, we often make the wrong judgments about our failures, which causes us to wallow in them rather than learn from them." On a fast track to success, middle-aged Moses messed up when he killed an Egyptian (Exodus 2:11-15). Life as he knew it was over and he fled into the wilderness. After years of what Jeffress terms an intermission in Moses' life, Moses returned to Egypt to lead his nation to freedom (Exodus 4:18-31). In a little over 100 pages, Jeffress encourages readers to confess the mess to the Divine Director of our life, receive forgiveness from the Lord, learn from mistakes, enjoy the intermission that often follows, and set a plan of specific action steps. Chapter seven, "Begin Your Second Act Now," is worth the price of the book. Throughout the pages are short insights that provide hope and encouragement. The eight-week guide for discussion and study included in the back of the book make this a life-changing Bible study to do with a partner or group. Second Chance, Second Act is for victims who want to become victorious. The pastor of the 9,500 member First Baptist Church of Wichita Falls, Texas, Jeffress has written over a dozen books. One previous title, When Forgiveness Doesn't Make Sense, is a helpful volume that I've quoted in my own books. - PeggySue Wells, Christian Book Previews.com

(Includes 8-week guide for discussion and study) A blow-up, mess-up or slip-up in your life may attract you to this title as it did me. Jeffress uses an easy-to-follow "Life is a Performance" theme to share his belief that as long as you are still breathing, you have TIME to recover from your failure. The author shares insights of hope through personal experiences, well-known events, secular and biblical, and numerous quotes from well-respected people and scripture to show the reader mistakes are inevitable, but forgivable, no matter their nature or degree. The book's format is user-friendly for reviewing 8 questions for each of the 8 chapters for personal reflection and midcourse correction. The author suggests 4 truths about God's role in our failures and offers God's 5 principles as steppingstones to success in a non-preachy way. For example, chapter 6 states that Intermissions are simply commas, no periods, in our life story--and shows it varied from 7 weeks for Peter, 3 years for Paul, and 70 years for the Israelites. The acrostic for MISTAKES may help you learn from yours, and the prayer on page 71 may grand you peace. I gleaned many nuggets that were worth the price of this book, including one on page 87: Go to one or two of your closest friends and say, "I respect your wisdom and know that you care about me. If you ever see me about to make a big mistake in any area of my life--career, family finances, or my relationship with God--I hope you'll tell me ahead of time." I wonder what nuggets YOU will find in this great book? Perhaps the author's single-most liberating truth? Armchair Interviews says: HIGHLY recommended!