ohiosarah's review against another edition
5.0
If you’re an adult reading this prepare to have your eyes opened – especially if you’ve become complacent in your life. To know that a 9 year old started his own charity and has gone on to much bigger things all in the name of serving the Lord makes me feel – well small. I’m going to make sure that my 10 year old reads this book as she always wanted to open up a ‘free’ grocery store, her idea is that “poor” people could shop like the rest of us without feeling embarrassed by not having money. Suffice to say my children want to make a difference and their heart is with the less fortunate in our community – where as mine has always laid in China and Africa.
I really liked the fact that Austin made sure that the teen reading this learns how to discover their spiritual gifts and he wasn’t shy about what is a spiritual gift. Recommending the child first go to their parent (assuming that the child’s parent(s) are Christians) and then to others like the Pastor and other trusted adult friends and/or family. The only thing I found myself disagreeing with was his take on bullying – bullies are bullies and while some victims may be those who do service acts – not all are. I was bullied in middle school (I did do candy striping) but as it continued into high school and I was no longer volunteering time and around a new set of peers it had nothing to do with my service. Bullying is a complex problem and can’t be discussed or solved in one chapter – and most people feel that getting an adult involved will solve or help the situation when most of the time, it makes it worse.
Whether your child already has a heart for serving others or hasn’t yet discovered what they think they can do this book will help you and them discover how to be of service to others like Jesus served. It doesn’t have to big like starting a charity, it can be small, buying a meal for a homeless person or go big and get the family involved in an overseas mission trip. This book will be a starting point for the teen who wants to know how to serve instead of being served.
**Disclaimer: I was given an e-copy of this book from Litfuse Publicity in exchange for giving my honest opinion, no other compensation was given.
I really liked the fact that Austin made sure that the teen reading this learns how to discover their spiritual gifts and he wasn’t shy about what is a spiritual gift. Recommending the child first go to their parent (assuming that the child’s parent(s) are Christians) and then to others like the Pastor and other trusted adult friends and/or family. The only thing I found myself disagreeing with was his take on bullying – bullies are bullies and while some victims may be those who do service acts – not all are. I was bullied in middle school (I did do candy striping) but as it continued into high school and I was no longer volunteering time and around a new set of peers it had nothing to do with my service. Bullying is a complex problem and can’t be discussed or solved in one chapter – and most people feel that getting an adult involved will solve or help the situation when most of the time, it makes it worse.
Whether your child already has a heart for serving others or hasn’t yet discovered what they think they can do this book will help you and them discover how to be of service to others like Jesus served. It doesn’t have to big like starting a charity, it can be small, buying a meal for a homeless person or go big and get the family involved in an overseas mission trip. This book will be a starting point for the teen who wants to know how to serve instead of being served.
**Disclaimer: I was given an e-copy of this book from Litfuse Publicity in exchange for giving my honest opinion, no other compensation was given.
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