All the Places to Go: How Will You Know?

This book is simply fantastic for young adults, and even older adults too.

Just used this for adult ed class, and was great help for my and the class. The doors of our lives are all some what different but the same as God has placed opened the right doors but closes others. Each most choice and go though with the right attitude even it may not be the best door you picked.

we must remember God is in our corner.!

Loved the book for myself! I thought it would be a wonderful book to give to my adult grandkids. I am praying that they will take it to heart.

God is the God of the open door. He has placed open doors before us. Rather than simply an opportunity, these are open doors to do something eternal. An open door is an opportunity provided by God to act with God and for God. This is the theme of John Ortbergs latest book, All the places to go, how will you know?: God has placed before you an open door. What will you do?

The theme of the book is taken from Revelation 3:7-8 where God tells the church in Philadelphia, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. It symbolizes boundless opportunities. Of unlimited chances to do something worthwhile; of grand openings into new and unknown adventures of significant living; of heretofore unimagined chances to do goo, to make our lives count for eternity.

Using biblical examples from the lives of Abraham, Jonah, Elijah, and others, as well as stories from his own life, the author provides a unique look into the age-old question of how to discover Gods will for your life. Like all of his books, the stories are humorous, real, practical, helpful, and encouraging.

Along the way, the author gives insight into why some people respond positively to open doors while others avoid risk. He addresses the subject of which doors to walk through and which ones to avoid. He also provides a helpful chapter on why God might close a door and how to respond appropriately to it. The book provides helpful insight as to how to recognize divine opportunities in life, how to overcome the fear of missing out or of making the wrong choice, and how to walk through open doors with confidence.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Tyndale Blog Network http://tyndaleblognetwork.com/ book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Sometimes when were trying to make a decision, it can be hard to know what God has to say. What shall we do? What choice should we make? So, when I got the chance to review All the Places to Go . . . How Will You Know?: God Has Placed before You an Open Door. What Will You Do?, I felt sure that I would receive some good advice for dealing with these difficult decisions in our lives.

John Ortberg begins his writing about making choices by building off of Jesuss letter to the church at Philadelphia in Revelation 3. In these verses Jesus says,

To the angel of the church of Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and not denied my name.

Ortberg wants us to understand that this open door is one that comes from God. God is the one who opened the door and all we have to do is to make the decision on whether or not were going to go through the door.

As we go through the book, we are shown the differences between people who tend to go through doors and people who dont, overcoming the fear of missing out, myths about doors, making a decision between more than one open door, how to cross a threshold, what you can learn about yourself from open doors , why we dont go through open doors and about the thankfulness that we can have sometimes for closed doors.

Theres a lot of great information in here, and I feel as if I gleaned some important ideas about decision making, especially from the chapters where Ortberg is discussing common myths that people believe about open doors and what keeps us from entering through open doors.

I find that sometimes my view of God and what he wants from me is skewed. I begin to think that the open doors in my life are all about me, and I forget that these open doors are divine opportunities from God in my life and that it is my job to lean towards going through those doors. Ive never regretted the doors Ive went through, and once or twice God has drug me through a door that I, like Jonah, didnt really want to go through.

So, if youre looking for advice to help you manage the open doors in your life, and to help you to recognize where they are, this book is a fantastic resource to help you along the path. Im keeping it on my bookshelf because, odds are, Im probably going to need to read it again.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review and my opinions are my own.