Thrive by Lisa Toney

God wants us to thrive, Toney writes. God wants us to live up to our potential. Using Proverbs 11:28 as a basis, she helps us understand how to find and use the unique gifting God has given us.

The righteous thrive. Toney helps us understand what it means to be righteous, concentrating on the aspect of intentional right living. “Righteousness can be understood most simply as right relationships.” (11)

She looks at integrity and the importance of even small decisions and actions. She explores boundaries, giving some practical advice on how and when to say “no.” When boundaries are not kept, wounds result. She writes about forgiveness and the healing of those wounds.

Moving on she addresses the ideas of focus and goals, with suggestions on setting realistic goals and using time management. That requires living with courage, making it past our fears. She helps us understand the role of thoughts and the importance of what we think on. She gives tools for fighting fear.

That makes possible the next step, fighting the injustice around us. “...God is always acting for justice and righteousness – and God has invited us to participate in that action.” (113) She then encourages us to pursue hope. To make sure we use our resources wisely she also addresses the issue of pacing ourselves.

She ends her book with a call to excellence, reminding us that every choice we make defines who we are. (162) We were made for excellence, for a life well lived.

There are discussion questions at the end of each chapter for group or personal use.

This is an inspiring book. It is full of suggestions and tools for living up to our God-given potential. Toney shares experiences from her own life to illustrate her ideas and encourage us in our journey.

Today, choose to pursue excellence. Reading this book is a good place to start. It is an excellent resource for taking those steps toward living life to the fullest.

Lisa H. Toney (M.Div. Fuller Theological Seminary) is Associate Executive Pastor and a member of the preaching team of a large church in Pomona, California. She leads their spiritual formation ministry and is a regular speaker at universities, churches and seminars. Lisa, her husband, and three children make their home in southern California.

Abingdon Press, 192 pages. Publisher's product page.

I received an ARC from the publisher for the purpose of this review.