Rating: 
Summary: Refocused Desire
Review: "The whole life of the good Christian is holy longing," said St. Augustine, and this book clearly outlines the shape that longing should take. This is a deeper treatment of themes begun in "The Sacred Romance": That we were born "longing for we know not what," with a desire for life as it was meant to be. Eldredge explores the dilemma we face when desire is not satisfied or when it rages out of control. He explores what it means to alternately indulge or obscure our hunger for "something more." Delightfully he explains how the yearning for human love, especially romance, is a SHADOW of our inborn hunger for God. Finally, he clearly, carefully exhorts the reader to embrace holy desire and holy passion, trusting in the promise that all will be satisfied when God restores all things, and urges us to treat earthly goodnesses and relationships as "rehearsal for the Grand Affair."Deeply challenging, thoughtfully written and carefully built, this treatise is seasoned with the author's grief for the loss of his dear companion and co-author of the earlier book. He sets an example of (having tasted deep loss) choosing to trust God's heart and embracing desire along with hope.
Rating:
Summary: Delight yourself in the Lord.
Review: "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this" (Psalm 37:4-5). I had heard this verse several times in my life, but never really understood it. The verse sounded really good, but I didn't actually believe it. I thought I was following God, but I sure wasn't getting any of the desires of my heart. Then, through a series of events, I discovered this verse to actually be true. I had never really delighted myself in the Lord, I had fooled myself into believing I was when in reality I was only delighting others and not necessarily God. The last several years have been difficult and it has seemed that my desires have been put on hold. I have truly been following and delighting in the Lord, but very few of my desires have been given to me. Then I read this book. I'm very glad I did. Several years ago (right around the time I began to understand Psalm 37:4), I read Eldredge and Curtis' THE SACRED ROMANCE. That book really inspired me and contained many ideas I had been trying to grapple in my mind. THE JOURNEY OF DESIRE is a wonderful follow up to THE SACRED ROMANCE. Though not explicitly doing so, it continues where THE SACRED ROMANCE left off. We live in a fallen world that is continuing to decay. All things were once good and beautiful, but now everything (including desire) carries the tint of sin. Life is difficult, no journey is easy. But we do have a choice: we can either choose to just exist or choose to live or in the words of a famous film we can either "get busy living or get busy dying." Eldredge thoroughly examines that choice in this book. His words are refreshing for sojourners tired from the journey and his perspective and ideas are enlightening. A worthy work.
Rating:
Summary: THE Guide for recovering your heart for the journey home.
Review: After many conversations lamenting that "Maybe my desires are too strong and there's something wrong with me", a good friend recommended this book to me. From the moment I picked up "The Journey of Desire" and read the continuing story of the sea lion (reminded me of myself) all the way to the last poignant line, I was deeply touched by this book. Never have I encountered such passionate and insightful writing about life's journey. What really shocked me was how every chapter seemed to parallel what was going on in my life at that very moment. I was challenged, amused, relieved, and most of all, hopeful by the time I was done reading this book. I encourage anyone who is disturbed by the anesthetizing of our society to invest in this book. Make sure you find a quiet place to soak up all the richness Eldredge is going to serve up to your literary palette. I only wish I could thank you in person for writing this, John, but I guess this review will have to do. Thanks.
Rating:
Summary: THE Guide for recovering your heart for the journey home.
Review: After many conversations lamenting that "Maybe my desires are too strong and there's something wrong with me", a good friend recommended this book to me. From the moment I picked up "The Journey of Desire" and read the continuing story of the sea lion (reminded me of myself) all the way to the last poignant line, I was deeply touched by this book. Never have I encountered such passionate and insightful writing about life's journey. What really shocked me was how every chapter seemed to parallel what was going on in my life at that very moment. I was challenged, amused, relieved, and most of all, hopeful by the time I was done reading this book. I encourage anyone who is disturbed by the anesthetizing of our society to invest in this book. Make sure you find a quiet place to soak up all the richness Eldredge is going to serve up to your literary palette. I only wish I could thank you in person for writing this, John, but I guess this review will have to do. Thanks.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book, but short in some areas.
Review: After reading "The Sacred Romance" and it's sequel "The Journey of Desire" I find the second a little lacking. Now don't get me wrong, the 4 stars is still an excellent rating, because this book is still _good_. It hits home some very good points, like how Desire is God given and rather than distancing ourselves from it we should run and embrace God and then our desires shall be directed in the correct direction. But you have all these other reviews to tell you all the good stuff, which I agree with. I just found myself wanting more of John in this book. It is sometimes so strewn with quotations as to wonder whether it is not just a reference book. Also, sometimes you find yourself in the position of saying "I don't feel that same way when that happens to me" or "I've never had God talk to me like that" and it might seem that your faith, or walk, is lacking, when in fact people are just built differently and react in different ways to things. Overall, I would say get this book, read it with the salt of the Word. It can and has brought to life things that sometimes get buried.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, but short in some areas.
Review: After reading "The Sacred Romance" and it's sequel "The Journey of Desire" I find the second a little lacking. Now don't get me wrong, the 4 stars is still an excellent rating, because this book is still _good_. It hits home some very good points, like how Desire is God given and rather than distancing ourselves from it we should run and embrace God and then our desires shall be directed in the correct direction. But you have all these other reviews to tell you all the good stuff, which I agree with. I just found myself wanting more of John in this book. It is sometimes so strewn with quotations as to wonder whether it is not just a reference book. Also, sometimes you find yourself in the position of saying "I don't feel that same way when that happens to me" or "I've never had God talk to me like that" and it might seem that your faith, or walk, is lacking, when in fact people are just built differently and react in different ways to things. Overall, I would say get this book, read it with the salt of the Word. It can and has brought to life things that sometimes get buried.
Rating:
Summary: Vindicated At Last
Review: All my life I 've searched for the answer to my unending misery and disappointment. I believe in Christ but have largely bought into mistaken ideas that being a Christian is all about doing the right thing. No one's advocating doing the wrong things, but simply put, I want more, much more. I want to know God. At last I'm finding the words in print that explain my inner uncomfortability and help me understand what the Gospels are trying to say to me and mankind. I believe it is possible I have for the most part missed the true message. this book has helped me discover what my heart hunger has been trying to tell me for almost 30 years.
Rating:
Summary: A Monumental Book
Review: From reading the publisher's review above (I wonder if they even read this book) one would have no idea how paradigm-busting this book is. The author takes off on themes that remind me of John Piper's Future Grace, but in my estimation the implications and potential for life change goes way beyond it. The author quotes Gerald May, "There is a desire within each of us, in the deep center of ourselves that we call heart. We were born with it, it is never completely satisfied, and it never dies. We are often unaware of it, but it is always awake... Our true identity, our reason for being, is to be found in this desire." Power to move us, to sustain us, is found in the well of our own desire. From the flyleaf: "The modern church often teaches people to kill desire and call that sanctification. The author writes, "Christianity is not an invitation to become a moral person. It is not a program for getting us in line or for reforming society... at its core, Christianity begins with an invitation to desire." He shows that there are only three options for dealing with our desire: (I'm paraphrasing) 1) distract it, 2) Deaden it, 3) Get to know it. The world shouts to distract, sadly most often the Church works to deaden it. Wholeness is found in embracing our desires as God given, and with it, the pain of unfulfilled dreams. Through this book, I personally experienced a sort of death and resurrection. Death to what John calls "arranging for our life" and a new life of rest and adventure, now exploring my deep desires as a journey into the heart of God without distraction. While Journey of Desire is absolutely mind-blowing it is also very readable. This is a powerful little book!
Rating:
Summary: Life IS a gift, and desires ARE okay!
Review: God used this book to teach me that I can live life to the fullest because all my desires are met in going to God. Eldredge touches on how life becomes dull and even depressing when we are fearful of desire...when we kill desire in an effort to be "pure." I learned in a new way that purity means allowing God to show us TRUE desire. We can enjoy an honest, open relationship with God, and we can live life to the potential God intended. Eldredge gives insight into the desires that we've chased after--reminding that worldly passions will fade and leave us restless, still in need of God's touch of love. It's a must-read, especially for those who have given up on their dreams.
Rating:
Summary: Even a non-christian will like this I think.....
Review: I admit I hemmed and hawed trying to decide if I should buy this book and another the author wrote. First, because I am not keen on a lot of Biblical chatter. But the titled was of interest and I had read a few reviews and decided to go ahead and spend our hard earned money on a copy. Being voluntary simplicity people, which means we attempt not to be greedy, materialistic or so focused on "me" that we lose sight of the forest thru the trees. But one phrase on page 182, really made the price of the book worth it. "Contentment is not freedom from desire, but freedom of desire. Being content is not pretending that everything is the way you wish it would be; it is not acting as though you have no wishes. Rather, it is no longer being ruled by your desires."
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