Addicted to Hurry: Spiritual Strategies for Slowing Down

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Summary: For every Christian
Review: I am not a theologian or pastor. I am an ordinary Christian, housewife and homeschooling mom. But I read a lot to help me live closer to Jesus. This is by far the best and most helpful book I've read in years. Dr. Jones has many helpful examples and life applications for slowing down and living a more deliberate life. If you've bought or read The Purpose Driven Life, you need this book to be the other side, the balance to your purpose. I fully intend to read it again, to savor it with slowness and apply it more deeply to my daily living.

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Summary: Hurry Up and Read About How to Slow Down
Review: If you're like most people, there aren't enough hours in the day to do all that you have to. Life seems to be a never-ending cycle of hurrying from one activity to the next, but does this make you more fulfilled? Not necessarily.

In Addicted to Hurry, Kirk Byron Jones examines our need to hurry from one project to the next. Filled with biblical teachings as well as quotes from notable figures, his book also includes exercises to examine your own way of living to help you discover ways to slow down, and utlimately become more fulfilled.

Jones starts the book with a look at how much speed has been incorporated into our daily living by looking at some of the "fast phrases" we use: "I'm going as fast as I can," "The sooner, the better," "ASAP," and others. He then discusses the seven sacrifices that we all make as a result of our addiction to speed: patience, judgment, depth, joy, dialogue, personhood, and spirituality.

From there, we are given a list of reasons why we are in such a hurry, with a special emphasis being placed on running away from aches and fears, running away from ourselves, and running away from God.

We then get down to the meat of the book: how to overcome our need to hurry. Jones discusses how to imagine and choose a less hurried life, and how to maintain your new pace once you've made this decision. He shows us how to become more in tune with this pace by making a conscious effort to really see the marvelous things going on around us and to listen carefully to all that life has to offer--whether it be a loved one's voice or the sounds of nature or accepting silence, which many of us are uncomfortable doing.

Finally, Dr. Jones ends with a chapter entitled "Savoring Pace Life Lines," which talks about the importance of self-coaching and gives us memorable statements to counter the cues we are given by society to move faster. Based on this idea,Jones developed a fifty piece card collection to help family and friends change their pace of living, one thought at a time. He gives us a peek into this collection by offering fourteen Life Line reflections including: "Welcome the Day," "Stop Sleepwalking Through Life," and "Discover the Fullness of Being Empty."

Jones has done an excellent job of giving us insight into taking the time to savor all that life has to offer based on sound biblical principles and life-changing exercises. The fact that the book is short and straight to the point is an added bonus, although after reading it, many may want to go back and savor the book's insight and wisdom, and re-examine their own lives more closely.

Rating:
Summary: Slow Down and Live
Review: Part serious social commentary, part self-help, Addicted to Hurry examines how constant hurrying diminishes people's lives, and it offers advice on slowing down.

The first half of the book examines our cultural addiction to hurry in general terms, examines reasons why people run, and what they are running from. I especially liked two things in this part of the book: first, that Jones labeled chronic speed as a form of idolatry, and that he showed examples of what people are missing in their rush. Although Jones takes a strong stance against so much hurrying, he does display a good deal of understanding (rather than condemnation) for people who are caught up in the rush.

The second half of the book describes a "savoring pace alternative" and offers numerous suggestions to help people slow down. While many self-help books fall into shallow platitudes and slogans, Jones resists this tendancy. Instead, he provides spritual food for the journey to a slower, saner life.

Kirk Byron Jones is a professor of social ethics and pastoral ministry at Andover Newton Theological School, and also has twenty years of experience as a pastor. He offers a significant number of Biblical examples, so confirmed atheists may not like this book. Anyone with a healthy respect for Christianity (whether they are Christian or not) should find it helpful.

The idea for this book grew out of Jones's writing of Rest in the Storm: Self-Care Strategies for Clergy. I ordered Addicted to Hurry because I loved Rest in the Storm. I thought Rest in the Storm was a bit better, and I would recommend clergy start there. However, Addicted to Hurry is still a very good book for both clergy and general audiences.

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Summary: Jim Royston Reviews
Review: The hectic pace of life in the twenty-first century creates a fertile garden for this empowering book. Pastor and professor Kirk Byron Jones confronts his audience with the cultural expectation for speed and hurry in our lifestyles. Jones explores issues from technology and the explosive amount of information it brings, to our hidden fears as reasons for our addiction to hurry. The questions raised for our addiction to hurry are very revealing.

The first half of the book explores various factors that create an addiction to hurry including running away from God, running away from our fears, and running away from ourselves.

In the second half of the book, Jones introduces a method he calls "Living life at a savoring pace." The discussions around The Savoring Pace Alternative focus on "seeing more clearly," "listening more carefully" and "thinking more deeply." Jones gives us a wonderful road map for the discipline to manage life at a savoring pace.
Jones combines a scholarly mind with a profound imagery of language to challenge his readers to "relish" rather than "rush" through life. The use of poetry, scripture, famous quotes and anecdotal experiences from the author's personal pilgrimage make this work jump off the page and into the reader's frenzied lifestyle. One gets the impression that Jones has lived every one of his illustrations to the fullest.

This book is a provocative and challenging exploration of our compulsion to hurry. The author prepares us with his profound insight and equips us with chapter-by-chapter learning exercises. Learning exercises at the end of each chapter are important to fully comprehend the value of the author's presentation.
Jones uses a quote from an unknown author to illustrate one of his savoring pace alternatives, the art of listening more clearly. "The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow, but the rainbow won't wait while you do the work."

Anyone who needs to take a long, deep breath during his or her busy day will benefit from this easy but life-changing manuscript. Published by Judson Press, the manuscript is one hundred twenty pages in length.

This review was completed by Dr. Jim Royston, Executive Director/Treasurer of the Baptist State Convention of NC.