Just wanted to do some shameless self-promotion by announcing that Group Publishing has just released The Externally Focused Life, written by Rick Rusaw and me. After we wrote The Externally Focused Church in 2004, we published another book in 2006, called Living a Life on Loan (LLOL), which really should have been called The Externally Focused Life since it is the companion book to Externally Focused Church. Last year Group Publishing obtained the rights to LLOL and we did a re-write on it and included a six-week small group curriculum in the back of the book–which is great for accellerating externally focused thinking / living. It is in this book where we really unpack the connections between Ephesian 2:8-9 and Ephesians 2:10–how God saved us and what he saved us for. When I got my copy of EFL a couple days ago I re-read it and really liked it and thought it to be a very helpful resource. Here are our opening words in the introduction to see if anything that grabs you….

Introduction

There are people who prefer to say “Yes,” and there are people who prefer to say “No.” Those who say “Yes” are rewarded by the adventures they have, and those who say “No” are rewarded by the safety they attain.

—Keith Johnstone

Every adventure begins when we say yes. No adventure has ever begun with the words “I think I’ll pass on this one” or “Call me next month when my schedule lightens up.” Every great voyage of discovery began with people who wanted more than safety—they wanted adventure. In the early 1900s, when Sir Ernest Shackleton was looking for a crew to man the Endurance on his journey to the South Pole, he put the following advertisement in the papers of London:

Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.

Five thousand men applied for the job. They said yes to the adventure that awaited them.

Living life as it was meant to be lived begins by saying yes. When was the last time you gave a resounding “Yes!” to life, to the adventure that awaits you, and to God? Living an externally focused life requires us to say yes.

To order for $10.78: http://www.amazon.com/Externally-Focused-Life-Rick-Rusaw/dp/0764439537/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257197663&sr=8-1