Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are

Great Book!

This book is definitely one that I want both of my boys to read! It has a straight forward message that is motivating and a really good resource for how to find God's plan for each of us ~ regardless of our age.

The book was written for pre-teens and teens but I feel it also carries a message for everyone at any age. I sure wish this had been written back when I was a teen! What? Oh, I just heard the collective groan of my two boys, "Oh, Mom" for writing that last sentence . :) Anyway, I'm looking forward to my sons reading this and the lively discussions that I'm sure we'll have as we chat about this book!

Many thanks to WaterBrook Multnomah for Publishing Group for allowing me the opportunity to review this book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Youth Leaders Take Note!

As a youth leader, this book excited my heart. Positive teen role models are hard to find in the media. Positive teen role models who help teens build their own self-esteem are in seriously short supply. In, "Start Here", Alex & Brett Harris offer constructive ideas for doable "Hard Things"; provide practical guidance for planning and starting a "Hard Things" project; offer suggestions for enlisting aid from friends, family and church members; and, include testimonies from other kids doing "Hard Things". Adults, don't think this book is just for kids. We are called to do "Hard Things", too. If you don't know what they might look like or where you should start, this book might just be for you. This book was provided for my honest review by Waterbrook Multnomah Publsihing.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

An Inspiring and Motivating Book Every Teen Should Read

This book is geared toward teens, but my teenage years were quite a while ago and I still found the book to be inspiring and motivating. The book makes you realize that "hard things" aren't necessarily big things, but are anything you do for the glory of God by stepping outside of what you're used to. The book was a very easy read that flowed easily and kept me interested the whole way through. They ended the book with 100 hard things that other teens have done and that you can do too and I think that's awesome. I co-lead a girl's urban youth ministry and I think this book and it's ideas will be great for sharing with those girls as well as for sharing with my sons as they get a little older (although, planting the seeds starts now). I just think it's a great book and that if you're a parent of teens or work with teens, you should definitely get it and Do Hard Things into the hands of the teens you love and want to see live lives that glorify the Lord.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I was ready to go out and conquer hard projects. Big responsibilities. Things far outside my comfort zone. I prayed for God to work through me in big ways. He answered me, but not quite in the ways I expected.

For instance, one night on the way home in a blizzard, my dad and I stopped for a few minutes to pick up some necessities at the store. I waited in the car and surveyed the nearly empty parking lot until my eye caught a lone car with a person scrapping snow. As I looked closer, I saw that it was an elderly lady trying to scrape off her car while leaning on a cane. She wasn't making much progress because the snow was falling faster than she could wipe it off. I felt instinctively that I had to help her. I ran out with my scraper, and soon a few other people joined me in clearing off her car.

Nothing outwardly significant happened then, but this was the first time I had strongly heard God's voice and responded to it. As I tuned in, I began to recognize His voice at other times. I sensed I should go talk to the girl who was crying in the bathroom at school - it turns out she was pregnant and needed help. Or that I should offer tips to someone who was trying out for the sports team - it turns out she needed advice on deeper areas of her life that she normally wouldn't have opened up about.

What I have found out is that in order to do hard things and conquer big challenges, we need to be willing to listen to that little voice the Holy Spirit uses. The more you listen, the clearer it becomes. And in order to do the great things, you must first be a servant.

Those are the words of Elizabeth, 17, from Raymond, Maine who is finding out how teens can do things in their early years to bring glory to God. Often times however, they don't know where to start or know how to get the results that they need.

This book, Start Here, from Alex & Brett Harris is a great book for anyone looking to start making a difference in their lives to bring God glory. While the book is written for teens, I can see even adults learning from all kinds of concepts the book teaches, like how to fund raise, ways to get going when you feel stuck and keep going when you get discouraged, how to understand God's will and glorify Him through your efforts, how to stand up for what you believe and many, many more ideas.

I received a complimentary copy of this book to review from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group and would highly recommend this book. If you would like more information on this book and where to purchase this book please click on the link below.
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781601422705&ref=externallink_mlt_starthere_sec_0127_01

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great, Motivational Book!

This book is aimed at teens and young adults and it would definitely be something I would recommend to young people. It's motivational, inspiring, and makes you want to get up off the couch and do something for God right now! I love the personal stories by people that have done things for the Lord and how it changed their lives as well as touching other people around them. It is amazing to me how God can honor our little missions we do for Him and make them much more than we could ever imagine.
Alex and Brett give insight of how to get started. They recommend using the gifts that you have. So many times those of us who are afraid to do public speaking think that we should do public speaking for God. This isn't necessarily so. God gives us gifts for a reason and we can start with the things we all ready do well and enjoy doing. I don't know why this was such a revelation to me, but it was! We all can do something for the Lord - touch other people's lives - and go outside of our own little worlds for God.

This book is not only great for teens and young adults, it's great for us adults to rethink what we're doing and to maybe get out there and start doing things for the Lord. It's never too late to do that and this book will inspire you and show you how to get started. I highly recommend it!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

"Start Here" by Alex and Brett Harris with Elisa Stanford

With their first book, Do Hard Things, the Harris brothers stated that teens can, (pretty obviously,) do hard things. God doesn't call us to laze around on our backsides, he calls us to stand up for Him! Teenhood isn't a pass to be lazy, it's an opportunity to show Jesus to all those around us. But where to start? How about right where you are? That's right. Here. You don't have to move to Africa to be an agent of God. (Although, I am in no way dissing African mission-workers. They are Uber-cool. But my point still stands. ) You can reach out to people in your school, or kids at the skate park, or the guy at youth group who doesn't have any friends. Start Here gives advice on how to find your passion, what to do about rejection, and how to handle success; uplifting stories and practical input on how to answer God's call. We do not have the strength to do what God calls us to do, but it is given to us when we listen. Start Here is a guide on how to not only do that, but to act upon what we hear.

Great for Youth Leaders!

I really enjoyed reading this book and I think young people will as well. It's a fast easy read and the chapters are short. I like how the book provides real examples of teens stepping outside the box. I think this will be encouraging to youngsters who are nervous about taking that first steps. I must say I have a lot of admiration for these young people and their willingness to do whatever it is God leads them to do. As an adult, I sometimes wish I had the same courage. Definitely recommended for youth leaders to share with their youth groups! Read the book, then Start Here!!

Great Book!

A few short years ago, eighteen year old twins Alex and Brett Harris began a rebelution. With their acclaimed book, Do Hard Things, the pair called adolescents to rise about the low expectations of our culture, to do things beyond the normal brackets of our age. The book challenged and inspired thousands of teens to "do hard things." As the movement grew, young people began to ask questions. Where do I start? How do I get others involved? What do I do after I accomplish a hard thing?

Start Here is the answer to these questions. Both a guidebook for rebelutionaries and an inspiring start for those who want to get involved, Start Here is the perfect accompaniment to Do Hard Things. Cover to cover is filled with stories of real rebelutionaries, and practical ideas to get started doing your own hard things. The book tackles the predominant obstacles one might face and even offers wisdom on how to handle the fifteen minutes of fame that may accompany doing hard things. The last several pages of the book list one hundred hard things young people just like you and I have done since the publication of Do Hard Things.

I have been inspired to start tackling some hard things of my own, and Start Here left me equipped to do so. Even if you have not read Do Hard Things, you will enjoy this book, but if you have, you will love it!

**This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Review of Start Here

This is the sequel to the author's Do Hard Things book, and is about "taking the next step." This book is filled with ideas and examples of how to live for God where you are. I have not read the first book, but after reading this, am interested in it, too. These young boys challenge us to ask the question "what ultimately matters?" I will be sharing this book with my own children as they get a little older.


This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

A Great Follow-up Book for Teens

When The Rebelution Tour came through Minneapolis during the summer of '08, I took several of the teens from Cornerstone EFC to the one-day conference, hoping they'd be inspired to start doing hard things. After we returned from that fantastic time, I purchased copies of <em>Do Hard Things</em> for every teen in our youth group and we walked through it together. I think it provided some good challenges for our teens.

It's been nearly two years since that experience. In a timely fashion, the Harris boys release Start Here, filled with all kinds of practical helps, instruction, examples and experiences to continue on doing hard things. With the same God-honoring desire to see teens rise up and "rebel," in a godly manner, against the cultural expectations of teenagers, Start Here helps puts lots of hands and feet to Do Hard Things. The first book was the motivational aspect; Start Here is the practical aspect.

Each chapter is loaded with good, solid ideas, letters and emails from young people who have been trying hard things (both big and small) for the Lord, and exhortations from Alex & Brett to keep at the rebelution (their term for the combination of rebelling against cultural norms & expectations, as well as the revolution they hope to see God bring about through teenagers doing hard things for God's sake).

The book is a quick and an easy read. A youth group could use it as a quick refresher study in doing hard things. A family could use it to see where God might lead them - or a teen from their family - in order to make a difference right where they're at. The final chapter lists 100 "hard things" which teens from around the country did, and from which you can choose from or just to brainstorm with. Here are just a few examples:

<blockquote>. Sent post cards to the shut-ins at my church.<br>
. Sold all the clothes I didn't need and gave the money to charity.<br>
. Hosted a Bible study for kids in my neighborhood.<br>
. Stopped spending money on fast food and coffee and then donated that money to an orphanage.<br>
. Started an overseas adoption ministry at my church.<br>
. Sat with a widow at church who had been sitting alone.<br>
. Prayed for a kid at school who mistreats me.</blockquote>

There are many more just like this. You don't have to have read <strong><em>Do Hard Things</em></strong> to receive much inspiration from this book, but if you haven't, I'd recommend it to you as well. It will root your desire to do something God-glorifying in Him. Then, buy this book for yourself, your teenaged son or daughter, or your youth pastor and let them know you want them to start doing hard things for God's glory.

Great choice for teens

This is a great (and short) read for teenagers interested in making a difference or for youth leaders, teachers, parents, or anyone else who wants to encourage young adults. The book is easy to read and is clearly intended for high school and possibly college students. One thing I appreciated about the book, as a person who works with and knows many students who don't like to read or can't read well, was the format of the book. The type isn't huge, but the font isn't so small that it's intimidating. The book is also frequently broken up with lists, real life stories, and separate sections. For my students, those kind of things often make a difference in what they will and won't read. I also appreciated that the authors avoided the cheesey photos, clip art images, etc that frequently plague teen non-fiction. It's got a grown up feel and format, but contains many of the features that I think keep young or inexperienced readers interested.

Start Here by Alex & Brett Harris - A Book Review

Not long ago I read a book by two teenage brothers called Do Hard Things that changed the way I viewed youth ministry. Soon after my youth group was doing book studies through it and students were deciding to live their lives at a higher standard.

Start Here picks up where Do Hard Things leaves off. It answers the question of "Ok so how do I start?"

I'm a big fan of this book as a youth pastor, number one because it's written by teens to teens. I could teach a biblical truth for weeks and our students wouldn't get it. Then if one of their peers gets it and in turn stands up and explains it to everyone else it's like they all latch on.

Secondly, Start Here is a springboard for change. It is well written and easy to understand. It's not too big so my non-book fan students don't have to be too afraid of the text without pictures.

Thirdly I like Start Here because it's practical. The appendix of the book gives 100 ways that a student can begin doing hard things for God immediately. More can be found on the Rebolution blog.

Start Here is inspiring even for me as a twenty-something trying to inspire students. It makes me think about the endless possibilities of how God can use the students I help shepherd.

Alex & Brett, thank you for how you Do Hard Things and inspire others to Start Here. May God continue to use you're ministry for His glory. Be blessed.

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This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

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