When I was first contacted about reviewing a book called Stop Praying, I have to admit, I hesitated. I was worried that it was some kind of anti-faith book, and although I’m not a religious person, I didn’t want to offend anyone. I looked at the website for the book and read what it was about, and then decided it would be interesting to read it as well as participate in the giveaway opportunity.
The title “Stop Praying” might make it seem like the author is suggesting that people actually stop praying, that it’s challenging people who have faith in prayer, but that is not the case. What author Mark Quam is looking to do is encourage people to take charge of their lives by spending 21 days practicing 5 disciplines-30 minutes of reading each day, Simple Fitness, Nutrition, Choice Awareness, and Simple Journaling. Quam believes that by practicing each of these disciplines every day for 21 days, they will become a habit, and help you start changing your life, rather than relying only on prayer without taking any proactive steps. I hope that made sense! From the book:
So stop praying for more money, a better job, a hotter girlfriend and start working on yourself. The better you become, the more you utilize all that was given to you, the more you achieve your purpose. Start praying for more skills, more knowledge, more ambition, more thirst for life. By the way, you don’t need to pray for these things, you can just have them – they sit in books and in the minds of successful people you should be surrounding yourself with.
At 117 pages, it took me less than an hour to read the entire book and get a feel for it. The book includes questions with spaces for you to write in your answers, a suggested reading list, and a 21 day journal for you to write in your thoughts about practicing each of the 5 disciplines each day. I found the suggested reading list interesting, with a diverse group of authors including Ayn Rand, Donald Trump, Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill, among authors. Even though it was only two pages, the “Choice Awareness” chapter (is it a chapter with only two pages?) was the most eye-opening to me. I often feel bogged down, stuck, and forget to remind myself that I can choose differently, choose different reactions to situations, that I have the power.
WIN IT: IndieReader would like to give three MomReviews readers their own copy of Stop Praying. In addition, the first randomly chosen name will also win an IndieReader totebag. To enter, please go to the Stop Praying Giveaway page on IndieReader.com, fill in your information and the code momreviews. Enter by November 6th at 12:00 PM EST, U.S. addresses only.
BUY IT: Purchase Stop Praying by Mark Quam for $12.95 from IndieReader.com.
More about IndieReader: In its simplest sense, IndieReader is a venue for you to find and purchase books published and produced by the people who wrote them. Think of these books like handmade goods, produced in small numbers, instead of the mass-marketed stuff you’d find at a super store. And every book on the IndieReader site is reviewed prior to acceptance, guaranteeing that you’ll find the “cream-of-the-indie crop”.
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