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Nine Words: A Bible Study to Help You Become The-Best-Version-of-Yourself®
Nobody grows up wanting to lead a meaningless or unsatisfying life. No one yearns to be incomplete or frustrated or to lack a destiny or purpose. Who would want that? Deep within each of us, God has implanted the desire to be the-best-version-of-ourselves. God has a dream for your life. And His dream for you is unique. Only you are you. Nine words best describe the-best-version-of-yourself®. Saint Paul shares nine words in his letter to the Galatians. These nine words provide the blueprint to your destiny, the dream God has for your life.
This simple study will help you dive, in real ways, into God s dream for your life in order to become the-best-version-of-yourself®.
This simple study will help you dive, in real ways, into God s dream for your life in order to become the-best-version-of-yourself®.
122 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 14, 2013
42 people are currently reading
163 people want to read
About the author
Allen R. Hunt
17 books33 followersDr. Allen Hunt and his team are pursuing a vision to build a nationwide talk radio show on mainstream stations to create a place where real life and faith come together. The Allen Hunt Show focuses not on what's right and left but on what's right and wrong. Allen has been named to Talkers Magazine's prestigious list of the 100 heavy hitters in talk radio, receiving a ranking unprecedented for a newcomer in the industry.
Hunt stepped aside July 1, 2007 from his role as Senior Minister at Mount Pisgah, a United Methodist congregation serving more than 15,000 persons each week through its ministries in Alpharetta, Georgia.
On January 6, 2008, on the Feast of the Epiphany, Allen converted to Catholicism. This transition represented the culmination of a 15 year journey in which God began leading Allen home to the Church.
Allen and his wife, Anita, live in Atlanta, Georgia, and have two daughters, SarahAnn and Griffin Elizabeth.
Hunt stepped aside July 1, 2007 from his role as Senior Minister at Mount Pisgah, a United Methodist congregation serving more than 15,000 persons each week through its ministries in Alpharetta, Georgia.
On January 6, 2008, on the Feast of the Epiphany, Allen converted to Catholicism. This transition represented the culmination of a 15 year journey in which God began leading Allen home to the Church.
Allen and his wife, Anita, live in Atlanta, Georgia, and have two daughters, SarahAnn and Griffin Elizabeth.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 13, 2015
I have reread this little book and will refer to it again and again. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. Nine Words helps make attainable St. Paul's fruits of the Holy Spirit through explanation and tools for cultivation. I have found this book very helpful for my spiritual growth.
October 31, 2016
My introduction to Allen Hunts writing was his piece in the collection Beautiful Mercy edited by Matthew Kelly. His contribution was called Clothes the Naked from the corporal works of mercy. It was so challenging I took a look at all the books Allen Hunt had written and picked two to read, this being the first. First I must state this was an easy book to read, but by no way is it an easy book to live. In fact it was so challenging I started reading it three times before I finished. This book takes the nine words from Saint Paul's letter to the Galatians and expands upon them, and turns them into a blueprint for becoming the best version of yourself. That theme of being the best version of yourself runs through Matthew Kelly's writings and many of the books published by Dynamic Catholic. In fact they have been the central theme of much of what I have read and listened to over this past year.
But back specifically to this book by Allen Hunt. The chapters in this book are:
Your Destiny In Nine Words
Why Christians Are Different
The Most Excellent Way
Your Most Attractive Quality
Avoiding The-Worst-Version-Of-Yourself
How You Know You Are Mature
Easy To Be Hard
The Happiest People I Know
A Word With Great Ancestors
Your Secret Weapon
Your Best Friend
Abundance
Study Questions For Groups
And the nine words from Paul's letter to the Galatians that this book encapsulates are:
Love.
Joy.
Peace.
Patience.
Kindness.
Generosity.
Faithfulness.
Gentleness.
Self-control.
In the prologue Hunt writes about these nine words and declares: "That's it. Nine words. A portrait of your destiny, the dream God has for your life. Some call it holiness. Others call it being conformed to the image of Christ. Saint Paul calls it the fruit of the Spirit. You might just call it the-best-version-of-yourself.
Whatever you call your destiny, these nine words provide the blueprint. And I have designed this simple study to help you dive into God's dream and grow into the-best-version-of-yourself."
This book is tough because in the introduction we are asked to rate ourselves on those nine words. We are to give ourselves a score from 1 to 10. Now to be honest when I first started reading this book I scored myself a 54 out of a possible 90. And that was 9 months ago. As I mentioned I stopped and had to start over again three times to make it through this book. Each chapters has exercises at the end to help you grow your score for that fruit. And to be honest Hunt sets a modest goal in the introduction he says: "Your goal is to grow nine points. And as you have fun doing so, you will find greater satisfaction in living because you will be moving toward the target: the-best-version-of-yourself." And I will be really honest the one I needed and still need a lot of work on is Joy! But by using this book and the tools provided I have seen changes and those around me have also.
Each chapter in this book ends with 5 exercises the short version(Just the titles for the chapter on Joy are:
1. Find a joy mentor.
2. Pick your friends and settings.
3. Endow your children with joy.
4. Make a thanksgiving list.
5. Get a Mass journal and use it.
And one of the longer versions is: "1. Find a joy mentor. There is no better way to grow in joy than to be around people who have it. Select a person in your life who has an abundant amount of joy. Spend time with him or her on a regular basis. This time helps to offset the effect that the negative people in your life may have on you. Let this joyful person teach you habits and routines from his or her own life that lead to increased joy. Notice where joyful people spend their time and what kinds of things they do, and identify the sources of their joy. Learn to imitate those habits and routines."
This was an incredible read. But you need to be very honest with yourself and God in your self-evaluation. If you are this book can be a great tool to help you live to a fuller extent the fruit of the spirit. It is an excellent study and I know I will be reading it again.
Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More.
(Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: A Year of Reading Intention - Catholic Reading!)
But back specifically to this book by Allen Hunt. The chapters in this book are:
Your Destiny In Nine Words
Why Christians Are Different
The Most Excellent Way
Your Most Attractive Quality
Avoiding The-Worst-Version-Of-Yourself
How You Know You Are Mature
Easy To Be Hard
The Happiest People I Know
A Word With Great Ancestors
Your Secret Weapon
Your Best Friend
Abundance
Study Questions For Groups
And the nine words from Paul's letter to the Galatians that this book encapsulates are:
Love.
Joy.
Peace.
Patience.
Kindness.
Generosity.
Faithfulness.
Gentleness.
Self-control.
In the prologue Hunt writes about these nine words and declares: "That's it. Nine words. A portrait of your destiny, the dream God has for your life. Some call it holiness. Others call it being conformed to the image of Christ. Saint Paul calls it the fruit of the Spirit. You might just call it the-best-version-of-yourself.
Whatever you call your destiny, these nine words provide the blueprint. And I have designed this simple study to help you dive into God's dream and grow into the-best-version-of-yourself."
This book is tough because in the introduction we are asked to rate ourselves on those nine words. We are to give ourselves a score from 1 to 10. Now to be honest when I first started reading this book I scored myself a 54 out of a possible 90. And that was 9 months ago. As I mentioned I stopped and had to start over again three times to make it through this book. Each chapters has exercises at the end to help you grow your score for that fruit. And to be honest Hunt sets a modest goal in the introduction he says: "Your goal is to grow nine points. And as you have fun doing so, you will find greater satisfaction in living because you will be moving toward the target: the-best-version-of-yourself." And I will be really honest the one I needed and still need a lot of work on is Joy! But by using this book and the tools provided I have seen changes and those around me have also.
Each chapter in this book ends with 5 exercises the short version(Just the titles for the chapter on Joy are:
1. Find a joy mentor.
2. Pick your friends and settings.
3. Endow your children with joy.
4. Make a thanksgiving list.
5. Get a Mass journal and use it.
And one of the longer versions is: "1. Find a joy mentor. There is no better way to grow in joy than to be around people who have it. Select a person in your life who has an abundant amount of joy. Spend time with him or her on a regular basis. This time helps to offset the effect that the negative people in your life may have on you. Let this joyful person teach you habits and routines from his or her own life that lead to increased joy. Notice where joyful people spend their time and what kinds of things they do, and identify the sources of their joy. Learn to imitate those habits and routines."
This was an incredible read. But you need to be very honest with yourself and God in your self-evaluation. If you are this book can be a great tool to help you live to a fuller extent the fruit of the spirit. It is an excellent study and I know I will be reading it again.
Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More.
(Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: A Year of Reading Intention - Catholic Reading!)
November 25, 2020
This book was really good and insightful in what is the fruit of the Holy Spirit and how to practically notice and cultivate ttb em in your life. I liked all the scripture used and reflection questions!
December 29, 2019
Christian self-help books always seem a bit awkward to me. The Christian genre is usually all about our dependence on God and our need for His grace to make our lives better. The self-help genre is usually all about our ability to make our lives better if only we had the method that the author has discovered. On the face of it, the genres look incompatible and books that combine the two generally fall on one side or the other. This book offers a way to be your best through a Bible study. Where does it fall or does it find a graceful middle ground?
The nine words of the title are taken from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Galatians: "...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control..." [Gal 5:22-23] Each chapter of the book discusses one of the words using both biblical and personal examples and insights. Each chapter ends with five practical and concrete tips for improving that particular fruit in one's own life.
The introduction has the reader rank himself or herself from one to ten on each of the nine fruits. The reader circles a number on a chart for each one. At the end of the book, presumably after study and application, another chart is available for the reader to assess progress. The last couple of pages have study questions for groups using the book.
I have mixed thoughts about the book. The tone of the book is off-putting for me. The phrase "the Best-Version-of-Yourself®" is used a lot (though not always with the registered trademark symbol) and gives the text an infomercial feel that doesn't mesh well with the theological intention. The book lands a lot on the self-help side, especially when the author confesses his own challenges and triumphs with the methods he recommends. A personal witness is great and he is very bible-focused but I still get more of a corporate salesmanship vibe than I ought to from this book. On the other hand, the practical tips are good. They are concrete and challenging in the right way, like "Serve a person who cannot possibly benefit you in return." [p. 31] The book does land mostly on the self-help side.
Slightly recommended.
The nine words of the title are taken from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Galatians: "...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control..." [Gal 5:22-23] Each chapter of the book discusses one of the words using both biblical and personal examples and insights. Each chapter ends with five practical and concrete tips for improving that particular fruit in one's own life.
The introduction has the reader rank himself or herself from one to ten on each of the nine fruits. The reader circles a number on a chart for each one. At the end of the book, presumably after study and application, another chart is available for the reader to assess progress. The last couple of pages have study questions for groups using the book.
I have mixed thoughts about the book. The tone of the book is off-putting for me. The phrase "the Best-Version-of-Yourself®" is used a lot (though not always with the registered trademark symbol) and gives the text an infomercial feel that doesn't mesh well with the theological intention. The book lands a lot on the self-help side, especially when the author confesses his own challenges and triumphs with the methods he recommends. A personal witness is great and he is very bible-focused but I still get more of a corporate salesmanship vibe than I ought to from this book. On the other hand, the practical tips are good. They are concrete and challenging in the right way, like "Serve a person who cannot possibly benefit you in return." [p. 31] The book does land mostly on the self-help side.
Slightly recommended.
June 17, 2017
Saint Paul offers a great, simple way to think about virtues that should be important in a life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. I feel I will refer to it often!
October 27, 2018
A good, short, thought-provoking book on becoming the best version of yourself. If you're struggling with becoming a better person, you don't know where to start, or you simply aren't sure where you are on the spectrum, this is a good little book to help you out on your journey.
November 20, 2019
Excellent book on living in virtue. Each one has ideas on increasing them in your life. I took a long time to read it - one chapter at a time while reading other books., focusing on each virtue. I’d like to read again with a group in bible study.
March 26, 2024
An insightful book on how to use the fruits of the Spirit to become the best version of yourself. I like all the actions at the end of each chapter to Grow a Life of …… and have tried to incorporate several into my life.
This is definitely a book to revisit often.
This is definitely a book to revisit often.
June 27, 2019
A must
July 23, 2020
A great reminder of how we should live as decent human beings and how we should treat each other.
March 31, 2021
A book to return to. For each of the nine fruits of the spirit to see how you’re doing there are many suggestions to do better. A great guideline to keep track of all that we are given.
December 19, 2021
This book should be read over and over - one chapter at a time....forever!
August 2, 2022
read as part of a book club - 1 chapter a week then we met and discussed. It was okay. Insightful but was a bit disappointed in it.
July 22, 2025
Super repetitive. Could literally have cut the book in half. Only thing that helped me were the five action steps at the end of each chapter.
November 4, 2024
I like learning about saints and things that they have written or just things about their lives in general, so I really enjoyed reading this
February 22, 2017
Very good book.
December 28, 2015
The author uses the nine virtues described by St Paul and gives practical help in developing those virtues in oneself.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews