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Live Smart: Preparing for the Future God Wants for You
A Guide to Living Wisely While You're Young
As a professor and youth director, author Dan Dumas has seen that young people have high expectations for themselves. They want their lives to matter, and there's no reason our expectations for them should be any different.
This book presents practical tools and biblical advice to middle school and high school-aged readers so they can make the most of their youth. It covers everything from making the right friendships to how to think about education and how to invest in their relationships with God. The habits a person forms when they're young can last a lifetime--now's the time to make it count.
This book is ideal for parents and youth pastors to give to young people to read on their own or study in groups.
As a professor and youth director, author Dan Dumas has seen that young people have high expectations for themselves. They want their lives to matter, and there's no reason our expectations for them should be any different.
This book presents practical tools and biblical advice to middle school and high school-aged readers so they can make the most of their youth. It covers everything from making the right friendships to how to think about education and how to invest in their relationships with God. The habits a person forms when they're young can last a lifetime--now's the time to make it count.
This book is ideal for parents and youth pastors to give to young people to read on their own or study in groups.
144 pages, Paperback
Published April 5, 2016
10 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 5, 2018
Practical wisdom for any Christian. I really enjoyed this!
October 21, 2017
This is a great devotional book! I would definitely recommend this book and read this again!
May 3, 2017
A good book with some very practical, Biblical counsel for young people...and old people alike. Could be a very helpful resource to use if in a discipleship relationship with a high school or college age person.
June 22, 2017
This book is an easy read, as it is written for high-school/college students. It's not profound, but it is good. At first I thought about giving it 3 stars because it's so basic, but then I realized that it does effectively accomplish what it sets out to do; namely, admonish young people to take practical steps in pursuit of biblical wisdom. This would be a great resource for parents and pastors to use in teaching young people how to take responsibility for their lives and faith.
April 20, 2019
This is a great guide to helping someone make the best choices for his/her future. Understanding that the author works with young people, I see why he geared the book towards the young. However, this book would help ANYONE going through life changes, job changes, or spiritual growth. With just a tweak here and there, this book can easily broaden its audience. I felt like I was having coffee with a friend who cares.
December 27, 2019
A great book based on biblical principles that readers can utilize in various areas of their lives. The book is written in a straightforward way tht is easy for readers to read and relate to. I believe this book is geared towards the junior high/high school age range, but I found it to be applicable to my life (university student) and I think other young adults would as well.
January 17, 2018
I thought this was a very easy read. Very practical as it should be. I went through this with my oldest Son when he turned 12 and got a lot from it. Definitely worth your time.
March 2, 2020
I used this book while leading a discipleship group of 6th grade boys. The short chapters were great for that age group. Very practical and gospel centered book.
September 6, 2022
I enjoyed this practical book. It’s another one written for teens, but I kept forgetting they were the audience. It is practical wisdom from the book of Proverbs and how to live it out.
November 16, 2022
Good book for teenagers.
May 13, 2016
[Note: This book was provided free of charge by Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.]
I must admit that I do not remember asking for this book, nor had I heard anything about its author beforehand, but this book was a very pleasant surprise and a book to warmly recommend and apply. With a mixture of self-effacing wit, confidence, and scriptural backing, the author has written a guide to practical Christianity for fairly young Christians with an eye towards encouraging them to be leaders in faith, service, friendship, and evangelism. Containing a blend of humorous personal anecdotes and a restrained but confessional honesty about his own personal background along with quotes from other Christian leaders (besides a goodly amount of biblical quotations and citations), this is a book that is written to be read, at less than 140 pages not including its endnotes, and applied. This book is the sort of book that would make for an excellent graduation gift for a young Christian leaving high school or college and looking for practical guidance on how to live life such that one can be useful for God's purposes, and this is a book that delivers the goods with blunt honesty but also a great deal of warm empathy as well.
In terms of its structure and contents, the book is well-organized to make its points plain. Opening with a forward and an introduction about a bear, a lion, and the reader, the book immediately sets up a combination of personal and biblical stories. The book is divided into four parts and fourteen chapters. The first part, "You + God," examines such subjects as the fear of God, prayer and Bible study, and loving the Church. The second part, "You + Others," contains chapters on submission to authority, serving others, seeking mentors, and choosing friends wisely. The third part, "You + Yourself," encourages readers to take more risks, work hard, make improving character of pivotal importance, fleeing sexual immorality, and embracing correction. The fourth and final part, "You + The Gospel," encourages readers to know the Gospel and also to speak, defend, and spread it, before concluding with a note of encouragement for the reader to be willing to follow God into the deep, and be focused on continual improvement.
Although there is a great deal about this book that will likely strike many readers are very familiar, the book succeeds in multiple ways. For one, the book is written with a focus on instructing its readers, including on matters such as imputation [1]. For another, the book is written with such a great deal of humor that the writer is able to overcome a great deal of latent cynicism on the part of readers so long as they are remotely receptive to his work. For example, when speaking about himself as a young man, he has this to say about respecting authority: "On December 26, 1984, I stepped off a bus and realized I was not as smart as I thought. That day was my first day of boot camp with the US Navy. It was still dark when I arrived, but I could see enough to know I was in a heap of trouble. See, I went into the military because I wanted to get away from my parents. I didn't like having them tell me what to do. Well, guess what happens when you go to boot camp? They told us when to sleep, when to eat, how long to eat, how to dress, where to stand, how to make our bed, how to shine our shoes, and everything else. This may surprise you, but they didn't use soft voices and kind words when they told us to do those things. Here I was, running away from authority structures, only to find myself in the most structured environment on the planet. Genius. (49)" Whether one is looking for a practical guide on how to live righteously and further the interests of God on this earth, or whether one believes that someone else may benefit from such shrewd and well-spoken advice, this is a worthwhile book to read, and one I would happily loan to any young person of my own acquaintance who wanted sound advice told with a gentle sense of humor, and that made its point quickly and without any unnecessary padding.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
I must admit that I do not remember asking for this book, nor had I heard anything about its author beforehand, but this book was a very pleasant surprise and a book to warmly recommend and apply. With a mixture of self-effacing wit, confidence, and scriptural backing, the author has written a guide to practical Christianity for fairly young Christians with an eye towards encouraging them to be leaders in faith, service, friendship, and evangelism. Containing a blend of humorous personal anecdotes and a restrained but confessional honesty about his own personal background along with quotes from other Christian leaders (besides a goodly amount of biblical quotations and citations), this is a book that is written to be read, at less than 140 pages not including its endnotes, and applied. This book is the sort of book that would make for an excellent graduation gift for a young Christian leaving high school or college and looking for practical guidance on how to live life such that one can be useful for God's purposes, and this is a book that delivers the goods with blunt honesty but also a great deal of warm empathy as well.
In terms of its structure and contents, the book is well-organized to make its points plain. Opening with a forward and an introduction about a bear, a lion, and the reader, the book immediately sets up a combination of personal and biblical stories. The book is divided into four parts and fourteen chapters. The first part, "You + God," examines such subjects as the fear of God, prayer and Bible study, and loving the Church. The second part, "You + Others," contains chapters on submission to authority, serving others, seeking mentors, and choosing friends wisely. The third part, "You + Yourself," encourages readers to take more risks, work hard, make improving character of pivotal importance, fleeing sexual immorality, and embracing correction. The fourth and final part, "You + The Gospel," encourages readers to know the Gospel and also to speak, defend, and spread it, before concluding with a note of encouragement for the reader to be willing to follow God into the deep, and be focused on continual improvement.
Although there is a great deal about this book that will likely strike many readers are very familiar, the book succeeds in multiple ways. For one, the book is written with a focus on instructing its readers, including on matters such as imputation [1]. For another, the book is written with such a great deal of humor that the writer is able to overcome a great deal of latent cynicism on the part of readers so long as they are remotely receptive to his work. For example, when speaking about himself as a young man, he has this to say about respecting authority: "On December 26, 1984, I stepped off a bus and realized I was not as smart as I thought. That day was my first day of boot camp with the US Navy. It was still dark when I arrived, but I could see enough to know I was in a heap of trouble. See, I went into the military because I wanted to get away from my parents. I didn't like having them tell me what to do. Well, guess what happens when you go to boot camp? They told us when to sleep, when to eat, how long to eat, how to dress, where to stand, how to make our bed, how to shine our shoes, and everything else. This may surprise you, but they didn't use soft voices and kind words when they told us to do those things. Here I was, running away from authority structures, only to find myself in the most structured environment on the planet. Genius. (49)" Whether one is looking for a practical guide on how to live righteously and further the interests of God on this earth, or whether one believes that someone else may benefit from such shrewd and well-spoken advice, this is a worthwhile book to read, and one I would happily loan to any young person of my own acquaintance who wanted sound advice told with a gentle sense of humor, and that made its point quickly and without any unnecessary padding.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
October 7, 2016
I have been reading a lot of books lately*, and Live Smart by Dan Dumas has to be one of my favorites. It is written for high schoolers, so, seeing as how I am writing this on my 30th birthday**, I am not the intended audience. However, almost everything in the book is applicable to Christians of any age.
This book is excellent because it is to the point. It is a fairly short book, but covers so much. It is broken down into four parts:
You + God
You + Others
You + Yourself
You + the Gospel
Each part covers a few different things, ranging from the importance of studying the Bible and praying, to working hard. I did not find anything in this book to be controversial in the least bit, it could easily apply to anyone that accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior and seeks to follow His word, whether you are of a faith the interprets the Bible literally or more liberally.
The book has some anecdotes, but only when they really apply, the bulk of the book is doing just what the title says: preparing you for the future God wants for you! It has applicable Bible verses in each topic, allowing you to see WHY he says these are the things you should do to "Live Smart", other than taking his word for it.
While I was reading it I thought that the author could easily tweak a few things, tell a few different stories, and make a series of books for people in different situations: children, mothers, husbands, etc., much like Stormie Omartian has done with the "Power of a Praying..." series. I was wishing that he would, because the book was so good, and such a short read I would love to give it to people as a gift, but they might be thrown off when I hand them a book aimed at teenagers.
I literally had no complaints about this book, which I received for free from the publisher.
This book is excellent because it is to the point. It is a fairly short book, but covers so much. It is broken down into four parts:
You + God
You + Others
You + Yourself
You + the Gospel
Each part covers a few different things, ranging from the importance of studying the Bible and praying, to working hard. I did not find anything in this book to be controversial in the least bit, it could easily apply to anyone that accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior and seeks to follow His word, whether you are of a faith the interprets the Bible literally or more liberally.
The book has some anecdotes, but only when they really apply, the bulk of the book is doing just what the title says: preparing you for the future God wants for you! It has applicable Bible verses in each topic, allowing you to see WHY he says these are the things you should do to "Live Smart", other than taking his word for it.
While I was reading it I thought that the author could easily tweak a few things, tell a few different stories, and make a series of books for people in different situations: children, mothers, husbands, etc., much like Stormie Omartian has done with the "Power of a Praying..." series. I was wishing that he would, because the book was so good, and such a short read I would love to give it to people as a gift, but they might be thrown off when I hand them a book aimed at teenagers.
I literally had no complaints about this book, which I received for free from the publisher.
May 22, 2016
This is a good little book for high school and college students. It would make a nice graduation gift.
Dumas wants young people to be prepared for life and be intentional. He gives the tools they will need, with insights from his own life and the Bible. He writes about several principles regarding living life wisely. He encourages a fear of God, having a high view of Him and doing what He says. He recommends knowing the Bible, practicing prayer, and loving the church. He writes about submitting to authority with an emphasis on preparing to lead.
He continues on the subjects of serving others, seeking mentors, choosing friends wisely, taking risks, working hard, developing good character, fleeing sexual immorality, and embracing correction. He encourages young people to know the gospel well, to speak about it and defend it.
Why give a book like this to a young person? Dumas reminds us “that the way you live as a young person will make an impact on the way you live as an adult.” It's a good idea to have young people implement these practical life lessons early. Giving a copy of this book and encouraging them to read it is a good idea. It will help them build a gospel centered life as they benefit from the many practical ideas included in the book.
I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an independent and honest review.
Dumas wants young people to be prepared for life and be intentional. He gives the tools they will need, with insights from his own life and the Bible. He writes about several principles regarding living life wisely. He encourages a fear of God, having a high view of Him and doing what He says. He recommends knowing the Bible, practicing prayer, and loving the church. He writes about submitting to authority with an emphasis on preparing to lead.
He continues on the subjects of serving others, seeking mentors, choosing friends wisely, taking risks, working hard, developing good character, fleeing sexual immorality, and embracing correction. He encourages young people to know the gospel well, to speak about it and defend it.
Why give a book like this to a young person? Dumas reminds us “that the way you live as a young person will make an impact on the way you live as an adult.” It's a good idea to have young people implement these practical life lessons early. Giving a copy of this book and encouraging them to read it is a good idea. It will help them build a gospel centered life as they benefit from the many practical ideas included in the book.
I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an independent and honest review.
June 17, 2016
Live smart by Dan Dumas. In this book Dumas teaches us about following God's way and not our own. He explains very well how sometimes we think we know whats best but when honest with ourselves: we all know God has the better plan!
I love how just by reading his book you can tell he's excited about what he wants to say. There are times when he seems to go a little overboard with the explanation or might continue on a topic for too long. So for me it got a kind of hard to read at times.
Dumas really has a heart for people to understand this an in all words, Live Smart! I would recommend this to anyone who hasn't read books like this before. I've grown up reading on these sort of topics so it was kind of the same thing said in a different way. If you want the truth an honesty about choosing God's way, than you should read this book!
I love how just by reading his book you can tell he's excited about what he wants to say. There are times when he seems to go a little overboard with the explanation or might continue on a topic for too long. So for me it got a kind of hard to read at times.
Dumas really has a heart for people to understand this an in all words, Live Smart! I would recommend this to anyone who hasn't read books like this before. I've grown up reading on these sort of topics so it was kind of the same thing said in a different way. If you want the truth an honesty about choosing God's way, than you should read this book!
October 10, 2016
Live Smart by Dan Dumas is a must read for youth! Mr. Dumas delivers a comprehensive read full of wisdom on topics young Christians face as they journey through this world. Some of these topics speak about knowing the Bible, praying and serving others, working hard, amongst other topics that I believe every young Christian should know about.
Mr. Dumas writes with much wisdom, inspiration, and gets to the point. I found it to be a quick read and it was filled with a lot of passion for guiding young Christians in their path in life. I think parents will appreciate the care in which Mr. Dumas has written this book.
Happy Reading!
Note: I have received a copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.
Mr. Dumas writes with much wisdom, inspiration, and gets to the point. I found it to be a quick read and it was filled with a lot of passion for guiding young Christians in their path in life. I think parents will appreciate the care in which Mr. Dumas has written this book.
Happy Reading!
Note: I have received a copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.
June 27, 2021
Dan Dumas has done a wonderful job of putting together a short, easy-to-read book for young people (jr high to college age). Although written for youth, I have found this book immensely helpful for my own life. After reading the book twice now, and taking a group of students through it, I can highly recommend this book because of it's simplicity and it's Gospel focus. I have so appreciated the discussions I have had with the students in our church as well as applying some of these principles to my own life. Give this book to every young person you know!
September 17, 2016
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an objective review. I love this book for young and new Christians. Parents and churches should hand these out with Bibles as gifts!
June 23, 2016
Short, easy-to-read book that packs a punch in how to live purposefully and productively. Geared for teens/high schoolers/college students who are serious about deepening their walk with God.
November 3, 2016
Excellent book for teens. Parents/youth workers should utilize this for one-on-one discipleship.
November 24, 2016
Definitely a book I'll have my kids read someday.
December 13, 2016
A must read for teenagers. You DON'T have to wait for old age to be wise. Prepare for an amazing future with this book.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews