What if dreaming is as essential to living as breathing? As children, we are captivated by our dreams for the future. We dream of someday being a superhero or an astronaut, to someday get married, to own a business, or to be an actress or a sports star. We all dream of doing or becoming something, and every child has giant, out-of-this-world dreams. We were born to dream BIG! However, as we mature into adults, the realities of life slowly chip away at our dreams for tomorrow. Through hardships, hurts, failures, and bruises, our dreams often become dormant or shrink to match the size of our wounded faith.
If you’re having a hard time dreaming, going through life minimizing the size of your dreams, or just feeling defeated by the resistance you’re facing while chasing your dream, there is good news: 'IT’S NOT OVER'! As long as you have breath in your lungs, God has a dream for you to chase.
Join Pastor Joshua Gagnon as he encourages readers to keep believing that God can do the impossible. Through Josh’s personal stories, biblical insights, stories from Scripture, and more, 'IT'S NOT OVER' will inspire people to live with purpose and to chase their God-given dreams again.
Short, sweet, and full of practical advice, It's Not Over is perfect for everyone who has ever given up on a dream ... no matter how big or small. I really appreciated that Gagnon pointed out that a God-sized dream is one that God has placed on your heart; it doesn't have to be big and impressive from a worldly standpoint. It's that focus that makes this book applicable to anyone.
The book is easy to read, and, while I didn't agree with everything Gagnon said (and honestly, I can't think of a single non-fiction book where I agreed with every single point), I did glean a lot of good advice.
Also, the final chapter, about finishing strong, seems very applicable in today's uncertain world. I know he didn't write this book in the context of COVID-19, but the advice, especially about focusing on what you can control, certainly translates well to this situation.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has a dream they're pursuing ... or to anyone who has been disappointed and wants to learn to dream again.
Disclosure of material connection: I received this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review, and the opinions expressed are my own.
It's Not Over is the perfect book for anyone who has a God size dream in their heart. Whether the dream is something new or you've given up on your dream, this book is for you. The size of your dream doesn't matter, but as long as it comes from the heart of God, it will come into fruition.
With practical advice, this book will have the reader nodding their head and highlighting paragraphs. This book is simple, yet thought provoking for the reader. I found myself thinking about my God size dream and asking myself questions, as I read through this book. It gave me practical advice on how I can pursue my God-given dream, especially in a difficult time in our world, where we are focused on COVID-19. This book brought me life and encouragement. I highly recommend picking up a copy today.
I expected something totally different based on the title. The book is religious american christian “selfhelp” book. It reviews some basic ideas like don’t have expectations, communicate with your partner, don’t give up on your big goals (but sometimes you have to listen to people, who have earned your trust, when they criticize the goal), etc. According the book, you should dream big and in case your dreams fail - maybe they weren’t meant for you or they were just a setback to the path towards your goal… Didn’t learn anything new and was way too religious for my taste. The “use cases” from the bible and the author’s life sounded too polished.
I would love to say I have been leaning on my faith, but I’ve been finding more comfort in escapism, particularly fictional worlds. These days, the less time I spend in my own head the better lol.
I did get a chance to read this It's Not Over by @pastorjoshgagnon and he uses some pretty entertaining stories and unique metaphors. I’ve never considered people as vampires or zombies before but the thought was striking. Made me think a lot about the people in my life which is exactly the idea in a self help book.
I found a lot of his ideas and observations applicable even during lockdown. A lot of books aren't particularly useful right now, because it almost feels like our lives are on hold, but Gagnon's words will make you want to. use the time we are given to reconnect with who we used to be and how we used to see God.
Hopefully, I can remember to use these lessons as I move forward, and begin dreaming again. As a lot of people did, I read Purpose Driven Life years ago, and I can't help but feel this is a wonderful followup. Like taking those lessons a step forward and identifying real life ways of living with a purpose.
I forget where I heard of this one but whomever shared about it said enough for me to look for a copy. At that point in my life I was experiencing a lot of disappointment, and even in the first month of 2023 there have been some big ones.
The kind of disappointment Gagnon talks about is defined as being defeated in expectation or hope; the serious kind that deeply hurts. It looks different for each of us and he recognizes that, but he strongly encourages us not to lose hope, to not give up. He offers both practical and spiritual advice that any age can benefit from. Sometimes all we need is to hear (or read) what we might already know from another voice and Gagnon’s is a hopeful, kind, and supportive one.
This is a quick read but still packed with plenty to ponder on. It’s always hard to rate nonfiction books like this and I can’t say I loved it but I did like it and was touched by some of the things he said and the perspectives he offers. 3.5 stars
It's Not Over is an inspiring novel about overcoming your fears and disappointments and going after your God-sized dreams. Joshua Gagnon uses scriptures and personal experiences to show us how it is never too late to follow our dreams and realize that God gave us all certain skills to make those dreams happen.
I liked that Joshua Gagnon made me feel so hopeful. There are so many of us that have put our dreams on hold for different reasons and his advice lit a fire in me to live a life that I know I can. He reminded me that without disappointment and obstacles then you probably aren't on the right path. We have to push past them and really fight for our dreams.
I give It's Not Over 4 stars. I feel like this book will empower so many to move forward with our dreams. And he reminds us that God gave us the right attributes for our dreams.
What makes It's Not Over different from just any other self-help book is how the author, a pastor, ties the pursuit of personal ambition with fulfilling the gifts and talents that we all received from God and using what we are already good at, and the community that we already part of, to fulfill the destiny for which we were born. Whether you are a Christian or just looking to find and achieve your purpose, whether you want to start a ministry or build a legacy, whether you want to help others or are seeking help for your own vision, this book provides tools to help identify and use the resources that are already in place to accomplish just that.
It was a quick read with good advice about the pursuit of God-given dreams. It was apparent when I reviewed again to mark down some quotes that there was a lot more useful wisdom than I had gleamed upon the first pass. Ideal for those seeking God’s direction and those facing disappointment or disillusionment during those pursuits.
I love how Pastor Joshua tackles tough topics in this book. It is so refreshing to see a Pastor speak so candidly about such topics. He relates everything back to the bible, with specific examples from Nehemiah, David, Joseph, and so forth.
I flew through this book! It’s written by Joshua Gagnon, who is the founder and pastor of the Next Level Church, one of the fastest growing churches in the States. Even though he is a pastor and talks about God-sized dreams, it doesn’t read to me like a preachy book. Sometimes with religion genre books they feel like that to me. This was a book about yes Christian living, but more about personal growth. And I love self/personal growth help books! .
I mean in the very beginning he starts out by saying how much he loves KFC! Me too! Then of course he goes on to talk about the founder of KFC and the long road he took to success but never gave up. He talks a lot about the difference between goals you can achieve but don’t need to ask God for help- like your book goal! God is with you but it’s the God-sized dreams where you need to let him guide you. Dreams and goals like you want marriage, kids, to move to a new place, or overcome an addiction are just a few of the many. And I like to think this massive virus that seems to be all encompassing in our lives right now. Life is hard and scary right now and all we can have it faith/hope and know he will continue to guide us. .
Well now I sound a little preachy! But in times like these I think it’s important no matter your religion or beliefs that we all come together to have hope! So if you are looking for a positive book with a great message, that will help you stay on track to achieve your God-sized dreams, this book is it!
It’s Not Over: Leaving Behind Disappointment and Learning To Dream Again is about pursuing our dreams and living a life of purpose. In life, we are susceptible to discarding our dreams because of difficulty or unbelief in ourselves. The author, Joshua Gagnon writes about our dreams, how to determine what our God-sized dream is, discovering the purpose we were created for, how to overcome disappointment, and how to pray boldly.
Mr. Gagnon writes in a voice filled with passion and mission. The Scriptures Mr. Gagnon features aids in communicating who God has created us to be and how our dreams are born from Him. Through his personal life experiences, Mr. Gagnon reveals that God creates our God-sized dreams in our hearts. Mr. Gagnon also states that when you experience resistance it usually means that you are going in the right direction. These two points were really poignant and relevant to me and I think that when you read this book you will find many revelations of your purpose.
I recommend that you read this book. This book will have you reflect on your God-sized dream and will direct you to seek God and His purpose for your life.