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Beyond Me: Living a YouFirst Life in a MeFirst World

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Beyond Me: Living a You-First Life in a Me-First World - Kathi Macias

© 2008 New Hope Publishers, Birmingham

Kathi Macias's biography lists mainly devotional and mystery novels in her list of works. Now she is spreading her wings, digging deeper, and challenging her readers.

Beyond Me takes a hard look at how Christ followers live in the self-centered society that permeates the world today. Each chapter tackles another facet of the selfish lifestyle that the world - and most Christians practice in the modern world. She includes a variety of meaningful illustrations straight from her own life, from her conversion experience, to opportunities she encountered in areas of ministry that she found herself as she grew in her faith. In addition she uses Scriptural bases to form her ideas about what believers should be about.

One of the helpful inclusions in the book are the end-of-chapter, think-deeper questions. These are designed to help the reader to evaluate their own place in the Christian walk, internalize the previous few pages' material, and challenge the reader to apply the truths to their life.

Especially enjoyable was the treatment of familiar biblical passages such as the stories of the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan. I would highly recommend this challenging read for anyone who is tired of living a mediocre Christianity. Others will want to avoid this book until they are ready to be convicted of their selfishness.

Four and one-half out of five reading glasses

--Benjamin Potter, October 8, 2009

"Become a New Hope Book Review Blogger. Visit [...]for more information."

Kathi Macias slices right through the "Me-First" sickness plaguing our culture. The tip of that knife exposed my own tendency to lethargy and pitfall of "good things". What does God have in mind for me? Can I find the New Testament Jesus in today's trappings?
Macias calls from personal examples and meaty scripture," Search!" Search hard for a relationship with God that is more than just a glance through a dusty rearview mirror. Let the principles of "Beyond Me" kindle the coals in your soul that cry for fire.
Two hundred pages, places to scribble, and sidebars that hook you. I'll be hanging on to this book for a long time. But I'll share.

Ever had mornings you don't want to get out of bed, days you don't feel like going to work? What do you do when the issue is obeying God? You love him; you are his child. Yet you still don't want to obey, and allow yourself to transformed into his image through your obedience. The heart of Kathi Macias' new book Beyond Me - Living a You-First life in a Me-First World balances tenuously on is this question. When the honeymoon is over - What Then?

Inspired by a cosmetic line marketed as "It Is All About Me," Kathi digs deeply into her 30 year personal Christian history to grapple with the issue of discipleship.

"Jesus didn't call us to make converts," Kathi said during our interview. "We aren't called to sit and listen to teaching, or (passively) expect to be blessed. He called us to make disciples. When you are all wrapped up in yourself, you make a pretty small package." According to Kathi, making disciples is about modeling a changed life. When we become a Christian, we learn how to live for Christ. The next step is modeling a changed life, living you-first in a me-first world.

As Kathi and I talked for nearly 30 minutes, she returned to a number of themes woven throughout the text. As people, we often have layers of emotional issues, learned habits which run counter to a discipled, disciplined Christian lifestyle. Living `you-first' means allowing Christ to remove the layers in order to reveal the person he has called and equipped you to become.

As American's, we often hold onto an "I can do it, and have to do it myself" kind of attitude. Yet Jesus calls us to participate with him, and allow Him to participate in our lives in order to build his kingdom, not our own. Another theme Kathi returned to is that some Christian's expect the church is God's "Bless me Club" Too often, our thoughts and prayers revolve in a fixed orbit around our own desires. Kathi's book is an encouragement, and a challenge to take the message of the gospel and make it personal. It's not about being served, but serving others.

Toward the end of our interview, I asked Kathi what she believed opened the door to this kind of lifestyle. I have heard these words from a church podium, yet not taken up the charge to change? She responded, "The bottom line to every sin, everything that takes us away from God's call on our life is a broken relationship with Him." The external sermon becomes an internal motivation when we understand God's heart toward us. He takes upon himself the shame of sin, he doesn't give it. He reaches and forgives rather than standing aloof and demanding of us. For Kathi, as she writes in this book, God so loved that he gave. He calls us to do the same.

You have not been given any trial or hardship that someone before you has not already endured. Look to the Lord to help guide you through each situation. The title, Beyond Me, describes this book perfectly. As you endure your hardships look around you and be aware of others who may be going through the same difficulty. Don't be afraid to share your story!

Reading this book will remind you of your purpose on earth. You will go through hardships and being open to helping others is your obligation. The Lord has not put us on this earth to live self-centered lives but to be a witness for him. By allowing our hearts to harden towards those in need, we lose our usefulness for the Lord.

Reading this book will also have you rethinking how you handle your trials. Do you call out to him or do you complain? How do you react when these trials are caused by someone else? Do you forgive or do you hold a grudge? Forgiving and sharing are not easy but with the Lord's help every believer can be an encouragement. This book has some great information for those who want to live beyond themselves.

I was given this book by [...] to review

This book was pretty good. It was very deep. Being non-fiction, it took me much longer to read that most books. However, it had some beautiful stories in it that illustrated the points that were being made. That was my favorite part of this book. This would be a great tool to facilitate discussion at a home Bible study or in a women's group.

In today's world, it's all about me, and it's all about you. It's all about what we want and what we'll do to get it. But in her book, Beyond Me: Living a You-First Life in a Me-First World, author Kathi Macias reminds us that the Christian life is not about us at all. Forget prosperity religion and comfort zones, Macias takes us on a face-to-face encounter with a bloody Savior and repeats His words, "...whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple." Luke 14:33 At times, it's a difficult and painful encounter. Beyond Me did exactly that. It took me beyond myself and required that I see the unsaved as Christ sees them: lost souls in need of a Savior. We can take them to that Savior. We have to.

Vonda Skelton

I admit that after scanning the table of contents when I picked up my friend Kathi Macias' book, "Beyond Me. Living a You-First Life in a Me-First World," I went directly to the appendix! I adored my father and no way could I wait until after I'd read the entire book to see what Kathi had written about her dad. Unusual as it might be, the appendix, with Kathi's story of her dad, became my launch pad into the balance of her wonderfully created guide to living life more fully. In each chapter, she gently lifted me, shaking the pretense out of me, skillfully opening Scripture time and time again with examples of how to live for others within a world that so much of the time is utterly "me first." As I read Kathi's words, she walked me through those familiar scriptures with new eyes. I filled in blanks with my personal experiences and was uplifted in the promise that with Jesus, I really can live more fully beyond myself. If you, like me, tend to skim quickly across the surface of busy days, you will be taught and mentored well in using Beyond Me in your daily meditation and worship. Keep it close, drink it in, and allow it to help stretch and strengthen your spiritual walk with the Lord.
Sally Chambers, Author of Contemporary Inspirational Fiction

In her book, Kathi Macias reminds us that our greatest enemy is a hard heart. Because of our pride plus our American independent attitude of..."I can do it myself," we are prone to wander from our Heavenly Father and from each other. Instead of being proud of our works, God calls us to a humble recognition that all is the result of His grace. God established human relationships and we need each other. We are called to have a spirit of reconciliation, restoration, and servanthood, but how can we do this? Kathi uses warm real life experiences to show us and applies Scripture effectively to convict, inform, and challenge. Kathi's conclusions can become a life-changing experience for those who get the message. I was deeply touched by Kathi's book, and I highly recommend it!

I had the great privilege and honor of reading Kathi's book, BEYOND ME: LIVING A YOU-FIRST LIFE IN A ME-FIRST WORLD, when it was still in the manuscript stages. To say I was deeply moved is an understatement.

Kathi writes with the unique combination of a writer's heart for truth and a pastor's heart of love. Her book, written, in my opinion, "for such a time as this", addresses the spirit of compromise that has infiltrated the Body of Christ and provides solutions to overcoming that spirit.

Sharing examples from her own life, Kathi simultaneously admonishes and encourages as she shares hard truths that may be uncomfortable for us to hear and to face but must, nevertheless, be addressed if we are to become faithful followers of Jesus Christ.

If you are hungry to move to a deeper level in Christ, and if you are ready to shed your Christian complacency, read BEYOND ME. But don't just read it; apply it in your life. Its message will take you to a new dimension of relationship both with God and with your fellow man. If you're serious about following Jesus Christ, this book is a must-read.

Who wants to admit, "Life is really all about me. I'm the center of my own universe. In fact, let me teach you my personal theme song--`Me me me me me me me.'" Confession: I've had to do exactly that on a few occasions: admit to myself and God that, despite my humble appearances, I was totally self-absorbed at times. As a professional writer, occasional speaker, and member of my church worship team I received a lot of pats on the back from friends and family. At the same time I entered adulthood with a lot of hidden insecurities that triggered the need for validation and constant reminders that I was loved. I never set out to put myself first. I'm known for being generous, kind, and compassionate. But a series of circumstances revealed that my need to be the best, the most loved friend, and on and on often caused even my ministries and acts of kindness to be about me. Ouch!

When I found out about Kathi Macias' new book Beyond Me: Living a You-First Life in a Me-First world I knew I needed to read it. I got sucked in immediately, as she told the story of when God told her, "Somebody needs to set up the chairs." Could I ever relate? She went on to share her testimony of how she came to Christ and learned to truly live for Him, challenging the reader to examine what it really means to live for Christ.

I wouldn't say that this is an easy book to read. It's convicting and sobering. Yet, Kathi writes in such a warm, relatable, vulnerable style that I never felt hammered or condemned. Instead I wanted to let God use her words to continue changing me. Each chapter includes examples from her own life and how she learned about sacrifice, serving, Christ-like love, and pursuing God's heart. Her reflective questions and space for recording thought provide opportunities to record what He is doing.

It's no exaggeration when I say that every Christian should read this book. No matter how closely we guard our exposure to media we are constantly bombarded with "Self first" messages. Beyond Me is a beautiful reminder of Who really comes first (or should come first) in our lives. I could go on and on about how much I loved this book. Instead, I suggest you experience it for yourself.