Chasing Skinny Rabbits: What Leads You Into Emotional and Spiritual Exhaustion...and What Can Lead You Out [Hardcover]

Dr. John Trent (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2008

A national epidemic of exhaustion is raging across all cultures and social statuses with a huge price being paid in our lives and relationships.

Chasing Skinny Rabbits gets at the root of why we're so prone to exhaustion. As award-winning author John Trent advises, if you don't understand and deal with life's Skinny Rabbits-those things that distract you and lead you to a negative place-more can't-miss strategies for gaining time and energy will simply lead to more exhaustion.

In this book Trent discusses why we're so prone to chase Skinny Rabbits and offers the five most common Rabbit Trails-

All take and no give
Triple your possessions
Perfectionism
When I get that . . .
Small thinking

and the five most common Rabbit Traps-

Pride
Busyness
Fantasy
Isolation
White lies

He then helps readers shift focus to what can lead to true life, true energy, and true fulfillment, as well as a place of real emotional and spiritual rest.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Trent, a bestselling evangelical author who is president of StrongFamilies.com, writes compellingly on family topics of every kind. Here he tackles skinny rabbits—those distractions that sidetrack us from our true goals and drive us to exhaustion. In a playful gimmick, he employs cartoons as well as text to teach readers how to defeat those traitorous skinny rabbits at their own game. Using whimsical characters and tongue-in-cheek humor, Trent gently exposes how skinny rabbits wreak havoc on individuals emotionally, spiritually and physically. Though tailored to Christians, the book is accessible even to those with nominal faith since Trent's ideas are practical in purpose and scope. The author discusses the pitfalls of various skinny rabbits, including the all-take-and-no-give relationship trail, the possessed by possessions trail, the ideal body trail, the perfectionism trail and the big family event trail. Each of these, Trent cautions, leads to a dead end. While the material aims to instructively entertain, Trent sometimes strays too far into levity; the cartoon approach grabs attention but doesn't lead to much substance. Still, some readers will appreciate the occasional checklists for change inserted sporadically throughout the book. (Jan.)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (January 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849919606
• ISBN-13: 978-0849919602
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,019,218 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. John Trent is the President of The Center for StrongFamilies and StrongFamilies.com (registered as a 501(c)(3) under the name of "Encouraging Words"). He is a nationally known speaker and award winning author. His recent books include the recently revised and updated million selling book, The Blessing, (An ECPA Gold Medallion Winner) The 2 Degree Difference, The Treasure Tree (a children's book that is also a Gold Medallion Winner)and Chasing Skinny Rabbits.

Dr. Trent released two new books in 2011 in addition to the re-release of The Blessing. 2011 new releases are: "I'd Choose You" a children's book and "A Place Called Blessing". Both are partner books with "The Blessing" and help families participate in The Blessing Challenge.

Dr. Trent speaks at marriage and family conferences across the country, as well as in many corporate settings (including being a past presenter at YPO's prestigious Global Leadership Conference). He has been married for 30 years to his wife, Cindy, and they have two outstanding daughters, Kari and Laura.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clever and well written, a must-read, July 15, 2008

By 

FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chasing Skinny Rabbits: What Leads You Into Emotional and Spiritual Exhaustion...and What Can Lead You Out (Hardcover)

The treadmill of modern life can wear anyone down. Between work, family and financial responsibilities, it's easy to see why exhaustion is becoming a way of life for countless people. Yet running yourself ragged doesn't have to be a way of life. According to Dr. John Trent, president of Encouraging Words and StrongFamilies.com, there are a number of reasons why people are wearing themselves out. They are known as "skinny rabbits."

In his latest book, CHASING SKINNY RABBITS, Trent identifies the rabbits and their bunny trails that distract and lead people to negative places that sap their time, energy and resources.

"Beware! There are Skinny Rabbits all around you. They lurk at work and hide in the bushes all along your career path. They can lure you away from anything worthy --- a great marriage, a career goal, a lifelong friendship. They can wreak havoc in small groups, workplace teams, and even churches. Chasing a Skinny Rabbit does worse than just get you off track: it will lead you further and further down a path that will drain the very life from you --- killing your excitement, your creativity, your drive." Trent believes that all too often Skinny Rabbits leave people physically, mentally, spiritually and financially bankrupt. Worst of all, most individuals don't realize that they're chasing a Skinny Rabbit until it's too late and they've lost precious time, relationships or even their life.

So what do these dangerous creatures look like? Trent compares them to popular rabbits from literature, television and culture. Among other bunnies, The Magician's White Rabbit looks appealing but disappears in a moment's notice. The White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland is always late, and if you follow him you'll find the door already locked. Peter Rabbit looks cute, but if you're not careful you'll end up on Mr. McGregor's trophy wall. Bugs Bunny will outwit you --- and raise your debt, blood pressure and frustration level. The Playboy Bunny is seductive and will lead your imagination astray. And the Energizer Bunny keeps going and going, but you never know where.

Basically, a Skinny Rabbit is "anything that pulls you away from a path of purpose and life and leads you into a wilderness of exhaustion and regret."

So how do you know if you're chasing a Skinny Rabbit? Trent says that it's important to pay attention to the trail. He identifies some of the most common trails as well as the pits, swamps and caves you may find yourself living in if you follow a trail too long. They include the "All-take-and-no-give-trail," whereby a relationship leaves you tapped and spent, or the "Possessions that possess us trail," whereby materialism fuels our decisions and life. On the "Perfect Body Trail," the desire for beauty taps our time, energy and money. One of the more surprising trails is the "Big Family Event Trail," whereby organizing a family event leads to more stress and hassle than celebration and joy.

The solution to avoid chasing Skinny Rabbits is to become a wise hunter and pursue the Great Stag --- a relationship with God --- instead. Trent provides practical tips on how to get off of a Skinny Rabbit trail and follow a better trail entirely: the path of peace.

CHASING SKINNY RABBITS is an easy-to-read, thought-provoking book that forces readers to examine where their time and energy are being spent. Though the idea is simple, the implications for change are enormous if placed into practice.

--- Reviewed by Margaret Oines

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining self-help, August 4, 2008

By 

L. A. Harmon - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chasing Skinny Rabbits: What Leads You Into Emotional and Spiritual Exhaustion...and What Can Lead You Out (Hardcover)

I don't read very many self-help or inspirational books that are as entertaining as they are helpful. This book was an exception. His writing was very clever and witty. He caught my attention from the first page and kept it to the very end. Highly recommended!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How Many Skinny Rabbits Are You Chasing After?, October 16, 2009

By 

The Book Blogger - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chasing Skinny Rabbits: What Leads You Into Emotional and Spiritual Exhaustion...and What Can Lead You Out (Hardcover)

Have you ever chased a Skinny Rabbit? No, not a real rabbit, but have you chased something you've longed for, like a promotion, a new mate, a new you? Only to find out that the path to that "success" led you to depression, exhaustion, no friends, and almost dying?

Dr. John Trent has studied the issue chasing after a skinny rabbit. He begins with a very enlightening story of the Wise Hunters hunting the Great Stag and one of the members of the group veers off because of an illusion they see and just have to chase. After they catch the illusion, it's nothing but a skinny rabbit.

The book is easy reading and I finished it very quickly. It isn't hard to figure out what may lead us down Rabbit Trails...the idea is to find the courage to get off of it while you can. Dr. John Trent threw out some scriptures to keep in our hearts to help us not go down a path of doom and gloom.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart"- Proverbs 3:5

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps"-Proverbs 16:9

The most enjoyment I got from this book were the scenarios. The different people who have been led down a path to Skinny Rabbit Brides (hilarious!), Promotions where you just work all day and spend no time with family, chasing financial success, and even being too active in church!

Yes, it is possible to be very active in church doing "good" things but not God things as Trent says.

Read the book and be blessed!