Customer Reviews

Coming Up for Air: Simple Acts to Redefine Your Life

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've decided that Margaret Becker is the best Christian author since CS Lewis. I loved her music (especially the lyrics.) She has translated that open and brutally honest style of writing to books. This book shows an understanding of what it is like to be overwhelmed by the "tyranny of the busy" and how to break that cycle. I appreciate it is from a single person's point of view and the loneliness that can result from that. However, it is a loneliness that can apply to married or partnered adults as well. Her amusing attempt to reconnect with her childhood and the wonders that entailed were a joy to read. I recommend this book to anyone who is feeling overwhelmed with life and losing that important spiritual connection to our heart, soul, love, and God.

I tried to give this book 5 stars and the Amazon system wouldn't let me.

This is the first book review I have ever written, but I am an avid reader. I can read 2-3 books a day sometimes. I don't remember the last time I read a book this great. It's laugh-out-loud funny. Not just a polite little chuckle -- I mean laughing until you are gasping for air.

I don't know many people who would not relate to this book. We are all too busy and we don't take the time to think about why we are here and what we are doing as opposed to what we really want to do. Margaret leads you through the process of re-thinking your talents and goals, but without the didactic prose that characterizes many other works. Prepare to be shaken from your lethargy --- it is a dynamic, life-changing book. It is also very engaging. It's not a suspense book but it is a real page-turner; it's hard to avoid reading it in one sitting.

My best friend, unlike me, is a person who seldom reads, but has read this one three times, and still can't put it down. There is just a lot to think about here. I believe this could easily become a Christian classic. But I think anyone would benefit from it and enjoy reading it, whether Christian or not. It's not filled with churchy gobbledygook. It is a much-needed breath of fresh air. It is full of life, joy, and warmth.

P.S. Read Margaret's "With New Eyes," too -- it's also wonderful.

I have been privileged to see Margaret Becker present some of this material live and she is truly the 'real deal'. As one reviewer has already indicated, this should be a classic! Insightful, lyrical, humorous, passionate - all describe Ms. Becker and the contents of this book. I want to give everyone whose life is being suffocated this rich book - for it is indeed a life-giving title. Pardon the pun, but this is truly a breath of fresh air!

Once again Margaret Becker has written a truly refreshing book! In Coming Up for Air she challenges, encourages and guides her readers into a lifestyle free of burdens and guilt. This book is a great tool for someone looking to become more comfortable with who God has made them as they attempt to enjoy life and make a difference in the world at the same time. I highly recommend it.

As I read Margaret's book about her journey away from unfulfilling distractions and her journey into a more purposeful and intentional life, I couldn't help but occasionally bow my head and pause at the unfolding truth: this book reflects a holy journey.

There's always been a lot of reasons to be a fan of Margaret's work. In her music, you can take your pick: voice, musicianship, lyrics, strength and vulnerability...it's all there.

While I've loved all these things, I've always been one of those people who has largely been drawn to Margaret's work primarily because of her use of language. The woman can turn a phrase in any context, and that makes it that much more rewarding to hear "Margaret: The Extended Version" in the form of a substantive, artful and beautiful book.

What I love about Margaret's written work is this: her words are totally her own. Frederick Buechner, in describing how some religious words get old, wrote that "the smell of rain is grace." It's in this same vein that Margaret writes. By using language that communicates a deep, spiritual reality, a very "biblical" experience, in a way that is new and unique, she breathes new life into timeless truths. Her writing is a perfect reflection of her artistry, because it's totally her, but it's also totally "God in her," in that it reflects how God works and relates in and to and through her. In short, it reveals a living and unique relationship. When offered up to the rest of us, it presents us with a chance for communion of sorts - a chance to partake of her hard-won lessons and weave them into our own lives in a way that is uniquely us.

For those who loved With New Eyes, this is a more than worthy follow-up. In fact, it in many ways surpasses that book, as beautiful as it was, because of one thing: the beauty and truth found in With New Eyes may have never fully been birthed if there had not first been a Coming Up For Air.

Margaret Becker is a recording artist, author, and speaker, and she has completed her third book titled Coming Up for Air: Simple Acts to Redefine Your Life.

Have you questioned whether you were, as Margaret puts it, not leading but rather running to catch up? Margaret shares her journaling, process of self-reflection, and realizations about her life. She sums up her process as how her soul "came to" and how her eyes were opened. Taking time out to alone, asking questions, getting a sense of the answers, she came out the other side of her quest with her life redefined. She asks questions such as: whose definition of beauty did she hold herself to, whose life rules was she following, was she living passionately, does what she is doing count for anything, and had she missed opportunities while conforming? Asking God to show her, she had to trust like a child, and then she became responsible for what she learned.

This intimate look at Margaret's thoughts and spiritual growth told me much about myself, and I expect that many others will find this to be the case for them, too. Margaret is now doing what she is designed to do--isn't that what we all want? It required letting go of the familiar for the unknown but she proves it is worth it. - Debra Murphy, Christian Book Previews.com

Margaret Becker knows just how touch the heart of the matter in everyday life. Her simple, yet rich thoughts easily resonate with the thoughts inside of most of us. Her humor is apparent as is her belief in God and the combination is a read that is light yet profound. If you haven't read Becker- now is the time to start!

I bought this book because of Margaret's music. Her lyrics have always been deep, insightful, creative, thought provoking, you name it, very good stuff. This book is just as awesome as her lyrics. Margaret talks about her decission to watch the sunrise and sunset for 30 consecutive days. To slow down, come up for air - and watch the world wake up and go to sleep. That sounds really simple and boring...but, what those thirty days awoke, what came up with the sun, what transpired during the sun sinking into the ocean...it was well worth writing a book about, and well worth reading about. She pulls some childhood experiences and weaves them into how they directed her later decissions, how her parents and sister play a roll in her life, how her heart has responded to so many changes and transitions in life. EVERY life. No, its not 'all about Margaret.' Yes, it is about the heart that is within us all. Do get this book, buy an extra copy for a friend, and just read it with an open mind. Think about what she's saying. It will bring about change in the way you see the sunrise and sunset, and all those events that occur in between, guaranteed.

It took three and a half weeks before I got this item, but it was worth the wait.

Books are sometimes very specific to the circumstances of their birth. For example, numerous books have been written in prison. This particular book owes its existence to the sort of feeling elicited by the old Broadway show title, 'Stop The World, I Want To Get Off'.
Imagine doing the thing you love, singing songs of praise and doing well at it. A young person could find themselves being run, rather than running the show very easily. Burn out could be ugly.
Since you are imagining this kind of success, you will realize that it will be in your means to take a good healthy retreat; Ms. Becker appears wise in having taken this option.
With a beach view, a commitment to being open, and encouraging her inner child to bring play into her efforts, she managed to learn what she wanted near and far term, as well as what she didn't want, and put shoes on it.
She shares herself with us: her father compares her to Elaine of Seinfeld fame, someone finds her religious stand 'erring toward Grace', she has her mother's nose. As of publication date, she had kept 500,000 people alive in Africa through her work for World Vision.
Maybe this is to the point: despite the post-colon phrase here, 'Simple Acts to Redefine Your Life', this is way about her, not you. That is probably why there is a study guide. Most of the world will not be getting the message here as well as her women's power group does; they will be relying on 'Thy word is a lamp unto my feet'.