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Among life's uncomfortable situations, God provides incredible blessings—if we are willing to step out from the ledge and trust in Him.
Description: Just as a mother eagle stirs her nest to encourage her eagles to fly, God “stirs our nest,” allowing us to grow in new ways toward spiritual maturity. This book will motivate unfulfilled Christians to respond to God's stirrings and to step out into abundant living.
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Read what Avery had to tell the Southern Baptist Texan.
Learning to Soar
ISBN-13: 9781600066979
Trim Size: 5 1/2 x 8 1/4
Cover: Jacketed Hardback
192 Pages
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Downloadable
Part of a Series
Available in Spanish
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A Great Book
Learning to Soar is appropiate for every step of your life. As a teenager, the book has helped me prepare for change. As I enter college in a couple of years the information discussed in the book will help me prepare for a different and possibly stressful life. The book is very easy to read and the scripture passages reinforce the information presented. The questions at the end of the chapters helped me to think about my life and how I can improve it.
Posted by Melissa Burmester on 2/10/2010 8:33:05 PM
Learning to Soar
BOOK REVIEW: Learning to Soar.
Authored by Avery T. Willis Jr. & Matt Willis;
Published by NavPress.
Synopsis: How to grow through Transition and Trials. A constant reminder for today’s Christian living, from the relationship between an eaglet and its parent.
I quite enjoyed reading the book as it leaves one with that "tantalizing” after-taste” derived from an exotic dish.
Co-authored with a blend of generational views the result of which is plausible; as the younger Willis, (who understands the ideology of any growing Christian) explored the harsh realities in the school of discipline as the eaglet had to encounter in the hands of its parent; while the elder Willis’s metaphors stressed the essence of such lessons as it affects us today.
But on page 98, lies the crux of God’s reason for wanting all His Children learn to soar, there it states:
“ As you try out your own spiritual wings, how do you progress beyond disappointment and mistakes? Let me suggest some guidelines for spreading your wings of faith so that God can accomplish His purpose for you:
How to Build a Dynamic Faith.
1. Scriptural Authority.
2. Holy Spirit’s verification
3. Alignment with God’s purposes
I’d better stop here as there's a few more. You’d better fetch yourself a copy so you’d learn how to soar higher and better unto the Divine heights God ordained for you.
At such zenith, you will eventually experience what it means to soar high up there majestically like the Great eagle on the Wings of the Holy Spirit: and in retrospect, smirking that “Why have I never done this before? What I have missed”!
This book was received as a review copy from NAVPRESS. The summations are entirely mine.
God Bless.
Posted by Emmanuel .O. on 2/7/2010 8:33:18 AM
Learning to Soar
Probably one of the most impacting Discipleship studies I've ever done was one called Masterlife. The author was Avery T. Willis. His humility and depth was apparent in the Masterlife material and I continued to read other projects he released. That latest project is Learning to Soar.
Learning to Soar uses Deuteronomy 32:11 as the basis for the entire book:
Like an eagle that rouses her chicks and hovers over her young, so he spread his wings to take them up and carried them safely on his pinions.(Deuteronomy 32:11, NLT).
Willis takes this verse describing God's work in the Hebrew people during their exodus and brings it to bear on God's work in our lives today. The analogy is used throughout the book to show how God may allow some trouble or hardship in our lives to move us out of our comfortable "nest."
The book is co-authored by Matt Willis, the grandson of Avery Willis. Matt wrote quite a few "aside" sections intertwined with the book text. These sections are included to put a present-day context to the writings of his grandfather.
Since Learning to Soar was published, Willis has been diagnosed with leukemia. I feel quite confident that he will soar through this time of problems in his own personal life.
As with all of Avery Willis' writings, Learning to Soar is a great tool for discipleship. If you are facing some hard times in your life right now, this book may help add a new perspective to those troubles. You may just find that God is using these times to move you from where you are to where He wants you to be.
Posted by Rob Westbrook on 2/5/2010 2:32:39 PM
Learning to Live Like an Eagle
Eagles have long been a symbol of power and strength. It is easy to understand why our forefathers chose the eagle as a symbol of our great nation. We find many comparisons of eagles and their characteristics to the life of God’s people throughout the Old Testament.
I have heard many such accounts used in sermons and have read even more in articles and other books. Still I was intrigued by the title of the book co-authored by Avery T. Willis Jr. and his grandson, Matt Willis, “Learning to Soar: How to Grow Through Transitions and Trials”. The book did not disappoint. While most of my previous encounters with eagle comparisons focused on their power and related it to the power of the Holy Spirit or the strength of God, the Willis grandfather/grandson team begins where many of us have the hardest struggle – in our hardships, the trying circumstances of life, the times when we simply can’t understand why God is allowed something to happen or is allowing it to continue.
From there, they discuss the ways we learn patience (waiting rooms, anyone?!) and then progress to how our faith grows through stepping out, risking failure but dependent upon God. And then finally, they conclude with a refreshing challenge to live our lives in the power of the Holy Spirit, thereby fulfilling God’s plan and purpose for our life.
By comparing the process of the eagle’s growth from birth to maturity to our own spiritual growth, the authors have captured well the reality that our own maturity comes through various transitions, trials, and steps of obedience. I highly recommend this book, no matter where you currently are in your faith journey with God. You will be challenged and comforted, convicted and set free. As Avery said at the end of the book, “Catch the wind of His Spirit and soar.”
Posted by Molly on 2/2/2010 7:09:04 PM
Make Discomort and Adversity Work For You!
You have likely heard of department heads, pastors, CEOs, and other leaders that were “born to lead.” True, their leadership may be preordained, but you would be hard-pressed to find a great leader who has not encountered great difficulties and periods of self-doubt at one time or another on the path to leadership. The difference between people who let those circumstances get the best of them and those people who use the outcomes born from adversity to propel them on toward something greater is precisely the difference Avery T. Willis, Jr. and Matt Willis are trying to illustrate.
"Learning to Soar: How to Grow Through Transitions and Trials" uses the Biblical metaphor of an eagle and her young in Deuteronomy 32:11 to explain how God grows us into leaders. “Like an eagle that rouses her chicks and hovers over her young, so he spread his wings to take them up and carried them safely on his pinions.” (NLT, ©2007).
The eagle stirs her nest to make her young uncomfortable, hovers to make them want to venture out, and finally pushes them out of the nest, which allows them to soar. At first it seems to be an overly simplistic metaphor, but Willis and Willis blend leadership motivation with real-world experiences to illustrate the potential that exists in every setback. We “fledglings” are encouraged to embrace how we feel and reconcile that to our spiritual direction in order to bring about a positive consequence.
"Learning to Soar" allowed me to put voice to my fears and accept that I can choose to remain in fear or to trust in something higher than myself to use any given circumstance to grow who I am. I may not always be in a leadership role, but I can use my setbacks and triumphs to be a role model for others. The questions after each chapter allowed time for contemplative journaling and the additional resources (group study guide, resource appendix, etc.) were helpful in fleshing out to the fullest degree what I originally thought would be a fleeting metaphor. Regardless of your religious background, "Learning to Soar" will be an excellent resource for someone who wishes to see their leadership skills soar to the next level.
Posted by Carrie B on 1/13/2010 8:10:07 AM
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