Crazy Busy: A (Mercifully) Short Book about a (Really) Big Problem (DeYoung)

Description

“I’M TOO BUSY!” We’ve all heard it. We’ve all said it. All too often, busyness gets the best of us.

Just one look at our jam-packed schedules tells us how hard it can be to strike a well-reasoned balance between doing nothing and doing it all.

That’s why award-winning author and pastor Kevin DeYoung addresses the busyness problem head on in his newest book, Crazy Busy — and not with the typical arsenal of time management tips, but rather with the biblical tools we need to get to the source of the issue and pull the problem out by the roots.

Highly practical and super short, Crazy Busy will help you put an end to “busyness as usual.” 

Contents

1. Hello, My Name is Busy
2. Here, There, and Gone: Three Dangers to Avoid
3. The Killer P’s – Diagnosis #1: You Are Beset with Many Manifestations of Pride
4.  The Terror of Total Obligation – Diagnosis #2: You Are Trying to Do What God Does Not Expect You to Do
5. Mission Creep – Diagnosis #3: You Can’t Serve Others without Setting Priorities
6. A Cruel Kindergarchy – Diagnosis #4: You Need to Stop Freaking Out about Your Kids
7. Deep Calls to Deep – Diagnosis #5: You Are Letting the Screen Strangle Your Soul
8. Rhythm and Blues – Diagnosis #6: You’d Better Rest Yourself before you Wreck Yourself
9. Embracing the Burdens of Busyness – Diagnosis #7: You Suffer More because You Don’t Expect to Suffer at All
10. The One thing You Must Do  

Endorsements 

“DeYoung shows how trusting in God’s providence helps us work hard without going crazy.” — World MagazineWorld Magazine

“Everything Kevin DeYoung writes is biblical, timely, and helpful for both life and ministry. You can’t afford to miss what he says here in Crazy Busy. He rightly reminds us to beware of the barrenness of a busy life, since activity and productivity are not the same thing.” — Rick Warren, #1 New York Times best-selling author, The Purpose Driven Life; Pastor, Saddleback Church

“A great book for the stressed-out. DeYoung shows that Jesus was busy and Christians should be busy discipling nations, parenting children, and bearing burdens. He rightly differentiates that from ‘crazy busy,’ a frenzied trying to please some and control others—and he shows how biblical rhythms and trust in God’s providence can keep us sane. Also a great book for parents who live in a Kindergarchy, over-programming their children: DeYoung says let them play, because it’s not easy either to ruin them or to assure their success.” — Marvin Olasky, Editor in Chief, World News Group

“I’m glad to take time out of my busy life to endorse Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung. As Kevin makes abundantly clear, our busyness can be evidence of our faithfulness or, on the other hand, evidence of our pride, ambition, and unbridled activity. As always, Kevin DeYoung is a careful thinker, a gifted pastor, and a writer who keeps the reader on the edge of our seat.” — R. Albert Mohler Jr., President and Joseph Emerson Brown Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“Kevin DeYoung goes after our busyness with all the best of Reformed theology: we don’t need to manage our busyness better, we have a busy heart, seeking approval from others. The problem isn’t too much to do, but a heart out of tune with God’s calling, forgetting its limitations, seduced by the siren calls of ‘the perfect family’ or ‘the successful career.’ In a world where speed and accomplishment is everything, DeYoung calls us to return to the rhythms of a Sabbath rest.” — Paul E. Miller, author, A Praying Life; Director, seeJesus.net

“Busy, hectic lives are the bane of the modern world. This book is not profound; rather it simply offers a lot of that most unfashionable commodity—common sense. DeYoung exposes the nature of busyness, the various ways in which it deludes us, and offers some basic advice on what to do about it. A fine, short book which deserves a wide readership.” — Carl R. Trueman, Paul Woolley Professor of Church History, Westminster Theological Seminary

“If you are like me and think you are too busy to read this book, trust me, you are too busy not to. As a mom of two little ones at home, I find my days are long, busy, and exhausting. However, after reading Crazy Busy, perspectives, priorities, and order were put back in place. This has been one of the most helpful books I have read to date. Whether you are a mom of two or a CEO of 200, this book will point you to the one and only thing your soul truly needs . . . Christ.” — Ali Deckard, stay-at-home mom

“If you’re like me, you’ll see yourself in the mirror of DeYoung’s experience and will be prompted to make changes based on the biblical diagnosis we find in these pages. Trust me. You’re too busy not to read this book.” — Trevin Wax, editor, LifeWay Christian Resources; author, Holy Subversion: Allegiance to Christ in an Age of Rivals

About the Author 

Kevin DeYoung (MDiv, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) is senior pastor at University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan. He blogs at the Gospel Coalition and has authored or coauthored numerous well-known books such as Just Do Something and The Hole in Our Holiness, as well as the award-winning books Why We’re Not Emergent and Why We Love the Church (with Ted Kluck).