The Grad's Guide to Choosing Well: Wisdom for Life on Your Own by The Navigators

The Grad’s Guide to Choosing Well is published by Navpress under its TH1NK line of materials.
It explores common tough issues and temptations teens and young adults will likely face as they head out for life on their own in colleges. These issues covered in the book are:

• Future
• Sexual Temptations
• Dealing with friends and roommates
• Dealing with family members
• Practicing integrity in studies and work
• Living out my Christian faith
• Getting connected with a local church
• Who am I? Identity issue
• Making use of my free time
• Handling money

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he's the one who will keep you on track.

(Proverbs 3:5-6, The Message)

Using Proverbs 3:5-6 as a foundation for making choices and setting priorities in daily life, this guide follow a pre-set format of the so-called Choice Matrix where each line of Prov 3:5-6 forms a domain by itself. The four domains in the choice matrix are:

1. Trust God from the bottom of your heart
This domain is about trusting the prompting of the Holy Spirit inside you to do and not do certain things. This domain also include drawing insights from previous lessons you have learned through your growing up years and thanking God in faith that through this issue you are going to face, He will make the best out of it.

2. Don't try to figure out everything on your own.
This is about getting advice and wisdom from people around, especially from somebody more senior than ourselves.

3. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go
This is about digging into the written Word of God and see what this has to say regarding the issue you are facing

4. He's the one who will keep you on track.
This final domain is about drawing insights and lessons you have learned through your handling of the issue at hand and trusting God to give you the best, and molding you into the person He intends and so the cycle repeat itself.

Overall, although this book has covered the essential contemporary issues faced by young people, I find the writing of this book to be rather plain and to an extent, monotonous. It is hard to dig out the gems and "life lessons" out from the stories. It lacks specificity when it comes to dealing with a particular issue. I wish this book would have at least some charts, figures, more captions, etc.

****************************
Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
****************************