Finishing Strong: Going the Distance for Your Family by Steve Farrar

This is the second book that I've read by Steve Farrar and I'd have to claim him as an authority on men and men living a Godly life according to their calling as men in Christ. In this day and age, I think it's important for men to learn how to live as men and how to take care of their family as God has instructed. This is the type of book which goes against the grain of the typical secular philosophies and teaches men how to finish strong when so many men of faith, which have come before, have failed.

Steve is straight forward in his writing style and doesn't soften the message to avoid offending someone. He lays out his opinions with Biblical and modern day examples, and either you agree or you don't, but in the end Steve will make his point without compromise.

It was evident that Steve worked hard on this book and he made sure to seek the advise of those around him to fine tune and polish off this subject so that it made an impact and a lasting impression enough to assist others in finishing strong. I get the impression from reading this book that he truly cares for the reader and I can tell that he weeps for those that he knows will read this book and later fail to finish strong.

One of my favorite sections in the book Steve speaks about, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey, and how Covey recommends that each person create a personal mission statement. Steve thought that this was good advise and wrote his mission statement which was one short sentence, "Don't screw up". I think this section had the most impact on me because as a husband and father of four, I just don't want to screw up. I didn't get the impression that he was talking about being perfect but rather going through the mistakes of life with integrity and fortifying my life with sound direction.

To avoid screwing up, Steve recommends building on four things to stay upon Jehovah:

• Staying In... The Scriptures
• Staying Close... To a Friend
• Staying Away... From Other Women
• Staying Alert.... To the Tactics of the Enemy

Another aspect I enjoyed about Finishing Strong was Steve's use of the Old Testament. I liked how he ventured into unfamiliar territory and used extreme examples to demonstrate how to avoid failure but best of all how to finish strong. In one of his greatest examples in the book, Steve uses the life of Manasseh as an example of finishing strong. Manasseh, who's that you ask? I said the same thing and that was the point that Steve brought out. I won't ruin this section of the book for you, but suffice it to say that Manasseh was probably the worst example of moral living but more importantly we learn from his story that no one is beyond the saving power of God and if He can change Manasseh's life to the point of finishing strong then no one is beyond God's love.

The book finishes with a great illustration called, "156 Buck Naked Miles to Bighorn". As I mentioned at the start of this review, Steve has a way of bringing out the John Wayne in his books and this story of John Coulter and his foot race for his life is no exception. Steve masterfully uses this American legend and compares him to Joseph in Genesis 37 to show how men of character finish strong despite the odds.

If you're interested in finishing strong and learning how to fortify yourself for your family and the battles ahead, then start with this book and take the words contained in its pages to heart and glean the riches it directs you to which are found in the Word of God.

Enjoy!