Moment Maker: You Can Live Your Life or It Will Live You Paperback – April 1, 2014

I recently read Carlos Whittaker's new book, Moment Maker. Within just a few pages, it was clear that Carlos and I have very different approaches to life. I see my life as a series of dots on a timeline. Carlos seems to see a winding path with an undisclosed destination. I plan each moment of the day - including when I would write this review. Carlos seems to make a plan with the hopes of seeing it broken. I seek to create structure and clarity. Carlos seeks to create art and surprise.While it is clear that God designed Carlos and I very differently, Moment Maker inspired me to be more alert to the unexpected moments that God may have for my life. Carlos describes three types of moments in his book:Created Moments. These are moments we make to enhance someone else's lifeReceived Moments. These are moments we experience that enhance our own livesRescued Moments. These are moments we make to repair a broken moment with someone else.As Carlos describes each of these three, he approaches the tension between living on purpose and living without a plan. Often those two concepts seem at odds with each other. However, Carlos would seem to argue that living with purpose requires us hold our plans with a loose grip, ready to trade them for unexpected opportunities at a moment's notice.As for his writing style, anyone who has discovered RagamuffinSoul.com knows that Carlos is extremely engaging (and legitimately fun!) Moment Maker serves as a collection of fascinating short stories pulled from all seasons of the author's life. These stories are not simple illustrations of points. Instead, they serve as the very foundation of the points themselves. I generally glance over authors' personal illustrations but these are simply un-skippable. If you consider yourself highly conservative, a couple of his stories may make you a bit uncomfortable. But the principles embedded within them will certainly inspire you to live a fuller life.In short, through Moment Maker, Carlos pulled me into a style of living that is far from my own and inspired me to begin weaving intentional spontaneity within each day. I am looking forward to creating, receiving, and rescuing moments that I would otherwise not have recognized.I highly recommend this book to any church leader, especially those with a bent toward planning. You can pick up a copy right here.[By the way, I am required to share that I received a complimentary copy of Moment Maker from the publisher. The source of my copy in no way influenced my perspective. It really is great!]

I have to admit, when I first began reading Moment Maker, I thought, “Oh no. It’s an autobiography filled with uninteresting stories and wasted pages.” That’s bad, right? You see, I’m a highlighter-in-hand, let-me-find-the-cool-quotes, idea-seeking kind of book reader. However, Carlos Whitaker does an amazing job of captivating his readers with real and raw stories from his life that challenge us to make the most every moment. He makes sure that his readers come to grip with the fact that every moment is a gift and without them we miss out on our purpose for being here. These moments come from our failing, learning, connecting, loving, feeling, and being!There are lessons about how to handle those moments that disrupt, the moments that call us to wait on God for something more beautiful, and the moments that can only be rescued through silence. Each reader is encouraged to embrace their weaknesses to find their strengths, persevere and push on, find hope from the moments that scar us, and to seek the great possibilities that can be outside of our comfort zones.One of my favorite parts of the book arrives early on, when Carlos encourages us to create value with our moments. Nothing is quite as important as helping others experience moments of greatness, compassion, and being. He states, “When someone feels the true worth of who they are because you stopped what you were doing and made life about them, you have hit on essential component of Moment Making.”Your story matters and you can make a difference in the life of others when you create these moments of values for those you come in contact with each and every day. I took a few moments this week to write a short hand-written note of encouragement to a few of my students. The three notes resulted in a smile, a tear, a “thank you”, and a couple of hugs. They felt valued and I knew I had (at least for a moment) impacted a life for good.“Dear Lord, I’m here again. I’m unsure of our future and where you will have us minister next. As we wait, my prayer is that you will allow me to be aware of those moments where I can speak life and show value into someone else’s life here and now. Like never before, help me make the most of each moment in the life of my students, my family, and those you bring my way. Amen.”Thomas Nelson provided me a free copy of this book in exchange for this review which I freely give.

The things Carlos Whittaker talks about in this book are and feel so known. For those familiar with the living in the present mentality, it will sound familiar. What I really like about this book, though, is that it's not a too energized book. I assume that many who read this, or want to read it, aren't that full of energy or ready to make bold statements, to make moments matter. Or maybe it's just me. The author is real. Straight talk. Doable strategy. This guy sure has something to say about making moments count. He rented a deck bus for his 40th birthday and invited his friends to join him on his celebration. He sang a worship song at The White House, in front of President Obama. He knows how to make moments count. Of course, most of us are "simple" people. But, he says, there's always the chance to create, receive, and rescue moments.The book is divided into three main parts, which are titled just like that: 1. Created Moments, 2. Received Moments, 3. Rescued Moments. Each part deals with a way to deal with the moments and the opportunities that come our way. The mentality is somewhat along the lines of "Seize the moment" rather than "Seize the day".Each part is presented through the lenses of his personal experiences and also a created, received and rescued moment as seen in the Bible. It's a new way to look at the Bible. Really liked that.The book is a rather quick read. I enjoyed reading it. I think it's probably the first book I've read on this topic that doesn't put the pressure on you to not miss the moment(s), although this is exactly the message it is written around. It presents a mentality and offers the reader another choice. I like that.