Customer Reviews
A Book That Will Change Your Life - Whatever Your Age! 
2008-05-01
I am a mom of 4, so what am I doing reading a book by teen boys?
Well, I have an "almost" teen age daughter. Hannah will turn 13 this year, and let me tell you, that life is wild for tweens and teens. They are crossing lines, dressing older, dating younger, and facing the challenges we may have faced in our late teens in their junior high years.
I was very intrigued when I heard of thios book by two twin brothers who are 19 years old. What could they have to say?
Well, a lot! And it is exactly what I want Hannah to hear. And I can guarantee that she will listen more to these two teen boys quicker than me.
Do Hard Things is a must read for every mom or grandma with a tween or a teen. I am almost done reading it, and will pass it on to Hannah to read next, Then she and I can go out to dinner some night and talk about what she learned.
This is a book that gets to the heart of the matter - living for Christ no matter what your age. As a forty year old mom, I learned a lot myself, about what teens go through, and about some of my own struggles as well.
As a 40 year old mom, I want to know more about what is in my teenager's heart, how I can help her through these tough years, and point her to Christ.
And, as a 40 year old mom, I want to Do Hard Things, Too!
Trish Berg
Mother of 4, Book Reviewer, Author
[...]
Rattled: Surviving Your Baby's First Year Without Losing Your Cool
The Great American Supper Swap - Solving the Busy Woman's Family Dinnertime Dilemma
Do Hard Things 2008-05-01
I don't mean to have a dig, but this book is so much more superior to any emerging church book written, and it is written by teenagers.
Alex and Brett Harris discuss the issue of low expectations which are not just laid upon teens but is accepted by teens and teen culture of play and fun. For the Harris' enough is enough. They want to blow away the notion that teens are unable to understand anything complex or important - that they can't do things which is vital, or make a difference. The Harris', who have clerked for a supreme court have show that not only is it good to have higher expectations, but that it is biblical.
They write on page 50 "We are convinced that the teen years are the primary time God has given to us for strict training....Prov 20:29, "The glory of young men is their strength."
The book is very challenging - they ask questions such as "Are we doing things now that will equip us for the greater things God may have for us to do? These are the fundamental questions for this season of our lives."
And the bulk of the book focus upon the five different kinds of hard things which they encourage teens to do:
1. Things that are outside your comfort zone
2. Things that go beyond what is expected or required
3. Things that are too big to accomplish alone
4. Things that don't earn immediate pay off
5. Things that challenge the cultural norm
Let me end with a quote from them:
"We've noticed that the fence that keeps us from breaking out of our comfort zones is nearly always built of fear - fear of weakness, discomfort, failure, humiliation. We've noticed something else too: you can't live by fear and live by faith at the same time. As Paul wrote in 2 TIm 1:7 "God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline." And when we read the Bible heros who accomplished big, hard things for God, we discover the main job requirement: "Without faith it is impossible to please God." (Hebrews 11:6)."
This is a book which we will give to every member of our youth ministry!
Get It & Get It Now! 2008-04-30
Every teenager who wants to make a difference in their world and in their generation must read this book. Every teenager who doesn't want to change their world must read it, too. It will quite change their mind.
And parents...you won't forget it anytime soon. Grandparents? You bet. Moms, dads, kids, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, sons and daughters should read this...and that covers everyone.
Must Read 
2008-04-25
This is a great book that should be read by every teenager today! It really shows how to break out of the low standards our world has set.
Rocking A World of Low Expectations 2008-04-22
I've often reflected on something I experienced when I was studying in college. With a busy semester ahead of me, I decided to take "Death and Dying," an elective that had the reputation of being an exceptionally easy course (a "bird course" we called it back then). On the first day we arrived in the lecture hall, the professor handed out a reading list and what he assured us were the lecture notes for the entire course. With these in hand, we were told, there was little use in showing up for the rest of the year unless we were really and truly interested in the subject matter. It was not a difficult course, he said, and we could probably do fine if we just turned in the assignments and showed up to write the exam. Needless to say, most of us took this as an opportunity to have an evening to ourselves each week rather than actually sitting through long and boring lectures on a subject that was of little interest. Also needless to say, most of us earned very poor grades. I've contrasted this in my mind to courses where the professor challenged us on the first day that his would be an exceedingly difficult course and one that would require the best we had. With such a challenge, many students rose to the challenge. Knowing that expectations were high and knowing that we faced a long and difficult fight, we reacted by putting out more effort and ultimately by doing better.
High expectations, it seems, often results in greater performance. Tragically, we live at a time where we expect very little of teenagers. The teen years, we seem to think, are a time where we can and must expect little. If our teenagers manage to avoid dangerous drugs, manage to avoid pregnancy and manage to avoid completely derailing their lives, we consider these years a success. We maintain low expectations and are not surprised when teenagers deliver very little.
Do Hard Things is a book for teens--and a distinctly different kind of book for teens. "Check online or walk through your local bookstore. You'll find plenty of books written by fortysomethings who, like, totally understand what it's like being a teenager. You'll find a lot of cheap, throwaway books for teens, because young people today aren't supposed to care about books, or to see any reason to keep them around. And you'll find a wide selection of books where you never have to read anything twice--because the message is dumbed down. Like, just for you." But this book is a challenging book, and one written by teens and for teens. It is written by Brett and Alex Harris, whose greatest claim to fame (other than being the younger brothers of Joshua Harris) is being the minds behind The Rebelution--one of the internet's most popular sites for teens and now a series of conferences. This book continues the message they've been communicating in every other forum.
That message is simple but far too often overlooked in society today: rebel against low expectations. They cast a vision of a better way of doing the teen years in which so many teens have been "conditioned to believe what is false, to stop when things feel hard, and to miss out on God's incredible purpose for [the] teen years." They look at five kinds of hard--five different kinds of hard things that can challenge the expectations of those around them: things that are outside of your comfort zone, things that are beyond what is expected or required, things that are too big to accomplish alone, things that don't earn an immediate pay off and things that challenge the cultural norm. They describe each of these through stories and examples drawn primarily from their lives and from the lives of other "rebelutionaries" who have shared their stories with the authors.
Though this book is targeted squarely at teens, I can't deny that the message rubbed off even on this reader whose teen years are far behind. There is something inspiring in watching teens shake off the low expectations that plague their lives and there is something in it that makes me want to examine where I may also have fallen prey to low expectations. Writing as the proud older brother of these authors, Joshua Harris says truly that "Every former teen needs this book, too. I know I do. There's no age-limit on the Rebelution. It's never to late to do hard things."
For too long our expectations of teens, and their expectations of themselves, have been far too low. In Do Hard Things Alex and Brett Harris rebel against low expectations and encourage their peers to meet the challenge of doing tough things for God's sake and for God's glory. I wish I could have read this book when I was a teen. I'm glad that my children will have the opportunity. I pray it will stir them and stir a whole generation of young people, to use their teen years to do the hard things God calls them to do. And I pray that the teen years are only the beginning, only the foundation, of lives lived to the glory of God.
A Life Changer ! 2008-04-20
A generation stands on the brink of a "rebelution."A growing movement of young people is rebelling against the low expectations of today's culture by choosing to "do hard things" for the glory of God. And Alex and Brett Harris are leading the charge.
Do Hard Things is the Harris twins' revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential.
Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, the authors weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life. Then they map out five powerful ways teens can respond for personal and social change.
Written by teens for teens,
Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. This rallying cry from the heart of an already-happening teen revolution challenges a generation to lay claim to a brighter future, starting today.
A MUST read for all teenagers, parents and youth leaders! 2008-04-20
I am a 44-year-old believer in Jesus Christ, holding a bachelor's degree in Bible, minoring in youth ministry and Biblical languages and having worked with youth ministry for a number of years, and I have NEVER read such an inspiring book which has given me such a hope for our future generation! I firmly believe that if every Christian teenager read AND applied the principles described within, our country's future might have more hope for a brighter future! In addition to their Website, www.TheRebelution.com, Alex and Brett Harris demonstrate the lifestyle which so many of today's teens need to exhibit: doing hard things as they live for Christ. Not only that, but they encourage and challenge us older adult Christians to also "do hard things".
Join the Rebelution! 2008-04-19
Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris is a must-read for all teens and their parents. The first paragraph reads,
Most people don't expect you to understand what we're going to tell you in this book. And even if you understand, they don't expect you to care. And even if you care, they don't expect you to do anything about it. And even if you do something about it, they don't expect it to last.
Well, we do.
These two boys have walked the walk. They moved across country when they were only sixteen to intern at the Alabama Supreme Court. At seventeen, they directed the grass-roots campaign for Alabama state politicians. They "recruited teenagers at almost every level of the capaign and encouraged them to take on high-level responsibility.... By the time the campaign was over, teens had not only worked tousands of hours on the campaign, but had also put together the largest grass-roots operation in any Alabama race that season."
What did you do last summer?
These nineteen-year-old homeschooled twins want to challenge their entire generation to do "hard things." Society doesn't expect much from teens, but that doesn't mean teens aren't capable. Alex and Brett want to challenge you to change the world. "It's about something God is doing in the hearts and minds of our generation.... It's about rebelling against low expectations."
Join the Rebelution!
Thoughts from a twenty-something on a challenging book 2008-04-18
"This is what we call the Rebelution: throwing off the shackles of lies and low expectations and returning our generation to a true and very exciting understanding of the teen years--not as a vacation from responsibility but as a launching pad for the rest of our lives."
~Alex and Brett Harris~
I pre-ordered several copies of this book, knowing it would be above average. It finally came, and indeed, it's not your everyday book written by teens. (Um, there aren't many of those, are there? Let's say it's not your everyday book, period.)
In the book, the Harris twins offer an expanded, in-depth look at the rebelutionary concept of doing hard things. They talk about the myth of adolescence and the potential the teen years hold. They detail five kinds of Hard Things. And they show practical ways they can be accomplished. Much of the content is familiar to me since it's similar to articles on their blog, but it's great to have a book-length look at Doing Hard Things.
It's challenging. Maybe especially to those of us already past our teen years who know we could be doing more, striving for bigger and better things, and we don't even have the excuse of being teenagers anymore. Of course, part of the whole point of the book is that being a teen is no excuse, and that they should and can rebel against low expectations. But the Do Hard Things mindset is something all Christians should have. It's just incredibly sensible, useful, fulfilling, and possible to do so at an early age.
The stories are probably the most challenging parts of the book, since they are real-life (historical and modern) examples of teens doing real-life hard things from overcoming sickliness, buying and learning to use recording equipment, running political campaigns, beating procrastination (ouch!), designing top-quality survey programs, captaining ships, and more. Alex and Brett also do a consistent, thoughtful job of backing their points with Scripture, making their message all the more powerful.
I'm not quite finished with the book. It's a good length. The cover design is really cool. It has an intro by Chuck Norris, if that interests anyone. (Half a year ago, I had no clue who this cool guy was who got all the jokes made about him..."You don't know who Chuck Norris is?!?!?" was usually followed by uninformative silence. Now I know he's a real person, not some mythical character, and I chiefly think he's cool because he's a Christian and admires the Harris twin's character and message.)
These guys have a message that is changing lives because of its grounding in truth. I think God is using it to change mine, and only time and effort will tell where He'll take me next.
Awesome! 2008-04-18
As a youth pastor, I am always looking for any kind of tool to turn up the fire in the lives of our youths. Do Hard Things, by Alex and Brett Harris (Multnomah), is one of the most powerful books for teens to come along in decades. If you want to see your teen supercharged for Christ, get this book into their hands!
