Brant Hansen’s Life is Hard. God is Good. Let’s Dance. (Book Review)

I can’t remember a time this has ever happened to me before, but on the first page of the first chapter my eyes filled with tears and I thought, “If even Brant feels that way, maybe I’m not such a mess.” On the first page. Let’s just say after that, my expectations were very high for the rest of this book, and I’m happy to report it just kept getting better and better. (There are even illustrations!) The back cover blurb includes this sentence: “…will likely make you laugh, cry, and rethink your outlook on life.” I thought of that prediction repeatedly as I LOL’d, wiped the tears from my eyes, and had “aha” moments reading Brant’s thoughts on gratitude, the value of our attention, stories of God’s outrageous grace, and an aspect of Jesus’ birth I had never heard before. 

Another Perspective

If you’ve ever read one of Brant’s books, or listened to his radio show or podcast, you already know he doesn’t look at life or God like a lot of other Christians. This characteristic of his is one of the reasons I enjoy learning from him so much. He’s got a gift for writing about his experiences and thoughts in such a way that makes you think either, “You too? I thought I was the only one!” or “I didn’t know everyone didn’t feel the same way I do!” For example, until I heard Brant talk about it, I didn’t know not everyone gets emotional when singing worship songs. I didn’t realize worshiping God is about more than how you feel. I’m so thankful for that insight, because when I came to a time in my life when I was struggling to feel anything during praise and worship time at church, I had already learned that worship is a choice and I could instruct my soul, my heart, and my mind to praise. 

What You’ll Learn

What I’ve been thinking about since I started reading…(can we just call it LGL? Please don’t make me type the whole title again!) is how easy it is to let what’s going on in the world change the way we walk out our days and even how we look at God. Brant encourages us and gives straightforward advice about how to live with peace and joy, even in times of stress and upheaval. He teaches about how faith in God and putting our attention in the right places will transform our lives. But the thing that made my soul ache is how he talks about his walk with Jesus in simple, honest, unflowery ways- bringing his whole self in all of his shortcomings, insecurities, and sin and learning to walk in the way Jesus showed us. Doesn’t that sound like something we all need more of? 

Life is Hard. God is Good. Let’s Dance is available wherever books are sold, as well as an audio version narrated by the author.

Book Trailer 📚 Life Is Hard, God Is Good, Let’s Dance