Product Description

Just as seismic shifts in the natural world have radical and far-reaching effects, there are seismic shifts in our personal lives that can transform our hearts, relationships, physical health, faith, and every aspect of our lives. These are the little changes that can make the big difference!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #794901 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

From the Back Cover
Is it possible for a person to experience dramatic and powerful transformation? Can an ordinary man or woman begin a season of forward movement and growth in areas that have stayed the same for many years? Can our dream of becoming more like Jesus and experiencing a life of health, growth, and joy become a reality? Not only is it possible, this is exactly what God wants to happen. In the physical world, this kind of change is called a seismic shift. A small movement in the crust of the earth can send out shockwaves that have radical and far-reaching effects, redefining an entire landscape. It is the same in the spiritual world. Small changes can transform our faith, hearts, relationships, personal habits, finances, and even the world in which we live. If we are willing to make small, simple, biblically inspired "seismic shifts," God will enter the process and do amazing things, transforming our lives into ones of joy, victory, and purpose. Seismic Shiftsidentifies six areas of change: • Shifts That Ignite Joy in Your Heart • Shifts That Expand Your Faith • Shifts That Bring Health and Rest • Shifts That Build Dynamic and Lasting Relationships • Shifts That Make You Rich • Shifts That Change the World The book includes discussion questions and can be used in a six-week, church-wide campaign with personal learning, small group discussion, and weekly worship services.

About the Author
Kevin Harney is senior pastor at Corinth Reformed Church in Byron Center, Michigan. He is author of John: An Intimate Look at the Savior, Ephesians: Brining Heaven to Earth, and co-author of the Willow Creek Interactions series, the Willow Creek New Community series, the Old Testament Challenge series, and Finding a Church You Can Love and Loving the Church You've Found.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Seismic Shifts
Copyright © 2005 by Kevin Harney
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Harney, Kevin.
Seismic shifts : the little changes that make a big difference in your life / Kevin G.
Harney.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-25945-9
ISBN-10: 0-310-25945-2
1. Christian life. 2. Success — Religious aspects — Christianity. I. Title.
BV4598.3.H36 2005
248.4 — dc22
2005017302
This edition printed on acid-free paper.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New
International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible
Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked TNIV are taken from the Holy Bible: Today’s New International
Version®. TNIV®. Copyright © 2002, 2004 by International Bible Society. Used
by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopy,
recording, or any other — except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the
prior permission of the publisher.
Interior design by Ruth Bandstra
Printed in the United States of America
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We want to hear from you. Please send your comments about this
book to us in care of zreview@zondervan.com. Thank you.
Part 1
Shifts That Bring Greater Joy
Than You Can Imagine
The Seismic Shift from Infancy
to Adulthood
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the
waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by
the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up
into him who is the head, that is, Christ.
— Ephesians 4:14 – 15 TNIV
In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need
someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over
again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk,
being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about
righ teous ness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant
use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore
let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on
to maturity.
— Hebrews 5:12 – 6:1
Babies are cute. They can do the smallest thing and adults cheer with
delight, laugh with joy, and stare in amazement. Think about it, parents
actually talk with pride about how their little boy holds his head up
or how their little girl smiles on command. They act as if these relatively
common activities rival the exploits of great athletes.
Chapter ONE
Chapter 1: The Seismic Shift from Infancy to Adulthood 23
How do parents feel when they realize their child’s growth is stunted?
The answer is obvious: they are deeply concerned. If their little boy or girl
has a physical problem, they call a doctor. They will go from specialist to
specialist and do all they can to help their child overcome this obstacle.
If their son or daughter is dealing with an emotional or mental hurdle,
they will contact a Chris tian counselor or a psychologist to get help. Any
loving parent who sees something hampering the growth of their child
will take action.
Seismic Shifts That Lead Us toward
Spiritual Maturity
One Sunday morning, I was preaching about God’s desire to see us
grow into mature followers of Jesus. To make the point, I showed a video
clip of a dad and mom teaching their little boy to walk. I borrowed a home
video from a woman who works in our church office. This sixty-second
clip of John and Chrisann teaching their firstborn to walk communicated
more clearly than I could have hoped to with mere words.
Little Evan was doing his best to keep his balance, putting both arms
straight up in the air. In his white T-shirt and diaper, he took wobbly steps
across the kitchen floor until he got to the little mat by the sink. As he
stepped on it, the mat shifted ever so slightly, and he lost his footing and
dropped to the floor. His mom cheered him on, “Great job, Evan! You’re
doing great.” He struggled to his feet and kept crossing the floor, arms in
the air, a look of determination on his face. Then with no warning, he
pitched straight forward and fell with a thud to the cold tile floor. The
congregation gasped. You could sense that everyone wanted to reach up
to the screen and help this little guy back to his feet.
There he was, sprawled with his nose just an inch off the floor, his little
butt sticking up in the air. Then his father spoke, “Evan, stand up and
walk to Daddy.” He lay there, frozen for a moment. Then from somewhere
deep inside, Evan found the strength to push himself up, turn around,
and begin walking toward his father. The congregation watched, wanting
to cheer but absolutely silent. Step by step, he crossed the floor until he
fell into his daddy’s arms. The response from the congregation was both
joy and a huge sigh of relief.
This video clip illustrates something God wants all of us to understand.
He looks at us and sees beloved children. When we lose our balance
and fall flat, he is right there. He says, “Stand up and walk to Daddy.”
That’s the heart of God for you and me. He wants us to get back up each
time we fall and continue the glorious journey across the linoleum tile of
life until we reach the arms of our Father.
Maybe you are lying on your belly in the middle of the kitchen floor.
You are tired, discouraged, and don’t feel you can get up and press on. It
feels better to just stay right where you are.
Your Father is there. Can you hear him? “Stand up and walk to Daddy.
Stand up and walk to Daddy.” He is so close. His arms are open. Don’t give
up. Stand up one more time and keep on trying.
When the apostle Paul wrote to the church in the city of Corinth, he
lamented the fact that they were not growing up spiritually. They had
slipped and fallen, but they refused to get up and try again. He writes,
“Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly —
mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not
yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready” (1 Cor. 3:1 – 2 TNIV). In
common language, Paul is calling the believers in the city of Corinth a
bunch of spiritual babies. Ouch! He then goes on to tell them about some
of the signs of their spiritual infancy and challenges them to enter a process
of growing up in faith.
The Holy Spirit invites every Chris tian to enter the joy of spiritual
growth. We accept by learning to identify signs of spiritual adulthood
and committing to take consistent steps toward maturity. These seismic
shifts propel us to deeper places of intimacy with God. Along the way,

Customer Reviews

Helpful, practical advice on how to improve your life with simple, but monumental changes
As a longtime resident of Southern California, Kevin Harney has been fascinated with the relationship between small seismic shifts in the earth's crust and huge eruptions that take place above ground as a result. The obvious theme of his new book, SEISMIC SHIFTS, is change. Small, fairly simple changes can have a big impact, both negative and positive. Yet, there are also underlying themes that serve to make this more than a repeat of sermons and pop psychology shows we've heard before. These themes include the importance of faith, communication, and honest self-appraisal in working toward gaining a rich and joy-filled life.

The easy-to-follow chapters are chock full of practical, Biblical ways to make seismic shifts in your life. These shifts will "bring joy, expand faith, provide rest, build relationships, unleash riches, and change the world." As we have learned, information does not equal transformation, so the author offers many doable suggestions that can be put into practice immediately. There are also excellent guides for prayer and reflection designed to help the reader grow and mature as the changes begin. Ultimately, the reader will reach that place of fulfillment that satisfies "God's dream for our lives."

Without relying on "Christianese," our fellowship language that often confuses and confounds non-believers, Kevin Harney provides examples from life and from the Bible that anyone can relate to. From stories about David's victories and defeats to the joys and sorrows experienced by Mary Magdalene, he demonstrates the Biblical message: "in the good and hard times, those who walk closely with God can and should experience life-transforming joy."

Whether you are a longtime believer, a new Christian or simply interested in ways to improve your life, SEISMIC SHIFTS makes sense and will have a far-reaching impact on those who take the small step of reading through it.

--- Reviewed by Maggie Harding, a substance abuse counselor in Phoenix, AZ who wanted to be Brenda Starr before life intervened. She reviews for www.bookreporter.com and www.womenonwriting.com. To contact Maggie, e-mail Magster2@cox.net.

Make the shift
I enjoyed reading this book. My senior pastor picked it out for me as he was hoping to teach this book as a part of a campaign. It felt a lot like reading a Phillip Yancey book, chapters were concise and to the point and it had good stories and examples. My only fault of this book is somewhere a fact-checker should lose their job. Twice, Kevin Harney makes references to movies as examples in his book - but BOTH times the examples he offers are not recalled accurately. [again, I am being nit-picky, but being a movie-buff, misquoting a movie, or remembering it wrong is just not done in my neck of the woods].

Overall the content worked well in our Sunday campaign and our congregation loved the teaching. Mr. Harney writes well and offers some good insights.

Seismic Review for seismic changes
I really like what the author Kevin Harney has to say about making small changes that can have a great impact on your life. Most of us are reluctant to change, especially as we get set in our ways, and these scripturally based changes, although not easy, can help us. Our church is currently using this book as a guide through a current bible study. I think that the subject matter can be a little challenging, humorous and inspiring. I would encourage anyone who feels as though change isn't a life-threatening event, but something that could have a domino impact in their life.