AHA

Right book at the right time for me. With the author giving coast, concise examples it was very easy to follow this book. Now I am challenged to create my own AHA moments through the teachings.

It has some good points but repeats the prodigal story many times. It definitely points out taking responsibility for our own stuff. Critical, important acknowledgement to move forward in our lives

Very engaging, compelling, heart-searching, honest and helpful. I've read it in one sitting and appreciated every word of it. The narration and recording quality are especially great. This book will help the mature believer as well as the one who has walked away from faith in Christ. I found no flaw in this book.

Awakening. Honesty. Action. Separate from each other, and there's not much to go with. Together, however, and there's a moment there, of connection with HaShem, that's supposed to change it all. Or at least Idleman asserts. There are plenty of reviewers that have tackled this very question. Additionally, I'm not reviewing the book, but rather the audiobook. When reviewing an audiobook, the purpose of the review is to ascertain if the audio is one worth listening to. So, on my end, I will assume that you will have decided on the content material, but now you are at a point where you need to decide on traditional reading format or auditory listening format.

Heyborne's narration is clear and easy to understand. He reads at a medium pace and pauses slightly in-between sentences to allow readers to keep up. A softer voice, Heyborne's is not one I would mind listening to in the background or while on a drive. Overall, the audiobook edition is a quality edition to consider, breaking out of the mold of subpar quality and providing a voice that can match the author's intent. So, if you're on the fence on reading versus listening, this title is a good title to give audiobooks a go.

Disclosure: I was contracted to write an honest review in exchange for a reviewer copy of the product. The opinions stated in this review are solely my own.

AHA by Kyle Idleman is a brilliant book based on the concept that God in His grace and love will give people revelations or “aha” moments when they realise that what they are doing is wrong and that they are far from home in the “distant country”. It is filled with Biblical examples (in particular the prodigal son), stories and real life situations that reveal God's truly loving nature in warning His children before they get too far off track.

The book covers three stages of this AHA moment, which are Awakening, Honesty and Action. Basically the person embraces this awakening moment, chooses to be honest about their current issues and decides to take action to get their life back on track.

I have previous experience with Kyle Idleman after reading Not A Fan, which I didn't particularly enjoy or absorb. However I found this book very compelling and engaging as I have had “aha” moments in the past and haven't acted on them, only for the problem to get worse. It was a good wakeup call to be honest and act on these warning signs when they do come up next time.

The narrator is very good as the tone of the book sounds a lot like a loving pastor who just wants people to get their lives back on track.

This book is great for anyone who has had warnings but chose to ignore them or know they currently aren't doing the things they should be doing. It is a great book to awake you up to your current situation and provide help to get you back on track.

This audio book was gifted as a part of the christianaudio Reviewers Program in exchange for my unbiased review of this work. More information can be found about this and other Christian audio books at christianaudio.com.

This review, by Dr. Nicholson, has been provided courtesy of Desert Bible Institute www.desertbibleinstitute.com.
Kyle Idleman, author of such books as Gods at War and Not a Fan, has a unique quality of talking to this audience in a way that feels like a couple Christian friends sitting down and conversing over coffee. Despite this relaxed, conversational approach, Idleman digs deeply into scripture making in both relevant and understandable to both the experienced pastor and the new follower. His newest book, Aha: The God Moment That Changes Everything, is not only a example of these qualities but also a refinement of style and a approach that makes this Idleman’s best work to date.
One of the qualities that continues to develop over time with Idleman is his tone. His sense of humor and his references to pop culture and both entertaining and engaging. He works past his audience’s biases and resistances by making them smile and nod, but then he connects those thoughts to primary issues in Christianity. A great deal of his explanations are therefore analogies. While analogous statements can often be overly simplistic, his are clear, applicable, and supported with biblical examples. These examples are consistently clear, detailed, complete, and parallel to modern issues. One of the many reasons that Idleman is so easy to listen to is because his support isn’t rapid fire or out of context like so many contemporary Christian books, but instead it reinforces his claims while helping the listener to understand. Additionally, he connects and deeply explores how his New Testament examples connect to his Old Testament illustrations. Too often, writers stick with New Testament stories since their narrative quality makes them easy to analyze and more understandable to readers. Idleman unmistakably approaches this book with the belief that both testaments can an must work together to glorify God.
Idleman presents himself as both a friend and a concerned pastor in his writing. He uses a gentle mix of basic psychology and counseling to help explain human nature and our reaction to biblical ideals. He augments this by using amusing, self-deprecating examples which endears him to his audience. This approach helps tear down the walls that makes readers close books or hit the delete button of similar works in this genre. Some of the counseling/psychology areas Idleman explores are the problems we have with denial, projection, and minimizing. He also offers eye-opening insights into the biblical, spiritual, and interpersonal ramification of passivity. It is strikingly rare to see an author find a balance between recognized psychosomatic aliments and truly spiritual issues. Authors usually start balanced and abruptly shift one direct or another. Mixed in with his amusing references to the 80s and real life examples that he has seen and/or counseled, Idleman is able to blend the secular and the biblical in a way that isn’t just complementary but instead interdependent.
Kirby Heyborne was a good choice for the book’s narrator. He has such an upbeat and jovial tone throughout the recording that it makes it easy to like the author. I generally prefer hearing the work read by the author (as Idleman did in the recording of Not A Fan) but I think in this case Heyborne was a great substitute. He obvious grasped the tone and timing of the author and was able to keep his energy up from the beginning to the end of the work: skills many narrators struggle with. In all, Heyborne adds a great deal to the overall enjoyment and sustainability of the book.
On a technical note, I loved the audio clarity and refinement of this recording. Too often, I have noticed how I can hear the inhalations and verbal pauses of a reader mingled with the faint background noise of pages turning or objects ( I always imagine glasses of water or eyeglasses) being moved. Some people might consider this ambiance, but it is distracting. A listener should not be wondering “what is that noise” or thinking “I wish he would back away from the microphone a little” while import points by the author are zipping by. This, like all the recordings I recall hearing from christianaudio.com is pristinely clear which allows me to focus on the message rather than the mayhem. Good job christianaudio!
Dr. Nicholson reviews academic, Christian living, and fiction books for a variety of publishers in an array of formats. He is never paid for any of his reviews. He writes these strictly as a courtesy to his students at Desert bible Institute and for any other readers that might find his insights valuable. For more reviews or information, visit Dr. Nicholson’s blog at drtnicholson.wordpress.com.
A copy of the book was generously offered to Dr. Nicholson by christianaudio.com in exchange for this unbiased review.