As a minister who has a passion to develop men into the leaders they are called to be, I was happy to select Living Life in the Zone for review. I find most men's devotionals to be both superficial and shallow. Many either don't address the real issues men deal with, or they give short, "cookie-cutter" answers to complex issues. Not so with Kyle Rote Jr. and Dr. Joe Pettigrew's book. They tackle real issues ranging from faith, to family to work to temptations that men face everyday. Instead of short answers they offer a "game plan" to challenge men to be what God intended them to be. They back their daily thoughts with real stories from the worlds of sports and business that either lift up some positive role models or challenge the reader to learn from the mistakes of negative examples. The devotions strike the perfect balance between being too short to be effective, but too long to keep the attention. Each day ends with challenging questions and practical "assignments" to help men mature in their faith.I would fully recommend this devotional to men. It is well written and easy to read. Even if they are not die-hard sports fans, the spiritual truths and practical suggestions make this devo well worth the 40 days to go through it. As with any devotional guide, it is meant to complement Bible reading, not replace it. But if a man will devote 15-20 minutes of his day to this plan, I feel they will mature in many areas.

Review : Living Life in the Zone - Kyle Rote Jr. and Dr. Joe Pettigrew - December 2009

For all those Christian Males out there of all ages , this is the book for you. As a fellow Christian , I know that we are always trying to find ways to get closer to God and build a strong relationship with him and open our hearts and lives to him. As females, we are pretty open and easy to building relationships as females tend to be more emotional, Whereas Males tend to be more physical in their doings. When you think of sport , games like rugby or depending where in the world you live -football -what gender comes to mind ? Males. That is why authors Kyle Rote Jr. and Dr. Joe Pettigrew have developed a devotional guide in the form of a 40 day Spiritual Game Plan - Each day has a different topic and includes 6 sections - the first is the thought of the day , a little quote to get you into the mood of the devotion, the second is called "The Coach's Corner" - a bit like the inspirational speeches the coaches give before the team heads onto the game field , the third is "The Game Plan" - not named after the movie starring The Rock but a Game Plan is the way the team is going to play and includes their tactics, strategies etc , the fourth part is "Playmakers" - these are the people who are the most important people in the game e.g in Basketball everybody is has their own positions and are the playmakers for that game. The fifth part is "Time Out" - in a game, this tends to be about halfway through a time for the team to recap and get ready for the final half. In Living Life in the Zone, the "Time Out" is a time for you to reflect on a couple questions that have to do with that day's devotional and finally the last part is "Home Field-Advantage: - this tends to signify a win in the game and the end of the game - in Living Life in the Zone, the Home field advantage is the crucial part in the devotional where you let God into what you are feeling and pass all your problems, concerns, questions to him .

A guide that no matter whether you are an old christian or a new christian or even slightly interested in getting to know God and you are a Male - Living Life in the Zone by Kyle Rote Jr and Dr. Joe Pettigrew is the perfect bedside companion next to your bible.

Living Life in The Zone is subtitled "A 40 Day Spiritual Game Plan for Men." Written by Kyle Rote, Jr. and Dr. Joe Pettigrew, the book combines inspirational stories, sports terminology, biblical wisdom, and practical application to teach us what God intends for our lives. From their "in the zone" reference in the title, to the breakdown of each chapter into areas like "coach's corner" and "time out," the authors attempt to appeal to the sports-minded interest of many men.

Utilizing the examples of successful men that most of us know from following sports and/or business, they show us that we can find fulfillment in our lives and "elevate our game" into the zone that God has for us. With thought provoking questions for each day and assignments to put it all into practice, Living Life in the Zone is an excellent devotional book, especially for the former jock or current sports fan.

Every athlete has looked at a scoreboard to see how he or his team is doing. How are we doing in the most important game of all, the game of life? This book helps us to both evaluate that and to improve upon what we are doing.

Disclosure of material connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the booksneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

I was intrigued by this book as a former athlete (yes I said former) and football coach's wife. Even though this is written by men for men, I still was intrigued.

This devotional guide strikes a perfect balance between being too heady to process and too fluffy to want to read. Authors Kyle Rote Jr. and Dr. Joe Pettigrew worked very hard on each daily entry to develop it with relevant life examples, Biblical references, and thought provoking questions. Perhaps there is a lean in this focus towards the competitive mind, but I truly think anyone could draw life challenges for developing a deeper heart for God.

Because this book is written for men, I gave it to a few football coaches and players to glance at. I asked them to pick a few days to read, reflect on it, and tell me if it was "worth their time". Each person who handed this book back to me told me it was not only worth their time, but would be purchasing a copy for themselves so they could read all 40 days.

Life application is always a big deal for me as a reader. I do not like books that tell you how you should live but give no examples of how to apply it. This book gives you a "game plan" every day for applying what you are reading. References are drawn from coaches, athletes and fans of sports. Additionally, I thought that the authors did a great job of covering major areas and topics that men deal with. Home life, Family life, their own personal walk with God, it's all there. I would highly suggest this book. I also think this book is written in a way that high school students can learn a great deal, and yet it is also challenging enough for men well into their lives to learn from it.

Living Life In the Zone: A 40-Day Spiritual Game Plan For Men, written by Kyle Rote, Jr. and Dr. Joe Pettigrew, is designed to be a devotional/self-study tool for men. I really enjoyed the way the authors used a topic (sports) that most men can relate to and gave real life testimonies on how men can deepen their relationships with God, family, friends and grow their faith.They can do so by 3 simple processes. Starting with an Idea, then having a game plan, and finally having time out or a daily assignment to help you reach your goal. This is a book that i am passing on to my teenage sons to help prepare them for adulthood and to be Men of God.