Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice: Experiments in Spiritual Transformation

This is the single best book of its kind that I have encountered. Really, it has no peers, as far as I am aware. It is a book in the workbook/devotional genre in 61 lessons that seeks to present the basic content of Willard's well-known, "Renovation of the Heart," so as to provoke reflection and application in the formation of character and life of the reader. Each lesson is a brief, 2-3 pages in length so it can easily be used on a daily basis; however, one should not be in a hurry or on a schedule with this book. Generally, I do not find this style of book helpful but, as I say, for me this is one of a kind. Willard's material is always challenging. The thought experiments are good; much better than the perfunctory questions generally found in books of this sort. It doesn't take a whole lot of discipline to read the book day by day but to do the experiments with integrity makes it helpfully rigorous. My thought is that this would be a good book for a small group to gather around and work through together over the course of one year+. One will get much needed input for following Christ that you will almost never otherwise receive in a church.

The wisdom and insight in this book provide a great opportunity for God to search your heart and help you move past yourself and into Christlikeness

Loving this book each day - it gives me a little bit to chew on all day and is helping me rethink what it means to walk with the Lord. Everyone knows Dallas Willard is a deep thinker full of profound nuggets of wisdom. But I’ve also loved Jan Johnson’s insightful spotlight on each portion that helps me translate the profound and apply it on a daily basis. As soon as I’m through the 61 short chapters I plan to start again right back at the beginning.

While nearly any 'sequel like' book or film suffers from unrealistic expectations from readers and viewers, "Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice" manages to avoid the trap of attempting to out perform or somehow reinvent the original.Jan Johnson delivers what is promised: a genuinely stirring guide to daily contemplation of the memorable lessons from "Renovation of the Heart" by Dallas Willard.This is not a quick read. It is more a gently guided tour through a meandering river in a pastoral setting followed by the thrill of finding the source of such beautiful waters.

A little "heady". Too intellectual for me. But a good devotional nonetheless

Dallas Willard's challenge is a complete renovation of of who we are and what we do. He does not simply provide a list of disciplines to be practiced. No, his challenge is much grander, just as the reality of the gospel is much grander. This book will challenge your heart, your soul, your mind, and your strength with thoughts to ponder deeply and questions and suggested actions to put into action. It is an excellent resource and does well as a devotional.

Dallas Willard and Jan Johnson communicate and encourage with words and style that are approachable to those seeking the kingdom.

I listened to Renovation of the Heart on CD and it kicked my butt! I so wanted to just be able to take it line by line or paragraph by paragraph and figure out, "what now? How do I DO this?" This book was exactly what I was looking for and it has not disappointed. It has been my devotional reading for the last couple of months, allowing me to remember some of the most powerful passages from Willard's book and really dwell on practical things to try to incorporate them into my day. Challenging in a good way.

Excellent follow on from the original Renovare

This was worth every penny! The book is broken down into small chapters, with one or two pages of explanation of a concept from Dallas Willard's Renovation of the Heart and then exercises to apply the concept in daily life. I found he first half of the book was ok, the second half was AMAZING. The author's exercises on how to apply Willard's ideas were concrete and doable in every day life. Some of the exercises were challenging, but that's the point, to grow and mature as Christians. I found the author's ability to convey clearly and simply Willard's complicated (to me) concepts to be such a blessing. And the author's ability to then take those concepts and then to apply them to daily living was simply brilliant and exactly what I was looking for. What I also found refreshing was she stuck to Biblical truth, and didn't add to it with alternative practices. This book, in my humble opinion, was solid Biblically. And what amazed me was how much you could tell the author truly tries to live as Jesus Christ has asked us to live. Such an inspiration.

designed to understand and get a deeper personal hold of the content of Dallas Willard's "Renovation of the Heart". The comments by Jan Johnson are very personal, honest and inspiring. The daily exercises (for me) a much better help than some books focusing on reflective cognitive questions only. I fully recommend this book to all Dallas Willard readers and to all who want to discover this author and the richness of his spiritual and psychological insight.

Good questions asked for introspection.