“If you are a follower of Christ, then you are mandated by God to be a voracious, intentional learner. You cannot allow yourself to settle, to be less than your best in whatever field of endeavor you have committed yourself to.
You must always strive toward excellence in whatever you pursue. And you are not allowed to ignore the world around you – otherwise known as the real world.
You are not supposed to be a relic of the past or even a preserver of the past. You are to be in the world making it a better place to live. Rise to the top and see what God can do with your life.
This doesn’t always mean you will be the best in the world at what you do, but you are supposed to be the world’s best you…..
Bring your best and move forward with confidence that God’s incredible ingenuity will use even your shortcomings to do amazing things through your life.”
Erwin Raphael McManus
Andrew: Inside & Insights 
Extracted from:
1. From Wide Awake: The Future is Waiting Within You
Source: http://lifebrook.wordpress.com/2008/10/13/wise-words-for-today-89/
SOunds interesting but …
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McManus’ writes much about the importance of dreams, but he leaves them undefined. Wide Awake needs more eschatology. The “dreams” that McManus wants to awaken within us are not grounded in anything other than our own minds. The dreams we have are of “a life, a world, a future so beautiful that it takes your breath away” (116). Yes. Our vision of the coming Kingdom should inform our dreams for today, but McManus never links our dreams to the Kingdom of God. Readers will pour whatever meaning they want into his vague category of “dreams” and “a beautiful future.”
Read the full book review:
http://trevinwax.com/2008/05/14/book-review-wide-awake/
I have gleaned much from the writings of McManus, especially from Chasing Daylight, Uprising, and Wide Awake. I think he speaks clearly to a generation of believers who are perhaps searching for how their individual dreams fit into the bigger picture of God’s mandate and purpose. With this thought in mind, I think Joe makes a valid point in his statement in the previous comment.
With that said, however, it seems to me that many members of the generation of folks between, say, 16-30 (roughly) are somewhat comfortable with ambiguity than older believers like myself. Many of my contemporaries feel compelled to tie any loose end that find. My experience with this younger crowd has given me the impression that, as a whole, they may be ok with leaving that loose end alone.
Perhaps this accounts somewhat for McManus’ lack of emphasis on eschatology. By its very nature, eschatology involves tying up loose ends….
Great books by a great author. I would highly recommend any of them.
Mick