OUT OF CONTROL by Ben Young and Dr. Samuel Adams is an excellent place to start if you feel stressed and spiritually wrung out. As the quote from Lee Strobel, author of THE CASE FOR CHRIST, so succinctly puts it, "If you're too busy to read this book, then this book is especially for you." And while it's true that when we're feeling stressed the last thing we need is another task, just by taking time to focus on the solutions offered here will help to ease your problem.

Ben Young, M.Div., leads seminars on how to build successful dating and marriage relationships. He is a teaching pastor at the 40,000-member Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. Samuel Adams, Psy.D., is a licensed psychologist. He earned his Master's from Western Seminary and a doctorate from George Fox University. He maintains a full-time counseling practice in Austin, Texas.

The expertise that these two bring to OUT OF CONTROL is obvious on many levels. It is a book that does not waste time, which many readers who are seeking help consider their most valuable commodity. Instead it states problems and clearly offers feasible solutions that one can begin using immediately. Many of the suggestions are ones that we have heard before, but putting God into the equation is seldom found in secular self-help books and articles. Biblical references support the solutions and offer new hope for success.

Taking their own advice to "simplify," the authors avoid complex psychological and Biblical exercises. "Not too long ago, during a difficult personal struggle, I recall desperately having searched for answers from a wise friend. I fully expected a long, philosophical explanation of my circumstances and I was prepared for a lot of advice and wisdom. The only thing he said, however, was, 'Pray, pray, pray.' I went away feeling slightly disappointed but willing to try." As it turned out for the author, and for us as well, sometimes there is nothing else to do. No matter how many degrees we have or how much influence we wield, there's nothing we can do but trust God.

As with most self-help type books, readers can seek to shortcut the process by checking the table of contents and then turning to the chapters that seem most appropriate. A sure sign, by the way, that we really need to start at the beginning and allow the process to be part of the cure!