Some questions related to today’s chapter:

CHAPTER 8: SMALL HARD THINGS

• p. 134 – “Sometimes the smallest hard things can be the hardest things of all.” What are small hard things that are hard for you? If they are small, why are hard? See page 135-136. Which of these excuses do you use most?
• What about the five ways we fail to do small hard things? Which is most common for you?
• What is the danger in thinking, “I’ll get serious about that later on”?
• Explain the connection between privilege and responsibility. What does this have to do with Doing Small Hard Things?
• How are small hard things like an individual pushup?

From the OFFICIAL STUDY GUIDE:

• Have you ever felt like Joanna—“ready and motivated to tackle something big and exciting, but stuck against your will in a seemingly endless round of chores”? If so, talk about it. Why do you think small hard things can be so hard for teens?
• What are the small hard things you struggle with most? Describe some of the self-talk that goes on in your head that makes doing those tasks even harder.
• On pages 135-137, the authors identify the top five reasons why doing small tasks is so hard, as well as five ways we tend to respond in not-so-rebelutionary ways. Talk about the five reasons and come up with a rebelutionary response to each.
• How could doing everything for God’s glory (see 1 Corinthians 10:31) radically influence how you think about and complete small hard things?
• See what you come up with in response to this three-step suggestion from page 143: “Do you have a big goal for your life that you can’t achieve without a commitment to small hard things? (1) Write down your big goal. Then (2) write out the small hard things that help you achieve it—and (3) how faithfully do¬ing those small hard things now will help you achieve your dream later.”

Categories: Discussion Questions, Summer Reading '08