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Free Byrd: The Power of a Liberated Life | 
 enlarge | Author: Paul Byrd
Creator: John Smoltz
Publisher: Howard Books
Category: Book
List Price: $23.99
Buy New: $13.25
You Save: $10.74 (45%)
New (27) Used (11) from $11.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 132115
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 1416587233
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.357092
EAN: 9781416587231
ASIN: 1416587233
Publication Date: July 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Cleveland Indians pitcher paul Byrd gives an honest account of how he has kept his faith in God despite all the trials and temptations associated with the Major league Baseball lifestyle. Paul Byrd has experienced many struggles, victories, and life lessons both on the diamond and off. Throughout his life, the one thing that has kept him focused on walking clean is the glimpses he has received of God's goodness. He addresses the issues he has faced -- such as the temptation to cheat while pitching, the unhealthy desire to cheer against fellow teammates so he could benefit from their failure, and his personal battle with pornography. Byrd gives readers Major League insight into the lifestyle of top-tier baseball players while showing how, even through a struggle, he was able to pick himself up and continue to believe and trust in a God who deeply loves us all. Paul's focus remains on the people we relate to every day and the significant conversations and interactions we can have with those we love, learning to build them up rather than tear them down. In Free Byrd, readers see how Paul's life was changed through the lessons he was taught, and how he discovered a freedom he never imagined through a dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ. And, most importantly, he invites everyone to experience the same transformation.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
Very Real August 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I started reading this book the first day I got it and it was hard to put down. It's very well written and easy to follow.
I am truly blessed to know Paul, and after reading his book, I know now that we are both Fighters and want the same things in life.
I recommend this book to anyone who thinks they are struggling in life with the Lord.
I think everyone should read this book even if you are not a baseball fan, cuz it's really not about baseball at all.
Great Job Brother and look forward to seeing you in the offseason.
God Bless and Thank You for your wonderful words.
God Bless,
Cosmo*
The power of an authentic life August 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I almost did not get this book... I was thinking -- great another baseball player puts out a book full of the "normal" christian pop culture and how Jesus is great and all that jazz.
But I have to admit... this is an amazing book... it is down right unvarnished in your face... this is my life and how my faith has grown through out the years...
It is one of my top books of 2008... it really is not about baseball but more about life and living an authentic christian life... not a perfect super clean verson -- but a real down in the dirt true christian life.
I totally recommed this book.
I look forward to Paul Byrd's next book...
Paul Byrd gets it July 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I couldn't put this book down and it had me choking up with emotion time and time again. The reason is because Paul Byrd peeled away all the phony facades too many Christians hide behind and gave a stunningly open, honest, transparent and moving look into the life of a man earnestly struggling to better his relationship with Jesus Christ.
Byrd focuses less on baseball and much more on the journey of what a true, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ is supposed to look like. (And is anything more important when you consider the stakes that this game of life holds for us?)
Paul Byrd gets it - nobody's perfect, and yet God loves us anyway, offering His amazing grace, compassion and love through Jesus. Our job is not to try and earn it through sin management or following a list of tips and techniques, but rather ACCEPT God's love and enter into a deep, intimate relationship with Him. And out of that, we cannot help but be transformed into someone new, someone who seeks not sin (even though we'll still fall short sometimes) but rather to walk in lockstep with the One who loves us so deeply and so truly. To be loved, to really allow yourself to be loved in spite of all your struggles and imperfections, to really take Jesus at His Word ... this is what Paul Byrd inspires us to do.
This book is less about baseball and more about the spiritual journey Byrd went on, and how even the trappings and fame of being a famous professional athlete leaves you empty inside if you don't know Christ. Byrd's chilling realization of this came when he won a national title with LSU in 1991 and was like, "That's it? That's all I feel?" moments after the on-field celebration began.
The other thing from this book that continues to stick with me is Paul Byrd's approach to understanding and cultivating a relationship with God. He talks about how so many of us who grew up Catholic or in other denominations try to approach God with strict routines, memorized prayers, formal behaviors, etc. Byrd makes a great point when he says we would never approach our wives or close friends that way. But yet we do it with God, whose deepest desire is to have a close, loving and intimate relationship with us.
Byrd's book is another way God continues to open my eyes toward the TRUTH about what it means to believe in Jesus Christ.
I praise Paul Byrd for his transparency and for leading with his own weakness, because in the end it makes him human, helps me relate to him and glorifies God.
After all, it's the truth about myself - the honest, unperfect truth - that attracts others to me, not all the preaching in the world.
Lastly, Byrd really impresses as a writer. Having written my own Christian baseball novel The King's Game I was so excited to see Byrd's book, and I have to admit I was blown away at how crisp and clear his voice is as a narrator. The book moves at a fantastic pace - a very easy and fast read.
He also had me laughing out loud over and over with his razor-sharp and oftentimes self-depricating wit.
This is a book I'd give to anyone and everyone, Christian or not, sports fan or not, because it is the courageous and moving story of one man's journey toward the most important goal of all existence - knowing and sharing your life with Jesus Christ.
Praise Jesus for his amazing love and blessings on Paul Byrd for this honest, much-needed memoir!
Byrd's Book: So Much More than Baseball! July 10, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I bought this book because I love baseball and the Lord and because I have much respect for those seemingly few players who are successful both on the field and in their spiritual lives. The book is filled with great stories about Paul's baseball experiences, but what touched me most was how Paul recognizes how his relationship with his earthly father has shaped his view of his Heavenly Father. This is so true in my own life and it is comforting to know that someone as successful as Paul carries some of the same burdens as the rest of us. In this book, Paul writes, "I had spent most of my life imitating my living legacy, Larry the Legend (his father), by being a good, honest, and just person apart from Christ, which is impossible." I couldn't agree more! I too want to live "from Christ." Thank you Paul for sharing your stories, your insights and your life experiences so that we all learn from them. Your Father is proud!
Byrd Pitches a No-Hitter July 10, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Paul Byrd is living proof that Professional Baseball Players can and do have talent in areas off the field. Christians are not perfect.
They recognized they are sinners deserving hell, they have repented of their sin to God, asked forgiveness, placed their faith in the blood of Jesus as payment of their sin-debt which guarantees their eternal salvation, then asked that God begin to make them into the person He always wanted them to be.
We are real people, in a life-long struggle, fighting real temptations. We are just doing it with the awesome help of The Holy Spirit. Paul doesn't rely on religious systems to guide his Christian walk. He goes right to the source of all knowledge and all the wisdom we need for life in this world and for eternity to come, God's perfect and Holy Word.
Paul, you nailed it. I just hope and pray you keep writing.
Thanks for your testimony.
Tim Billheimer
Alliance, Ohio (Tribe Country)
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