I really enjoyed this book! The author identified many vices and how the reader could break these habits by owning them and working on steps to help improve. He utilizes many Biblical passages and stories as well as his own personal experiences. The book really resonated with me and I found myself highlighting large sections throughout.

“So how do you know if you are self-centered? Ask yourself if these things are true in your life: Do you often become defensive? Do you blame everyone else for your problems? Do you have a hard time cooperating with others at work? Are your conversations usually about yourself?” ~ Steve Poe, Creatures of Habit.

In Creatures of Habit, Pastor Steve Poe helps Christians identify and break free from the destructive patterns that are keeping them from the joy-filled, flourishing life Jesus promised. True transformation is God’s work—our job is to listen, obey, and put into practice what he's already directing us to do.

Steve Poe has been a pastor for over thirty-four years, and during that time, he has counseled hundreds of people. He’s seen that poor choices often become bad habits that, in turn, cause people a lot of problems. Hundreds of things can become a bad habit in our lives, but Poe focuses on the most common, among them: anger, lust, worry, cynicism, pride, self-centeredness, and greed.

So, before I started writing this review, I took a deep breath. It’s hard for me to write a negative review, especially when it is a book about Jesus penned by a man of God. I hope my constructive comments are helpful, not hurtful. My intention was to read a chapter at night as my devotions. But I just couldn’t do it. It would be days between chapters.

First off, let me say that there were some real nuggets of wisdom in this book, and I often felt convicted. My copy is filled with yellow highlighting. The problem I had was with the writing. Some chapters would make wonderful sermons addressed to seekers, but I found the content too simplistic and longed for more meat. There were many grammatical errors, too many quotes from other people, too many lists separated by too many commas, too much hyperbole, and too many platitudes.

One of the author’s biggest faux pas was that most of his illustrations were about or for men, rather than for a broader audience. A few other things made me angry (I know, that’s a bad habit). In the chapter about anger, Poe wrote, “Some have said depression is actually anger turned inwards.” Who in the world said that? According to the American Psychiatric Association, one in fifteen adults suffer from depression in any given year, including me. I imagine most of them, including me, would reject your hypothesis. The scientific community agrees there are many causes of depression, most of which involve brain chemistry.

I have a recommendation for this, and other authors. It is disingenuous to use the phrase “my friends.” Since I don’t know you, I’m not your friend, nor is the bulk of your target audience. That phraseology is perfect during a sermon, but not in a book.

Whew, sorry for the negativity on this review, I'm just being honest. I make a living writing and editing other people's books, so I tend to be hypercritical. Ask any of my clients how brutal I can be. I suspect Steve Poe is a phenomenal preacher, or his churches wouldn’t be experiencing explosive growth, and there’s no doubt he has led many to Christ. The concepts in Creatures of Habit were well formed, but I’m just not sure writing is his gifting.  3 stars.

I thought that this would be more about creating positive new habits. I understand the premise of falling into habits grounded in anger, greed, vanity etc but it just wasn't what I was looking for. I know it has helped others but I was looking to get something different out when I requested this.

This was a great surprise. I wasn’t looking for this type of read right now but I needed this book and I learned from this book and it made me think and take notes!!

"Creatures of Habit: Breaking the Habits Holding You Back From God's Best", by Steve Poe, is a book about different habits that we and fellow Christians must get rid of in order to live a life pleasing to the Lord. The most common habits that Poe suggests we get rid of are as follows: anger, lust, worry, cynicism, pride, greed, and self -centeredness. The author uses personal anecdotes and Bible verses to back up his thesis. I thought this book was very helpful and easy to read. I would read this book again.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Creatures of Habit, by Steven Poe, is a practical handbook that will help you with many of the common problems that plague us today. More of a reference book to return to when you need help with a certain issue, rather than a straight-through read, Poe offers understanding, advice, and next steps to issues like pride, anger, worry, idolatry, and guilt, among others.. I recommend checking it out.

This book was given to me for an honest review. The opinions are my own.

Without a doubt, we are creatures of habit. This is an important message especially at this time in my life. The timing could not have been better for such a story. Enjoyed the read! Thank you Net Galley for the advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review!

We'll all heard of the 7 vices, now we have the Dozen Habits. Yep, some expectedly overlap. I'm sure if we are honest, did I already say that Lying is one of the habits that a full chapter is devoted to, we are guilty of multiples of these habits if not at times all. But there is hope of course as a Christian through the forgiveness and changes possible through Christ. This very readable work helps us ask the right questions to discover where we are with each of these habits and after we take the initial step to "Own it" provides some steps to help reduce the power of each one in our lives and to ultimately and hopefully eliminate it. Still as Poe points out, most of these did not develop overnight and will most likely take some time. We will stumble, fall, and fail - but we get back up again and keep trying in this journey of life. We can be the people God desires for us to be as He made the way possible. I received my advance copy through Netgalley with no obligation for a positive review.

Thank you Netgalley & Steve Poe, for my copy of Creatures of Habit:Breaking the Habits Holding You Back from God’s Best. I had not heard of Steve Poe and was pleasantly surprised with this book. I found the way he set the chapters up by habits that keep you from living your best life & keeping you from leaning on God. This book defines a habit, helps you identify it, own it and work on it. There isn’t a time in your life where you can’t make a change. Actually Steve reminds us that it is ok to make the change at any time, as long as you start. I will probably re-read this one over and over again. I actually marked certain parts that I know I will rely on. This was a 5 star read for me and I have shared this on my Instagram page and shared my review on Barnes & Noble and other retail sites. As always I am always so glad to read Arc’s, especially, née to me authors.. Enjoy!!!

Practical help on a spiritual matters, author Steve Poe, helps identify harmful habits and then explains how to create new, Godly habits.

Each chapter covers a different topic: Pride, Anger, Excuses, Lust, Cynicism, Worry, Complaining, Workaholism, Lying, Idolatry, Guilt and Prayerlessness.

At the end of each chapter Poe prompts you to "own" the poor behavior in order to implement change in your behavior and then follows up with simple practical steps on how to create a new behavior.

There were points in this book that I felt like I received a loving slap in the face (that I needed!). This book's straightforward, black and white approach calls things out for what they are and then reminds you that you were created for more. It is eye-opening and motivation exposing book packaged with the exhortation you never knew you needed. Highly recommend.

Pastor Steve Poe has put together a compendium of life skills. His first book is well crafted, easy to read, and packed with 12 great pieces of teaching. Poe is both encouraging and relentless. He stresses our absolute need to work in partnership with God to kick our destructive habits and transform our lives in new ways. Each of the 12 topics is taught in a non-preachy manner. Pastor Steve combines humor with Scripture and practical ways to lead us toward becoming the best version of ourselves.