This book was enjoyable and helpful. I loved it so much that I couldn’t put it down. It is practical and Biblically-based. I highlighted so many encouraging passages as good reminders that I know I will return to again and again. The book even gave me some new insights on familiar Bible verses, and reinforced for me just how important it is to take our thoughts captive to Christ. Lucado’s style might not appeal to everyone (over-the-top optimism with lots of jokes and stories) but I enjoyed it, and it’s mixed with serious truth. Some parts were so beautiful, I teared up.

This book has something for everyone, whether the thoughts you want to mitigate tend toward pride, anger, anxiety, greed, lust, etc. The most important part of the book is the reminder that God loves us and will help us renew our minds; we don’t have to just keep striving out of our own (limited) willpower. It’s not about trying to think of bad things less, but replacing those thoughts with good things and focusing on Jesus. Christians, don’t miss this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the free eARC. I post this review with my honest opinions.

This review is cross-posted on Goodreads, and will be posted on Amazon and Instagram within one week of the book’s publication.

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Oftentimes, our thoughts get the better of us. We regret the past, worry about the future, and fail to enjoy the present. Well-known author and minister Max Lucado offers practical techniques to deal with our thoughts. These techniques can help identify problematic thoughts and ways to address them. Employ new techniques for thinking. He uses easy-to-remember mnemonics so readers can easily remember the different strategies. The suthors, writing draws examples from scripture to support their teaching. His analogies throughout the nook provide a deeper understanding for the reader. For those who are overthinkers and tend to ruminate, this book is a must-read

Love this book! Very thought provoking and inspiring! Definitely worth the time to read and ponder truths shared. Max Lucado has the ability to make difficult and tough issues plain and straightforward.

5/5 ⭐️
Release Date: August 12th, 2025


I really enjoyed Max Lucados practical steps in how to change the thinking of our minds. He gave examples from not only in the Bible but also personal stories of how the changing of our thoughts can produce peacefulness. Each chapter was full of verses to reflect on and be reminded of what God has called us to do. Great reminder that the Lord is with us and has gone before us. I did think this book was going to be more focused on anxiety but was glad to see if wasn’t just catered to that particular thinking.

Thank you NetGalley for a complementary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

In Tame your thoughts,he told us to really analyze ,reflect and and take captive our thoughts each day .Knowing that it's our battle to attain my thoughts and to discipline our thoughts. I enjoy his testimonies in the book to bring out the point that he was making One of my favorites was about the Bobby sized moment. Bobby were like built mostly an giant .He fear Bobby.Where Bobby had broken his nose, and he taught us about Bobby sized moments we should not fear them because God is with us in battle.Bobby sized similar to David and Goliath event For, example as David had defeated the giant with the Lord on his side. It shows we can defeat with confidence to these Bobby sized moments in our lives.it is encouraging that we have victory in Christ Jesus.I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. # Tame your thoughts # Netgalley #

'Tame Your Thoughts' is a timely and incredibly encouraging message for our world and generation right now. Pastor Lucado's voice is gentle and empathetic, and grounded in the Gospel. The book includes helpful and relatable tools for identifying unhealthy patterns of thinking and redirecting our "thought ruts" to truth in Scripture. After setting up a foundation and framework, the author teaches us how to apply it to common thought struggles, such as anxiety, guilt, overwhelm, lust, and rejection. I related to many of the struggles and found myself reading, praying, and taking notes with my Bible next to me. The questions for reflection at the end are perfect for self-study or working through the book with your bible study or community/life group. I will be pre-ordering this book and referencing it for years to come. My sincere thanks to Thomas Nelson, the author, and #NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC.

Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

When I opened this book, I didn't expect to be reading about UFOs. However, as I delved deeper, I realized that the acronym was a clever way to remember the truths that Max Lucado was sharing.

If you struggle with controlling your thoughts, this book provides practical tools to help you navigate challenging times and manage your daily thought patterns. The author grounds the book’s principles in the Bible, which is why I would recommend it to others.

I receive complimentary books from various sources, including NetGalley, authors, and others. I am not required to write a positive review and have not received any compensation.

Tame Your Thoughts: Three Tools to Renew Your Mind and Transform Your Life by Max Lucado is an interesting read based on the transforming and renewing of your mind found in Romans 12:2. Citing neuroscience and the brain’s neuroplasticity, its ability to change and adapt, Max gives readers three helpful tools to empower them to think clearly and rightly.

The book covers a number of common maladies including how to properly deal with anxiety, lack of joy, guilt, lust, feeling overwhelmed, rejection, pain, and dissatisfaction. Like Max’s other books, there are questions for reflection for deeper personal or group study. He also includes a database of scripture at the end for readers to use to help retrain their brains. I definitely recommend this book for those looking to take their thoughts captive and desire to change their way of thinking in a more productive and biblical manner.

I thankfully received a free electronic advance reader copy of this book from Nelson Books via NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Max Lucado is such a fantastic writer. I’ve read everyone of his books and his children’s books are my favorite: but this book was wonderful! Every community group at church should read this together.

Thank you, Net Galley, for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Max Lucado’s writing is always a refreshing delight. I found it intriguing how science and faith share a common approach to managing thought patterns. While the information itself wasn’t entirely new to me, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Another winning book by Max Lucado! Filled with scriptures, personal stories, and staggering statistics, this book takes a look at our thought life and some practical steps for adhering to the passage that tells us to "take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ". Though written from a distinctly Christian worldview, this book would be of benefit to people from all walks of life and all faiths as a tool to help corral one's thought life. As a Christian, I was especially grateful for the scripture references and faith-based guidance, but I believe that people who are not Christian would also find sound advice within these pages. This book is timely as it addresses the negative thoughts and self-talk we have each and every day. With the influx of non-chemical mental health issues in our world today, having a plan to combat those negative thoughts is pure gold! The wisdom found in these pages is both practical and scriptural. The personal stories come from Lucado's own life, others he has met along his life's journey and the Bible itself. With great discussion questions in the back, this one would be ideal for not only personal study, but a group study as well. All in all, this is great and timely read and one I will likely re-read as needed. Special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-copy of this book. I was under no obligation to provide a review and the thoughts contained herein are my own.

I’m a huge fan of Max Lucado and was so excited for the opportunity to read and review Taming Your Thoughts. I love how he writes both inspirational and informative insights while making every truth easy to apply. The book lays out a clear, biblical plan to help you take control of your thoughts, reminding us that we do have a choice—whether to dwell on the negative or embrace the positive. Our minds can be renewed, our thoughts retrained, and our everyday lives transformed. The mind is a battlefield and if you’ve ever struggled with your thought life, you’ll want to read this.

“We are what we think”

“Challenge those inner voices. Test them against God’s Word”

“Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts” (Prov. 4:23)

“Let the Spirit change your way of thinking and make you into a new person” (Eph. 4:23–24)

“Prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long” (Eph. 6:18)

A deep dive into the science of our thought life and how it can affect us negatively or positively.

Max Lucado pulls from Scripture as he walks us through the most common problems in oue thought life. He addresses where they come from, how they affect us, and how leaning on Christ through faith we can manage them.

A must read book.

I have loved Max Lucado's previous books, and this one does not disappoint! Max has such a loving, supportive style of writing, and I could sort of hear his comforting voice as I read through Tame Your Thoughts. This book focuses on getting control of and eliminating disturbing thoughts resulting from anxiety, guilt, lust, pain, fear, and several other issues. Max offers a "toolbox" of strategies, based on Scripture, to help deal intrusive thoughts. I heartily agree with everything he recommends, and love the way he doesn't make me feel abnormal, or beyond hope, for experiencing such thoughts. He includes questions for thought at the end of the book, and that's actually the most helpful part. I can see how this book could be beneficial in a small study group, and also, as part of cognitive behavioral therapy. Highly recommend to those who appreciate Max Lucado, and his previous writings.

** “(Thoughts) are the inner chatter, the internal narrator who calls play-by-play on our deeds. Sometimes happy, other times grumpy. Some constructive. Some intrusive. They render verdicts on our choices. They rehash our failures, doomsday our future, and do their darnedest to sour the here and now. Thoughts are everywhere. And we are the sum of them.” **

Max Lucado delivers another inspirational book with “Tame Your Thoughts: Three Tools to Renew Your Mind and Transform Your Life.”

Written in a devotional manner, but with a conversational tone often injected with humor, Lucado as usual writes in a clear, concise and understandable manner, offering his words of wisdom and affirmation.

He offers several tools to use in taming your thoughts, including Practice Picky Thinking and identifying UFOs (untruth, false narrative and overreaction). As he discusses several issues with the thought process, he continuously goes back to these tools in each scenario, providing both biblical and modern day examples, like David, Job and Thomas Edison.

The book is also filled with quite a bit of scripture to highlight his points and advice. He covers many subjects that impact our thoughts, like pain, fear of God’s rejection, lust and finding contentment. He guides us in how to avoid anxiety, self-sabotage and guilt, and to find a life with better thoughts.

The end of the book includes Questions for Reflection, devotional questions to dive deeper into the subject, as well as a scripture database and footnotes.

“Tame Your Thoughts,” which is due out Aug. 12, is an inspiring book that offers encouragement and reminds us that “the battle belongs to the Lord.”

Five stars out of five.

Thomas Nelson provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

Max Lucado has served admirably as “America’s Pastor”. And as dependable as Max is, you can count on a new book every Fall. For 2025, we are given a true gift. In “Tame Your Thoughts”, Max tackles the major battlefield of every living person, our mind. But Max doesn’t just give you advice, he gives you tools to use.

“Tame Your Thoughts” is full of scripture (including a collection of scriptures in the back of the book for the user to read/memorize/pray), heart warming stories, laugh out loud moments, and tackling of tough subjects.

But that is not all. Max also includes a lot of scientific facts about how our brains work and to use that to your advantage as the reader seeks to tame their thoughts.

Every Fall, I make my journey to a bookstore or Amazon to find out what Max’s new release is going to be about. I always purchase the latest book knowing that I will enjoy Max’s sense of humor and interpretation of the scriptures. This year, with “Tame Your Thoughts”, I was given a gift. One that has led to freedom. Thank you, Pastor Max.

A very lovely read. Many thanks for my copy. One of my favourite Christian authors. I plan to buy some copies as gifts.