Good News For Those Trying Harder

Good News for Those Trying Harder (2008) – Alan Kraft
David C Cook • ISBN: 9781434799401 • Condition: Good
Grace-soaked, gently scuffed encouragement from Crappy Old Books

So you’ve tried willpower.
You’ve tried “just be better.”
You’ve tried that thing where you make a list, colour-code it, stick it on the fridge and then ignore it for three months.

Congratulations. You are precisely the target audience for Good News for Those Trying Harder.

This is a book for people who are exhausted from attempting to be “good Christians,” “better people,” or “less of a walking disaster,” and who have a nagging suspicion that the entire point might not actually be try harder, feel worse, repeat.

Alan Kraft’s basic message:
You are not the world’s first underperforming perfectionist.
Also: the gospel is supposed to be good news, not a cosmic performance review.

Condition: Good (like your intentions… on a decent day)

When Crappy Old Books says Good, we mean:

• The cover is intact, presentable, and not currently shedding pieces in a symbolic “so much for self-improvement” way

• The spine may show a gentle crease or two—evidence that someone else has already stress-read their way through grace vs. guilt

• All pages are present, firmly attached and fully legible—no missing chapter on freedom, no torn-out section on “stop beating yourself up”

• There’s light, honest wear: softened corners, maybe a faint smudge or two, suggesting that this book has previously coexisted with coffee, biscuits, or late-night despair

No frantic underlining in red pen (that we’ve noticed), no passive-aggressive margin notes saying “APPLY THIS!!”, no pages warped by tears of spiritual burnout. Just a solid, well-kept, Good condition paperback with a past.

What’s inside (apart from relief)

This is not one of those books that hands you:

• Seven new steps

• Three new systems

• One guaranteed method to finally become the person your inner critic keeps shouting about

Instead, expect:

• A pretty direct demolition of the “try harder, God might be impressed this time” mindset

• A fresh look at the idea that grace is not just “the entry ticket” but the whole show

• Stories, Scripture, and explanations that say, more or less:
  “Hey, what if the Christian life is not actually about frantically climbing a ladder Jesus already set on fire?”

Kraft circles around some persistent favourites:

• Guilt-as-motivation (spoiler: it’s terrible)

• The endless hamster wheel of “quiet time, fail, guilt, promise to try harder, repeat”

• The weird belief that God is generally disappointed but might give you a gold star if you really nail it this week

And instead, he steers you back toward:

• Rest

• Reliance

• Grace that doesn’t just grudgingly tolerate you, but actually welcomes you

You know. Good news. The thing on the label.

Why reading this in a used copy is hilariously on-brand

Brand new self-help-ish Christian paperbacks can feel like they’re silently judging you from the nightstand. From Crappy Old Books, this Good condition used copy:

• Already looks like it’s had at least one previous owner in need of a spiritual breather

• Frees you from the pressure of keeping it pristine—fold the page corners, read it in the bath, drop it in your bag with a half-eaten cereal bar; God’s not grading the binding

• Shows just enough wear to say, “You are not the first person who needed to hear this, and you won’t be the last”

In other words: it preaches what it practices—a bit worn, still solid, absolutely usable. Just like… well, you can finish that thought.

Ideal for readers who:

• Are tired of feeling like spiritual interns who are always one mistake away from being let go

• Hear the word “discipleship” and instantly think “to-do list and low-key dread”

• Have been secretly hoping someone would say, “You don’t have to fix yourself before you’re allowed to rest”

• Enjoy Christian books that talk more about what Jesus has already done than what you must urgently start doing by Monday

Also good for:

• Recovering perfectionists

• People who apologise to God for not being sorry enough

• Anyone whose spiritual life has slowly turned into a guilt-powered project management system

Recommended reading situation

Best enjoyed:

• With a slightly cold cup of tea you keep forgetting to drink because you’re actually thinking for once

• On a sofa, in bed, or at the kitchen table during that “if I sit very still maybe no one will need me for ten minutes” window

• In a mood somewhere between “I am so done” and “I’m cautiously open to hope, I guess”

Potential side effects:

• Mild theological vertigo when you realise “trying harder” isn’t the magic fix you were promised

• Occasional suspicious eye-prickling at chapters about grace and failure

• A surprising, unnerving sense of relief

Condition report (the sanctified admin bit)

• Title: Good News for Those Trying Harder

• Author: Alan Kraft

• Publisher: David C Cook (2008)

• ISBN: 9781434799401

• Condition: Good – lightly used, structurally sound, spiritually reassuring

Good News for Those Trying Harder: for when you’ve done your best, your worst, and your absolutely-medically-not-advisable effort level, and you’re finally ready to hear that maybe, just maybe, this isn’t actually about how impressive you are. Supplied in honestly Good pre-loved condition by Crappy Old Books, who are delighted to offer you grace in paperback form, with gently softened corners.

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