Through looking at the Israelites time in the wilderness, Jeff challenges his reader to apply the principles to their own life. He warns of the tendency for the reader to assume that they would not fall into the same patterns of behavior that the Israelites found themselves in. It is a good warning, for we tend to view ourselves as the hero in the story.

The Land Between is not the only one of transition, it is any time of hardship and trial. Through many examples, both personal and anecdotal, Jeff makes real the points he drives home.

The Land Between is a place that is ripe for complaint. The Israelites were grumblers... it was a habit, not the exception. In contrast, Moses went to God with his frustration and vented. The Land Between is a place where we can learn to cry out to God in unabashed honesty and without fear of becoming the recipients of God's wrath as long as we do not allow the habit of grumbling. We must continue to see God's provision and ensure that we do not take it for granted.

There were many passages that spoke to my heart and challenged my thinking. One such quote:

Trouble and trust coexist in the hearts of the people we meet in the Bible—David, Jeremiah, and others—even as they coexist in our own hearts.

Some have taught that faith and fear cannot co-exist. That may be true, but often it is presented that faith and a troubled heart cannot co-exist. That is not true.

This is a great book. If you are going through a season of trial, a time where God's path is leading uphill and you are experiencing frustration with the circumstances of life. This book will be a great tool that God can use to help you look at yourself honestly and identify what God may be work doing in your life.

The Land Between is first and foremost, a time of spiritual transformation, not a time of judgment.

One of the accounts in the Old Testament can serve as a type of reminder for us as we walk forward and fulfill the future that God has for us. It is the account of the Israelites as they take possession of the Promised Land. God had revealed that this land was going to be theirs. However, they were not able to just walk into the land, thank the current inhabitants for building homes and infrastructure, and move in. They had to take possession of the land. They had to fight with the current inhabitants. It was not easy work seeing the fulfillment of God’s promise!

When God reveals to us the future that he has for us, it can be a fatal assumption to think that it will be easy. Too many times I’ve seen people just start walking into the future, because God said it would happen, they find incredible opposition and experience discouragement, frustration and often times drop out.

When God reveals something to you, give Him praise. Celebrate the future that he has for you… then, put your nose to the grindstone and prepare to work through a time of preparation so you can experience His plan.

The challenge that many churches find themselves faced with comes from the very people in the church pews already. It's a subtle mindset that is often expressed in comments like, "I love this church/pastor because I really get fed every Sunday." Now, a church/pastor should feed those who attend on Sunday, however, the church/pastor has a higher responsibility.

The church/pastor has to teach the people to feed themselves. Well, duh. We've heard the saying: 'Give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.' Challenging Christ-followers to feed themselves and not rely on the once a week predigested meal on Sunday morning is critical to the health of the church.

If Christ-followers begin to take responsibility for them spiritual diet and feed themselves, I wonder: What (or Who) could the church/pastor focus on Sunday morning?

One form of evaluation comes through the power of story.

One evening at our group I started by telling the group they could choose Option #1 or Option #2. I gave them no indication what was behind ‘door #1′ or ‘door #2.’ One of the outspoken individuals picked #2 and everyone else just fell in line. I got more insight as to whom I could approach as a future apprentice.

Well, option #2 was an exercise that required self-examination and some serious thinking on the part of the group members. I handed out this page and challenged everyone to think back over the past year and see how they’d grown in the four core values. Then to spend time thinking forward about how they would would like to grow in the four core value areas.

But wait, that’s not all, then they were to spend time thinking about how the group could help them grow in those four core values. This was one uninterrupted quiet time about 20 minutes long… okay, there were a couple of times when little kids interrupted us to tell mommy that they needed to go potty.

After the quiet time, we spend about 45 minutes discussing our thoughts. We focused mainly on the future personal growth and the group involvement in that growth. It was a great discussion. We learned some things about each other, both vulnerability and acceptance were present. It was one of the best group nights we've had.

Coaches are not necessarily experts in the realm that we are seeking to grow.

Tiger Woods is arguable the best golfer of all time. And he usually has had a coach.

Tiger turned pro on August 29, 1996 with the statement: "Hello World!" In the first sixteen months of his professional career, Tiger played 28 tournaments. He had 14 Top 10 finishes and six wins. The average PGA tour player doesn't win that many tournaments in his career.

At the end of the 1997 season, Tiger told his coach that he wanted to his swing. He knew that to improve, he would have to make some fundamental changes to his swing. For a professional golfer to change his swing, is a pretty big deal.  For me, no problem, I don't have two that are the same!

So from January 1998 through May 1999, a seventeen month period. Tiger played 31 tournaments, had 18 Top 10 finishes and only two wins. Then his new swing found it's grove. From June 1999 through May 2001, he played 37 tournaments, had 31 Top 10 finishes and 19 wins! Including a record 6 consecutive wins and four Major championships! Domination is only one word to describe what was happening on the PGA Tour and it continued through the 2002 season.

But then he made a decision that those of us in leadership can make. Tiger decided he didn't need a coach and he went coach-less for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. He didn't win a single tournament in those two years. For the first time 264 weeks, he lost the World Ranking of #1.

In 2005, Tiger hired a coach. Within weeks, he began winning again.

In the realm of leadership, here are a few lessons we can learn:

1. We must keep growing to reach the next level.

Tiger wasn't satisfied with his swing at the beginning of his career. He realized that his swing had some limitations and while it had got him to a certain point, it was going to limit his potential. He took the drastic step of rebuilding his swing from the foundation up. His coach played an integral part in helping him work through the process of rebuilding.

2. We must consciously monitor our growth.

Tracking our progress is critical, keeping track of the right metrics is imperative. Everyone needs a set of objective eyes to help us monitor our growth. When he took the step of firing his coach, Tiger took away an important means of monitoring his growth.

3. Others will see the our growth after we do.

Tiger wasn't concerned with winning so much as he was concerned with the 'health' of his swing. He realized that a 'healthy' swing would result in wins. The media was concerned with wins and Top 10 placements, Tiger was concerned with where is hands were at the top of his  back swing.

When we have a coach in our life, we can get feedback and guidance. None of the coaches that Tiger has employed have been better golfers than Tiger. All of the coaches that Tiger employed had a better view of his swing than Tiger did himself.

Whatever your level of leadership, you need someone who can speak into your life to help you get better then you currently are.