Reviews for 52 Weeks to a Positive Life

The average rating for 52 Weeks to a Positive Life based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-05-23 00:00:00 Marc Carmona This book packs a lot of wisdom in its small size. Not just another "spiritual disciplines" book (I expected another "read your Bible & pray" book), it goes deeper into assessing the health of our soul, learning how to nurture and nourish it, and even how to start when procrastination, laziness and other things make us tend to stay where we are. I particularly like the analogy of the "table of transformation." Picturing God and me sitting across the table from one another, with all that He "brings to the table," when all I can bring is my openness and willingness to allow Him to do His work - that was a great perspective. It breathes life into my devotional time. Rather than checking devotions off my busy list each day, I must learn to quiet my soul and listen to what He is speaking. He is not waiting for me to "get it right," but rather to sit in the chair, cease my activities, and quiet the clamor in my mind and just BE with Him. This slim volume, with 4 "experiences" with devotions for 5 days each and a discussion guide for groups at the end of each part, shows us how to go deeper without requiring a lot of study time. For those without an hour a day to spend in Bible study and prayer, it would be a good choice that provides spiritual depth. I am eager to start another book on the spiritual "pillars" of soul care - Spiritual Friendship.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-05-22 00:00:00 Mark Davis I read this in solidarity with the women of our Daybreak church on retreat. I would have liked more reference to scripture, but it was challenging and helpful toward taking time to be quiet in the presence of God. I especially liked her illustration of sitting with Jesus for conversation and leaning in to Him to listen. The reading is simpler than this quote, but I want to note it here. "When full devotion describes a quality of heart, it can be true at any stage of our spiritual development....Full devotion is a state of our hearts when our understanding of truth is equal to our level of surrender" (p. 39). Human transformation is a process, illustrated by Exodus 23.29-30 (p. 45). "'God, you have my heart. I'm as surrendered as I know to be. There may be a new area for us to work on when I wake up tomorrow, but you have my heart.' Truth and surrender are in concert with one another" (p. 52).