Boundaries for Your Soul - Alison Cook and Kimberly Miller

This book is a life changer, one of the best books I have ever read. Many are acquainted with boundaries--the establishment and keeping of a border where others end and you begin. This new book addresses how to establish those borders within oneself. It is a very practical tool to apply Internal Family Systems by Richard Schwartz (recommended by Bessel van der Kolk in The Body Keeps the Score) in a way where Christians access the power of Christ in addressing the parts of themselves that had been wounded or damaged. At the center is the “Spirit-led self”, or “your self led by the Spirit of God,”, from which “you can be attuned to your troubling thoughts and emotions and give them the care they need. The Spirit-led self is not a part; rather, it is the core of who you are. Its role is to lead the parts of your soul like a symphony conductor so that they can work harmoniously." A wounded person is comprised of Managers, who are protectors who “drive you to perform, produce, protect, and please”; Firefighters, who “try to extinguish pain after it occurs”; and Exiles, which are “the distressed parts . . . voiceless and long neglected [which] have great need, and they’ve often yielded their power,” signaled by “shame, fear, insecurity, hurt, a feeling of worthlessness, a sense of being marginalized, a sense of being unseen, unappreciated, or overlooked; loneliness; sadness.” The “Five Steps” involved in helping Managers and Firefighters relax and Exiles come forward are Focus, Befriend, Invite, Unburden, and Integrate. The approach is easily learned, makes intuitive sense, and it works. This excellent work is well written, easy to understand, easy to apply and written for the layperson. Most chapters begin with a quote and a Bible verse which seems presented through a new lens. For example, for the first chapter, Why Boundaries for Your Soul, which gently begins explaining the necessity for internal boundaries, Romans 7:15 is quoted: “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate." I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Even if you are, ahem, perfectly mature emotionally and spiritually, you will want to read this to help and understand others. If, on the other hand, you are like the vast majority and sometimes have something falling out of the emotional box, this book can help you figure out why and how to help yourself get to the root of it. It is a book like no other I have ever seen. It is already changing my life, and I would venture to bet it will change yours. I received this book for free in exchange for my unbiased review through the Thomas Nelson BookSneeze Program.

The Road to Freedom by Johnny Baker

This book focuses on Celebrate Recovery, its mission, purpose, and method. It encourages the reader to come to grips with “hurts, hang-ups and habits” by absorbing ten Life Lessons, which are distinct from the Eight Recovery Principles, with or without participation in Celebrate Recovery. The author balances the biblical justification for each life lesson with an exhortation to take to heart and apply each. The writing is clear, albeit sometimes repetitive from chapter to chapter, The author seems to believe that Celebrate Recovery is for everyone, as he says we are in pain, coming out of pain, or about to enter pain. I am not convinced that is true, but I would say that if this rings true, then Celebrate Recovery may be of great help. This book could have used closer proofreading. On page 103, in the last line it says, “down the garbage shoot [rather than “chute”] she goes.” There are a number of instances on pages 105 and 106 where “cannot” is written as “can not”. On page 174, one of the headings says, “Serving is Manditory.” I received this book for free in exchange for my unbiased review through the Thomas Nelson BookSneeze Program.

NIV - The Woman's Study Bible

This hardback, full-color version Bible has many special features. The Bible itself is in one easy-to-read font, and all footnotes and commentary are in another smaller font, making them easy to distinguish. Each of the 66 books is prefaced by an introduction explaining the title, naming the author, and discussing date, background, themes and outlines. Commentaries and charts are liberally placed throughout, with short biographies of women indicated by a blue header and descriptions of topics headed by a maroon stripe. Unique charts, such as “The Breastplate of the High Priest” in Genesis, “Musical Instruments of the Old Testament” in Psalms, “Women and Jesus” in John, and “My Identity in Christ” in Colossians, and “The Significance of Numbers in Scripture” and “Beatitudes in the Book of Revelation”, provide helpful, new perspectives. The viewpoint espoused in this edition is conservative and traditional. My careful reading of the commentary on 1 Timothy 2 drew me to conclude the commentators for this edition do not support females in the role of pastor, and the footnotes in Romans 1 and commentary at Leviticus 18 describe homosexuality as “deviant behavior,” “sinful lifestyle,” and “aberrant behavior”. The one jarring note I found throughout this edition is the inclusion of quotations in boxes by various women in the biblical text, the style of which in most books is used to highlight a particularly important point from that page. It was distasteful to me, and I think they should have either been omitted or placed in a separate section. This edition is attractive, informative and well constructed. I received this book for free in exchange for my unbiased review through the Thomas Nelson BookSneeze Program.