My Review of "Clear Mind, Peaceful Heart" devotional by Lysa TerKeurst

I was delighted to receive an offer from Momentum Influencers Network to participate in a book promotion campaign by reading Lysa TerKeurst’s new devotional "Clear Mind, Peaceful Heart: 50 Devotions for Sleeping Well in a World Full of Worry", and writing a review! 

Lysa is one of my favorite Christian authors. She only writes nonfiction in the Christian Living category. This is the first devotional I’ve read that was written by Lysa and her guest writers. It was a wonderful read!

I’m happy to share my review with you but first, here’s a word from Momentum Influencers Network about Lysa’s new book:

God not only has the whole world in His hands; He's holding the details of your life in His faithful hands as well.

What lies heaviest on your heart as you lay your head on your pillow? Are paralyzing fear and anxiety stealing tomorrow's peace? Listen to this invitation from Jesus: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28 NIV).

Experiencing this kind of rest won't come from escapism, more vacation days, or stuffing our feelings. Jesus Himself provides rest to our weary souls. While He may not always fix everything right away, we can fix our thoughts on His Word. In doing this, we can sleep at night with ease knowing that God has it all under control. Through the pages of “Clear Mind, Peaceful Heart”, written by New York Times bestselling author Lysa TerKeurst and her friends at Proverbs 31 Ministries, you will be equipped to:

- Quiet fearful and anxious thoughts that always seem to be the loudest before bedtime by incorporating the Bible into your nightly routine.

- Find relief from the stress of daily obligations and pressures through 50 encouraging devotions and guided prayers written by women like you.

- Release the heaviness you feel about hard situations in your life so you can wake up refreshed and walk into the next day with courage.

Learn more at www.ClearMindPeacefulHeart.com

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Now, here’s my review of "Clear Mind, Peaceful Heart" by Lysa TerKeurst:

Reading this devotional book is like sipping a cup of lemon balm tea. It quiets your mind and soothes your soul as it provides encouragement for your heart.

It truly lives up to its mission to help you focus on God and His Word, not the craziness and catastrophes happening in our world today. I found that reading one of these devotionals every night before going to bed helped me to focus on all the hope given by Jesus Christ. Hope for a hurting world. It was beautiful!

I appreciate how Lysa had guest writers to help fill the pages of this book with their real-life stories and experiences served to the reader in devotional format. It was encouraging to read something different by a new writer each day. Not everybody is the same. So I believe that having different viewpoints from a variety of writers helps to reach a wider audience of readers.

Each devotion in this book was refreshing and well-written. I also appreciate the interior and exterior graphic designs that make this book not only attractive but complete. If you’re struggling with chaos and losing your sense of peace, I encourage you to read this book, and also read the best book (The Holy Bible) prayerfully. God will meet you on those pages and provide comfort.

If you have not read this devotional yet, I encourage you to buy it online or in a local bookstore. Perhaps even ask if your local library carries it and if not, request that they make it available to borrow because it effectively addresses a felt need for so many people in our world today!

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Giveaway Contest: 

Enter this giveaway contest for your chance to win a $5 Starbucks gift card! Open the link below to enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway contest widget here:

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Disclosure: Many thanks to Harper Collins Christian Publishing for providing a sample of the product for this review. Opinions are 100% my own.

#ClearMindMIN #clearmindpeacefulheart #newbacktoschoolroutine #MomentumInfluencerNetwork @tnzgift @lysaterkeurst @proverbs31ministries

Learning to Forgive

Thankful Thursday: A Lesson in Trust

It’s Thursday and I’m thankful for God teaching me a lesson in trust.

Learning how to trust God is a lesson I take on a daily basis. Not just trusting Him with the basics: to wake me up in the morning, guide me throughout the day and lull me into a good night’s sleep. But learning how to trust him with the BIG things in life: career, relationships, bills that need to be paid. And learning how to be grateful for the SMALL things in life: finding my favorite pens at the store (the multicolored "Profile" series by Paper Mate), hearing my newest favorite song on the radio or YouTube (“I Need You Now” by Christian artist Plumb) and spending free time with family.

Learning to trust God, as easy as it seems, is not always simple. It’s not simple when you don’t know what’s going to happen next in your life and are trying not to worry about tomorrow. But like a card I bought from a Christian bookstore years ago says about having a relationship with God, “TRUST is a MUST” and it’s completely true. I may not always be able to sense God’s presence or feel Him near or know exactly what He has planned for me but I MUST and WILL continue trust Him with my life, dreams and future because only He can provide me with a “peace that passes all understanding" (Philippians 4:7) and "keep me in perfect peace" (Isaiah 26:3). And how do you get that peace? You receive it by placing your TRUST in God.

Today, I am especially thankful for the devout Christian people/artists and inspirational pictures God leads me to find online, all of which encourage me to trust Him more. So if any of you, my dear readers, are struggling with trusting God, I would like to encourage you by sharing a word from Christian author/speaker Lysa TerKeurst and by showing you a photo I found on a blog post by Ashley Larkin called "Anxiety's antidote":

Lysa TerKeurst says (Facebook status on her professional page dated 4/25/2013), Soak in these words tonight before you go to bed:

- God is the solution for every single one of my troubles
- God is within me and perfectly equips me to know what to do
- God is with me therefore there is nothing I’ll face alone
- Evidence of His constant work is all around me if only I will choose to see it

And here's the picture with words to ease any anxiety you may have:

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Always remember, GOD is in CONTROL and HE works ALL things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). So press on dear readers (and I'm talking to myself here too), have faith in God because He won’t EVER fail to provide you with everything you need in this life, starting with a trust in Him.

God bless you!

Love,

Alexis

Book worth reading: Pursued

Ready for a BREAKTHROUGH? Watch this...

Book Review: MADE TO CRAVE by Lysa TerKeurst

Lysa TerKeurst, Made to Crave (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 218 pages, US$14.99, reviewed by Alexis A. Goring). 

Diets don’t work. But the concepts in Made to Crave will help you achieve the picture of health you desire. According to www.madetocrave.org, “Made to Crave is the missing link between a woman’s desire to be healthy and the spiritual empowerment necessary to make that happen.” Written by Lysa TerKeurst, Made to Crave is a book written to help us recognize our deep cravings for food as what they really are—our hearts’ yearning for God.

             Made to Crave contains 19 chapters of biblically sound advice. While the target audience appears to be women, men would also benefit from the material contained in this book. After reading Made to Crave, I felt empowered to make a lifestyle change—one founded on my ultimate craving, which is not for food but for God.

           Within the first chapter of the book, TerKeurst makes a heart connection with dieters everywhere when she says: “Not once in my life have I ever craved a carrot stick” (p. 12). TerKeurst goes on to say why Made to Crave is useful, describing it as “the missing companion you’ve needed with every healthy eating plan you tried and cried over” (p. 14). Given her own personal struggle with weight and food, TerKeurst can testify to others. She writes: “With Jesus, if we want to gain, we must give up. If we want to be filled, we must deny ourselves. . . . If we want to conquer our cravings, we’ll have to redirect them to God” (p. 16).

          According to TerKeurst: “Getting healthy isn’t just about losing weight. It’s not limited to adjusting our diet and hoping for good physical results. It’s about recalibrating our souls so that we want to change—spiritually, physically, and mentally” (p. 16).

          Made to Crave achieves its goal of showing readers how to win the battle of the bulge. TerKeurst combines her skill as a noted writer and experience as a woman striving to achieve a picture of health to write a book that speaks to the hearts of women worldwide and provides the tools they need to break free from bondage to their appetites and unhealthy food choices.

          After reading Made to Crave, you’ll find it hard not to be convinced that with God, all things are possible.

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This article was published May 26, 2011.

Accessed online (http://www.adventistreview.org/issue.php?issue=2011-1515&page=30)