> I dare to say that this is undoubtedly the first and most important book any Christian woman who wants to start living a disciplined and organized life should read.
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| Cruciform Press |
Through its easy and very engaging prose, the author, Staci Eastin, deals with the issues of the heart that are behind the scenes of the chaos and disorder in a woman’s life. At the same time, she encourages her readers to apply the gospel to the real problem we face when our house seems a mess, and the drawers are upside down and there has been no milk or juice in the fridge for several days: Our sinful nature.
This is a book that starts to deal with a very practical problem the way we should always start dealing with any issue of our daily life: Seeing our sinful nature and applying the good news of the Gospel to every aspect of our life.
The author Staci Eastin, knows the Word of God and applies it to her writing. She knows that we can’t conquer any sin in our life apart from God’s grace, she says,
“We never conquer sin by adding more rules. That’s what the Pharisees did, and Jesus chastised them for it. Jesus is interested in more than just outward works; he wants us to perform good works from the overflow of a loving and pure heart. My attempts to get organized always failed because I tried to change my habits without letting the Holy Spirit change my heart. It was only when I saw the sinful motivations behind my bad habits that I could see lasting change in my life.”
“Holiness is something we must strive for (Hebrews 12:14), and we must start in the heart. Identifying the heart issues behind your disorganization will enable you to repent of them. Through the strength of the Holy Spirit, you can rid yourself of these idols (Romans 8:13).”
Staci Eastin points that the real sin behind a disorganized life, is a heart issue and one that at the end is idolatry; it is from here that she deals through her book with four idols we have made and more that often bow to them:
“In this book, I have identified four idols that seem to particularly hinder women from serving God effectively. They are leisure, busyness, perfectionism, and possessions. You may find that you only struggle with one or two, or you may discover that your problems have their roots in all four. I will examine all of them so that you, by the grace of God, can identify where your weaknesses lie, and begin to experience a more joyful walk with the Lord.”
This is a short book (it has only 108 pages), and I would suggest that you read it with your journal at hand, because every chapter closes with a section entitled “Explore” in which the author interacts with her readers posing a few questions and pointing to several passages of the Scriptures (that you need to look up, another thing I appreciate) to dig deeper into the Truth that can set us free.
So, be encouraged, my friends, to read this book before the other one that teaches you “how to organize your closet in 24 days and live happily ever after”.
Learning with you,
Dear visitor, thanks for stopping by. I hope I’ll get to “see you” back soon!
Daily On My Way to Heaven 
>Melissa and Ruth,Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment.Ruth, I know what you mean, I have been there more than often. A to-do list not so long yet not being able to accomplish it. That is one of the reasons this book sis so good… it goes to the heart of the matter.Blessings!
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>I was reading Tim Challies blog and saw his comment re: your review so here I am, having read your review, saying "Ditto, ditto, ditto!" to my friend Diana's comment. I used to keep a very orderly home and friends and family could stop by at a moments notice and I would be very comfortable with their doing so. Somewhere along the line, things changed and I was feeling quite convicted this weekend, in particular, for how I always seem to be spinning my wheels trying to complete the tasks on my to-do list which seems to be endless. It's not that the list is truly endless; however, it's that I somehow keep moving in circles, never quite accomplishing many of the tasks on the list so they have become perpetual entries. This has been a struggle for me, even more so in recent months, so I appreciate your timely review and will download a copy posthaste. Knowing that in all we do, we should do it for the glory of God, I look forward to making the necessary changes so that I am doing so, indeed. Bless you for sharing this with us, Becky.
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>I so need to read this.
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>I have to say "Ouch!" too! This sounds like a book I need to read. I hope to soon. Thanks so much for letting us know about it :o)
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>WOW, Ladies! I am so happy to hear that this review motivated you to so much. Praise God who is always at work with the dirt in our souls!@Trisha, I guess that's why we are such good friends! We love the same books, quote the same authors and have wonderful sons! 🙂 Love you dearly, my friend; and I can't wait to read your thoughts on this book. @Persis, that is a good question; I would say that it is an excellent resource to read with our daughters. I have read some reviews that encourage readers to use it in small study groups; so I think Mom and Daughter will benefit from it if they study it together. 😉 Thanks for the idea! Blessing to each one of you, sweet friends, and thanks for stopping by.
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>Great review. I really need this book! Blessings!
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>This looks like a good book, Becky. Would you recommend it for a teens as well as adults?
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>You beat me to it, Becky. 🙂 Great review, and I loved the book. I'll be posting my own thoughts and doing a giveaway of this one. Have a wonderful weekend, my friend!
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>Ouch again! I ONLY have ONE idol out of four, but I guess I am guilty of all four. 😦 Just ordered the book for myself and kindle for my missionary friend (not that she needs this but thought it would be helpful to those around her). 🙂 Thanks Becky.
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>Thanks so much for the review, Becky. I am going to order this now.
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>Oh Becky! I'm sitting here thinking "ouch!". Whenever any friends I've never met (like you!) speak of wanting to come and visit me, I start to inwardly panic over my disordered home 🙂 I've just downloaded the book, and unfortunately identify all too well with the first couple of pages I've just read, as Staci could be describing me as I packed for our recent holiday…I think this is going to be a deeply convicting book, as I've not seen my disorganization as due to my sinful nature before….ouch 🙂 And at least I have maybe a year or so to get it sorted out 🙂
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>Thanks for this review. I just bought the book for my Kindle and look forward to reading it.~Anne
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