Book Review: OVERLOAD: How to Unplug, Unwind, and Unleash Yourself From the Pressure of Stress by Joyce Meyer

Proverbs 12:25(NIV)
Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.

Publishers Description

#1 New York Times bestselling author Joyce Meyer shows readers how to become free from the burden of stress so that they can achieve God's best for their lives.

Sound & simple directions to decrease the stress in your life! 

As technology increases your accessibility, it becomes harder to mute the background noise of your life and receive God's guidance. Joyce Meyer calls this OVERLOAD, when the demands of your busy life become all-consuming and overwhelming. But to experience the joyful life God has planned, you must make time to focus on His Word. Then you'll receive His healing calmness and gain the strength to take on life's challenges, from physical ailments to problems in relationships. Through the practical advice and Scriptural wisdom in this book, you'll learn how to unplug and free yourself from burdens that weigh you down. You'll gain simple, effective tips for better rest and stress management and discover the fulfilling life you were meant to lead.

My Personal Review:

OVERLOAD: How to Unplug, Unwind, and Unleash Yourself From The Pressure Of Stress by Joyce Meyer is a multifaceted book aimed at helping the reader deal with stress. There is literally something for everyone in this book!

You won't be disappointed in Joyce Meyer's newest book, Overload. In this extremely well organized publication to be released tomorrow, Joyce identifies stress as "an indiscriminate thief that will take whatever it can from whomever it can....health, peace, rest, relationships, laughter...stress wants to take it all away!" She doesn't stop with assisting the reader in identifying areas of tension in their life, but goes a step farther by providing very concise direction for how to deal with those areas of your life that are creating havoc and stealing your peace. 

 The selling attribute for the book, Overload, is not that there is a large volume of new information being presented, but that the knowledge is presented all together in one place in a very easy reading fashion. The highlighted gray boxes throughout the pages, as well as the "Things to Remember" list at the end of each chapter are a very effective tool for improving retention. Joyce sufficiently covers the effects, common causes, frequent triggers & poor responses of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual stress. In addition she delivers tangible instruction on how to decrease the presence of stress in one's life and deal better with those situations that are unavoidable.

Joyce Meyer (www.joycemeyer.org) has focused her entire ministry on teaching the Bible, so it is little surprise that the guidance she presents is backed up with scriptural references. She reminds the reader that they have a choice to make each day...they can trust themselves or they can put their trust in God  referencing: 

Psalm 37:3(NIV) Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 

In a very detailed breakdown of practical solutions, Joyce addresses: confidence in the Lord, making necessary changes in our lives to decrease stress, doing our part to respond to uncontrollable stress in a Godly manner, remembering that God is good, simplifying our lives when possible, laughing more, choosing to live in the security of Christ, monitoring our speech, enjoying the life we have been given, adjusting our perspective and choosing to

become more outward focused by blessing others with acts of service. The book is a catalyst

that promotes personal reflection and serves to assist the reader in discovering those areas

in their life that might be a hindrance to living a stress free life. 

Get outside, take a walk, enjoy a hobby
& drink more water! These are just a few
of the many suggestions to help decrease
stress taken from Joyce Meyer's new book: Overload

There is a tandem workbook with Overload: How to Unplug, Unwind, and Unleash Yourself From the Pressure of Stress that will be available for purchase in May 2016. I would like to go through this workbook with a group of friends or within a Bible Study setting. I think it would provide a beautiful opportunity to connect on an extremely transparent level with a community of believers. This subject matter presented in a Biblical workbook format could be life changing. In the meantime, I plan to reread and apply the advice in this book, one chapter at a time. Yes....it's that good!!

I would like to thank FaithWords Publishing for this review copy of OVERLOAD: How to Unplug, Unwind, and Unleash Yourself From the Pressure of Stress by Joyce Meyer. I received this complimentary copy in exchange for reading this book in it's entirety and giving an honest review. 

My Dog Lucy

Psalm 119:85(MSG)
The arrogant godless try to throw me off track, ignorant as they are of God and His ways.

It doesn't take much to throw me off track these days.  I don't know if it's my age or what.  I mean let's be candid, I am pushing 50 years on this planet....that's 350 years for a dog!  Holy smokes!  That's half a century!! Perhaps another contributing factor could be the extraordinarily large amount of information that is available to me at the swipe of a screen. I suppose it could be a combination of both, but it's definitely a constant battle for me to stay on task and I don't think it's got anything to do with the "arrogant godless" this time.  


Here's the real deal. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that we are living in a world that is too busy.  Good grief, the things I can do now that weren't provided even a mere ten years ago is mind boggling!  I can check e-mails while I'm brushing my teeth.  It's not uncommon for me to look at the weather radar while I'm cooking dinner.  I frequently find myself reviewing all of the latest news events as I'm sitting in the car line waiting to pick my daughter up from school.  Oh yes, and there's Twitter, Facebook, Google+, blogs, etc....etc. Great. Or is it? 

I'm not sure what the answer is there, but I am sure of one thing.  When I do derail and inadvertently switch tracks, I usually end up falling behind on what I had intended to accomplish.  When that happens, my stress level goes way up. When my stress and anxiety go up....my "God ways" and certainly my God awareness go down.  Uh-oh... 

Did you know looking into a loving dog's eyes will increase
 endorphin (neurotransmitters that decrease stress)
 release in your body?  This is Lucy...in case
you don't have one of these at home and need
a little stress reduction today.
  

This is a picture of my dog, Lucy.  She is a beautiful cockapoo who brings so much joy into our home.  I am a firm believer in the stress relieving capabilities of a friendly pet. No surprise there, as they are one of God's biggest blessings to us humans!  You may not agree with that, but this is my blog, so I get to freely voice my opinions :).  Anyway, as awesome as she is, if I multiply that times infinity, my answer will still not compare to the stress relief that I find at the foot of the cross as I look into the eyes of my Savior.  He is certainly the biggest stress reducer of them all.  I hope you'll agree with that one!



Lord,
Thank you that I am created to be known by You.  I am so grateful that I don't have to hide from You.  You know when I sit and when I rise.  You discern my thoughts from afar.  You know, Oh God, a word before it is even on my tongue.  What freedom to know Your loving eyes are upon me.  What comfort to acknowledge that we don't have to live under the burden of stress or fear because of Your sacrifice.  (Psalm 139)
  
Oh...and thank You for these beautiful creatures that you have given us to enjoy.

In Christ's Name,
Amen