Book Review: ReSet: Living a Grace-Paced Life in a Burnout Culture by David Murray

I suppose it can happen to all of us. Well, it can happen to any of us - Burnout. Burnout can manifest itself in a number of ways and be triggered by a number of reasons. It's not black and white. It's multifaceted and can be affecting any of us without us realizing it, at least not a first. We may recognize many of the symptoms but be clueless to their origins and how we may resolve the issues we're experiencing.

Author David Murray, is a pastor, teacher, speaker, and blogger at headhearthand.org. Within the pages of ReSet he reveals the origins of burnout and as the reader progresses through the work is taught methods of effectively dealing with it. Murray calls it living the "Grace-paced life." We spend much time and effort in many worthwhile pursuits, but are they always beneficial?

Early on Murray calls the reader to a Reality Check as we miss many of the warning signs, Murray provides us with a list of warning signs to beware of or perhaps already experiencing. One should carefully review the warning signs and realize that part of the grace-paced life is slowing down from the "over-paced life."

In the following chapters Murray covers an array of areas wherein the reader should focus:

-What the cause(s) may be
-The need for sleep
-The need for routine mixed with play
-The need for exercise and rest and quietness
-Realizing our true identity
-The value of failure and the necessity to accept change
-Rethinking our purpose
-Eating right
-The need for proper and regular devotions

And much more.

Burnout is real and can affect any of us differently. My suggestion is to take this book seriously and consider the implications on your life. Consider if you are burned out. Murray offers much sound biblical advice from his own life experiences and from those he has counseled. I firmly commend this book to all men, especially those who are weary. There is much hope and value to be gleaned from its pages.

Crossway has provided a complimentary copy of this book through Beyond the Page.

David Murray is also the author of Christians Get Depressed, Too and Jesus On Every Page. I can heartily recommend both of these works to the reader as well.

Book Review: No Little Women by Aimee Byrd

...if we are serious about the distinctiveness of men and women, and if we really do believe that women are created to be necessary allies, then above all we should want to equip competent, theologically minded, thinking women, which has been the theme of this whole book.

The male-female dynamic has been much in the news lately, so much so that when I saw that Aimee Byrd's new book, No Little Women had been published, I was anxious to get my hands on it and dig in.

Aimee Byrd is a wife, mother, church member, author, and co-host of the Mortification of Spin podcast. Well known in many Reformed circles, she is intelligent, thoughtful and a capable writer. Her style is provocative and well worthy of reading.

Byrd's theme is as we find it above from page 138. With that in mind, she sets out to demonstrate that women are indeed the ally to men. Through several chapters she outlines the approach we should take offering correctives and concluding several chapters directed to church officers.

Much of the focus of this book covers the bad theology so often pandered to women in its many forms but especially in books. One need only to wander around the local Christian book store or search Amazon's website to see the latest drivel aimed at the female Christian demographic.

In many cases, women's ministry is the back door for bad doctrine to enter the church. (pg. 22)


And it comes on the heels of doctrine promoted in these books.  Can this be changed? Yes, by women with discernment learning good theology with recognition and care from their church officers. Byrd offers the necessary insight to reach this needed goal.

We  are to recognize that women are created in the image of God as necessary allies to men carrying out his mission. Because of this, women are to be good theologians with informed convictions. We are to take this call seriously and invest quality time in our theological growth and Bible study within the context of our local church as a foundation to our service and contributions to the church, our families, and society. The church is to recognize this and help to equip competent women as necessary allies. (pg. 178)

I was particularly interested in how Byrd would address the plethora of bad theology published to and for women. I wasn't disappointed. In chapter 8 she describes how to chose a book and author, how to read a book, and of utmost importance, how to be discerning. She gives examples from these books by authors such as Beth Moore, Ann Voskamp, Sarah Young and others so that the reader may learn and practice discernment. Well done.

No doubt, No Little Women will evoke some visceral responses but I urge the reader to thoughtfully and Biblically think through what Byrd is advocating.

This book abounds with wisdom - for women and men. I strongly urge men and church officers to read, digest and apply what is found within it's pages. Women, if you are reading these false teachers that offer religion through sentimentality, please ween yourself from that rubbish. Invest in quality reading material that teaches the truth as found in God's Word. It is all that will ever satisfy your soul. Make a good start by reading No Little Women.

(I would give this book a 5 Star rating but the author does not like that rating system so pretend you didn't read this bit.)

P&R Publishing has provided a complimentary copy of this book.

Book Review The Demise of Guys: Why Boys Are Struggling and What We Can Do About It by Philip Zombardo and Nikita Duncan

The Demise of Guys is a well written and well researched book. Informative and enlightening, it will be eye-opening for many and for many others it will simply reinforce what we already know, i.e., boys in this society are taking longer to mature and take responsibility than possibly ever before. The thesis of the book is that pornography and video gaming are major contributing factors to this decline to which this reviewer would heartily agree. The book is assembled in small, easy to digest chapters that leave room for contemplation and reflection. Well researched is an understatement as all the facts are backed up by numerous sources of data.

More than video gaming, this writer would suggest that easy to view internet porn is far more dangerous than even the authors suggest. Yes, it gives the incorrect view and expectations in relationships, but more than that, it is often the first step in much more serious crime which this work does not mention. Moreover, with all the accumulated data the authors have brought together, they still do not condemn pornography suggesting rather that those addicted to porn rather should lay off for a period of time and allow the brain to return to normal. Obviously, this is a huge problem with the work. The data supplied suggests something far different.

Another major fault would be in the chapter "What Can We Do" where the authors offer suggestions for males to overcome these addictions and make some positive changes in their lives. For all the authors' work this chapter leaves the reader feeling that there must be something more. The propositions are weak and faulty making no firm assertions that they will even work. What these young men need most are long term, positive Christian role models that will model what it is to be a man and lead productive useful lives for themselves, their families and most of all for the Lord. Oh yes, don't be alarmed at the use of some frank, street language which was not the least bit necessary to convey the authors meaning in any case. If that bothers you, you should skip this one.

On a scale of 1 to 5, The Demise of Guys rates a 4 for the outstanding amount of useful facts on porn and video gaming that are affecting our young men. But, sadly it's only a 2 overall due to the dismal recommendations to resolve the issues.