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A review by pattydsf
Four Gifts: Seeking Self-Care for Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength by April Yamasaki
3.0
”…(T)his book explores four gifts drawn from the words of Jesus to ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength’ and to ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ (Mark 12:30-31, emphasis added). These four gifts offer a framework of self-card that includes (1) our total well-being, represented by the hear; (2) our spiritual well-being, represented by the soul; (3) our mental well-being, represented by the mind;(4) our physical well-being represented by strength.”
I joined a Facebook book club this year. It has been put together by Sarah Bessey (https://sarahbessey.com/) whose books I like. I thought that this reading would be a good change from some of the books I have read in the last few years. So far, this seems like a good choice.
Bessey picked books that are focused on spiritual formation that are written in the voices of women and/or black, indigenous, and POC writers. Hopefully I will review each of title as the months progress. (My shelf for these books is field notes – you can search that to find all 12 titles.)
We started with this book by Yamasaki. I found it to be interesting. She uses her own life to illustrate the pluses and minuses of self-care. I found her use of Biblical references to be especially useful and sometimes thought-provoking. I have always thought of the phrase “love your neighbor as yourself” to be a sign that self-care is a reasonable approach to life. Yamasaki gave me some new things to think about this phrase.
She also made me more conscious of how the digital world has changed the way we care for ourselves, especially in terms of mental care. The whole chapter made me think about mental health and social media.
One of my favorite sections was chapter seven, called The Soul’s Lament. I had not seen lament through the same lens as Yamasaki does. I am grateful for her insights.
All in all, if you are female and a Christian, you might want to pick this book up. Not everything in the text is likely to be new to you. However, Yamasaki has put together an overview of self-care that would be helpful to many. This book would also be a good study guide for a small group.
I look forward to seeing what other subjects Yamasaki will choose to write about in her future books. Thanks to the Field Notes Book Club and this book, I am already reading Yamasaki’s blog on a regular basis.
I joined a Facebook book club this year. It has been put together by Sarah Bessey (https://sarahbessey.com/) whose books I like. I thought that this reading would be a good change from some of the books I have read in the last few years. So far, this seems like a good choice.
Bessey picked books that are focused on spiritual formation that are written in the voices of women and/or black, indigenous, and POC writers. Hopefully I will review each of title as the months progress. (My shelf for these books is field notes – you can search that to find all 12 titles.)
We started with this book by Yamasaki. I found it to be interesting. She uses her own life to illustrate the pluses and minuses of self-care. I found her use of Biblical references to be especially useful and sometimes thought-provoking. I have always thought of the phrase “love your neighbor as yourself” to be a sign that self-care is a reasonable approach to life. Yamasaki gave me some new things to think about this phrase.
She also made me more conscious of how the digital world has changed the way we care for ourselves, especially in terms of mental care. The whole chapter made me think about mental health and social media.
One of my favorite sections was chapter seven, called The Soul’s Lament. I had not seen lament through the same lens as Yamasaki does. I am grateful for her insights.
All in all, if you are female and a Christian, you might want to pick this book up. Not everything in the text is likely to be new to you. However, Yamasaki has put together an overview of self-care that would be helpful to many. This book would also be a good study guide for a small group.
I look forward to seeing what other subjects Yamasaki will choose to write about in her future books. Thanks to the Field Notes Book Club and this book, I am already reading Yamasaki’s blog on a regular basis.