The Whole Life: 52 Weeks of Biblical Self-Care

“What happens when you put two godly wise women together to develop a yearlong plan created to help believers flourish? You get The Whole Life: 52 Weeks of Biblical Self-Care. Don’t be put off by the phrase self-care—this is no shallow psychobabble. Rather, it’s filled with the gospel and deep wisdom learned through years of counseling. What a blessing!”

“In a world full of need, it’s easy to hear Jesus’s call to self-sacrifice more loudly than his call to rest. How important, then, to consciously assess whether our lifestyle is truly in line with God’s good design. In fifty-two bite-sized yet rich reflections, The Whole Life encourages us toward a pattern that is scriptural and sustainable. This is Christ-centered wisdom for the weary and respite from a relentless life.”

“I have to confess that when I saw that this book was about self-care, I was a bit skeptical because my greater concern in counseling tends to be that people care too much about themselves and not enough about God and others. But as I read the book I appreciated that the authors made a biblical case that there are ways in which we need to take care of ourselves if we are going to be able to love God and others well. As my hero Charles Spurgeon said regarding self-care of pastors, ‘We are in a certain sense our own tools, and therefore must keep ourselves in order”

“If our current situation has taught us anything, surely it is that we are frail and fragile beings dependent on our Savior. It is into this reality that Eliza Huie and Esther Smith have blessed us with a much-needed work on biblical self-care that focuses our gaze and attention on both body and soul as God created us. Readers will be encouraged with the practicality of their work and the rich theological depth that it is grounded in. Treasure this resource, read and chew on the contents slowly, and be strengthened for faithful ministry for the coming season.”

“We could all use some help in our devotions. What sets this book apart is its holistic approach to the care of one's own soul. While underscoring God’s supremacy in our lives, we are also encouraged in this weekly format to consider the emotional, relational, and embodied aspects of our lives that are often overlooked. This book would also make a great resource for counselees!”

“When we hear about self-care, our first reaction is often to ask, ‘Should we really care for ourselves? Shouldn’t our focus be exclusively on sacrificial care for others?’ I appreciate Eliza Huie and Esther Smith’s biblically-based definition of self-care: ‘the practice of drawing on divinely-given resources to steward our whole lives for personal enrichment, the good of others, and the glory of God.’ In The Whole Life, they comprehensively and compassionately help readers to steward their lives so that they can live a lifetime of ministry to others to the glory of God.”

“If you are traveling on a plane, you are well aware of the instructions before takeoff: place the oxygen mask on your face before you help your child. That seems so counterintuitive, but the point is this; if you don't get oxygen first, you won't be able to help another person! That is what this book is about. It is about stewarding your body and soul so that you can be most useful to others. Stewardship is a word in Scripture that often is only associated with money. But the fact is, stewardship is about everything God has given us, including our body and soul. Eliza and Esther wisely call us to pay attention to ways we must steward these gifts.”