Book Review: Revitalize Your Spiritual Life

I just finished up Revitalize Your Spiritual Life: A Woman's Guide for Vibrant Christian Living. It's a compilation of excerpts from some of the women writers over at Thomas Nelson publishers, featuring snippets from books by Shelia Walsh, Stormie Omartian, and others. It could easily be described as a sampler of the publisher's women's interest books. The book is set up topically, covering two broad motifs: "The Things That Keep Us Stuck" and "The Things That Set Us Free".

These aren't authors I normally read. In fact, I have never read anything else by any of the authors featured. Stormie Omartian was the only writer I recognized, and the featured book Confessions of a Good Christian Girl was the only book I had considered purchasing out of all of the books featured. Normally I am very cynical about Christian living books geared toward women. They all seem to say the same thing and just add to already existing feelings of inadequacy. The genre seems to promote the image of that perfect modern Christian woman (the Proverbs 31 wife in khakis and pastel-colored blouses).

So I set my cynicism aside and starting reading. I didn't really like the sampler style as it felt it jumped around a bit, and I had to adjust to each writer's style from page to page. I was able to pick out author's I would be interested in picking up some more of their books - and others I would probably avoid.

As for the content, I have to admit I was surprised. Yes, there were bits of the same-old, same-old content. But I honestly found the book re-freshing. Even if the content wasn't completely new, I was challenged and encouraged by the writers. It began as a book I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy and it ended with over a dozen sticky tabs sticking out of the side, marking portions that really spoke to me.

So here is my final opinion: if you want deep, theological teaching you might want to skip it (not that the writer's aren't theologically sound - but if you're wanting straight theology, doctrine or apologetics, this isn't it). But if you want a little boost, a book that's easy to read and that will encourage you, it's a good read.