[Started March 23, 2026] Hey,
I hope you're having a great day today. In this blog post, I will be completing a book review by none other than Joyce Meyer. This book is about taking care of yourself in the right manner. Here are a few takeaways within the first week of me reading this book:
- First, I was reminded that we are not pleasing people, but instead are focused on what God has in store for us. It took me some time to realized this until my transformation journey and I realized that I don't need to please man.
- Second, I learned that Vitamin B12 is good for the production of red blood cells and can reduce anemia. I was surprised when I saw this as I have low iron and plan on no longer taking Vitamin B12.
- Third, I was reminded to never compare myself to others- whether that be with success, achievements, status quo, and the list goes on. In the past, this would affect my work ethic and my interaction with other people. Now, I don't let this get to my head; I focus on God and what He has in store for me.
- Fourth, it's best to let go of what you can no longer do. For example, Joyce brought up a good point about letting go of the high heels and going into comfortable shoes. This is an example showing that as we get older, it's about being comfortable and not cute (with the exception of getting both in fashion).
- Fifth, keep your body moving. This year I've started to become serious about moving my body and eating healthy. I would always see my mom moving around the house...and I understand why now. You want to move your body around or else it will no longer work for you.
I had LOTS of insight and reminders as I was reading the book on this second week. This week was Holy Week where I delved into fasting and focused on my connection with Him. Here are the takeaways and reminders that I captured:
- It's okay to adjust your life to the new normal. I find that as I get older and am working my life around current circumstances, I choose to truly balance my work life and home life...even if it takes to lose a couple of benefits; it's about listening to my body and continuing my connection with God and loved ones.
- There are many ways to handle stress. One of them is to pray instead of playing the worries and stress over in my head. There's a new quote I heard in one of my video devotions recently and I felt the need to share as this resonates with me: Pray It, Don't Play It. In other words, stop overthinking and pray to God about what's on your mind.
- Think about the legacy you want to leave behind and your character...not on the talents you possess. Start thinking ahead of time on what you want to be known for when it comes onto you as a person. Do you want to be known as the person who worked a lot? Do you want to be known as someone was devoted to his/her family? This is something to think about as you maneuver your way through life.
- Stay strong spiritually. Again, prayer is key to remaining strong :).
- Be graceful in your life and kind-hearted to those who you are closest to.
- Use discernment when it comes onto God's will for your life. There are times when we have an idea on what we want our lives to look like...and then God leads us in the next, better direction. Note that it is not our will; it is God's will to be done :).
- Step out of your comfort zone. Life is too short to be playing it safe; take the appropriate risk to try something new. For instance, I decided to start a podcast on living the soft life and how you can achieve it too. I also have some other works in the making that I'm looking into as I type this out :).
- Trust God; do not let worry rob you of your faith and grace...as worrying is a sin.
- Wisdom is equivalent to discipline. A good source on learning of wisdom is through the book of Proverbs in the Bible. This segment of the Bible teaches about wisdom and how we could attain it :).
In week three of me reading this book, there were a lot of recaps on the takeaways I captures in the second week. There were a couple of takeaways:
- You are never too old to try something new. Joyce mentions a few examples such as Vera Wang and Ray Kroc (founder of McDonald's) who decided to build on their brand once they got older. We have to stop making our age limit our abilities on what we can do to make a positive impact.
- Do not let what other people say affect you from achieving your dreams. There are helpful people that will motivate you...and then there are others that will demotivate you with their negativity. Learn to discern people who are looking out for you versus those who does not want to see you grow and achieve your goals.
I truly love this book! If you are someone that is looking into ways to care for yourself- mentally, physically, and spiritually...then I would suggest this read for you. You can purchase this at your local bookstore or here if you can't find it. There's also a Bible plan here that ties in with this book as well. Let me know what you think once you read it. I hope you enjoy :).