I'm in the middle of purging books (how ironic!) and have had quite the past month in eliminating questionable Christian materials, so in a way, I am fulfilling the mandate of this book's title. Make Room by Jennifer Ford Berry is sadly a book I cannot recommend due to how New Age practices and thinking have infiltrated what I had hoped to be a Christian worldview. Yes, we can make room for God to work in our lives, but no, it does not involve manifestation or speaking our dreams aloud and willing them to happen.
Book Synopsis
Stuff. We have too much of it. Clothing, kitchen gadgets, electronics, home decor. And more of it arrives on our doorstep all the time. Our stuff takes up an incredible amount of our space, time, energy, and money. But do all these possessions truly make us happier?
Certified professional organizer and bestselling author Jennifer Ford Berry says no. Rather than living for our stuff, what actually gives us joy is knowing and living out our purpose in life. In Make Room, Berry shows you how to live a more meaningful and intentional life by revealing how to
- define your purpose
- plan your time
- declutter your home
- prepare for the future
- and much more
If you long to get rid of what distracts you from living out your God-given calling in life, this book is your roadmap to success, offering principles to recognize and eliminate anything that is cluttering up your life.
Source: Amazon
Book Thoughts
This book did not deliver on the premise that I thought it would offer going into it. For a few moments, I had to double-check that I hadn't mistakenly picked up a generic book on decluttering from a New Age perspective. Riddled with syncretism, this book requires continual effort in order to mine biblical teachings from the cultural sayings that are typical of self-help verbiage, such as choosing differently or doing better. The concept of vision as expressed through vision boards and vision language seemed to be elevated above God's will and was a red flag in this book, coupled with exhortations to practice positive thinking. I shouldn't be surprised that authors like Jen Hatmaker and Elizabeth Gilbert were referenced, making this book fall into the camp of feel-good, self-propelled, worldly thinking.
As a result, Christians need to exercise much discernment to parse through this book's content where Scripture is referenced and basic concepts that align with Christian living such as hospitality, generosity, and stewardship are shared. It's so unfortunate that this material is muddled together with affirmations and manifestation (a huge no for Christians!). While I appreciate that the author does mention being in the Word of God, it's a miss that the Bible seems to be the anomaly in this book. There is less a sense of God bringing about things due to completely surrendering to Him and more about what the author has done to make things happen instead. Readers interested in the topics of household management, simplicity, and clutter reduction are far better off reading books from authors like Dana K. White who avoid New Age teachings and stick closely to the Bible alone.
Book Summary
- Format of book: 🎧
- Rating: ⭐
- Recommendation: 👎
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