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A review by livingpalm1
The Emotionally Healthy Woman: Eight Things You Have to Quit to Change Your Life by Geri Scazzero
4.0
Approximately a dozen years ago, when Brian and I were poking our heads up from the ground of ministry leadership, we had the privilege of hearing Pastor Pete Scazzero speak at a major church conference. His story made a major impact on our minds -- if not yet on our youthful idealism.
The story Pete and Geri Scazzero tell of of both ministry and relational collapse, when it seemed like it would have been easier to quit both, is powerful. (I actually found myself wishing so much that my mom and Geri could have been friends.) Out of the pain of the church planting burnout in Queens, NY, the Scazzeros sought spiritual, emotional and physical healing within the long story of Christianity. They learned the wisdom of the disciplines of contemplative prayer, silence and Sabbath from outside their own non-denominational tradition. In a beautiful redemption, they experienced personal healing which then multiplied throughout their large church family. Out of these changes and learnings, the Emotionally Healthy Spirituality ministry was born.
In a fun twist, a mutual friend connected me to Geri Scazzero to discuss a ministry that I've had experience in leading for about ten years. Imagine my surprise to discover I was giving ministry advice to the wife of the man who'd had such an impact on Brian and me a dozen years ago! As a result of the conversation, Geri encouraged me to dig into some of the more recent books she and Peter have released. I started with Emotionally Healthy Woman, and I'm especially grateful for God's timing in this as Brian and I set out to lead a church in the near future. I highly recommend the book, and hope to go back through again in a study format with a few women this year.
Brian and I are reading The Emotionally Healthy Leader out loud together, which is turning out to be another gem. May God strengthen each one of us for the work he's given us to do, and may He bless all those who have persevered -- imperfectly -- in positions of leadership in His Church throughout the ages.
The story Pete and Geri Scazzero tell of of both ministry and relational collapse, when it seemed like it would have been easier to quit both, is powerful. (I actually found myself wishing so much that my mom and Geri could have been friends.) Out of the pain of the church planting burnout in Queens, NY, the Scazzeros sought spiritual, emotional and physical healing within the long story of Christianity. They learned the wisdom of the disciplines of contemplative prayer, silence and Sabbath from outside their own non-denominational tradition. In a beautiful redemption, they experienced personal healing which then multiplied throughout their large church family. Out of these changes and learnings, the Emotionally Healthy Spirituality ministry was born.
In a fun twist, a mutual friend connected me to Geri Scazzero to discuss a ministry that I've had experience in leading for about ten years. Imagine my surprise to discover I was giving ministry advice to the wife of the man who'd had such an impact on Brian and me a dozen years ago! As a result of the conversation, Geri encouraged me to dig into some of the more recent books she and Peter have released. I started with Emotionally Healthy Woman, and I'm especially grateful for God's timing in this as Brian and I set out to lead a church in the near future. I highly recommend the book, and hope to go back through again in a study format with a few women this year.
Brian and I are reading The Emotionally Healthy Leader out loud together, which is turning out to be another gem. May God strengthen each one of us for the work he's given us to do, and may He bless all those who have persevered -- imperfectly -- in positions of leadership in His Church throughout the ages.