Review: The Stress Cure

The Stress Cure
By Linda Evans Shepherd
Revell, 2014


Summary

We live in a world filled to the brim with advice, and when it comes to dealing with stress, there's plenty of advice to go around. Sleep more, eat better, avoid this, seek out that. But more ideas about how to cope are not necessarily what we need if we're stressed and anxious.

What we need is a cure.

The true remedy to stress, Linda Evans Shepherd says, is prayer. In this inspiring book, she shows you how to recognize God's continual presence in your life and yield your troubles to the Prince of Peace. Through captivating stories, explorations of fascinating biblical characters, and examples of deeper-than-ever prayers, she brings within your grasp the peace that passes understanding. If you are overwhelmed by all of the urgent demands on your time, this book offers you a lifeline to true peace.


My thoughts

I enjoyed The Stress Cure by Linda Evans Shepherd and think it offers much of value. Stress is something that I suspect most of us struggle with, and rather than a "quick fix," The Stress Cure offers easily-remembered guidelines which can be practiced over a period of time until they become part of a daily lifestyle.

The 12 chapters are designed for devotional reading or Bible study and journaling, with topics like overwhelmed, frustrated, burdened, anxious, distracted - and ending with peace. Specific prayer guides are provided at the end of each chapter topic. I also found Linda's retelling of some familiar biblical stories very inspiring.

Linda's writing style made me feel like we were sitting across from each other at a coffee shop - easy to follow, applicable personal stories, values clearly communicated, and prayer guides at the end of each chapter. An excellent study guide is also provided here.

The Stress Cure is a book that most any believer would find helpful, and I think new believers would especially benefit from it. Here are just a few quotes that spoke to me:

"Jesus is not offering to make our problems disappear; He's offering to give us rest for our souls while He does our heavy lifting."

"What the enemy uses to distract you from God's presence or purpose, God uses to keep you closer to Him than ever."

"We want to stay focused on Jesus not only because He is powerful, but also because He is our power."

The Stress Cure can be purchased online at CBD, DeeperShopping, B&N, and Amazon.

Linda Evans Shepherd

Linda Evans Shepherd is the author of over thirty books including When You Don't Know What to Pray: How to Talk to God about Anything and When You Can't Find God: How to Ignite the Power of His Presence, and the co-author of the popular series the Potluck Club and the Potluck Catering Club. Linda is an international speaker and media personality and is the creator of RightToTheHeart.tv and appears as a frequent host of Daystar's Denver Celebration.

She's the leader of the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association and president of the nonprofit ministry Right to the Heart, which has seen over 500,000 people come to faith. She's married and has two children.

For more information, visit www.sheppro.com and gottopray.com/prayer-cures-for-stress.

Thank you to Revell for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.