Book
review – The Best Yes By Lysa
TerKeurst
I
always find personal recommendations very helpful to know whether to read a
book or not. It’s been good for me too to go back through
notes I’ve made and remind myself what I wanted to take away from this book. So
are my highlights:
1) Take time with God
to listen
“9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to
discern what is best and may
be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of
God.
“ Phil 1:9-10
Only
God can help me discern what is best for me at this time. God puts things in
our hearts that are just for us. How do we get in tune with what God has for
us? Time with him.
‘This
time spent searching for me and my truths? This desperate dependence on me?
This is your very best yes.’ Lysa TerKeurst
[My
challenge has been to not let the hours fritter away that I’ve freed up and not
to wait for the ‘perfect’ moment when there are no interruptions or other jobs
to do.]
2) Say no
There
are some helpful chapters on saying ‘no’.
It’s ok to say ‘That’s not my assignment’. There are many good and noble
things to be done but they are not all my assignment. An attitude of love can
still say no. Remember, God is the master provider. It doesn’t all depend on
me. [These chapters gave me the courage I needed to resign from the school
fundraising committee and to email a few people about taking a break for Jan
and Feb from some of my commitments. And I was amazed how encouraging and
supportive most people have been about me saying no to things!]
‘As
hard as it is to disappoint a person in order to keep your appointment with God,
on the other side of awkward awaits a promised land you don’t want to miss.’
Lysa TerKeurst
3) Don’t wait for
perfect
Sometimes
there are multiple paths that are all good. Don’t get stuck! There’s no such
thing as a perfect decision. Every great success story has elements of failure.
[This is where my perfectionist tendencies get me stuck: I don’t want to do it
unless it’ll all be brilliant so I don’t start at all. This is why I have many
unpublished blog posts – because I get stuck when it’s not perfect.]
4) Release
Release
leads to peace and diminishes regrets. A tree must release its autumn leaves to
be ready for the snows of winter. In order to be ready for a new season we have
to release things of the previous season.
Life is full of seasons. I don’t have to panic that I will be stuck with
choices I make now for ever.
5) Growth mindset
She
discusses the difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. A fixed
mindset feels stuck in patterns of thinking and believing from the past. A
person has themselves in a box of ‘this is just how I am’. A growth mindset
sees my skills, relationships and intelligence as a starting place, not a
finishing line. To see that through hard work, learning and resilience I can
grow past my insecurities. I can be free from where I’ve been in the past and stop
limiting what I believe God can do through me. Start with baby steps of right
decision.
6) Mothering
[A
few bits of the book refer to motherhood and spoke to me in my insecurities as
a mother] Don’t draw a line from my child’s wrong choice to my weakness in
mothering. What if God looked for a mum strong enough to pray this child all
the way through their stuff? Entrusted not cursed with this child. Tell your
children their mistakes don’t define them.
Conclusion
This
is by no means an equal covering on the content of the book. However, I hope it is helpful in giving a flavour of
the insights to be gained. And as I’ve
just reminded myself of point 3: “don’t wait for perfect”, I’ll go ahead and
publish this! J
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