A fantastic book clearly written by someone of deep faith. A perfect manual for those of us who have the belief in God, yet often let the realities and stresses of the real world impact and impinge on our faith, rather than acknowledging the far simpler truth that God has all our worries, stresses and problems in his hands and will guide us through to the other side. I like the combination this book provides of self-help manual/religious book, it is well balanced and addresses with humour, empathy and finesse the very real struggles that we all face throughout our daily lives, and whilst emphasising the importance of giving that up to God, it is neither pious about this nor condescending, instead offering a very real glimpse at the author who has themselves been a victim of doubt and stress, and themselves has had to battle to submit to God's rescue.

A fantastic book for those of faith, the scripture at the end of each section is both relevant and a beautiful reminder of God's love for us.

Definitely recommend :)

How do you deal with your stress?
Speaker and writer Tracie Miles makes it clear that it is stress-less, it is not stress-free in her book "Stress Less Living, Revised Edition. God- Centered Solutions When You're Stretched Too Thin", published by Abilene Christian University Press & Leafwood Publishers. The book was first published in 2012.
Miles is developing the topic in ten chapters with titles such as "Discovering the Real Problem", "The Silent Killer", or "Hitting the Reset Button. She is honest about her reason for treating the topic of stress. She writes in the introduction: "I knew I had a choice to make. I could either let the stress of my world burn a hole in my soul, opening up a gap for anxiety, anger, and panic to seep in and steal my peace and joy, or I could recognize what was happening and take the reins of my thoughts and emotions rather than letting them run wild. I knew I needed to refocus on the peace Jesus offers if we remember to turn our attention back to him and off of the craziness and chaos around us". She wants to help her readers and states: "Throughout the pages of this book, you will learn how to recognize the signs of burnout, the symptoms of chronic stress, and the potentially dire consequences of ignored stress. By pulling out stress relief secrets tucked in the Bible and God-centered solutions to managing your stress, you can soak in down-to-earth encouragement and biblical practices to help you better manage stress from your everyday life experiences, such as work, home, marriage, parenting, addictions, health, pandemics, finances, and the economy. It will also help you discover how to better deal with all the worry and anxiety life ushers in and help you embark on a new journey of living life with unshakable joy and abundant peace. This may be something you feel is impossible right now, but it actually can be your reality if you’re ready and willing to put in the time and investment to change" (in the Introduction). The book is based on the teaching of the Bible. Miles closes every chapter with Reflections Questions (with space for notes) and "Stress-Busting Scriptures." It includes also notes that provide reference and help readers who want to do further study.
This was the first book by this author which I read. I highly recommend it for readers who want to deal with the stress that they can control in order to be able to have the strength for stress that is outside of their control, e.g., political events, crises, health issues, ... I recommend it to reader4s who do not want to rely on human approaches to stress but on God.
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#StressLessLivingRevisedEdition #Netgalley

Great book for all those interested in health and well being. Lots of ideas on items to make. You feel better. Well written and easy to follow

A book that shares a story of moving from stress to God’s peace. Great tools to help you move from where you are to a place of mental rest.
Thanks NetGalley for an advanced copy.

Life is tense and offers no easy answers or quick fixes. The good news is that in a world of unrest and stress, readers can find the peace for which they hunger. Tracie Miles, in this breakthrough book, helps women unload the pressure cooker of life and learn to rely on the peace that Christ promises to all those who come to him. Tracie maintains that the direction many women receive today is attached to temporary helps like meditation, relaxation strategies, breathing exercises, and support groups. Stress-Less Living unpacks the truth found in Scripture about how to overcome fear, anxiety, and uncertainty, and shows the stressed-out woman how she can not only survive stress but thrive in spite of it through faith in the promises of God.

Stress has always been a part of our existence. It's never been avoidable; There is also no denying that society today is more stressed out than ever, Which is why its so fitting for this edition of Miles' masterpiece to reappear on our raider. From its debut Stress Less Living has been a beautiful, deeply personal answer to our nations call for help.

Tracie Miles is an author I adore very much. With intelligently crafted prose and a deeply personal Miles forces us to take a step back for a moment, and to remember that there is only one place we must turn to for stress relief, for all things are possible through Christ.

Overall, Stress Less Living is an absolute must-have for any person dealing with stress. Even if you are not a Christian, the author gives many pieces of advice that can apply to anyone.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-copy for me to use in order to share my honest opinions. I am so happy to be able to honestly praise and support this author and such an amazing book.

Stress...we all experience it, and we all seek to avoid it as much as possible. Unfortunately, it is all too present in our lives. Stressless Living by Tracie Miles is a guidebook to how the scriptures can help us to overcome stress, fear, and anxiety. The world offers us many solutions, but Jesus is the ultimate solution to these unsettling feelings.

This book was a comfort to read, and a timely reminder during a time where stress is so prevalent. Miles talks about the negative effects of stress on our body, and how we can become addicted to the adrenaline of a busy and anxious life. She then guides us towards choosing our weapons, resetting our lives, and embracing a new way of life with Jesus at the helm. Each chapter ends up with reflection questions, and a list of stress busting scriptures.

Some quotes that stuck out to me in this book were:

"When true faith and trust in my Savior became a reality in my heart, living less stressed became a reality in my life. It didn't happen overnight, but it did happen. And it can happen for you too."

"You truly become less stressed when you discover the God of peace and walk in obedience with what he has called you to do. Real peace comes when you make God the center of your life, instead of the last resort."

"I have learned that I can still maintain a peace within myself that can only be explained by the presence of the Holy Spirit in my heart, regardless of what is happening around me."

"Worrying will never change anything, but faith, trusting God with everything that weighs on our hearts, and a positive attitude will change everything."

"Believe with your whole heart he hears your prayers and will do exactly that. Envision his mighty hand stretching down from the heavens, ready to catch you and deliver you from the toxin of stress."

If you are feeling stressed or anxious, I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of this book. It is an easy and encouraging read, that guides you to Jesus, the only One who can eliminate our stress, and help us to live the life we were meant to live.

When I have started to read the book I was curious to read some reviews of the first version. One review stood up because it described the book as "nothing special or nothing new" as for the stress management strategies. After reading Stress Less Living, Revised Edition I could agree that the book does not have any surprising and exotic tricks on stress management. However, the book gives us a remarkable story of a woman who has been there, lived in a totally stressed out condition, and with the help of Christian practices she had made it through. As a stress management professional and a Christian, Tracie Miles gives us the story of both sides bringing our attention to the fact that all of the techniques to manage stress would not work well if you don't have the peace that Jesus offers. And most likely this is not today's news. However, it is not that we are in a great need of everything new and everything exciting. We are in a great need to be reminded of things we know, of paths we travelled on and wondered off, we need to hear the truth once more so that we know it is not the echo coming from the empty chambers of ourselves. And this is what Stress Less Living does the best: it points us to the truth of the Bible, it equips us with reflection questions and support strategies, it reminds us that if we are in the presence of the Prince of Peace we can truly have a stress less living.

This book is well written and thought provoking. Tracie Miles has been through some unthinkable challenges and is honest and generous in sharing her learnings and insights along her journey.

I found the reflections and passages at the end of each chapter really helpful and it was interesting and uplifting to read how the author had overcome adversity and how her faith gave her strength.

For me, however, aspects of the book were not relatable as I have not had to face such extreme challenges. I’m sure it will be helpful for many, but perhaps not so much if you are generally looking for a calmer, more present lifestyle.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“It is possible to trade in your stress for Gods perfect peace.” I so needed this book as I like so many others tend w to wear stress as a badge of honor. God used this book to show me stress is not His plan for my life. I love how the author first does a thorough explanation of what stress is and what it does to our body as well as why we should care about stress as Christians. And the author so poignantly shares her life’s journey that taught her that there is a God answer to stress. So she is not just giving out advice but instead she has walked this path and is stopping to share what God taught her with us the reader do we too can get the victory. “Stress is an outward indication of an inner situation - a situation of a heart that needs Jesus”.

I have so many favorite parts and quotes in this book but here are a few just to whet your appetite
-each chapter ends with reflection questions to help us the reader apply the lessons contained there in
-each chapter has stress busting scriptures to tuck away
-chapter 5 has scriptures for us the reader to personalize
-chapter 8 talks about God have a camera to capture pictures of people who are pillars of strength. This section is an eye opener and so beautiful

The author writes in chapter 2, “I had, over time, become one overwhelmed, overcommitted, overstressed, overfrazzled, burnt out young woman.” If you can relate, I sue can, you need to get a copy of this book.

Stressed Less is such a great red. As somone dealing with a lot of stress in their life not only due to the current pandemic but with chronic health issues ect this book provided great tools and techniques to help deal with stress and gain a more balanced lifestyle.

This is a book for everybody. It's well written and the author has been through extremely stressful times, so she writes from her heart. This book is extremely helpful and I highly recommend it. I received a complimentary copy from Abilene Christian University Press & Leafwood Publishers via NetGalley and wasn't required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Stress Less Living, Revised Edition by Tracie Miles is a revised version of one of her earlier books that gives advice about how to deal with stress in a Christ-centered way. Chapters in this book include "Time for Change" and "Take Back Your Life." This book has been updated and now contains references to current events like the attack on the Capitol and the COVID-19 pandemic. I must admit that I am a huge fan of Tracie Miles. I own all of her books, and they've helped me through some rough times in my life. This book is no exception. I am so happy to be able to support this author. Thank you to the publisher for this opportunity!

Here is an excerpt from the Introduction, which was updated for this edition:

"Sitting alone on the couch in my den, laptop resting on my knees, mind racing with all the stressful thoughts that had sprouted life from the fertilization of the disturbing news blaring all day, I felt anxiety and stress threatening to engulf me, as had happened so many times before. But this time, I chose to respond differently...
I could either let the stress of my world burn a hole in my soul, opening up a gap for anxiety, anger, and panic to seep in and steal my peace and joy, or I could recognize what was happening and take the reins of my thoughts and emotions rather than letting them run wild. I knew I needed to refocus on the peace Jesus offers if we remember to turn our attention back to him and off of the craziness and chaos around us."

Overall, Stress Less Living is an absolute must-have for any person dealing with stress. Even if you are not a Christian, the author gives many pieces of advice that can apply to anyone. One of my favorite things about the author is that she has been through it in the trenches. You're not going to get lofty platitudes with no basis in reality. You name it, the author has been through it. She has known heartache, and she has known stress. That's what makes her writing most powerful.

Even though I come from a different background than the author in almost every way, she is extremely relatable. One thing that I wish the author had kept in this edition was the list of self-care strategies. For example, taking a warm bubble bath is one of my go-to strategies when I'm stressed out. I would have liked to see more physical relaxation strategies, as opposed to just spiritual ones. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of books about how to get rid of stress, I highly recommend checking out this book, which is available now!