{"id":8814,"date":"2015-01-10T16:24:53","date_gmt":"2015-01-10T21:24:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/?p=8814"},"modified":"2015-01-10T16:24:53","modified_gmt":"2015-01-10T21:24:53","slug":"book-review-the-best-yes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/?p=8814","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: The Best Yes"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“A woman who lives with the stress of an overwhelmed schedule will often ache with the sadness of an underwhelmed soul.<\/em>” Lysa Terkeurst, The Best Yes<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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What an excellent choice to read in the first week of 2105! \u00a0I am more committed than ever to focusing on my best yes in the year ahead. \u00a0I have the hardest time saying no to opportunities that sometimes come my way. \u00a0I never want to let anyone down and often say yes to things that I really shouldn’t in light of other commitments and my season of life. \u00a0The Best Yes<\/em><\/a> by Lysa Terkeurst is an excellent read and a book that I quickly passed along to a friend who is next going to pass it along to another friend. \u00a0Unfortunately, that probably means both of those friends will start telling me “no” about things…but it really will be a blessing to all of us to save our best yes for the things that God really has lined out for us to do with our short time here on this earth.<\/p>\n

Reading this book was pretty funny because it seemed like I was reading my own thoughts in some of the situations that Lysa shared as I could completely relate! \u00a0One of my goals after reading this book is to thoroughly evaluate decisions that require my time, effort, and resources in order to make sure I am focusing on my best yes.<\/p>\n

I highlighted several things while reading and have pasted those notes below…<\/p>\n

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    \n
  • I get all twisted up in making the decision to check either the Yes or No box, not realizing there is a third box that reads Best Yes.<\/li>\n
  • We must not confuse the common to love with the disease to please.<\/li>\n
  • The one who obeys God\u2019s instructions for today will develop a keen awareness of His direction for tomorrow.<\/li>\n
  • Have you ever heard that amazing verse in Isaiah that says, \u201cWhether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, \u2018This is the way; walk in it\u2019\u201d (30:21)?<\/li>\n
  • If we want His direction for our decisions, the great cravings of our souls must not only be the big moments of assignment. \u00a0They must also be the seemingly small instructions in the most ordinary\u00a0of moments when God points His Spirit finger saying, Go there.<\/li>\n
  • A woman who lives with the stress of an overwhelmed schedule will often ache with the sadness of an underwhelmed soul.<\/li>\n
  • The decisions you make determine the schedule you keep. \u00a0The schedule you keep determines the life you live. \u00a0And how you live your life determines how you spend your soul.<\/li>\n
  • How we spend our soul\u00a0matters.<\/li>\n
  • Find that courageous yes. \u00a0Fight for that confident no.<\/li>\n
  • And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. \u00a0(Philippians 1:9-10)<\/li>\n
  • We have to put our hearts and our minds in places where wisdom gathers, not scatters.<\/li>\n
  • Wisdom makes decisions today that will still be good tomorrow.<\/li>\n
  • We\u2019ve got to practice wisdom in the everyday places of our lives.<\/li>\n
  • Put our hearts and minds in places where wisdom gathers. \u00a0And then with courage, make the decision. \u00a0Open the box. \u00a0Move forward. \u00a0And determine not to make it all so complicated.<\/li>\n
  • Could this fit physically, financially, spiritually, and emotionally?<\/li>\n
  • And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. \u00a0Colossians 3:17<\/li>\n
  • Whatever attitude we bring into a situation will be multiplied.<\/li>\n
  • Here\u2019s the core issue-we aren\u2019t the master provider. \u00a0He is.<\/li>\n
  • Not every assignment is my assignment.<\/li>\n
  • Today\u2019s choices become tomorrow’s circumstances.<\/li>\n
  • Our decisions aren\u2019t just isolated choices. \u00a0Our decisions point our lives in the directions we\u2019re about to head. \u00a0Show me a decision and I’ll show you a direction.<\/li>\n
  • \u201cIn light of my past experience, and my future hopes and dreams, what\u2019s the wise thing to do?\u201d \u00a0Andy Stanley<\/li>\n
  • If you desire to please God with the decision you make and afterward it proves to be a mistake, it\u2019s an error not an end.<\/li>\n
  • My imperfections will never override God\u2019s promises. \u00a0God\u2019s promises are\u00a0not dependent on my ability to always choose well, but rather on His ability to use well.<\/li>\n
  • If your heart and your mind are aligned in the direction of God, you don\u2019t have to agonize\u00a0to the point of paralysis over the decisions before you. \u00a0We will steer where we stare. \u00a0So stare mightily at God and His plan. \u00a0And if you don\u2019t know His plan, stare mightily at living our His Word in your life and His plan will unfold day by day. \u00a0Decision by decision.<\/li>\n
  • Choices and consequences come in package deals. \u00a0When we make a choice, we ignite the consequences that can come along with it.<\/li>\n
  • Not making a decision is actually a decision. \u00a0It\u2019s the decision to stay the same.<\/li>\n
  • Wisdom needs to be practiced day after day if we are going to know how to apply it to the Best Yes decisions when they come.<\/li>\n
  • The space between our expectations and our reality is a fertile field, and it\u2019s the perfect place to grow a bumper crop of disappointment.<\/li>\n
  • It feels thrilling to say yes to this now. \u00a0But how will this yes feel two weeks, two months, and six months from\u00a0now?
    \nDo any of the expectations that come from this yes feel forced or\u00a0frantic?
    \nCould any part of this yes be tied to people pleasing and allowing that desire to skew my judgment of what\u2019s realistic and unrealistic?
    \nWhich wise (older, ground in God\u2019s Word, more\u00a0experienced, and more mature) people in my life think this is a good idea?
    \nAre there any\u00a0facts that I try to avoid or hid when discussing this with my wise advisors?<\/li>\n
  • Evaluation eliminates frustration.<\/li>\n
  • We can\u2019t use our \u201cno\u201d answers as wands to wash away our responsibilities. \u00a0Nor can we use our \u201cno\u201d answers as weapons.<\/li>\n
  • While my heart wants to say yes, the reality of my time makes this a no.<\/li>\n
  • I will not let the awkward disappointment of others keep me from my Best Yes appointments with God.<\/li>\n
  • Saying yes all the time won\u2019t make me Wonder Woman. \u00a0It will make me a worn-out woman.<\/li>\n
  • It is impossible to please everyone.<\/li>\n
  • If the person you are trying so hard not to disappoint\u00a0will be displeased by a no, they\u2019ll eventually be disappointed even if you say yes.<\/li>\n
  • You won\u2019t ever be able to keep up with unrealistic. \u00a0Unrealistic demands lead to undercurrents of failure.<\/li>\n
  • Remember, relationships don\u2019t fit in neat boxes. \u00a0Often the best ones slop over the edges of neat and normal.<\/li>\n
  • We want big directional signs from God. \u00a0God just wants us to pay attention.<\/li>\n
  • \u201cWhen I tell someone no, I visualize my family and see myself saying yes to them.\u201d \u00a0Jud Wilhite<\/li>\n
  • Saying no isn\u2019t an unnecessary rejection. \u00a0It\u2019s actually a necessary protection of our Best Yes answer.<\/li>\n
  • Great descriptions are birthed from great decisions.<\/li>\n
  • Yes and No. \u00a0The two most powerful words.<\/li>\n
  • Consider how we might spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another\u2014and all the more as you see the Day approaching. \u00a0Hebrews 10:24-25<\/li>\n
  • Connecting with those we love is like soul food. \u00a0It\u2019s not that we don\u2019t have tasks to do, but rather than we don\u2019t fill up with tasks at the risk of starving our relationships. \u00a0Relationships nourish us in ways nothing else can. \u00a0It\u2019s the relationships that help unrush us.<\/li>\n
  • Relationships can complicate things. \u00a0But they also have the power to force us into a much simpler rhythm.<\/li>\n
  • Conversational threads are what make up the fabric of relationships. \u00a0We must take time\u2014make time\u2014to talk.<\/li>\n
  • \u201cWhenever you say yes to something, there is less of you for something else. \u00a0Make sure your yes is worth the less.\u201d \u00a0Louie Giglio<\/li>\n
  • We must let our identity, not our insecurity, be the first thing that walks into every situation we face\u2014every decision we make.<\/li>\n
  • Just as our bodies need oxygen, our souls need truth flowing steadily in and out.<\/li>\n
  • Humility and wisdom are a package deal. \u00a0And often the people who have the most wisdom have experienced the most humility. \u00a0Or sometimes even the most humiliation. \u00a0A wisdom like none other can arise from those hard places that bring us low.<\/li>\n
  • When prides comes, then comes disgrace, but with\u00a0humility comes wisdom. \u00a0Proverbs 11:2<\/li>\n
  • Sin and consequences always walk hand in hand.<\/li>\n
  • Trials are working something good in us we can\u2019t get any other way. \u00a0We can find joy in that.<\/li>\n
  • Let this unexpected happening point to your strength, not your weakness. \u00a0Maybe you\u2019ve been entrusted with this. \u00a0Not cursed with it.<\/li>\n
  • Do the next right thing that\u2019s right in front of you.<\/li>\n
  • Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. \u00a0If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. \u00a0James 1:4-5<\/li>\n
  • It\u2019s not the activities or accomplishments we string together that make lives well lived as much as it is the hearts of wisdom we gain and use along the way.<\/li>\n
  • Wisdom is proved right by her deeds. \u00a0Matthew 11:19<\/li>\n
  • The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him;though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. \u00a0Psalm 37:23-24<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      “A woman who lives with the stress of an overwhelmed schedule will often ache with the sadness of an underwhelmed soul.” Lysa Terkeurst, The Best Yes   What an excellent choice to read in the first week of 2105! \u00a0I am more committed than ever to focusing on my best yes in the year […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,14,25,16,19,23,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-study","category-book-review","category-education","category-family","category-funny","category-generosity","category-marriage"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8814\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}