Overbooked and Overwhelmed: How to Keep Up with God When You’re Just Trying to Keep Up with Life

“In the middle of the most overwhelming storms, what keeps us afloat are eyes fixed on Jesus,” according to this reassuring if sometimes stale guide to beating burnout. Addressing readers suffering from both general overwhelm and the “soul exhaustion” resulting from a frayed relationship with God, Talks with Tara podcaster Sun (Surrender Your Story) explains how trying to “do it all” is fruitless and drives believers to distractions that reassure in the short term but leave them hollow. To reset and reprioritize their faith, readers can fashion a more accepting notion of God’s expectations (it’s okay to “meet God right where we are” even if one’s life is a mess), implement daily devotional habits (reading scripture even five minutes a day is better than not at all), and battle burnout by setting boundaries. While Sun’s advice isn’t revelatory, she makes a convincing case that self-sacrifice and industriousness aren’t inherently virtuous, and that in fact God “does not ask us to wring ourselves out like a washcloth for his name.” This will be a balm for stressed-out Christians. (Aug.)