In Peace for a Lifetime, Lisa Murray walks you through her guide to embracing Emotional Abundance in your day-to-day life so that peace can flow through you no matter what the circumstances are around you.   She starts with discussing Emotional Abundance and how so many of us, as kids, never learn how to properly work through our emotions which lead to so many issues later in life - especially being able to model proper emotional health to our kids. 

The book is broken up into three basic sections.  In the first, Lisa sets up the idea that our society has taught us that abundance is getting more of things as soon as we see it - "our culture of I see it, I want it, I want it now..." (p 9) and that is not healthy.  Healthy decisions have to be made where we give up something now, in order to get a bigger return later - delayed gratification, and that this is important to practice with our emotions as well.  The second section moves us into how we actually build Emotional Abundance, through 5 steps, in our lives. Even though Lisa gives five starting steps, she then walks us through vocabulary and baby steps to take so that the five steps are more attainable. She also helps us to see the wounds of our past that impact our emotions in order to start to heal.  The third section looks more into living your life in the present - nurturing your emotional roots in a way that allows them to drink from the Life so that peace can reign over all the emotions that we as people are meant to experience. 

This is the kind of book that requires to really read, dig deep and analyze - a few paragraphs of summary simply does not do it justice. 

I really enjoyed Lisa's tone throughout the book - there is no doubt that while Lisa lives a full and busy life like the rest of us, she is full of peace.  She is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who really works with people, which is evident in her writing. She also points out how she struggled/struggles with anxiety, despair and perfectionism - so that all adds to her credibility - let's be honest, there are some books out there that are full of words and no real substance, this is not one of them.

Another point I really enjoyed were the "stepping stones" at the end of each chapter. The book is written for the reader - it should be connecting with you, so the questions are meant for deep reflection - not the kind of thing you can just read and move on from. And some of them will take serious time and thought to truly answer - and I think that is exactly the point.  Being healthy is not a one-time decision, it is a daily commitment to keep trying.

My biggest complaint would probably have to be the length.  I wanted to get to the meat faster in most chapters, but Lisa slowly walks through the processes, and I know that is the point.  If the idea is that I need to work on my emotional health n a way that will cultivate more delayed gratification, then she succeeded - I know it's a weakness... what can I say, I'm technically a millennial (just barely).

Another minor issue that some might have with this book is that while she does say treating anxiety and depression with medicine is needed for some, it isn't needed as much as we think. She wants you to really work through the deeper issues. The whole issue of medicine for the mental health of Christians is touchy - granted I'm glad she does bring it up, still some might not want to hear what she says.  Again, this is minor, but know it is there (really a healthy person rarely just uses medicine to heal fully from a disease: medicine, diet, activity, etc are all part of a physically healthy body, so it makes sense that there needs to be a well-rounded approach to emotional wellness also...)

I'm giving this a five heart rating because I want to read it again - slowly with focus. Also, because I think this is the kind of book you want to own, so you can dig it out when you need a reminder or a refresher on how to lead a healthy emotional life for yourself and to model for your kids. 

I would suggest this to most  Christians that I know.  So many of us are living lives with so many expectations that the stress weighs us down and we don't know how to deal unless we just grit our teeth and try harder.  Let's be honest, that does not result in peace. I agree with so many that if you are Christian and you are struggling with anxiety or depression, this is an excellent book to go through - especially as it can give you places to start with a therapist.  But this is also a great book for any Christian who simply feels more stress and overwhelming pressure than peace.  I also am not sure I could be an age on this - I am sure teens would benefit as well as adults.

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