Summer Book Review

I'm so excited that I was one of 50 bloggers who got the chance to get an advance copy of Joshua Becker's new e-book: "Inside-Out Simplicity: Life Changing Keys to Your Most Important Relationships". Joshua Becker calls this the "book I was afraid to write". I have to say after reading it, I am so glad that he did!  Author of "Simplify: 7 Guiding Principles to Help Anyone Declutter Their Home and Life", and Blogger of Becoming Minimalist.com has gone inward to help you achieve a life of spiritual, emotional and relational simplicity.
Living a life of "minimalism" is a fairly new idea to me, but one I feel coincides with where my family is in life, and aligns well with my moral and spiritual beliefs. If you aren't familiar with it, this book gets real and to the basics on what a "Minimalist attitude" towards life and relationships should be all about. External clutter, our internal motivations and how they drive how we relate and deal with others in our lives, are the core principles of this book.
Bullet points prepare you and then solidify his points on why you should feel and live Simply making this a generally easy read. Change begins with ourselves first, and he spends an ample amount of time working on some good life principles we all should follow. Over-emphasis that happiness cannot be bought or found in a store is probably wise in our material-obsessed society that focuses on the latest celebrity trends.
I especially appreciated his views on marriage and child relationships, especially his 15 things that children can (and should) value more than material possessions. His point that less toys add to more creative play and that an excessive amount of toys just gets in the way of the good ones, have me ready to clean out the toy room!
I was inspired by his point on the effect of Humility in marriage. An essential building block, says Joshua, is the ability to admit that you are not perfect, that you will make mistakes, and that you will need forgiveness. Writing down the three things my husband does better than me is something that I will put into use often.
The idea of wanting less, giving more, and just being content with what we have could revolutionize our society if not our world. If you are tired of chasing empty dreams, and feeling unfulfilled with what our culture and media tell us we need in this life, get this book today and begin the change to a better way of living. Even if you don't go all the way with minimalism, even changing just a few ways of thinking could make a huge difference inside-out.
Read Joshua now on his website becomingminimalist.com, and follow him on Facebook.
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