I recently received a review copy of Joyce Meyer’s newest book, Eat the Cookie…Buy the Shoes: Giving Yourself Permission to Lighten Up
Meyer keeps coming back to scripture to make her points, something that I am always happy to see. Her use of scripture was typically pretty good, although there was a point in her explanation of 1 Peter 3 that she seemed to explain things away by tweaking the text a bit. But overall, I think she was pretty fair with the texts she used to make her points.
I have been under quite a bit of stress over the last several weeks for a variety of reasons. I have to include in this post that this book was such a help to me. I really felt myself slowing down and reflecting on the things that I am so thankful for. She offered such a good reminder of how good God is to us and that no matter how bad things get, we are still so blessed. This book really did put a smile on my face at a time when that is exactly what I needed. It relieved some of my stress and built up my faith toward some of the difficult things that have been sources of stress over the last month.
The only real criticism I would have of this book is that some times this book seems to aim a little too low. What I mean by that is, there are times in this book when it seems like she is saying our joy comes from the blessing, rather than the God behind the blessing. So it is not that we are made happy by cookies or buying shoes but that God has blessed us enough to even ask which of those we are able to enjoy in a given day. I know she would agree with what I just said, so I am hesitant to say it is a criticism. But there are times that it really feels like she is pointing away from guilt and toward stuff instead of away from guilt and toward God. A very small point that happens infrequently in the book.
This book would be extremely helpful for you if you are someone who is very type-A and who finds yourself stressed out on a consistent basis. If you have lost your joy or need a reminder of just how blessed you are, this book would be helpful for you. Let me know if this book sounds interesting to you and I will see if we can offer some copies here at the blog.
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In my limited experience with Joyce Meyer the problem isn’t that she attempts to show the joy that one can find in being blessed by God, but that she doesn’t ever accept that the opposite could be true.
I fully agree that we should be joyful when blessed because our Father delights in giving gifts to his children. But we should also count it pure joy when we face trials. The joy is not contingent on being blessed but on being a child of the King.
James, I too have limited experience with J.M. so I am just going on what I know. I would suspect she would agree with you that joy can and should come through suffering. I think she is offering up the voice that says, we don’t have to beat ourselves up excessively in order to get there.
So this work is not a comprehensive work on all things that should bring us joy but just one subset that I guess she felt is often overlooked to bring balance to the conversation. That is just my gut feeling.
I think it is all too easy for everyone to see how someone is blessed now and make judgments without having ever walked in their shoes. You have to take what Joyce Meyers teaches in the context of her life experiences. Which you learn if you don’t cherry pick your information about her. I keep reading (from others) that she preaches prosperity and I have never heard her teach anything except accountability especially in the realm of using our past or emotions as excuses as to what kind of Christian we present ourselves as to everyone else.
She is no stranger to having a lousy life. https://www.connectionmagazine.org/2002_05/ts_joyce_meyer.htm
I really like the eat-the-cookie idea- especially if they are my wife’s homemade ice-oatmeal kind!
Matt. tanks for introducing me to this book. I will put it on my must-by list.
Then I will share it with my wife and maybe it will prompt her to make another batch of those cookies! 🙂
If I send you a book will you send me some cookies?
I have only read one of Joyce Myers books which was alos insightful. But I too make some very good oatmeal cranberry cookies which I will be more than happy to exchange for a book!
I can’t cook. Any chances for me?
Thanks for the review, Mattdabbs. I’m going to put the book on my list of books to get–along with the other 60 or so. False guilt–what a common devise of the enemy. Joyce hits us where we live!