I received a review copy of this book; all opinions expressed are mine.

“If you change your habits, you’ll change your life.” Thats how Joyce Meyer begins the introduction of her new book, Habits of a Godly Woman (FaithWords, hardcover). And who wouldn’t want to change their life for the better? Habits make up a big part of our daily life—what we think, say, do, and spend time and money on—even our attitudes, emotions, and reactions. We all have habits we’d like to break, and Meyer says that the good news is, habits can always be changed: “Every day you live, you have a chance to develop a new habit or to break a bad one and replace it with a good one.”

In this book of 25 short, easy-to-read chapters (you could use it as a devotional and read a chapter a day or just read it as you have time), Meyer explores many of the most important habits of a godly woman, whom she describes as being peaceful and confident, desiring to continue to grow in her relationship with God, and wanting be a blessing to others. Each chapter focuses on a godly habit and includes some Scripture references related to that habit (Meyer calls them “Habit Builders”). Some of the habits she writes about developing include the habits of Prayer, Gratitude, Positive Thoughts and Words, Generosity, Contentment, Confidence, Releasing Worries, and Excellence—and she includes lots of wisdom, practical advice, and examples from her own life that offer encouragement and hope.

One of the chapters, The Habit of Trusting God, was really helpful for me. Meyer writes, “Trusting God is what brings peace into our lives. If we trust Him at all times, in all things, it means we trust Him as much when we do not understand what is going on as we do when we can clearly see what is happening. We trust Him with what we know and with what we don’t know.… We trust Him when everything is going well for us and when nothing seems to be going right.” In a nutshell, we need to release our problems to God and trust that He will work everything out. One of the Scriptures she includes at the end of this chapter is Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

This is a smaller-sized book, so it’s convenient to carry with you as you are on your journey of creating godly habits. And because it’s so uplifting and encouraging, it makes a great gift, too. There’s no time like the present to start developing godly habits and, as Meyer writes, “The more you develop the habits of a godly woman, the more you can look forward to the future with hope and confident expectation of good things.”

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