Book Review: ReSet: Living a Grace-Paced Life in a Burnout Culture by David Murray

I suppose it can happen to all of us. Well, it can happen to any of us - Burnout. Burnout can manifest itself in a number of ways and be triggered by a number of reasons. It's not black and white. It's multifaceted and can be affecting any of us without us realizing it, at least not a first. We may recognize many of the symptoms but be clueless to their origins and how we may resolve the issues we're experiencing.

Author David Murray, is a pastor, teacher, speaker, and blogger at headhearthand.org. Within the pages of ReSet he reveals the origins of burnout and as the reader progresses through the work is taught methods of effectively dealing with it. Murray calls it living the "Grace-paced life." We spend much time and effort in many worthwhile pursuits, but are they always beneficial?

Early on Murray calls the reader to a Reality Check as we miss many of the warning signs, Murray provides us with a list of warning signs to beware of or perhaps already experiencing. One should carefully review the warning signs and realize that part of the grace-paced life is slowing down from the "over-paced life."

In the following chapters Murray covers an array of areas wherein the reader should focus:

-What the cause(s) may be
-The need for sleep
-The need for routine mixed with play
-The need for exercise and rest and quietness
-Realizing our true identity
-The value of failure and the necessity to accept change
-Rethinking our purpose
-Eating right
-The need for proper and regular devotions

And much more.

Burnout is real and can affect any of us differently. My suggestion is to take this book seriously and consider the implications on your life. Consider if you are burned out. Murray offers much sound biblical advice from his own life experiences and from those he has counseled. I firmly commend this book to all men, especially those who are weary. There is much hope and value to be gleaned from its pages.

David Murray is also the author of Christians Get Depressed, Too and Jesus On Every Page. I can heartily recommend both of these works to the reader as well.

Crossway has provided a complimentary copy of this book through Beyond the Page.