Dear Fellow Readers,

Apparently I need to start this review off with a disclaimer. It seems that the government feels you need to know that I was given this book to review. The fact that I have been given this book to review might in some cases indicate a prejudice on my part to review the book favorably. It seems to me that either you like the book or not – and in my case, if I don’t like the book, I generally don’t review it.

I do have a prejudice. I think it is really hard to write a book and when someone works that hard and gets published, I am loath to say that a book isn’t’ very good. In my view, which is not universal, it is better to just not say anything. Since I can pick which books I review, I generally don’t review books I don’t like. Why would you want to hear about a book I didn’t like? I think it is much more fun to tell you about books I found that I like so that you have something you might want to read.

Almost enough about me…

I was asked to review this book by a group that represents Christian authors. This is the second book they have offered to me for review. Silly me, I did not realize that the books were all Christian based books. My religious/spiritual background is not the same as the authors of the books I have been asked to review. There is a strong Biblical basis for this book.  I think that even if your background is not the same as the author, that you will still find valuable insights in the book.

Tightropes and Teetertotters is a book to help you find balance in your life. I found the book to be interesting and I feel that it offers insights that are helpful. It is written in a conversational style with the author using examples from her life to illustrate points she is making in the book.

The book opens with a chapter on balance and what it is and then moved into a chapter explaining that the letters in “balance” will be used throughout the book to help you reach your goals.

Begin

 Assess

Learn

    Account

 Notify

  Change

  Endure

Her methodology is that when you find yourself out of balance, you need to begin to get yourself back in balance, figure out why you are out of balance, and then use the Bible to learn what will help you. While you are making corrections, you need to have a way to measure if your changes are working and you need to share your problem with someone so that they can hold you accountable. The last two steps are to make the change and have patience to work toward your goal.

“Asking the right questions provides learning opportunities that help us uncover what God is teaching us as well as what God is doing through us.”

The subsequent chapters each discuss an area of your life that can be out of balance and suggest ways to help make adjustments. Some of the areas include marriage, motherhood, your home, friends, money, gossiping, and moods. You could read through the entire book or just pick the section for where you feel you need help. I would suggest reading through the whole book and then keep it as a reference for when you need to visit it for guidance for a specific area of your life.

The author’s conversational tone and examples really make the book. I thought it was a little slow at the beginning but overall I enjoyed the suggestions and references. The author is the mother of 9 children so you definitely feel she has the experience to help you try to find your personal balance. She is encouraging and offers realistic expectations of what those changes can mean to your life.

“Not everyone will get on board with your new lifestyle, and that’s got to be okay with you. You don’t want to live to impress people or make them happy. You live to please God and He wants you to have financial freedom…”

Thanks for reading!