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Creating Calm in the Center of Crazy: Making Room for Your Soul in an Overcrowded Life
Are you working harder than ever but feel like you’re accomplishing less? Does your morning routine make chickens running around headless look sane? Is your deepest sense of calm found in the bathroom with the door locked? Do you check social media more than five times per day? Per hour? Author, speaker, and actor Nicole Johnson knows what it’s like to feel as if you’re drowning in crazy. When she couldn’t catch her breath or stay awake long enough to talk with her husband, let alone God, she sought to find new ways of “being” in her life. Creating Calm in the Center of Crazy is a voice of possibility and peace for women seeking to find a calm spiritual center in a crazy, runaway world. As a wife and mom of young children herself, Nicole recognized that life had become out of control. And, with the help of a crisis, she started her journey to create the very calm she was craving. Nicole’s voice is authentic, humorous, and practical, and at the same time deeply spiritual and real. She brings rich storytelling together with her desire to find calm, and in the process discovers a deeper faith. Her personal story grounds the book as she abandons mere tips and tricks (and the empty promises of time saving apps), to explore new practices—like creating a room of her own, setting technology boundaries, rediscovering the spiritual disciplines of quiet and still (they’re not bad words)—and then extending those practices to provide a safer, stronger refuge for calm to dwell. Nicole’s journey is shared with relatable stories, insightful help, and practical ideas that explore the inner life of a recovering crazy busy woman finding her way to calm and a deeper relationship with God.
224 pages, Hardcover
Published June 6, 2017
16 people are currently reading
119 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 18, 2017
[Note: This book was provided free of charge by BookLook/Zondervan. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]
There were a lot of ways that I could relate to the author of this book. Although the author has been married two more times and has two more children than has been the case in my life, there are definitely a lot of similarities that I can see. The author comes from a broken home, is an intensely creative person who has read quite a few noteworthy books [1] and whose life in many ways resembles my own in the author's tendency to overcommit and to struggle with setting boundaries in one's activities. There is a great deal in this book, in other words, that I can apply to myself and a great deal that I can relate to. The author and I are in many ways kindred souls and the author has a great deal to offer in terms of her knowledge of the results of her difficulties in finding rest and peace in the course of her life.
This book is well-organized, as one might imagine from someone who has too much to deal with in life. After a short preface the book is divided into three parts with three chapters each and then a conclusion at the end that shows different possibilities of how people can deal with the craziness that is inherent in life in a fallen world. The first part of the book looks at the author's journey out of crazy, the second part examines how she created calm on the inside through a great deal of effort, including giving herself space and doing necessary work on understanding herself and her background, and the third part of the book looks at how to bring the calm to the outside through setting boundaries in activities and developing a sense of calm. The author, throughout, tries to dampen expectations in the reader that she is an expert and she is pretty honest about admitting her own struggles. As a reader, I found her overexposure of the behavior of her children to be a bit troubling, and it reminds me that as a writer myself that it may be necessary to take special steps of being careful about protecting the privacy of the feelings and actions of any children I may have in the future.
There is a great deal of practical benefit in this book, but the book also has some quirks that are interesting to note. The author appears to be aiming this book largely at women, although thankfully, unlike many other books, the author does not go out of her way to alienate male readers. Additionally, the author comments at some length about the day that everything fell apart in her life, where she had a crisis involving a longtime friend who appears to have become a frenemy, and the author's confessional tone about her own feelings of rejection and the way she was able to use her own understanding of her feelings to show compassion to her children. Ultimately, that is perhaps the most poignant takeaway from this book, the understanding that when we better understand the craziness inside of us that we can leverage that understanding into a greater compassion for other people. Those readers who are able to empathize with the author and her struggles will likely find a great deal of comfort and encouragement and perhaps even a great deal of insight here.
[1] Some of the people and books she cites have been the subject of various blog posts:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
June 18, 2017
Author, speaker, and actor Nicole Johnson knows what it’s like to feel as if you’re drowning in crazy. When she couldn’t catch her breath or stay awake long enough to talk with her husband, let alone God, she sought to find new ways of “being” in her life. Creating Calm in the Center of Crazy is a voice of possibility and peace for women seeking to find a calm spiritual center in a crazy, runaway world. As a wife and mom of young children herself, Nicole recognized that life had become out of control. And, with the help of a crisis, she started her journey to create the very calm she was craving. Nicole’s voice is authentic, humorous, and practical, and at the same time deeply spiritual and real. She brings rich storytelling together with her desire to find calm, and in the process discovers a deeper faith. Her personal story grounds the book as she abandons mere tips and tricks (and the empty promises of time saving apps), to explore new practices — like creating a room of her own, setting technology boundaries, rediscovering the spiritual disciplines of quiet and still (they’re not bad words) — and then extending those practices to provide a safer, stronger refuge for calm to dwell. Nicole’s journey is shared with relatable stories, insightful help, and practical ideas that explore the inner life of a recovering crazy busy woman finding her way to calm and a deeper relationship with God.
I had a hard time getting into this book - while it's good to know the author's backstory, so that we know where she's coming from, it just seemed difficult to plow through. Once I hit the second section, however, things really picked up. The second and third sections are about creating calm in your own life - actions, non-actions, and the like to help slow the craziness. Many of them are common sense suggestions, such as 'turn off the technology,' but in this driven world, sometimes it's like we need permission to do such things. The author is like a girlfriend - over coffee, she keeps it real and tells you what you need to hear. She also provides suggestions for getting your family to jump on the calm-bandwagon, which were helpful. It's a good read, but if you struggle with the book, I'd suggest skipping ahead to the second section.
I had a hard time getting into this book - while it's good to know the author's backstory, so that we know where she's coming from, it just seemed difficult to plow through. Once I hit the second section, however, things really picked up. The second and third sections are about creating calm in your own life - actions, non-actions, and the like to help slow the craziness. Many of them are common sense suggestions, such as 'turn off the technology,' but in this driven world, sometimes it's like we need permission to do such things. The author is like a girlfriend - over coffee, she keeps it real and tells you what you need to hear. She also provides suggestions for getting your family to jump on the calm-bandwagon, which were helpful. It's a good read, but if you struggle with the book, I'd suggest skipping ahead to the second section.
October 3, 2017
This is Nicole Johnson’s story of how a personal crisis made her realign her priorities. She was pushing herself too hard, spinning in the crazy circles so many of us understand and experience. Between being a wife and mother of two little children, trying to keep her household running, working, traveling, and attempting to maintain friendships, she was wearing herself too thin.
After an unexpected end to a close relationship, she learned her need to stop and process her pain in a quiet space. This particular space created new calm in her soul, and she rebuilt her life around it.
I found Nicole’s story to be refreshingly honest. She’s funny and witty too. This quote made me laugh:
If I had a nickel for every time someone suggested balance as a solution for crazy, I could buy my own beam.
So true of myself! And this quote made me think:
There is nothing money can buy that is worth having if we can’t come home to ourselves.
The part of the book that resonated with me most was about processing old wounds. In her grieving process, she uncovered her buried reasons for feeling compelled toward a crazy schedule. Her crazy schedule was based on a need for fulfillment and importance, needs that never got met in her troubled childhood.
I understand how that feels. I understand the need to keep striving to prove my worth, because I struggled with feelings of low self-worth in my own troubled childhood. Nicole did a great job of probing the heart of the problem with tenderness and poignancy, and she inspired me to look deeper into my own subconscious motivations for pursuing the crazy life.
She walks you through her method of identifying the crazy factors in your life, carving out a calm center, reducing and replacing, and living with more intentional choices. I learned some new things from her method, and that’s why I’m carving out this quieter place in my writing schedule for the next three weeks.
What I’ll be doing in my peaceful space:
Focusing on writing my book proposal
Forming a master creative plan for the next six months
Finding more time with God to reflect, pray, and praise
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review from the Booklook Bloggers program.
After an unexpected end to a close relationship, she learned her need to stop and process her pain in a quiet space. This particular space created new calm in her soul, and she rebuilt her life around it.
I found Nicole’s story to be refreshingly honest. She’s funny and witty too. This quote made me laugh:
If I had a nickel for every time someone suggested balance as a solution for crazy, I could buy my own beam.
So true of myself! And this quote made me think:
There is nothing money can buy that is worth having if we can’t come home to ourselves.
The part of the book that resonated with me most was about processing old wounds. In her grieving process, she uncovered her buried reasons for feeling compelled toward a crazy schedule. Her crazy schedule was based on a need for fulfillment and importance, needs that never got met in her troubled childhood.
I understand how that feels. I understand the need to keep striving to prove my worth, because I struggled with feelings of low self-worth in my own troubled childhood. Nicole did a great job of probing the heart of the problem with tenderness and poignancy, and she inspired me to look deeper into my own subconscious motivations for pursuing the crazy life.
She walks you through her method of identifying the crazy factors in your life, carving out a calm center, reducing and replacing, and living with more intentional choices. I learned some new things from her method, and that’s why I’m carving out this quieter place in my writing schedule for the next three weeks.
What I’ll be doing in my peaceful space:
Focusing on writing my book proposal
Forming a master creative plan for the next six months
Finding more time with God to reflect, pray, and praise
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review from the Booklook Bloggers program.
August 9, 2017
Creating Calm in the Center of Crazy: Making Room for Your Soul in an Overcrowded Life by Nicole Johnson 3 ☆’s
Thank you to Zondervan publishing for providing me with a free copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
I was lured by the synopsis of this book because anytime I am asked how things are going, I respond with crazy. I was hoping that this book would help direct me to the Bible, and if there was something there to help me discover the secret to not living a crazy life.
This book does give good advice and tips on how to create calm in yourself and in the family. All the advice and tips are more counseling based than biblical. There were some scriptures that backed up her advice, and they were presented occasionally but not enough. I think that her advice for creating calm is good. It was nice to be reminded of having boundaries, not only with others, but with the things that we distract ourselves with a lot.
I enjoyed parts two and three of this novel. Part one seemed like it was irrelevant. I was confused during this time as to why we needed, as readers, to know the information that was presented. I feel like it could’ve been summed up in a chapter or prologue. Parts two and three could’ve made the whole book on it’s own.
I enjoyed Johnson’s writing style and humor. She presents scenarios to show how craziness can look. Her writing is very authentic, and I got to glimpse into her life through this novel. She is psychologically based in her advice, and I understand why she chose to write in that way.
Overall, it was a decent read. It had good points on how to create calm in yourself and in your family. It just lacked the spiritual wisdom that I was hoping would be there.
Thank you to Zondervan publishing for providing me with a free copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
I was lured by the synopsis of this book because anytime I am asked how things are going, I respond with crazy. I was hoping that this book would help direct me to the Bible, and if there was something there to help me discover the secret to not living a crazy life.
This book does give good advice and tips on how to create calm in yourself and in the family. All the advice and tips are more counseling based than biblical. There were some scriptures that backed up her advice, and they were presented occasionally but not enough. I think that her advice for creating calm is good. It was nice to be reminded of having boundaries, not only with others, but with the things that we distract ourselves with a lot.
I enjoyed parts two and three of this novel. Part one seemed like it was irrelevant. I was confused during this time as to why we needed, as readers, to know the information that was presented. I feel like it could’ve been summed up in a chapter or prologue. Parts two and three could’ve made the whole book on it’s own.
I enjoyed Johnson’s writing style and humor. She presents scenarios to show how craziness can look. Her writing is very authentic, and I got to glimpse into her life through this novel. She is psychologically based in her advice, and I understand why she chose to write in that way.
Overall, it was a decent read. It had good points on how to create calm in yourself and in your family. It just lacked the spiritual wisdom that I was hoping would be there.
July 2, 2017
Creating Calm in the Center of Crazy narrates the author’s experience of finding herself immersed in too much busyness when a relationship crisis suddenly brings her life to a standstill and subsequently forces her to reexamine her daily priorities and values. Whereas the first part of the book focuses on the author’s personal crisis, the second and third parts of her story yield many practical insights and ideas for navigating a path out of the craziness that afflicts so many women today as they combine careers, child-rearing, marriage, social schedules and a myriad of other responsibilities they feel pressured to assume. Johnson’s advocacy of acquiring stillness in life is presented in fresh terms as an antidote to the craziness; she rightly observes that many people think that seeking stillness is a good idea, but few people take the time to do it. Her critiques of overcommitment and too much social media are common themes these days, but she moves beyond critique to offer practical advice about defeating distractions and getting to the calm center that is possible for everyone. In her final chapters, she also goes a step further to illustrate how finding calm within oneself can help elicit calm in stressful situations and improve relational dynamics. This is a good read for those who feel 1) overwhelmed by life, 2) need assurance they aren’t the only ones with control issues, and 3) are ready to make personal changes to reclaim who they really want to be.
I was supplied with a pre-pub ebook copy by Netgalley.com for my objective review.
I was supplied with a pre-pub ebook copy by Netgalley.com for my objective review.
June 12, 2017
What is the answer to finding calm in the midst of a harried life? Creating Calm in the Center of Crazy by Nicole Johnson starts out promising with an honest look at how many moms take on too many tasks and through multitasking “we become faster at doing certain things, but slower at accomplishing anything.” The first half of the book examines such a busy life and how often there must be a crisis before change can occur. The second half of the book starts going deeper into an action plan to find calm. Here, I found the author has some good suggestions like keeping secure boundaries and spending time in quiet. However, the author relies heavily on imagery like “Create a room of your own, a mental place of strength and beauty that can become a home for your soul.” Such suggestions are given with barely any mention of Christ or the power of prayer in producing calm. As someone who studied psychology at the graduate level, I love psychology and believe in it can be a tool used according to Biblical principles. However, the power of God to transform one’s life was missing from this book, making it like any other self-help book . This not what I have come to expect from a publisher like Zondervan and I was deeply disappointed in the conclusion of a book that held such promise. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
June 13, 2017
With great courage, humor and knowledge, Nicole shows readers how to discover peace and joy in the craziness of life. Our world will offer us so many distractions, it will even attempt to thwart us off our path or make us frustration when we need to be present. Ms. Johnson gives practical tools on how to handle chaotic schedules and life when things get difficult. I enjoyed this book from a psychology standpoint. I think she does a fantastic job from that angle. I would have liked to see her ajoin the spiritual aspect more with this book. I think faith is a key element too. While she touches on it, I think she could have merged the two more, which is why I am giving this book 4/5 stars. I think this book is good, but it did not hit the faith aspect as deep as I had hoped for. Thank you to the publisher for providing me a complimentary copy. A favorable review was not required.
July 14, 2017
Author Nicole Johnson knows what it is like to feel as if you are drowning in crazy. Creating Calm in the Center of Crazy is a book that a lot people can relate to. After realizing that she could not catch her breath or stay awake long enough to talk to her husband, Johnson sought out away to find calm in the middle of all her craziness. This book is full of rich detailed storytelling that is deeply spiritual and honest. I like how Johnson shares her personal stories and how she found a way to help her create spiritual calmness like turning off technology. I feel that I learned knew ways to find peace and calmness after reading this book. I highly recommend this book for anyone who feels like they are drowning in life due to all the daily pulls of life.
June 24, 2017
Nicole Johnson stirred up a very important topic that has immersed from many hearts, including mine. The very desire for the calm and peaceful is imprinted in us by Almighty One, yet we need to let go and let Him be in control… at least this one is one on His resume, the very thing He is best, and He is best at everything. There is perfection and wholeness and beauty in all He does, and all He creates….
Love the book: the cover is amazingly beautiful and the content is valuable… We don’t have to tolerate crazy in our lives any longer!
Love the book: the cover is amazingly beautiful and the content is valuable… We don’t have to tolerate crazy in our lives any longer!
April 17, 2019
This book wasn't specifically about parenting, although it can definitely apply to that time of life! Nicole uses many personal experiences and stories to illustrate her points. This book is well written and honest which made me give it an extra star. She pointed out some things that we all "should know" to do to make life a little simpler but have a hard time implementing day to day like less screen time, slowing down to make meals and eat them together, saying "no" to various activities, etc. Overall I enjoyed reading some else's perspective on moving from crazy to calm.
July 20, 2017
Not because of not wanting to like this book or it being an easy read, because it was... but I didn't get out of it what I thought I would. It was more about her story, which was fine, but not the book I thought it was going to be. I did learn some cool things from it, but not in a direct way.
Read full review here: http://viabella-thebeautifullife.blog...
Read full review here: http://viabella-thebeautifullife.blog...
February 2, 2020
Such a great read, very helpful tips to keep you
Grounded and remind you what’s most important in life
Grounded and remind you what’s most important in life
Want to read
December 24, 2017Author Nicole Johnson was wearing herself too thin, between being a wife and mother of two little children, working, traveling, trying to keep her household running, and attempting to maintain her relationships. This is her story of how a personal crisis made her reconsider her priorities. She was pushing herself in so many directions and that it something that so many of us understand and experience.
This book was heartfelt, honest and needed in my life. Sometimes we all need to step back and reevaluate what is important to us.
*Thank you to Nicole Johnson, Zondervan and Netgalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
This book was heartfelt, honest and needed in my life. Sometimes we all need to step back and reevaluate what is important to us.
*Thank you to Nicole Johnson, Zondervan and Netgalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
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