I’ve read a lot of books about spiritual disciplines and developing a rule of life over the years. Emma’s book stands out because of its deliberate simplicity, it’s tone of practical reality and it’s guilt-free introduction to habits that will make a difference as we seek to draw closer to Jesus and more closely resemble him in our everyday lives.

It is a vulnerable book, where Emma shares some of her story and her changing relationship with faith habits over the years, finding new practices and rhythms as she adjusts to seasons of life and family.

The book begins with Emma sharing her faith story and gradual discovery of helpful Faith Habits, especially the development of a Rule of Life. She goes on to briefly outline the neuroscience of habit formation before asking the reader to consider why they are interested in pursuing faith habits.

This is followed by a brief look at some monks, saints and mystics and their experiences of a rule of life and faith habits before looking in more detail at some of the practices themselves. These are very helpfully split into daily, monthly and yearly practices, which Emma suggests may vary throughout the seasons of the year and through different stages of life.

This exploration is never prescriptive and always personal, as we are encouraged to “try it and see” before deciding which habits to develop.

I particularly like the section where Emma discusses what she calls different stages of life…life events such as raising young children, chronic illness, transitions, caring and intense study or workload. We all experience time like this, and it’s good to be reminded that God loves us and wants to be alongside us in these circumstances when we may find it difficult to feel close or even aware of God’s closeness, let alone engage in Faith Habits!

The book is rounded of by what Emma calls a Workbook, although don’t be put off by the title. It gives the reader examples and a helpful template for putting together our own rule of life, once again in Emma’s do-able and non-guilt inducing style.

If you want to know more about Emma and the resources she offers you can go to her website HERE and her Facebook page HERE.