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The New You: A Guide to Better Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual Wellness

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How many of us are living up to our full, God-given potential? What's holding us back--and how can we overcome it?

These are the questions Nelson Searcy and Jennifer Dykes Henson want us to ask--and answer--with the help of The New You . With energy and enthusiasm, the authors take a holistic view of health that encompasses the physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental areas of our lives, giving us proven, systematic ways to dramatically improve each. Readers come away with specific strategies to

- lose weight
- get more sleep
- lower stress
- nurture better relationships
- connect with God
- and much more

Anyone who wants to trade in the frustration of average living and less-than health for the hallmarks of the new life God promises will find The New You an effective personal guide for the journey.

*****

"People are looking for the big miracle or the one secret solution or the one answer to solve all their problems. This exciting book focuses on small steps . . . many small steps . . . to transform your life."-- Elmer L. Towns , cofounder and vice president, Liberty University

"Are you tired, worn down, discouraged, and longing for a vibrant life--a new you? Then this book is the prescription you need. Nelson Searcy and Jennifer Dykes Henson have compiled a simple, yet comprehensive, list of biblical principles anchored in scientific fact that when applied energizes the tired, rejuvenates the worn down, and invigorates the discouraged. Because of God's design for life, if you do what this book teaches, you cannot avoid a healthier and happier life."-- Timothy R. Jennings , MD, DFAPA, psychiatrist and author of The Aging Brain and The God-Shaped Brain

" The New You is like a handbook for life. The content is clear, concise, and compelling. And Nelson and Jennifer write in a style that is straightforward, biblical, and highly practical. Your life will be better if you read and do what this book says."-- Lance Witt , founder, Replenish Ministries

"Having no vision for your life should be alarming. However, having a big vision with no plan is senseless. This book will help you cultivate both! I love what Nelson and Jennifer have done because they've made complicated concepts incredibly approachable. You're going to want to keep this book near you for the rest of your life."-- Clay Scroggins , lead pastor, North Point Community Church

" The New You proves a timely book, as Christians are recognizing in increasing number the call to offer our bodies as living sacrifices (Rom. 12:1)."-- Matthew C. Easter , assistant professor of Bible, Missouri Baptist University

"The best book in a long time about how to balance spiritual and physical health! Searcy and Henson give an easy-to-follow plan for improving health while growing your spiritual life. Keep this book on your nightstand, in your car, or in your bag to consult it often and learn how physical health and spiritual growth were intended to work together."-- Bob Whitesel , DMin PhD, award-winning author of 13 books, coach, consultant, and speaker on church health and growth at ChurchHealth.net

"Progress, not perfection! This approach to life keeps me sane and moving in the right direction. It is also what makes The New You such a valuable tool for making the most of your wellness. Read and apply this book and your total person will be transformed!"-- Steve Reynolds , pastor of Capital Baptist Church in Annandale, Virginia, and author of Twelve Weeks to Lasting Weight Los s

"A refreshing and eye-opening read. Their practical and frank confrontation of the questions and unhealthy habits we often have encourages truthful reflection on how we serve as ministers and Christians. This is balanced brilliantly with the small steps to change, which provide motivation and are nonthreatening for persons who can become overwhelmed by just thinking about getting healthy."-- Dwight Fletcher , founder and senior pastor, Transformed Life Church, Kingston, Jamaica

"I was not a healthy pastor. I was overweight, out of shape, stressed out, and headed for an early grave. Two years ago, I finally decided to put into practice the principles that Nelson shares in this new book, the same principles that he has been living and sharing with me through coaching. Nelson is right, it really is the small things, done consistently over time, that make a huge impact in every area of life. In the past two years I've lost over eighty-five pounds and kept it off. I have more energy than I've ever had and I'm healthier than I've ever been. I cannot wait to share this book with you! You really are one small step away from a brand new you!"-- Pastor Chris Rollins , Coastal Community Church, Charleston, South Carolina

"Nelson has been my friend and role model for ministry for nearly thirty years. I have witnessed him excel in every area of life from school to family life to church leadership. The principles that have helped him to be a good friend, husband, father, and pastor are s...

224 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

26 people are currently reading
966 people want to read

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Searcy

8 books

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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Profile Image for Monica H (TeaandBooks).
847 reviews86 followers
January 14, 2019
As the calendar changes into a new year, many of us make resolutions about having better bodies and better physical health. The New You by Nelson Searcy and Jennifer Dykes Henson is a new book to encourage readers to consider their health from all angles.


The New You is divided into 5 parts: Small steps to the New You, Small Steps to Better Physical Health, Small Steps to Better Spiritual Health, Small Steps to better Emotional Health, and Small Steps to Better Mental Health. The authors of this book look at the health of the whole body working together to help a person feel better all the way around. Each section contains a few chapters with tips, advice and personal stories to encourage the reader to improve that area with small steps at a time--instead of biting off too big of chunks to make lasting changes. At the end of many chapters, there is a list of small steps and questions to ask yourself to make changes in your own life. At the end of the book there is a four-month plan called, The Small Steps Challenge, for readers to follow to get healthier slowly. It all starts with giving your health to God and keeping Him in the center of your plan. The authors also mention that they have a website available with more resources to help readers of The New You.


I thought The New You offered a solid complete plan for making lasting changes to better health from a Christian perspective. I like that this plan is holistic in that it covers all aspects of health. I found the most helpful advice in the mental and emotional health section for me. The New You was encouraging and a good reminder that we need to keep thinking positive about our health and relationships. I didn't learn a lot of new things because I read a lot of health books. Instead, it was good re-enforcement for what I already know and need to keep in mind. However, if you are new to this type of plan, The New You could be quite helpful to you and a great faith-based plan to follow. I would encourage Christians to check it out if they want to make changes to improve their health and well-being.


I received this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.
Profile Image for Benjamin Liles.
Author 1 book2 followers
December 16, 2018
Recently I received a couple of new books to review this month and one of them is titled The New You by Nelson Searcy and Jennifer Dykes Henson. For me, even though I'm doing all I can to be better in both a healthy sense as well as living a healthier life, overall, I find this book to be more of a reward than simply something worth reviewing. Yes, reviewing books can be profitable. On one hand you're looking for errors: grammar, typos, and so on. At the same time you ask yourself, "What is it I'm looking for in this book I'm reading?"

The New You by these two is, in my opinion, very well-written. I obtained this copy in the mail Tuesday this past week and set about reading it and delving into its pages. What I find is more than simple advice on how to do things better. Rather, it comes across as a supplemental book to the Bible. As far as I can see within the pages of this book it is very practical, keeping our eyes and focus on God in terms of maintaining a healthy walk with Him as well as developing better personal habits and even building and reconnecting with those who matter the most.

The intent of this book, The New You, is to help the reader--such as myself--find a way to balance daily life with common sense as well as with God's word, the Bible. Within these pages you will find advice on how to lose weight, lower stress, get more sleep (as well as to honor those times of rest), to connect better with others as well as with our Lord and Savior--Jesus Christ, and there are other pieces of great advice within the pages.

Nelson Searcy, from what it looks like, is founding and lead pastor of The Journey Church. He has also written many books that have hit the bestseller list. These titles are The Generosity Ladder, Maximze, and Connect to name a couple of those titles.

Jennifer Dykes Henson has helped coauthor several bestselling books including one of Nelson Searcy's books, The Generosity Ladder, as well as with Dr. Charles Stanley as the marketing communications manager for In Touch Ministries.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Baker Books to review it, to give honest feedback, and to explain the purpose of the book.
664 reviews23 followers
March 5, 2019
Sometimes a book’s title accurately and succinctly describes exactly what you can expect to find within the pages. That is the case with a new book by Nelson Searcy and Jennifer Dykes Henson - “The New You: A Guide to Better Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual Wellness”. Published by BakerBooks early in the new year of 2019, this book is a practical yet exciting, user-friendly resource to help us form new habits and, consequently, improve our health.

“Are you being intentional about your health and wellness?” With this question, Nelson and Jennifer welcome us into a guided journey towards vibrant health in all areas of life, using Scripture and God’s purpose for us as the foundation and reason for becoming healthier. I love how the chapters are short and concise about a single topic: for example, chapter 7 is all about the benefits of drinking water, how much to drink, and tips to make drinking more water a habit in our daily lives. The book is divided into sections for each of the four areas of focus (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual), but the common, overarching theme is “small steps to the new you”, because each chapter features small steps that add up to amazing changes in our lives.

The one thing that I did not enjoy about this book is that sometimes it felt very black-and-white, stating that everyone is capable of implementing the steps and then seeing the expected results. In reality, there are chronic health issues and life situations that will not be solved even if you followed every step in the book, and sometimes it felt like the authors weren’t taking that into account. Their writing is not harsh or judgmental, I don’t mean to imply that, but just a little unmindful of the people who may have circumstances that don’t allow for the desired changes to happen quite like the book promised.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading a book about holistic health from a biblical perspective. It brought the idea of stewardship of the body that God gave us into the picture, which is so different from the mainstream health and wellness books that are prevalent today. “The New You” is packed with incredibly helpful advice, and things you can start doing today to impact your life in big ways. If you are ready to get intentional about your health and wellness, and live life to the fullest that God planned for you, “The New You” is a wonderful guide to help you set out on the journey.

I am grateful to have received a copy of this book from Baker Books Bloggers, free of charge, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Profile Image for Aurelia Mast-glick.
373 reviews11 followers
January 10, 2019
A Guide to Better Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual Wellness

The timing for this book was excellent. It's January, 2019 and everyone is thinking about goals and resolutions for the new year. This book offers a four month challenge to anyone truly wanting to revolutionize their lives.

Physically, this book emphasizes exercise, healthy eating, and lots of water, etc.

Spiritually, this book talks about a relationship with God and also with the local church. They said something in this book that really stuck out to me. I hear people talking about how being a member of a church isn't that important or necessary, etc. "Being a member of a local church family is part of God's process for developing you into the new you. It is part of his process for growing you. Sometimes the idea of becoming a church member can be a little intimidating. But really, the concept of membership is everywhere in our culture." And they go on to explain that you have gym memberships, drug store memberships, and so on. I had never thought about it in such a way before.

Emotionally, the thing that stuck out to me in this section was the What Went Will exercise. Pick three things from your day and write down what went well with them and why. This is good for me in my desire to look more positively at life.

Mentally, they talked a lot about stress and how what you think affects so much of your attitude. I pulled a couple quotes from this section.

"The difference between those who allow stress to eat them alive and those who stay cool under pressure isn't the actual level of stress they are under, but how well they have learned to deal with its presence."

"You can't always control the situation you find yourself in, but you can control your perception of and response to the situation."

At the end of each chapter, they had a section called Small Steps to the New You and it contained two to four things you could do right away to make a change in your life.

Overall, I thought this was a good book. I wouldn't say it was earth shattering in the new information presented, but a good reminder again to take care of this body that God gave to me.

I received this book from Baker Books and was not required to write a positive review.
341 reviews
January 29, 2019
For as long as I can remember I have always heard we physical, mental, emotional and spiritual beings. These cannot be separated are divided, it is what makes us complete. The world, even ourselves try to compartmentalize these in dealing with life. It doesn’t work that way.
This is a wonderful book that shows you how to address each of these 5 areas for better overall health. The chapters for each section share vital information you need to know to make the needed changes, baby steps on how to achieve your goals, ideas, advice, and personal accounts you can relate to. Some of this I already knew, but needed to hear again. It was made more relevant to me in the light of having help to apply it not just know it and seeing it through the Bible. What I like most about this book is all these changes are made with God and His Word as our focus. Apart from Him we can achieve nothing lasting. All are approached from a biblical and scriptural perspective. The Lord created every part of us and His plan and guidance cannot be ignored if we truly want the best for all areas of our health.
This is not a book to rush through but to study and digest. The end of the book entitled “The Small Steps Challenge” lines out a how to implement what you have learned over the course of 4 months. You might be saying, “Four months! That is too long!” It isn’t a race. Taking it gradually will ensure that these habits are ingrained and with a Christian outlook.
I am excited to study, learn and change!
I received this book free from Baker Books in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have stated are my own.
Profile Image for Markie.
474 reviews34 followers
January 30, 2019
The New You A guide to better physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness.

This book is wonderfully written and helps you understand how your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellness all goes together. He covers the importance of gratitude, forgiveness, sleep and so much more to help us see how those things affect our health. The books help us understand why we need to pray and have an open conversation with God. I love the reminder that I am never going to get everything done and how to manage having a less stressful life. I like how they teach you small steps to having a better life, its not an overwhelming change that makes it hard to stick to. There is some amazing advice packed in this book. Its a great read to start the new year with but to read any time you are wanting to change your life for the better. I received this book from the publishers, all thoughts are my own.
187 reviews2 followers
January 7, 2020
The New You is a good read for the start of 2020. It focuses on ways to improve physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness. This book is really helpful for making sure you are the best version of yourself and are able to be who God created you to be. My favorite thing about this book is the section at the end of each chapter called "Small Steps to the New You." These small steps allow you to take your time in making changes so as not to become overwhelmed. A small positive life change is better than no life change out all. I really enjoyed this book and the fact that I can actually use these tips in my own life and see great results. I look forward to using this book as a resource to help me improve my life. Thank you so much to the authors and BakerBooks for the chance to read and review this book!
Profile Image for April Yamasaki.
Author 16 books48 followers
September 11, 2019
For me, the chapter on energy was the best of the nineteen short chapters in this book on how to gain better physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental health. Other strong candidates include chapter 12 on “The Power of Serving: Seven Ways to Change the World” and chapter 15 on “Defeating the Deadliest Emotion: The Necessity of Rooting Out Bitterness.” Each chapter includes personal anecdotes plus some small steps to get started toward the new you. The book concludes with “the small steps challenge,” which is a four-month plan to read and follow through on the practical steps outlined in the book. For more, please see Why Ministry is Not a Marathon.
Profile Image for Donna Avery.
25 reviews12 followers
August 7, 2019
A comprehensive ,relatable guide to a divinely better

While the authors illustrate their advice with relatable stories, you'll want to take your time reading so you can absorb the information and let God work with you on it a little at a time. By the end off the book,you'll be ready to tackle the 4-month plan or your version. This book is a blessing and a roadmap.
Profile Image for Jenna Bamlet.
4 reviews1 follower
April 27, 2024
A bit biblical, that can be read around. Decent points for a better overall life, Christian or not. It does have a “small steps” summary at the end of each chapter and the end of the book that are good outline pointers.
Author 2 books
January 7, 2019
This is a great book, very motivational to kick start a new year of health by putting God at the center of everything.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews

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