Anxious for Nothing: Young Readers Edition (Book Review)

I have had the pleasure of reading several of Lucado’s books, over the years. In addition to the delightful Punchinello books, I’ve also read at least one of his adult books. When I saw the opportunity to review this book with JustReads, I was excited to receive a copy!

Anxious for Nothing: Young Readers Edition is an extremely encouraging, practical tool for children (and even adults) dealing with anxiety. This is definitely a book I could see myself rereading.

Punctuated with illustrations and relatable scenarios, the devotional emphasizes the importance of looking to Jesus first— not our fears!

Structure

The book consists of eleven chapters distributed between four sections. Because of the chapter format, the book can be enjoyed at the reader’s own pace.

• Chapters include visual representations outlining key concepts, as well as some diagrams to personalize
• Pull quotes emphasizes important ideas
• Short fictional scenarios establish real-life connections
• Brain and Heart Checks at the end of each chapter invite personal prayer and reflection

Personal Reflection

This devotional was such a blessing! Lucado uses some very familiar verses (Phil. 4:4-8) as the cornerstone of the CALM acronym. Through these verses, the Lucados really draw out the importance of focusing on good things, which happens through rejoicing, being grateful and thinking about what is good.

I think that this passage is usually studied in two separate chunks: verses 4-6 about being grateful when we make requests in prayer and verse 8, which is about what sort of things to meditate on. In the process, we are also skipping over verse 7, which is the promise of God’s peace!

For me, this book really built on what the Lord had been teaching me about gratitude, as He had been encouraging me to take time in my day to list what I’m thankful for.

This book is also such a powerful reminder to look to Jesus, not our fears!

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Timely Treasure

In our fast-paced world, this is such a valuable resource, especially for kids. While anxiety has been around much longer than technology, technology certainly increases it. And kids are growing up in a time when smart phones have always been here.

I highly recommend this title for children and adults! (I haven’t read the actual adult version of the devotional, but I have to admit I really enjoy the child-friendly content and graphics.) This is one I would gladly revisit.