Quiet Places:
A Woman's Guide to Personal Retreat

By Jane Rubietta

Bethany House, $9.99
ISBN 0764220012

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Stressed-out women retreat to calm-time

Soul-care. It's a throbbing need among today's super-stressed women, but relief is at hand. Quiet Places: A Woman's Guide to Personal Retreat gently and creatively ushers women into the peaceful presence of God.

Jane Rubietta's insightful principles for achieving quietness fit real life, and you'll appreciate her practical suggestions for personal retreats that strengthen, refresh, and energize. According to the author, "The purpose of retreat is not to check off a list of Scriptures read, quotes studied, or prayers said. It is an escape into the calm arms of God."

Rubietta, who is a conference speaker, retreat leader, and frequent writer for Christian magazines, is also mother of three children and a pastor's wife. She understands the need for "the calm arms of God," and she is a wonderful spiritual mentor.

Sandwich into your schedule 20 minutes for one short chapter at a time, or retreat into solitude for a day or two to find refreshment for your spirit. Each chapter contains several short, helpful prescriptions for soul-care and a more vibrant relationship with God:

• Readings for Reflection come from the author's observations on life "on the soul side and on the outside" and serve to introduce each chapter's topic.

• Quotes for Contemplation call attention to the writings of Christians who have drunk deeply at the well of God's wisdom and love.

• Scriptures for Meditation supplement and enhance every aspect of each chapter -- and your life -- in a way that may inspire you to memorize some of them.

• Journaling becomes a way to "think in ink": a way to express confession and receive God's forgiveness and cleansing, an instrument to track the Spirit's work in your life.

• Prayers of Confession, Praise, and Petition cleanse and help you to get in harmony with God.

• Moments for Creation clear the cobwebs. Being alone with God every day refreshes and restores the body and spirit in a unique and powerful way.

• Silence -- holy stillness -- must be achieved. Everything conspires against this essential ingredient of spiritual well-being, but Scripture can be used to subdue internal noise. Try it!

• Questions for Reflection offer a way to capture thoughts that otherwise could remain scattered or not considered at all.

• A Hymn of Praise concludes each chapter. The lyrics and melodies of these familiar hymns permeate the mind and soothe the spirit as only music can.

Women who long to fulfill their God-given potential will make steady progress toward this goal through the encouragement and practical suggestions in Quiet Places: A Woman's Guide to Personal Retreat. I enjoyed it very much and plan to read it again, very slowly.

Jacquelyn Phillips is a reviewer in Belmont, MI.

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