Ready to start 2022? Needing to be refreshed and discover wellness for your whole Christian life?

I’m excited to share this with you - a new resource called REFRESH. It’s a devotional journal for helping us to develop our wellbeing. I asked the author, Jo Acharya, to tell us a bit about herself and her journey and her journal. Read on …

Tell us a little bit about yourself, Jo

I live down in Sussex with my husband Dan, who took the photos for Refresh, and our cat Dillon. I work as a music therapist with people with learning disabilities, and Dan and I also help to lead a small group at our church for adults with learning needs. I’ve found I really enjoy trying to explain what the Bible is saying in simple language that everyone can understand.

I also have cystic fibrosis, so I’ve spent a lot of the last two years shielding! During this time my appreciation of the outdoors has really grown - going for daily walks (always leaving my phone at home!) has given me such a sense of calm and a break from the stresses of everything that’s going on.

Why this new book and why now?

I never planned to write a book at all until one day when I was looking for a present for a friend. I’d seen a few ‘wellness journals’ in the shops which had advice on holistic wellbeing and reflective questions to keep track of emotional health, and I thought she would appreciate something like this with a Christian perspective. But I couldn’t find anything. I really felt it would be helpful to a lot of people to look at what the Bible says about living well, not just in obvious ‘spiritual’ areas but also in everyday things like rest, looking after our bodies and managing our emotions. I don’t think God sees a divide between these things – our whole lives matter to him and he wants to be involved in it all.

The question of what a healthy life looks like is a subject that’s relevant to all of us, but I especially wanted to reach people who might be struggling with their faith or with physical or mental health, and those ‘on the edges’ of Christian community. Living with a chronic illness I know how much energy it can take to keep up with a daily devotional, so I gave Refresh a weekly format and made it as gentle and flexible as I could.

I started the book before covid hit, but with all the challenges of this period I feel like Refresh is now more relevant than ever, and I feel even more strongly that God was in this idea from the beginning.

What helps you most with your own spiritual wellness?

In this last couple of years I’ve got better at setting aside regular times to meet with God, but it’s definitely still a work in progress. I’m also trying to sit quietly and listen to God more, rather than just rush away after I’ve said my bit!

Recently I’d been finding my time with God really valuable and inspiring. Then last week I found myself bored and distracted reading the Bible, and feeling as if I was praying to thin air. At times like that it’s so easy to get despondent and give up, but if there’s one tip I would give it’s to just keep going. Our spiritual walk can be tough sometimes – and often it has more to do with how we are - tired or stressed or low in mood - than the quality of our relationship with God. I think it's important to be aware of how we’re doing and try to give ourselves time to rest or talk things over if we need to. But if this is where you’re at, do keep coming to God as well. Tell him you’re not feeling it! Ask him for help. I’ve found that when I persevere, it’s usually not long before I come out again into a richer season of faith.

Thank you, Jo! And thank you for giving us this lovely resource - I’m sure it will be very helpful for so many people.

And thank you too for providing a free giveaway signed copy. READER - if you’d like to be entered into the giveaway, sign up on the pop-up menu on this site (by January 1st) and on January 2nd you’ll be sent the info on how to enter. Plus some other free surprises and discounts!

Jo Acharya's first book, 'Refresh: a wellness devotional for the whole Christian life' is published on January 5th; available from all good bookshops. Signed copies are available now from valleyofsprings.com, where you can find Jo’s regular blog as well as 'easy read' resources for people who find reading hard.

She’s also on social media at facebook.com/valleyofsprings and instagram.com/valleyofsprings

To order your own copy of the REFRESH journal click on the image below:

I’m thinking this would be a great way to begin this new year: REFRESH for 2022.