This uplifting daily devotional from Forte has been crafted to nourish and encourage Christians endeavoring to end habitual alcohol use, though its 12 weeks of verses from scripture and rousing daily meditations and prayers are often general enough to apply to efforts to forego other debilitating habits, too. Explicitly linking excessive and habitual drinking to sin and Satan, Forte presents an “alcohol habit” as a form of “psychological slavery” that “steals from us the person we were created to be.” The term “habit” is key to Forte’s conception, as she eschews labels like “alcoholism,” “disease,” or “addiction.” Among reminders that God has given humans “the power to choose” a different path, she emphasizes the power of creating new habits by routinely taking actions that form new neural pathways.

Blending heartening, Bible-based musings on facing challenges and resisting temptation with lessons in mindfulness and some pop science, The Plans He Has for Me urges readers to pray and reflect each morning for 84 days of abstaining. Forte writes devotional texts with clear eyes about what it takes to resist (Day Four: “You are closer to the finish line of something better than you think or believe”), a strong sense of each believer’s influence in the world (Day 52: “Our choices provide inspiration, light, and love to others”), and an encouraging attention to what it takes to change habits over time (Day 64: “Take a moment on this day to remember the various health benefits you have seen already”).

Forte urges readers, in devotional passages, to consider “self-care habits that allow you to love yourself more,” but examples and introductions to such practices are beyond the purview of this volume. Supplementary and introductory materials are scant, and despite references to The Plans He Has for Me as “an alcohol-free program” itself, the book has a supplementary feel, a potentially helpful component in a broader effort toward recovery.

Takeaway: Heartening Christian devotionals for readers endeavoring to leave alcohol behind.

Comparable Titles: Heather Harpham Kopp’s Sober Mercies, Friends in Recovery’s The Twelve Steps for Christians.

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