Speaker and author Joyce Meyer is encouraging Christians not to shoulder unnecessary guilt in her new book “Eat the Cookies … Buy the Shoes”.

The book debuted at number 7 on the New York Times hardcover advice books bestseller list last week.

In it, she tells Christian it is ok to celebrate their accomplishments or treat themselves if they have done a good job of something.

She writes that people should reward themselves for progress and celebrate what God is doing in them instead of punishing themselves every time they fail.

“This new book celebrates that we’re not built for guilt,” she said. “At some point, we all need to ‘eat the cookie and buy the shoes’ in order to help us finish what we’ve started or as a way of celebrating something we’ve accomplished.

“Your ‘cookie and shoes’ can be anything that you enjoy. God never intended for us to be under a heavy burden.

“In fact, God is the ultimate party planner and wants you to learn how to celebrate the victories in your life.”