​In Mark Batterson’s book, Draw the Circle, he expounds the principles he shared in The Circle Maker and turns them into a devotional prayer challenge over 40 days. Although he does challenge his readers to day consistently, this book doesn’t give specific challenges each day but instead allows the book to act as an inspiration to help you create your own pray strategies. Paired with personal testimony as well as stories from readers of his other books, Mark inspires his readers to think about prayer outside of the box and to allow our pursuit of God through prayer to give us the endurance to pray and wait “as long as it takes.” There is a lot of great truth and inspiring testimony packed into these 40 days. If you need to revitalize your prayer life or you are facing difficult circumstances that you want God to guide you through, this book would be a great tool to help you through whatever season you are currently facing. Get your copy today!

​I was quite excited when I saw that Nancy had released a Christmas devotional. I knew it was one I wanted to read. In the end, I was not disappointed. This focus on different aspects of the season of Advent was a unique one that any Christian would benefit from reading. I hope you will consider reading it this holiday season ~ Bethel

​Songs are an important part of the celebration of Christmas, especially in western culture. These songs are about everything from the traditions we love to the stories embedded into the holiday, especially the ones surrounding the birth of Jesus. Since so many of these songs are so beloved, we can forget that the original Christmas story has a few songs in it as well. In fact, there are a total of six songs in the first two chapters of Luke, all of which can reveal quite a bit about not just Christmas, but also about ourselves.

​In her devotional The First Songs of Christmas, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth walks through the six songs of Christmas over 31 days, covering the whole month of December. Diving into one or two verses per day, this book takes a deeper look at what these songs, spread out across the greater story of Advent, can teach us about how to live in the joy and expectation of what Christmas means every day of the year. Each chapter concludes with a short prayer, a few additional Scripture readings, and a simple way to respond to the daily message. This devotional is a powerful and fresh perspective on the story of Advent as it is based on unique Scriptural reflections. Whether you are learning about Christmas for the first time or you know the story like the back of your hand, everyone will be able to learn something new from this book. Get your copy today!

* I received a copy from the publisher for the purpose of this review

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Although I have enjoyed and been inspired by all of the books released by Kristen and Bethany, I believe that this book is by far their best yet. In certain respects, I feel like this book was both written for me and could have been written by me with my life stories inserted into it. I don’t know if I have ever experienced that while reading any book written by other authors. The challenge of trusting God with the twists and turns of your story is a message that will resonate with every reader that chooses to take its message to heart. Being a part of the launch team and helping plan the launch of the book has just been the icing on the cake. This is a book I cannot recommend enough ~ Bethel

Change. Disappointment. Rejection. Worry. All of us have experienced these detours from the narratives we had planned for our lives. No matter how well we plan things out or how good our intentions may be, life is bound to throw us some curveballs. Knowing how to navigate these changes is hard and often painful, especially when we are dealing with major life changes. We want to believe that God is good, but it can be hard to understand His plan or feel His presence when we feel the rug ripped out from under us again and again. It makes us ask the question: How can I learn to fully trust God when life doesn’t go the way I expected?

In their book Not Part of the Plan, authors Kristen Clark and Bethany Beal dive deep into helping their readers navigate the twists and turns of their story while trusting God fully. Kristen and Bethany open up in a way they never have before about their stories not going according to plan. Through Bethany’s years of unfulfilling longings for marriage and Kristen’s years of struggling with infertility, they discovered that even when life doesn’t go according to plan, God is good, ever-present, and can bring us hope and peace amid heartache and disappointment. Pairing their stories with Scriptural and practical truth, this book is designed to help young women to work through past and present detours in their stories. Each chapter includes prayers, reflection questions, and challenges to help them dive deeper. This book is honest and real in a time in history when everyone has faced challenges due to changes from a worldwide pandemic. This is a book that every young woman needs to read. Get your copy today!
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*I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review

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Check out my reviews of Kristen and Bethany's other books:
Girl Defined
Love Defined
Sex, Purity, and the Longings of A Girl's Heart
Shine Bright

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​I liked the sound of this book from the first time I read about it. Priscilla Shirer is an incredibly talented author, speaker, and actress. So when she had the opportunity to combine these talents, you know it’s going to be great. So when I discovered that she was writing a teen girl book based on the film Overcomer, I knew I wanted to read it. I am so glad I found the time to read this short but impactful book that really should be on the reading list of any Christian teen girl or young woman ~ Bethel

​All of us wonder how much of a difference we make will make on the world. Many of us have hopes and dreams to make the world a better place, but deeper down inside, we feel inadequate, insignificant, and incapable of making an impact in a noisy world. Even Christians struggle with believing that they can never make a difference because they don’t even understand who they were made to be. This seems especially true for teen girls. Many of them are so confused, they don’t even enough where to start looking for answers.

In her book, Radiant, Priscilla Shirer helps teen girls and young women walk understand their identity in Christ so their lives can be shaped by the truth of God’s word, not the ever-changing opinions of our culture. Inspired by her role in the Kendrick Brothers movie Overcomer, this book is designed to inspire girls like the film’s protagonist Hannah Scott, a teen girl who struggles with her identity until she finds Jesus. Sharing stories from her teen years and beyond in a way that is entertaining and relevant, Priscilla offers to help young women discern the views they have of themselves that are founded on the lies of their culture and find the truth of their value, purpose, and identity as it is laid out in His Word. It when they learn how to embrace this version of their identity that their lives will be a radiant light for Christ as they actively serve Him within their generation. Using understandable language and a simple format, the message of this book is incredibly relevant and needed for young women in our world today. I would recommend this book to teen girls 12 and older, and any young woman that wants to learn more about how to be radiant for Christ. 

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Forgiveness is one of the hardest things Christians are called to do in the Scriptures, especially when they have been hurt deeply by the actions of others. We are well aware of the Scripture’s call to forgive, but we can’t let go of what happened to us. Relationships are destroyed, bitter words are exchanged, and the pain afterwards refuses to let us move on. It often feels like forgiving is letting our offender off the hook, so we are holding ourselves captive to our pain, all while thinking that we are holding our offenders responsible. This leads to a vicious cycle that seems like it will never end. It makes us ask the question: how can I learn to forgive what I can’t forget?
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In her book Forgiving What You Can’t Forget, Lysa Terkeurst takes her readers on a journey toward discovering how they can let go of the pain of what others have done to them and learn how to forgive. While not diminishing the pain and suffering they have been through, Lysa walks through many facets of forgiveness, bitterness, and the pain caused by conflicts with others. Instead of offering platitudes of instant solutions, she instead offers hope that with time, diligence, and support, you can make peace with the past and live life again. Speaking with honesty and vulnerability from the pain of her husband having an affair, Lysa shares her personal journey of her husband having an affair, sharing it in a way that makes it relatable, regardless of what you may need to forgive. If you have ever struggled with forgiveness, this is a book you need to read. Get your copy today!