​When I first heard this book was coming out last year, I was so excited. The original book Secret Keeper for teens is one of my all-time favorite books and since the author Dannah had developed a ministry to tween girls, I figured that this book would come along eventually. I was very excited to buy it and read it. In the end, I was not disappointed. Dannah’s heart for helping young women understand their God-given power of modesty is evident on every page. But I really enjoyed getting to see the older material I was familiar with was adapted to a younger audience. She uses different illustrations and metaphors to speak to the younger girls. She has a little bit different line of logic to help them understand the motivation behind modesty. The devotional companion even includes a coloring experience. But the heart between all of these books remains the same, and that makes it an excellent resource to tween girls, their parents, and even their youth leaders. If you haven’t checked this out, then you should. ~ Bethel

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Modesty is a difficult concept to teach to young women in our world today. We are surrounded by a culture that tells us that when it comes to clothes, “less is more.” And this idea is being pushed upon us at a younger age than ever before. Even t-shirts for preschool girls are designed to accentuate a figure that they don’t even have yet. Girls are being convinced that they can wear whatever they want whenever they want, and if anyone restricts that, it’s infringing on their rights. It makes it difficult for those of us that want better for these girls. We struggle with how to communicate to them the importance of the way they present themselves. It makes us ask the question: how can we teach the importance of modesty to young girls today?

​In her book, Secret Keeper Girl, Dannah Gresh adapts her material on modesty for older teens and addresses it on the level for tween girls. In a book of fun illustrations, both in visual and written forms, Dannah helps the girls understand their value as a unique masterpiece created by God and they our understanding of how much God loves us should motivate our desire to dress modestly. She also talks about what makes a girl truly beautiful, not by what is on the outside, but what is on the inside. She addresses issues that so many parents struggle to talk about with their daughters, but she does so in a totally tasteful and age-appropriate way. She gives fashion tests to help girls determine if an outfit is appropriate. Dannah even shares examples are stories about girls their own age to make their journey more relatable. If you are a girl about 7-11, you want to ask for a copy of this book. If you are a parents of a tween girl, you need to get this book. Even if you are a youth leader, you need to check out this book. Girls and adults alike will be grateful with the help and perspective this book provides. Girls and their moms with also love the corresponding mother-daughter devotional guide, which includes a coloring experience and an awesome letter to the moms. I cannot recommend either of these books enough. Get your copies today!

(To check out my review of the teen edition of this book and its devotional guide, click here)

​I first heard about this book when my Facebook friend and book launch guru (Anna LeBaron, author of The Polygamist’s Daughter) shared about the book launch she was leading. At first, I thought the title sounded weird. But the more I heard about it, the more I was interested. It finally got the point that I was dying to read it, so I got it around my birthday. In the end, I was not disappointed and instantly knew why this book has become a New York Times bestseller. Rachel is fun and quirky, but also honest and vulnerable with her audience. She never tells you to do anything, but speaks from her own experience and allows that to help the reader along their own personal journey. That was enough for me, because I found that some of my experiences mirrored hers. And when they didn’t, she shares what happened in a way that’s relatable. Although I would limit the recommendations of this book to a certain audience, I personally really enjoyed the book and will use it to help me overcome lies in the future. I hope you can too ~ Bethel

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lies. Lies surround us in our culture. Lies about who we are, what we can be, and what others perceive of us. The more we see these lies disguised as truth, the more likely it is that we will just accept that as truth. This seems to be especially true for women in our society today, with the air-brushed versions of womanhood we see plastered across billboards in Times Square. Believing these lies about our identity aren’t just bad, they are dangerous. They will hinder us from living our lives to the fullest and being the women that God wants us to be. They can steal our joy, our hope, our families, and our future. We can even let these lies define us and our identity. If makes us ask the question: how can I stop believing the lies about who I am?

​In her New York Times Bestseller, Girl, Wash Your Face, Rachel Hollis shares lies that she believed about herself so that her readers can identify them and make the choice to become who there were meant to be. Each chapter addresses one of these lies. Unlike other books in the self-help category, she break down how these lies became prevalent in our culture or share a bunch of statistics to make you change your perspective. Instead, she shares the good, the bad, and the ugly from her own life experiences, shared what she learned along the way, then she concludes each chapter with things that helped her overcome each given lie. From marriage to motherhood, from writing to weight management and so much in between, Rachel covers it all in a way that is honest and accessible. Although it’s subtle in its presentation, her faith is evident throughout the stories that have become her life. With her faith as a foundation, it becomes clear how she learned to overcome the lies she had believed for so long and it makes it clear that you can learn to do the same. This book is a powerful call-up call that is hard to ignore. It’s calling women of my generation to stop wallowing in the lies to hold them back and to replace them with truth. It’s a reminder that we have the power to change these perceptions for ourselves. It’s a chance to have a new beginning even after we’ve faced pain and difficulties. It gives us hope that we can become women who stand in our faith against all odds. It’s exactly what this generation of women need. Women young and old need to read this book, especially if you are married with kids. Get your copy today!

​My mom had talked about Chapman’s original book about the five love languages since I was young. But it was only recently that I discovered that there was a version written specifically to single adults. When I found out about it, I was so excited to read it. When I finally got it, I couldn’t put it down. I finished it in two days. These concepts about love languages are something that every person needs to read. But I believe it’s especially significant to learn this in your singles years, because it will build into any future dating relationships and in marriage. I absolutely recommend this to any of my single friends, and for anyone that isn’t single, there is probably an edition of this book written for you. Do a little research and get it. You won’t regret it ~ Bethel

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Love is expressed is many different ways, but these expressions don’t always mean the same thing to different people. Something that is meaningful to one person may not be to another. This can make it hard for us to figure out how to best express love. This doesn’t just apply to romantic relationships. This can make things difficult for all relationships: family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, roommates, and the list could go on. It’s so hard to know how to relate well to each other when we struggle to express love in a way that others can relate to. This can seem to be an especially hard struggle for single adults, especially those who haven’t ever been married. It makes us ask the question: how can I learn to love others better as a single adult?

​In his book, The 5 Love Languages (Singles Edition), Gary Chapman walks us through the five “languages” in which all human communicate love, and how singles can apply these love languages to all relationships in our lives. Some feel most loved through words of affirmation. Some feel and express love best through receiving or giving gifts. Some feel most loved through acts of service. Some feel loved through spending quality time with those they care about. And some feel and express love best through physical touch. Out of each of these languages, everyone has a primary love language in which makes them feel the most loved. But understanding and learning to communicate all five are important for us to find ways to love others more. Chapman walks through what these love languages look like lived out with parents and siblings, as well as those that may be looking toward romantic relationships in the future. He also talks about relating to roommates, classmates, and coworkers. He even walks through single parents loving their children better. All of this is presented in friendly and relevant writing style that anyone can understand. These truths about love languages are profound, especially in a day and age when we are quick to make things about ourselves. But this book is a great tool to help us reach out beyond our own love language into the other languages so that we can love others the way that Christ did. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is currently single, or anyone who wants to figure out how to relate to singles better. If you don’t fit into those categories, there is probably an edition of this book written for you. Get your copy today!

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

​When I first heard that a local church was going to be doing a women’s bible study through this book, I was so excited. Not only had this book been sitting on my shelf for a quite a while waiting to be read, but I was excited to be a part of an adult women’s study for the first time. When you have the opportunity to hear the author reading or quoting their book in their own voice, it makes that message all the more meaning, and that made the videos from the study curriculum the icing on the cake for me. I was blown away by how relevant is book and the topic of rejection is to my life, not just my current circumstances, but throughout my whole life. It was a blessing to go through this book with a great group of women that together learned how to live loved. I would say that this book is relevant to anyone, regardless of their age and their season of life. I highly recommend this book to pretty much anyone ~ Bethel

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rejection. We all hate it. We all struggle with it. We all find ways to avoid facing it now. We all find ways to avoid dealing with the past. From rejection in relationships from rejection in jobs from rejection from our dreams, all of deal with it. But so few of us actually know how to handle it in healthy ways. So many of us get consumed by it to the point that it prevents us from living our lives to the fullest. Even for those of us that follow the Lord, many of us struggle with feeling like God will inevitably reject us like many of the people around us have. This makes it difficult for us to live our lives in light of God’s grace and make it hard for us to love God and love others. We also become all the more susceptible to Satan’s lies about our identity that can steal our joy, our faith, and our future. It makes us ask the question: Is a constructive and God-honoring way to handle rejection?

​In her book Uninvited, Lysa TerKeurst helps to see that there is a way to process rejection so that even when we face, we can still live loved in the light of God’s grace. Lysa acknowledges that all of us have or will face rejection at some point in our lives, so that we need to honestly admit when we struggle with it. From many personal stories as well as relevant biblical narratives, Lysa helps us see many aspects of rejection, some that we may have never thought of as part of rejection. But we are reminded that even when it seems like the world has cast us aside, that is not what God is doing to us. He is using the difficulties of our circumstances to set us apart. We are reminded even when rejection seems to run us dry, the Lord can and will fill us up in His time, if we turn to Him. We are also reminded that Jesus chose to take the rejection of mankind onto Himself so that we don’t have to be bound by our circumstances. When we are able to embrace that, then we are able to live loved, even when we face rejection. This book is written in a friendly and relevant tone that anyone can find accessible. Lysa speaks powerfully from the wisdom of her own experience as well as integrating that well with truth from God’s word. I recommend this book to anyone young or old, male or female, especially if you struggle with rejections, past or present. Get your copy today!

​When I first heard that sisters Kristen and Bethany were releasing another book, I was so excited. Since I was on the launch team for their first book, Girl Defined, I knew that this was a book I did not want to miss. I was excited to be accepted onto the launch team for this book as well. Although recent circumstances in my life prevented me from being prepared for the book’s launch day on May 1, I was so compelled when I finally got around to listening to the audiobook version. I basically listened to it straight through. When it comes to explaining the ins and out of singleness, marriage, and everything that comes in between, these sisters have you covered. I once again enjoyed the balanced perspectives of Kristen, who’s married, and Bethany, who was single at the time of writing the book. They are very understandable and relatable in their writing style and in their desire to help women everywhere to pursue God’s plan for finding lasting love. This is a book I would highly recommend ~ Bethel

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The methods that our culture tries to present us for finding and maintaining lasting relationships are not working. Everything from infatuation disguised as love to sex before marriage to everything magically working itself out in marriage, Hollywood has tried to convince us this is the recipe for success and societal acceptance. But when you look carefully at the lives of those pursuing those methods, their lives are less than perfect. In fact, the statistics for divorce, abortion, and STDs are higher than ever before, but society won’t admit it because their methods are working. They continues to deceive us into a vicious cycle of infatuation and feelings that always results in our hearts getting broken, but we always go back to the same method. It leads many women to ask the question: How can I pursue God honoring relationships with guy, regardless of what season of life I’m in?

​In their book Love Defined, sisters Kristen Clark and Bethany Baird of Girl Defined Ministries help us discover the ways that we can pursue God-honoring relationships that led to God-honoring marriages, all while giving hope that God has a plan and purpose for those of us that are single. They help us identify our culture’s “fairytale façade” and “Merry-Go-Round” method for satisfying relationships. They lead you to see that following these methods will result in disappointment and brokenness if we continue to rely on them. Instead, they offer a perspective on love, sex, and romance that is radically fresh and truly fulfilling when compared to our culture’s methods. To counter our culture’s methods, they offer a method to approach relationships that puts God in the center and won’t leave you broken, even if it doesn’t work out. Bethany also takes time to watch through the struggles of singleness, but offer advice on how to live your single years well while learning to be satisfied in Jesus. Kristen also walks through her relationship with her husband, and how they involved God in the process of their relationship. Together they address big questions like how to be just friends with guys, if you should date a non-Christian, or warning signs that its time to end a relationship. They conclude with a challenge to live our love defined by God, regardless of what phrase of life you are in. These sisters are a dynamic pair as teachers and writers, and they will inspire you to redefine what you know about romance from God’s perspective. Get your copy today!

To read my review of their first book, Girl Defined, click here
To read my last post (which explains the recent circumstances in my life), click here