Beyond Your Wardrobe, Modesty, & Problems with the Purity Movement || Cowmoonity Podcast Interview4/13/2021 In this segment, Josh Taylor of the Blimey Cow YouTube Channel and I discuss my book Beyond Your Wardrobe, how modesty is about our attitude as much as it is our outfit, and how the purity's movement's insistence on presenting a list of rules caused more problems than it solved To learn more about my book, Beyond Your Wardrobe, click here
To watch the documentary on Joshua Harris' book on Amazon Prime I Survived I Kissed Dating Goodbye, click here: https://amzn.to/3a3425p (This is an affiliate link, meaning that I earn a small commission at no charge to you if you rent or purchase any product through this link) Make sure to go check Josh's channel, Blimey Cow: https://www.youtube.com/user/blimeycow
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I am so excited to share that I have another short book available for Valentine's Day, based on the blog posts I wrote while I was on the book team for Pulling Back the Shades and when I created one of the first spoken words on YouTube "Pulling Back the Shades of Grey". Curious on what the book is about? Here's the summary:
Does our culture's celebration of Valentine's Day really honor Saint Valentine? Would Saint Valentine disapprove of the Fifty Shades series and his name being used to promote it?
In our world today, love is defined in many ways that are vague. The love that Saint Valentine believed in was anything but grey - it was black and white, and sacrificial in its nature. In this short book, we explore the life of Saint Valentine, what his life and martyrdom can teach us today, and use this information to evaluate how he would most likely feel about the Fifty Shades being promoted in his name when the films were released. Even if you know very little about the series, this book will help equip you with a perspective from a biblical worldview. Includes a bonus article "Refuting Fifty Shades of Arguments", addressing 5 common arguments made by fans in favor of the Fifty Shades series, exploring the fault in their logic, and teaching how you can engage in conversations with them in a God-honoring way. Get your copy today! (Commission earned from any purchase made through the link below) Having already read a few books by Nancy, I was already interested and curious about the book. But when I heard a local church was doing a women’s Bible study on this book, I was excited to have an excuse to read it. It was hard to find time to read this book this summer even during the first part of the Bible study, but I was determined to finish it before we started part 2 of the study. I read the majority of the book in about 3 days-time. It was so incredible rich with sound teaching and inspiring challenges. This book has furthered my belief that Nancy is in many ways a kindred spirit to myself, for so many of her books and writing speak so directly to me. The challenges to mentor younger women and be mentored by older women is something that can apply to any of us, regardless of what season of life you are in. I highly recommend this book ~ Bethel Mentorship has become a lost concept in the church today. When we do think about it, we imagine a rigid relationship all about rule keeping and meeting for coffee weekly. That doesn’t really appeal to most of us, especially in the millennial generation. As a result of this picture in our heads, we often tend to stick with deeper friendships only with those who have similar life situations to our own, all the while neglecting the benefits of relationships with generations older and younger than us. Meanwhile, we struggle with facing everyday challenges in our spiritual lives but feel that we have no way to navigate them. This often leaves us feeling so alone in our struggles or turning to peers that don’t have the experience to help us through our struggles.  In her book, Adorned, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth shares through teachings from Titus 2 about the importance of women living out the gospel together by creating a culture of older women mentoring younger women. Beginning with the challenge of finding the courage to pursue both finding younger women to invest in as well as finding older women to invest in you, she begins to break down the heart of the doctrine of Titus 2, eventually breaking down each concept in the passage about what women, young and old, are supposed to be learning from each other. From reverence and abstaining from slander, to purity and self-control, Nancy spends individual chapters getting to heart of each concept and applying it to older and younger women alike. All the while, Nancy paints a powerful picture of how much better our lives would be and how much stronger the church would be if more women would take the challenge of living out the beauty of the gospel together. Her teaching is so theologically strong, but is understandable and accessible to everyone. This book is one that all adult women in the church need to read. This book is also an excellent Bible study option with a study guide and video curriculum available, one that I personally participated in. Get your copy today!  Teen Rating. Although I believe a mature teen girl could get a lot out of this book, I’d be more likely to recommend this book to college age girl than a teenager.  Male Friendly Rating. I personally think guys could get a lot out of this book. I know Nancy’s husband was involved in the process of writing it. I kind of hope that Robert Wolgemuth writes a Titus 2 book for men sometime  Singles Friendly Rating. Since Nancy was single until her mid-50’s, she is always intentional about including single in her writings. Even though topics related to marriage and motherhood sometimes seem irrelevant or far-off, Nancy writes in such a way as to inspire you where you are now, or to give you future knowledge for a future season of life.  Personal Rating. I love how theologically strong this book is. I cannot recommend it enough! If you like this book sounds like a good book for you, check out my reviews on some of Nancy's other books: Lies Women Believe Lies Young Women Believe (co-authored with Dannah Gresh) When I first heard that Jackie Hill Perry was coming out with a book, I was so excited. I had already been exposed to her testimony when I first read the book Messy Grace and researched some of the resources that went with it. I already knew that her story demonstrated the power of God’s redeeming grace and wanted to know more. When I finally got around to reading it, I could not put it down. I finished it in a single day. Even if you don’t struggle with same sex attraction, most of us can find ways to relate her story to our own. This is a book I highly recommend to practically anyone ~ Bethel  In her first book, Gay Girl, Good God, Jackie Hill Perry shares her incredible testimony of God’s redeeming grace as he helped her overcome her struggles with same sex attraction. A childhood including an inactive father and abuse at the hands of someone she trusted, brokenness was a theme of the early part of her life. This eventually result in her pursuing same sex relationships, embracing masculinity instead of womanhood, and drug abuse. But one night, while she was home alone watching TV, God got a hold of her heart. Without a church or a preacher, God revealed to her that her sin would be her death and that she needed to repent and change her ways. And that’s exactly what she did. She broke up with her girlfriend, slowly started to change her clothes, and started going to church. She eventually met and married Preston Perry, a man who also had brokenness in his past. They are now the parents of two little girls. Although Jackie knows that struggles with temptation will be an ongoing battle, she also knows that power of God’s grace in her life, if we choose to pursue. She also addresses working through same sex attraction from a biblical perspective. Jackie’s testimony is powerful and moving and her insights into living in victory over sin is something that everyone can relate to. Aside from its biblically grounded perspective on same sex attraction, the story of the redemption in Jackie’s life makes this a book that I would recommend to practically anyone. Get your copy today!  Teen Rating. As long as a teenager is old enough to understand both the concepts of homosexuality and the struggles of sin, I think this book would be great for a teen to read  Personal Rating. I was encouraged, challenged, and inspired by Jackie’s testimony. I think you will be too To read more about the subject of a Christian's response to same sex attraction, check out my review of the book Messy Grace by clicking here As I was a part of the launch for their last book a year ago (Love Defined), I heard they were planning on releasing another book this year. But I admit I was surprised when I heard about the topic. Not because I didn’t think they would do a great job, but because it was very closely related to the subject of their last book. Not to mention that I have read many books on the subject over the years, I was curious if they would be able to provide a newer perspective for a generation of young women who don’t want to do when it comes to the subject of biblical sexuality. But in the end, I was not disappointed. What I found I liked the best about the book is that it doesn’t feel like some purity books that are written by older women that give lists of do’s and don’ts. This was written in a friendly tone by sisters who feel like they are your big sisters, trying to help you understand what to do with this confusing topic in an honest and vulnerable way. I am so grateful that that Kristen and Bethany were willing to address this topic, and that they remind us that even though we have all experienced some form of sexual brokenness, God can and will redeem all of it in His time for His glory. If a girl is the right age (see my ratings at the end of the review), this is a book I would definitely recommend ~ Bethel
Purity. It’s made to feel like a dirty word in our culture, because it is something that our culture refuses to honor. And even those of us that try to honor it eventually come to realize that the impurity of the culture around us has seeped into our hearts and minds. We have a hard trying to wrap our minds around the topics of purity and sexuality in a God-honoring way, but we are afraid to ask the questions that will help us find answers and freedom. We are scared that we are the only one that has questions or struggles, so we clam up and are left in fear. It makes us ask the question: how can I learn the truth about God-defined sexuality?  In their newest book, Sex, Purity, and the Longings of a Girls Heart, sisters Kristen Clark and Bethany Beal help us find the beauty and freedom that comes from choosing to pursue God-honoring sexuality. Helping us see that we all have experienced sexual brokenness and struggles with lust, they help us identify where our culture has steered us wrong by identifying four lies about our sexual design and challenging us to replace them with truths from God’s word about the way He designed our sexuality. They offer tools for combating temptations and the battles within your mind and take time to address many specific questions about “hush hush” topics and questions that they asked their readers during a survey. And finally, they help us see that God has help us walk the path of freedom from past and present struggles with our sexuality, helping all of us see that God can redeem anything in His time, including our sexuality, if we choose to walk in faith and surrender to Him. This book is much needed and powerful. It’s the kind of book I wished I had as a teenager. Kristen and Bethany are honest and relevant in their writing style, and have a genuine heart to help girls and women get back to the women God intended them to be. This is a book that I recommend to women and girls about 16 and older. Get your copy today! *I received a copy of this book from the publisher as part of my involvement in the book's launch team and for the purpose of this review  Teen Rating. Although the topics in this book are well addressed, I would struggle to recommend this book to a younger teenager. I think that some of the topics discussed could cause a loss of some innocence if she is not to that level of maturity (I am not mentioning these topics by name for concern about teens that may read this review). But at the same time, I do recognize that these topics are completely and totally necessary to discuss. I would recommend it for girls about 16 or older. For teens 15 or younger, I would recommend Bethany and Kristen's last book, Love Defined, as a better starting point for their age  Male Friendly Rating. Because this book does get very specific into the some hard questions about female sexuality, I think that most men would struggle with reading certain parts of this book  Single-Friendly Rating. Kristen and Bethany excel at balancing their perspectives between married and single women and this book is no exception  Personal Rating. Aside from wishing that certain topics were addressed in a way that was better suited for younger teens, this book is an awesome resource that I would highly recommend. This book inspired and challenged me, and I think it will be for you too To check out my review of Kristen and Bethany's first book, Girl Defined, click here To check out my review of their second book, Love Defined, click here |
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