​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

​Our culture’s view of sex and romance is totally messed up, but most of us don’t realize it. We come into relationships (or lack thereof) primarily concerned about our rights and our needs. We are more concerned about being “in love” than we are about pursuing those feelings in a God-honoring way. We get caught up the conveniences of this digital day and age, even when it comes to relationships. Apps like Tinder make it possible to you to start a relationship with someone you only seen in the app with a simple swipe left of your finger. It makes it hard for us to understand and pursue a biblical understanding of sex and romance when the culture around us pretends to have the answers. It makes us ask the question: How can I prepare for the relationship I want tomorrow?

​In Levi Lusko’s book, Swipe Right, he brings a fresh biblically grounded perspective on sex and romance that can help anyone prepare for the relationships they want tomorrow, regardless of what stage of life you are currently in. With the premise of desiring to help prepare you for the relationship you are not yet in, Levi walks through many profound truths about God’s design for sexuality and how we can navigate in a society that treats sex as something digital or disposable. With relevant stories from his own life and marriage, he shares about how God’s desire to us to wait for marriage and keep sex within marriage is about wait for God best for us. He shares many familiar stories from Scripture and presents them in a modern light that is engaging and enlightening. So much truth is packed in bits and pieces throughout this book, in a style that is somewhat similar to that of author Bob Goff (author of the bestseller, Love Does).

​As a single young woman, I found this book to be extremely valuable to me, and I personally believe that this book could be of great value to anyone that is single, dating, or married. I recommend this to teens about 15 or older, as well as parents that want to find ways to explain sexuality to their children in a way that honors the Lord and helps them avoid the pitfalls of our culture. I also recommend it for anyone that read and was moved by Levi’s first book, Through the Eyes of a Lion. Although this book was written on a different topic, I believe that is an excellent companion. Get your copy today!

Women long for intimacy. It’s been that way since the beginning of time. Those of us that do not have that in a physical relationship struggle with how to fulfill these longings in a legitimate way. But most of us don’t even know where to start. We struggle with understanding how our sexuality can even be a part of our lives in a God-honoring way if there we are not married. This can often result in shame and the decision to compartmentalize our sexuality, to the point that we become “sexual atheists,” choosing to shut God out of the bedroom completely. It makes it harder and harder to determine what is and isn’t true, often because we are afraid or even embarrassed to ask the right questions. It makes many young women ask the question, “Can I be sexual, spiritual, and single at the same time?"

In the book study, Sex and the Single Girl, Dr. Juli Slattery guides her readers through 6 weeks that will answers your toughest questions, challenges your perspective, guides you towards healing and freedom, and helps you draw closer to God. Through 5 days of reading and questions for 6 weeks, Juli helps us understand why our sexuality matters, helping to understand the beauty of God’s grand design. She walks us through sexual boundaries, and helps determine where they should fall by creating a biblical grid. We learn to discern the difference between temptation and sin, and Juli gives us tools to stop temptation before it leads us to sin. Then Juli helps us come back to the feet of Jesus, understanding that our sexuality is part of who God created us to be, and no matter what we’ve done with it in the past, it can be reconciled to bring us into a more intimate relationship with Him. This is all done within the context of a study that guides readers through Scripture to support it.

​This book is profound. It answered so many of my questions by directly addressing single women. It helped me see that I can be sexual, spiritual, and single at the same time and still honor God in the process. I would recommend this book to any young woman 18 or older. Get your copy today!

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