While there are ample books for women on dating, career, marriage, and motherhood, less prevalent are thoughtful writings about the everyday handling of female friendships. Inspired by the highs and lows of a backpacking trip across Europe with four gal pals, Marian Jordan’s The Girlfriends Guidebook charts a winning pathway through “jealousy, competition, control, anger, manipulation, and resentment-just to name a few less than cuddly aspects of our personalities.”

Informed by her faith, Marian encourages deeper friendships built on Christlike honesty and love, emphasizing the development of such qualities as loyalty, trustworthiness, compassion, and forgiveness. Jordan also makes it clear that The Girlfriends Guidebook should be read first with one’s self in mind… recognizing that when we are freed from our own emotional baggage we will really be able to enjoy the journey!

Well hello book written just for me. I mean, have you saw my struggle with friendships over the past few years? Yeah, this girl couldn’t wait to get her hands on this book!

As I started reading this book, I found myself saying “aahh, me too…me too” over and over again.  In this book are three key points super important to friendships.  First, as women, we need to make sure we allow God to fill our emotional needs. We can’t seek our boyfriend or spouse or other friends to fill that emotional need. Secondly, we need to realize our own sin nature has an adverse affect on promoting godly relationships. Our pride, envy and jealousy can get in the way and create such baggage that when left to grow will only destroy our friendships. Finally we need to understand and practice the characteristics of godly friendships.  

One certain bit of advice stuck with me…to have a friend, be a friend.  I will be the first to admit, once my feelings are hurt I immediately build a wall.  And I make you work mighty hard to get that wall broken down.  I know that’s wrong…I know I know I know…yet it still happens.  I know if I hurt a friends feelings, I would want them to extend grace to me.  So who am I not to extend that same grace back?

The book tells us to let go of emotional baggage to be a good friend. It is a great check up for the health of your current friendships. I highly recommend this book to any mom wanting to improve her friendships and to teach her daughters about godly friendships. I recommend this to any ministry leader wanting to teach a series on godly friendships or to do a weekend or week long retreat. This book will be an invaluable resource for this generation of women!
B and H Publishing Group provided this book to me for free in exchange for this honest review.

About the book:

Sex isn’t everything that the world makes it out to be. It’s more. 

This is a book about sex, for those who think about it. And if we’re honest, that’s everyone. Sex dominates our popular culture to a degree we’ve never seen before. Our world tells us that our sexuality is ours to do with as we please. Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase YOLO – You Only Live Once! We’re meant to believe that since we only have one life, we should do whatever it is that we want with that life. But if we only have one of something, shouldn’t that mean that we treat it with care and use it as it was designed to be used? God tells us that our sexuality is valuable and needs to be treated as such. The unrestricted sex of our culture is only a shortcut to personal fulfillment and, sadly, a cheapened imitation of the real thing. 

Pastor Tony Evans refuses to let the voice of God be drowned out amidst the clamor of the crowd. Crafting an argument that draws on everything from the basic science of hormones to the original Hebrew language used in the Bible to describe sex, you will discover why your sexuality is so important and why misusing it can be devastating. 

Whether you are single or married, discover how to enjoy true intimacy – the real fulfillment and satisfaction that God intended.

Another sex book up for review? Yes mam, you read that right. God created sex for husbands and wives to enjoy together beautifully. Y’all, He created it for us to enjoy, not be ashamed of!

Sex is hot topic today, am I right or am I right? I mean, every single place you look you see sex. I’m fairly sure “sex sells” is now even used in the marketing of candy bars and liquid plumber. Our culture has basically turned sex into a god. But in the Bible y’all, sex isn’t dirty, shameful or a necessary evil. Sex is a beautiful gift meant to be enjoyed between a married man and woman.

The book is broken into three chapters; Sex as God Intended, The Value of Sexual Purity and Keeping Sex Sacred. The first chapter explains how sexual intimacy involved far more than two bodies experiencing contact. He explains that yada in Hebrew is the main verb that describes the first moment of sexual intimacy in scripture. The second chapter is about sexual purity and the importance of it. The third and final chapter is when Evans gets practical and speaks directly to husbands and wives. Sex, again, is more than an act. Thus men ought to continue to date their wives, love their wives, meet her emotional needs, and then reap the rewards. This always means for women to serve their husbands. Love goes both ways.

While this was a helpful book, I’ve read better on the subject. I guess I prefer books that are to the point and in plain terms.

I was given this book by Moody Publishers for the purpose of this review.

You are beautiful. You are valuable. You are enough.

In a book based on her run-away blog post “Ten Things I Want to Tell Teenage Girls,” which garnered more than 2 million views in two weeks, Kate Conner calls us to action in Enough. We all have teenage girls in our lives who we love, whether it’s a sister, friend, or daughter. Kate has identified 10 things these girls need to hear today from someone who loves her.

Peppered with wit and laced with grace, Kate’s list tackles relevant issues like Facebook, emotions, drama, tanning beds, modesty, and flirtation. Woven into each chapter is a powerful message of worth that transcends age, and will touch the souls of women, young and old alike: You are beautiful. You are valuable. You are enough.

A former youth-worker, wife to a college minister, and a young mom in her twenties, Conner stands squarely in generational gap, the perfect place from which to bridge it. Conner offers herself as a translator, helping you to speak your teenager’s language and equipping you with a fresh perspective from which to engage your teenage girl—one that may enable her to truly hear your heart (and your wisdom) for the first time since puberty.

I was so so super excited to get this book.  If there is one thing I’m an advocate of, it’s letting our girls know they are enough.  To have them shut out the voice of the world and listen to the only voice that matters.

I took this book along with us on vacation, hoping to have it read by the time we returned.  The first night we were there, I took it out on the porch with us.  I got comfortable and ready for a good night of reading.

The first few pages I totally agreed with but then I came across a paragraph that made me stop.  Did I misread it?  I read it again.  Nope, that’s what it said.  I though about it and read it again.  I had Joe read it.  I just couldn’t get past that one statement.  It might be me overreacting.  It might have just struck a nerve with me that it wouldn’t strike with anyone else.  This is what it said:

Men like to look at women.  Even married men.  Even happily married men.  Even good, kind, respectful, stand-up men.  Even Christian men.  Men are hardwired to enjoy women.

While I do agree with that statement, for some reason I found that offensive.  To me, it made it sound like happily married Christian men like to look at “women” and it’s okay because they are hardwired that way.  As in everything, we each have our own opinion.  Wanting to give the author the benefit of doubt, I continued to read it.  And boy, am I thankful I did.  Had I stopped there, I would have missed so so so many good points.  Some that I’ve even blogged or wrote on FB about myself!

She goes on to touch on 10 subjects we should tell our teen girls…

1. If you choose to wear shirts that show off your boobs, you will attract boys.

2. Don’t go to a tanning bed {this one I’m not so sure of, this Mama loves to tan}

3. When you talk about your friends “anonymously” on Facebook, we know exactly who you’re talking about. 

4. Newsflash: the number of times you say “I hate drama” is a pretty good indicator of how much you love drama.

5. “Follow your heart” is probably the worst advice ever. 

6. Never let a man make you feel weak or inferior because you are an emotional being.

7. Smoking is not cool.

8. Stop saying things like, “I don’t care what anyone thinks about me.”

9. Don’t play coy or stupid or helpless to get attention.

10. You are beautiful. You are enough.

I know, right?!?  Those are some amazingly honest and TRUE points our girls need to realize and remember.  What I eventually realized is Kate is just honest and forward, not holding anything back {like another girl I know}.  Had I of judged this book by that little quip that I didn’t like, I would have missed out on a great book.  So I guess the old adage don’t judge a book by a yucky paragraph is true.    

B & H Publishing Group provided this book to me for free in exchange for this honest review.