Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

The Passion Principles {Book Review}

The Passion Principles
Celebrating Sexual Freedom in Marriage
By Shannon Ethridge
About the book:

Move beyond the mechanics of sex to a rich and rewarding connection! 

God’s desire is for couples to enjoy vibrant sexual relationships without inhibition, awkwardness, fear, resentment, guilt, or shame. With honesty and frankness, life coach and best-selling author Shannon Ethridge opens the minds of both husbands and wives to embrace a lifestyle of passion and pleasure. 

Divided into four sections, The Passion Principles helps couples celebrate the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical dimensions of sexuality. Questions include: 

  • What was God thinking when He created sex?
  • Why do humans think about sex so much?
  • Will there be sex in heaven?
  • How did we get such different ideas about sex and love?
  • How can I get past his or her sexual past?
  • How can I help my spouse heal from the sexual abuses he or she suffered?
  • What if my heart is telling me I married the wrong person?
  • How can we balance mismatched sex drives?

Some chapters end with questions for personal contemplation or for couples to use as conversation starters, and other chapters end with prayers that foster a deeper spiritual and emotional connection, making this book a perfect guide to a more passionate love life.

Why yes, you did read that right.  A sex book review up in here, woo!  Before you start blushing, remember God created sex for husbands and wives to enjoy together.  And that, my dear sisters, isn’t shameful at all!!!

Shannon is a million-copy best-selling author, international speaker, and certified life coach with a master’s degree in counseling/human relations from Liberty University. Her passion for healthy sexuality actually began in Mortuary College. Her first career choice, becoming a mortician, led Ethridge to work on dead bodies. Many she embalmed were young people who had died from AIDS or committed suicide as a result of an HIV positive diagnosis. Because of her own promiscuous teenage years, she knew it was a miracle that she was standing over the embalming table rather than laying on top of it.

What I liked the most about this book is that Shannon holds nothing back, much like myself.  She doesn’t dance around a subject, skip the hard stuff or give a candy-coated answer. I could totally relate to this book from front to back. The questions on this book are questions we have all had at one time or another and Shannon answers are based on Biblical truth, what other kind if truth is there?

There are a few things the world (and the enemy) want to see fail. Christianity and marriage rank among the top of that list. And when you put them together, a Christian marriage, you get hit that much harder. The enemy wants to keep sex and intimacy in marriage in the dark so their continues to be disillusionment. Thankfully Shannon wrote a book that is full of grace, freedom and encouragement that matches with God’s plan for sex in marriage!

My favorite question that she answers…will there be sex in Heaven?  What?  The thoughts of that never even entered my mind, ever.  So I was totally intrigued!
This book is an amazing read for engaged couples right up to couples married for 30 years. If you want to read an honest book of what is right or wrong, or normal or not when it comes to sex with your spouse you should consider grabbing a copy. It will open your eyes in a brand new way.

This book was provided to me free of charge by Book Look in return for my honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The Dude’s Guide to Manhood {Book Review}

The Dude’s Guide to Manhood
Finding True Manliness in a World of Counterfeits
By Darrin Patrick
About the book:

Discover the path to true masculinity—to an adventurous life of strength, purpose, and clarity.

Didn’t we used to understand manhood? Wasn’t there a time once when it was clear and straightforward? Are we lost?

Dudes, look around you: The trail we once traveled from boyhood to maturity is now so overgrown, it’s almost impossible to trace. Our vision is blurred, rendering the map that previous generations followed unreadable. Our compass needles are spinning in circles, making navigation impossible. We are stuck in dense, dangerous woods, and our communities—the wives, children, friends, and colleagues we could be influencing—are suffering as a result.

It can be tempting to give up and, like so many men today, simply exist, but take heart: Now is not the time for men to abandon our quest. We can discover the path to true masculinity—to an adventurous life of strength, purpose, and clarity.

In The Dude’s Guide to Manhood, pastor, author and dude Darrin Patrick charts a course back toward real manliness, mapping out a vision to help men find significance and influence in today’s broken, mixed-message culture. Revealing his own frailties and missteps, Patrick doesn’t preach at you but walks with you on a journey toward healing and wholeness.

Filled with timeless wisdom, accessible insights and practical guidance, The Dude’s Guide to Manhood issues an encouraging and doable call to all men, whatever your age or stage. We need not settle for wandering aimlessly through our days, wounded, weak, and passive. Instead, we can get back on the trail, embrace our gifts while facing our imperfections, and trust the God of new beginnings to lead us into all that we are destined to become: forgiven, connected, determined, teachable, content, heroic, and so much more.

When I saw this book available, I had an inkling that my husband might like it.  And, well, the beard on the cover drew me in.  I called my husband in the room and had him read over the description, he agreed it sounded like a good read.  What really convinced us was when we watched the video on it.  Once you watch the video below, you’ll understand why.

What do you say when the book you start to read sounds like someone wrote it about you? That is what this book was in the first four pages! From the young years of life to now. Men today feel that we have it all under control, when in sense, when we try to do it alone, it’s a no go. Darrin Patrick it’s the nail right on the head in this! From ones self, to the wife and kids, and even work, he shows how to help and guide each other in Gods word. A must read for every man


And with that, I ordered the book.  My husband couldn’t wait for me to receive it so he could start reading it straight away.  Here is his review…

What do you say when the book you start to read sounds like someone wrote it about you? That is what this book was in the first four pages! From the young years of life to now. Men today feel that we have it all under control.  When actually, when we try to do it alone it’s a no go. Darrin Patrick hit’s the nail right on the head in this! From ones self, to the wife and kids, and even work.  He shows us how to help and guide each other in Gods word. A must read for every man!

An amazing quote from the book…Sadly, most men quit. We tend to channel our drive and energy away from overcoming our weaknesses–and toward whatever makes us feel better. Men hit the eject button and hide in juvenile behavior such as video games, pornography, sports leagues, or substance abuse.

This book was provided to me free of charge by Book Look in return for my honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Balancing It All {Book Review}

Balancing It All
By Candace Cameron Bure

About the book:

“How do you do it all?” 

That’s the question that wife, mom, actress, and best-selling author Candace Cameron Bure is often asked. And it’s a question that women everywhere are asking themselves as we seek to balance all of our roles, responsibilities, and opportunities. 

So, how do we do it? Working since the age of 5, Candace has been in a balancing act for nearly her entire life. She is the first to tell you that there is no miracle formula for perfect execution in every area of your life, but there definitely are some lessons to be learned, lessons that come to life in Candace’s story. 

Come along and dig into Candace’s story from her start in commercials, the balance-necessitating years on Full House, to adding on the roles of wife and mom while also returning to Hollywood. Insightful, funny, and poignant, Candace’s story will help you balance it all.

As many of us did, I grew up watching Full House as a little girl and loved Candace Cameron’s funny character, DJ!  In fact, we still watch Full House reruns in this household and it’s one of my littles favorite shows.  And what girl didn’t have a crush on Kirk Cameron?  I may or may not have had a huge poster of him on my bedroom wall that I ripped out of a magazine.

I looked up to them as a teenager and was so happy to reconnect with them as an adult. Their unwavering Christian values are something I look up to. It’s an inspiration to see celebrities be open about their faith and have an influence on so many hearts.
Once I started reading the book, the little glimpses into her childhood, not only at home but also on the set of Full House, really drew me in.  This was one of those books that was difficult to put down!

In her book, Candace shares her tips as well as what she does every day to put God first and balance out her day to day life…she isn’t perfect but she is trying and she shares very openly and candidly which is refreshing for me as well.

There were so many times I was nodding my head in agreement as I read.  And then there were times when I was challenged and had a few ouchie moments when I read something I obviously need to work on.  It was so easy for me to connect with her personally because of all these things.

She lives her life by these priorities…God and faith, then family then work. Oh, how we could learn from that. Throughout this book the reality is woven that you can be a successful woman while still being an incredible wife and mother. While balancing isn’t always easy, it is possible as long as your priorities are set right.

I absolutely love reading and hearing about other women who are strong in their faith and also strong role models for other women. It’s amazing to have women to look up to as wives, mothers and in business.


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