Friday, August 05, 2016

Girl Defined

Girl Defined

I love books that don't try to put women into a box, that allow them to be the women God has created them to be, and that give them the tools to walk in that role with confidence!
I deeply appreciated that the authors didn't try to dictate that women need be a certain way (too many books expect that every woman's goal should be to become the proverbs 31 woman when some are called to be our Deborah's or Priscilla's!) but gave them the freedom to walk in the specific plan that God has designed for them!
I am going to be recommending this book to our youth group girls, they're so inundated with society's version of perfection and beauty that books like this are invaluable. I appreciate that Kristen Clark and Bethany Baird spiritually set out in this book where women's real value comes from and what real beauty looks like. This is one of the few books on "Biblical" womenhood that I can fully get behind, that has a great message of what it means to be a woman of God.
I highly recommend this book!! Wonderful!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

Sea Rose Lane

Cover Art

Irene Hannon is another author who I've enjoyed reading many times, and as always her books are emotional, thought provoking, entertaining, and an enjoyment to read. I appreciate the thought she puts into her characters, after a while they stop feeling like characters in a book and begin to feel more like friends and family. I love reading her books, I can absolutely lose myself in their pages (to the point that I forget the time, there were many nights where I accidentally read until 1am, this book was that good!)
I especially love that she's put out another book based in Hope Harbor, I loved the initial book of Hope Harbor so to read in that setting again was like visiting a beloved place!
We get to know in this book the characters Eric and BJ, one who's an attorney looking for some quiet and peace to get over a big disappointment and the other the one invading his quiet retreat and transforming it into a B&B.
I adored the quirkiness of the characters in this book, there wasn't this deep fall in love moment with them, but a gradual understanding and acceptance of each other. The dialog was quiet witty and I very much enjoyed their banter. This book was an enjoyment to read, and I would highly recommended it!!
"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

Delilah

Finding God in the Hard Times

I have a serious love for these books by Angela Hunt, where she gives a new perspective on women in the Bible who are given a bad rap based on a few sentences and without backstories. While this book is a fiction novel based on a real Biblical story, it does deepen the understanding of the reader!  I love that Hunt took us to a place where we could understand that there were possibilities as to why Delilah did what she did. People don't always look at or think about the back story of the biblical "villains" so I really appreciated Angela Hunt giving us a chance to think about this stuff and to offer the grace that life isn't always so cut and dry.
My heart ached for the story Hunt created for Delilah, and really gave me pause, we forget that in those times women were very poorly treated and thought of, the acts of her stepbrother and the treatment of those around her opened my eyes to realize that there is much about the Bible characters that we don't know.
This is the third book by Angela Hunt that I've had the privilege of reading, and as always it was absolutely fantastic!
I highly recommend this book!!

 "Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."