Book Review: Raising Worry-Free Girls

From the Back:

You Can Help Your Daughter Overcome Anxiety and Worry
It's surprising to find a girl who doesn't struggle with anxiety and worry--either in short episodes or for longer periods. For a variety of reasons, childhood anxiety rates are soaring, especially among girls. Today's parents need to know what contributes to anxiety and worry and how they can empower their daughters to overcome fears and live more courageously.

In this immensely practical book, veteran counsellor Sissy Goff shares how you can instill bravery and strength in your daughter. Addressing common age-specific issues, Goff gives you the tools to help you and your child understand why her brain is often working against her when she starts to worry and what she can do to fight back. With your help, she will find the anchoring truth of God's strong, safe love for her and the confidence she needs to thrive.

My Reflections:

In a world where girls are taught from an early age to be happy, perfect and that they can have it all its no wonder our girls struggle with the realities they face daily. 
This is a different time than the world we grew up in. Social media has put so much pressure on our children, they are never able to be unavailable to their 2000 plus friends. It's no wonder that statistics show that anxiety and mental health problems are steeply on the rise. However, this doesn't have to be the norm. With tools and support, our children can lead healthy empowered lives. God is good all the time and he never changes. 

This book is a helpful tool that equips parents and their children to reach a more balanced approach to the stressors they encounter in everyday life. Sissy Goff does not write in a way that engages panic in parents, she sets out clear and easy to implement strategies to help navigate the world our children face. Her background is in counselling, this is exemplified throughout the book with a clear well-balanced philosophy. I really enjoyed her multidimensional approach. 

Her book also covers how anxiety can be expressed within different personalities. This was my favourite part of the book it opened my eyes to behaviours I may have misinterpreted in my own children. I also enjoyed the "Help" chapter in section #2 I found such good science-based information, on what happens when our bodies are stressed and how that may manifest later. I also loved that I could share the "tools for her" sections with my girls, this will empower them to be informed and confident about what they are experiencing. 

If you are the parent of a girl or are involved in any aspect of mentoring girls, this book is for you. I am definitely recommending this one to my readers and friends, wish I had this book when I was young! This book applies to all children, the principals are also the same for boys and girls of any age. Thank you, Sissy Goff, for writing this much need book!

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

Sissy Goff MEd, LPC-MHSP

Sissy Goff, MEd, LPC-MHSP, spends most of her days counselling girls and their families, with the help of her assistant/pet therapist, Lucy the Havanese. Since 1993, Sissy has worked as the director of child and adolescent counselling at Daystar...

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Book Review: The Girl Behind the Red Rope

From the Back:

Ten years ago, Grace saw something that would forever change the course of history.
When a terrible scourge is unleashed on the world, she and others from their religious community are already hidden deep in the hills of Tennessee, abiding by every rule that will keep them safe, pure--and alive. As long as they stay there, behind the red rope.

Her older brother's questions and the arrival of the first outsiders she's seen in a decade set in motion events that will cause Grace to question everything she has built her life on. Enemies rise on all sides--but who is the real enemy? And what will it cost her to uncover the truth?

For the first time, bestselling authors Ted Dekker and Rachelle Dekker team up and deliver an intense, tightly focused ride through the most treacherous world of all.


In a world where the boundaries are clear and punishments severe, a young woman risks everything to break free from the system of fear and control to find freedom and love.

My Reflections:

I don't remember if I have ever read a book by Ted Dekker, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I don't think I was quite prepared for this type of novel, I usually steer away from the dystopian type read however I thought why not? 

The cover was inviting and I love a good suspense-filled book. Having had an unfortunate time spent in a cult when I was young I am all too aware of the fear and power these types of individuals use to control their followers. 

I found this book to be interesting, it was a tad predictable but I was less than impressed with the darkness contained within the pages of this book. I am not a pollyanna type, I am aware that we live in a fallen world I don't, however, have to read about it in my spare time.  

The "Girl" Grace is a young newly married woman. She possesses a curious mind and a desire to know truth she often finds herself in great danger as she tests the boundaries of her teachings. However, she has been witness to the darkness that pervades unless she keeps herself pure and follows the rules. These rules are meant to keep not only Grace but the community as a whole safe from the Fury. Sylous (a dark spirit) has appointed Rose as the head leader with her weak and spineless husband. Will Grace blindly follow the teachings she has been taught or will the appearance of a young boy with beautiful eyes and a supernatural draw be her undoing? 

This book lacked sound Biblical backing, more of a new age flair with a splash of Christianity thrown in. This book would not be the first book that I would recommend to my readers. I think it may be an okay choice for adults and older teens who have a good solid foundation in their faith. This and the dark subject matter left me feeling slightly bewildered and frankly a bit disappointed.

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

Ted Dekker

Ted Dekker is the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of more than forty novels, with over 10 million copies sold worldwide. He was born in the jungles of Indonesia to missionary parents, and his upbringing as a stranger in a fascinating...

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Rachelle Dekker

Rachelle Dekker is the Christy Award-winning author of The Choosing, The Calling, and The Returning in the Seer series. The oldest daughter of New York Times bestselling author Ted Dekker, Rachelle was inspired early on to...

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Book Review: Welcome To Adulting Survival Guide, 42 Days to Navigate Life

From The Back:

Real help for navigating the real world
It's wild. One day people finally start treating you like an adult. And it feels good. For a while. Then you run into adult problems, and everyone acts like you should know what to do in any given situation. But what if you don't? What if, when everyone expects you to stand on your own two feet, you're just trying to put one foot in front of the other without tripping?

If adulting has got you stressed, anxious, or even despairing, what you need is sound, biblical advice from someone who's been there. JP Pokluda's got you covered. He's worked with tens of thousands of young adults, and he can tell you which choices lead to success and which ones lead to trouble down the road. With his expert guidance, you'll learn to navigate the many decisions you have to make in life, including building and maintaining strong relationships, achieving career goals, and overcoming anxiety.

You're just six weeks away from a more confident and capable you. The Welcome to Adulting Survival Guide will get you there in one piece.

My Reflections:

If you read my post on the first book by this authour you will remember how much I admired Jonathan Pokluda for his ability to speak truth into a very pivotal point in life, young adulthood. So much is happening at this time that it is no wonder that so many church raised young people fall away from their faith and get lost in the world. 

Pokluda simplifies things down in this book with easy to read devotionals and thought-provoking topics, even I who is well into Adulting found the readings enlightening and engaging! In this devotional, the reading starts with a topic then scripture and then a passage sprinkled with stories and step by step ways on how to navigate the issue. 

A few of the topics include A Day Of Rest, The Warning Signal For Anger, The Antidote for Anxiety, Too Fast or Not to Fast?, Live For Eternity to name just a few of my favourites. 

If you have a young adult it may be wise to leave this somewhere they may pick it up, or depending on your family you could do this together as a mom and son devotional? I'm pretty sure my son won't pick this up on his own, so I'm going to read a few here and there with him to start some great dialogue. 

Since these daily devotionals are short and sweet these will be a breeze to fit into any busy schedule. That being said they pack a punch and keep you pondering well after you have read your daily assignment. Pick up book one "Welcome To Adulting" but remember to get this companion guide, these two books are very different and you wouldn't want just one or the other. Thanks, Jonathan Pokluda, this is precisely what I was looking for in a Young Adult Devotional!

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

Jonathan Pokluda

Jonathan "JP" Pokluda is pastor at Harris Creek in Waco, Texas, and former leader of The Porch, where he saw the ministry grow from 150 to more than 7,000 young adults. The author of the bestselling Welcome to Adulting, Pokluda came to...

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Book Review: 100 Words Of Affirmation Your Husband Needs To Hear

From the Back:

Simple, Loving Words to Encourage Him Every Day
Every one of us has tremendous power to either build others up or tear them down through the words we speak every day, and nowhere is this more evident than in our marriages. Are you being purposeful in how you use the power of your words to speak encouragement, strength, and love--breathing life into the heart of your husband? Or are careless words negatively impacting your marriage and the heart of the one you love most?

Lisa Jacobson wants you to discover the powerful ways you can build up your husband in love with the words you choose to say every day--words every husband needs to hear. This book offers you 100 things to say to your husband that deeply encourage, affirm, and inspire him. Start speaking these words into his life and watch your husband--and your relationship--transform before your eyes.

My Reflections:

Lisa Jacobson's book hits the nail on the head with her book titled "100 words of affirmation your husband needs to hear." There were so many things I enjoyed about this book. I loved that it was small, easily read in bite-sized busy mom pieces. Her format is very clean precise and easy to maneuver. It's not overly wordy or flowery.

I adore my husband and want to show him just how much I do admire and love him. Life is busy and in that bluster, we often take for granted our treasured relationships. Jacobson's 100 words, is filled with her humour and candour. Jacobson reminds us that today is all we really have, let's seize this day to use the most powerful gift God has given us our tongue to uplift and strengthen our marriages. It starts with simple phrases like "I got your back Babe." My family roars at this because we have never used pet names, and that phrase is just so unlike our natural language that the kids think it's hilarious....however I think he secretly loves it! 

If you are looking for ways that you can use simple words to empower your relationships this may just be the book for you. I know I certainly enjoyed implementing these easy to use phrases into our everyday conversations.

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

Lisa Jacobson

Lisa Jacobson is an author, a speaker, and the founder and host of Club31Women.com, a powerful online community of Christian women authors who write weekly on the topics of husband, home, family, and biblical truths--a powerful voice for biblical womanhood...

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Book Review: Beholding and Becoming, The Art Of Everyday Worship

Become What You Behold

You are in the process of becoming. Every day is an opportunity to be shaped and formed by what moves your heart…drives your thoughts…captures your gaze. Is it any wonder that where you direct your eyes and your heart matter in your day-to-day?

We become what we behold when we set our hearts and minds on Christ and His redemption story here in the details of our daily lives. Not just on Sunday, not just on holidays, not just when extraordinarily hard or wonderful things happen…but today.  

Bestselling author and artist Ruth Chou Simons invites you on a new journey to Beholding and Becoming.  With more than 850 pieces of intricate, original artwork, Ruth encourages you to elevate your gaze to the One who created all things.

Today is an opportunity for God to demonstrate His love and His faithfulness in the midst of your mundane. No circumstance is too ordinary or too forgotten for Him to meet you there in worship. His transforming grace turns your “everyday ordinary” into a holy place of becoming.

My Reflections:

This exquisitely crafted book is as inspiring on the inside as it is beautiful on the outside. 

Ruth Chou Simon's newest book points us to the truths God has for us. Her beautiful artwork coupled with meaningful scrip makes this book a delight to read. The quality of this devotional has a luxurious feel, the hardbound outer shell and thick beautifully crafted pages delight the senses, but the real gem of this book is what is contained within the pages themselves. 

Ruth does not softly skim the top she delves deeply into the relevant subject matter like living your ordinary mundane life with purpose and joy. Every act of our lives can be an expression of love and joy. Ruth excels in her ability to draw her reader in with fascinating stories, beautifully penned metaphors and intentional devotions.

If you are looking for a new devotional that is uplifting as much as it is beautiful, look no further. I feel blessed with the opportunity to review Ruth's newest book. I am going to look at purchasing her first book titled Gracelaced. 

Book has been provided courtesy of Harvest House and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

RUTH SIMONS

Ruth Chou Simons is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, entrepreneur, and speaker. She shares her journey of God’s grace intersecting daily life with word and paintbrush through an online shoppe at GraceLaced.com and her Instagram community of more than a hundred thousand. Ruth and her husband, Troy, are grateful parents to...

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