​When I attended Ozark Christian College, I had to take a lot of Bible classes. Some of my classes were incredibly memorable and some were much less memorable. One of the classes that I remember most clearly was Hebrews with Chad Ragsdale. While I had memorized Hebrews 11 in the eighth grade, I had otherwise not paid much attention to Hebrews before then. However, this class changed all that. I began to see how this book helps modern Christians see some incredible connections between the Old and New Testament and teaches many relevant lessons on faith, trust, endurance, and community. So when I heard that he had published a book about Hebrews, I was excited to read it. It reminded me of some of the illustrations and applications we discussed in class and how they still apply to our lives today. It’s definitely worth the read ~ Bethel

​In his book Holy Grit, Chad Ragsdale walks through the practical application of the book of Hebrews chapter by chapter to help his readers discover how to develop a faith that lasts. Instead of approaching the text as a commentary, this book focuses largely on making sense of confusing concepts and how the truths from the book of Hebrews apply to our lives today. We discover how the original audience was also struggling with their faith when things got difficult and even with moving forward in their spiritual maturity, which are struggles Christians still face today. While some of the Old Testament references are considered to be confusing by many, this book helps clarify much of the confusion surrounding these metaphors and how the elements of the old covenant made way for the new. Throughout all of this, we see how we can cultivate a faithful resilience, which Ragsdale calls “holy grit”, which will allow us to stand firm and hold fast to faith and hope when life becomes difficult or uncertain. As it does in the book of Hebrews itself, each chapter of Holy Grit builds on the hope and endurance it gives its audience to live out faithful resilience, both individually and in the context of community with each other. With personal stories throughout and discussion guides at the end of each chapter, this book is a great resource of knowledge and wisdom from one of the New Testament's most mysterious books. This is one I highly recommend.

​I was excited to hear that Dannah Gresh was going to be releasing another True Girl Bible Study. But when I found out that it was going to be about Mary’s faithfulness, I was all the more interested in reading it. When I finally did, I was not disappointed. This Bible study is an incredible resource for tween girls as they learn how to study God’s word and what it means to live in faithfulness to God. This is one I highly recommend for tween girls, their moms, or their youth leaders ~ Bethel

Faithfulness is a virtue that we struggle to find in our culture today. While we want to have it in our lives and relationships, we struggle to find it and often struggle even more with practicing it. We want to trust and be trusted, but we also want to do things our own way or have felt the string of betrayal or rejection, which makes us unable to trust others fully. This is especially true when it comes to pre-teen girls. It makes them ask the question: how can I live a life of faithfulness?

In her tween girl Bible study Mary: Becoming a Girl of Faithfulness, author Dannah Gresh teaches girls how to live a life of faithfulness by looking to the example of Mary, mother of Jesus. Through this 6 week study on the story of Mary, girls learn how faithfulness begins with trusting God’s plan, no matter what happens. Through all the difficulties, uncertainties, and even pain Mary experienced, she trusted God and obeyed what he asked her to do. Even in the moments when her life was ordinary, she continued to trust God, which allowed her to rely on Him when difficult times came her way. This knowledge is what gave her the ability to worship when things were uncertain and believe that God could provide when natural resources had been exhausted. And it was by this incredible faithfulness to Him that God used Mary to fulfill his plan to save us from our sins through His son, Jesus. All these powerful truths and more are shared in the context of a Bible study that is geared to tween girls (between 7-12 years old).
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Including fill-in-the-blanks, places to highlight Scripture, and interactive puzzles and prompts, this book will be engaging and impactful to any tween girl that reads it. It would also be a great resource for the moms of tween girls or youth leaders looking for a Bible study for this unique age group. Get your copy today! 

* I received an copy of this book from the author's ministry for the purpose of this review