​I have been looking forward to the release of this book ever since I first heard that one of my favorite YouTubers was planning on writing a book with his wife. Since I was on the launch team for Jeff’s last book, It’s Not What You Think and I met Jeff on that book tour, I knew it was a book I didn’t want to miss. And sure enough, I was right. It’s a book with the facts that everyone should know about love and marriage, regardless of your relationship status. It’s a book that came at a time when I needed a refresher about God’s incredible design and intention behind marriage and relationships in general. But this is also a book that brings my journey as a blogger and a book reviewer full circle. I When I reviewed It’s Not What You Think, it was my only my second book review. But since then, thanks to a lot of positive feedback from several people (including Jeff himself!), I have found a passion for reviewing books, mostly books on Christian living. This review is my 19th book review in almost 4 years, which is insane. My desire to do more with book reviews started with It’s Not What You Think. It’s been incredible to see where God has taken a simple interest of wanting to be involved in book launches and has turned it into a way to serve and minster to others online. In light of all this, it’s my pleasure to give this book my highest recommendation to anyone, single, dating, or married, over the age of 16. If you want to know more about it, just ask ~ Bethel

Love is hard. It takes effort, intentionality, self-denial, humility, vulnerability, and many other things that our culture has convinced us is unnecessary or makes us weak. So instead, we revert to the culture’s distorted views of sex and romance, and we unknowingly buy into the lie that we will find lasting love and fulfillment using their methods. They also imply that you will never find fulfillment unless you have your “happily ever after.” However, there is even more unhappiness, un-fulfillment, divorce, and brokenness in relationships and marriages than ever before. And this brokenness is creeping into the hearts and minds of men and women who have never even been in a relationship. All because we have given into the lie that we will never be happy without it. It makes us as the question: Is it possible to find a love that lasts in our world today?

In the latest book by YouTuber and author Jefferson Bethke and his wife Alyssa, Love that Love offers hope that we can find a love that lasts in our world today by sharing their own personal romantic journeys. As they take turns authoring chapters titled after popular songs, they share the highs and lows that led them to each other and that inevitably led them to marriage and a family.  As you join them on this incredible journey, they help us see the problems with our culture’s broken and distorted view of love and helps us replace it with one that is full of life, hope, and endurance. They cover so much in the pages of this book, from recognizing unhealthy relationships and bad self-esteem, to seasons of singleness, to healing from breakups, to the beauty of sex in the covenant of marriage. Although this young couple has only been married for 5 years, they speak with a wisdom beyond their years and their experience, as they reflect much of the counsel and wisdom bestowed upon them by those who are older and wiser than them. What results in a radically transforming view of love and romance that could change our culture, if we choose to embrace it.

​This is exactly the book my generation needs, regardless of their relationship status. As a single woman who has never been in a relationship, I found this book to be powerful, useful, and exactly the insight I need to give me a necessary foundation to build my sexual theology. This book, as well as workbooks and a video curriculum, are available today! Get your copy now!

Hope is sometimes hard to find. Life throws many obstacles at us, in different shapes and sizes. Death, sickness, divorce, betrayal, and the list could on. They all threaten to steal our hope, if we let them. But avoiding them is nearly impossible. Brokenness is not just in our lives, but it's always all around us. We see it in our family, our friends, our neighbors, and even in the lives of strangers. We become so easily discouraged and defeated by our own brokenness and the brokenness of those around us, we don’t know how to put ourselves, or those we love, back together. It makes us ask the questions: where can I find hope when everything seem to say there is none? Can I really take the chance?

​In the newest book by the New York Times bestselling author, Daring to Hope takes us through a portion of Katie Majors’ personal journey to illustrate that daring to hope is worth the risk. After starting a nonprofit ministry in Uganda, beginning to adopt 14 Ugandan girls without a home, and deciding to permanently reside in Uganda, Katie went through some difficult trials. Starting when one of her daughters was claimed by her biological mother, Katie found herself in many situations for ministry that where physically and emotionally exhausting. Despite having 13 daughters, she continually opened up her home and her guest house to those that needed extra attention and care that the local hospital could not provide. Katie sometimes had 8 or more house guests, most of them with medical needs, on top of caring for her girls. Some of these people, despite the love and care Katie worked so hard to provide, did not get well, leaving Katie crying out to God for hope and peace. But through it all, Katie learned that even when we go through the dry and weary land, God can use it for His glory, making beauty out of the ashes of our brokenness. After several years of helping many out of her own home, God surprised her with unexpected gifts to prove His faithfulness, and creating a beautiful mosaic for His glory. To find out how, you will need to read it for yourself!

​Katie’s honesty and vulnerability are evident on every page of this book. Her ability to go above and beyond in service and in love is inspiring. And her hunger for the Lord, especially during her seasons of trial, is unforgettable. All of it points back to a God that is with us in our mess, giving us a reason to hope. If you have read Kisses from Katie or are going through a difficult season of your life, this is a book you need to read. Get your copy today! See the link below!