​When I saw an Operation Christmas Child display at a youth conference a few years ago, I was reminded of the time when I packed a shoebox with a Sunday School class as a kid. However, I hadn’t thought about the ministry in many years. The presentation at this conference peeked my interest, so I decided to look into their ministry more. This led to my journey of being a project leader and processing center volunteer. Even in the short time I’ve been involved in the work of this ministry, I have blessed by the ability to serve children around the world and provide them with an opportunity to hear the gospel, as well as the people that I have gotten to meet and work with through the work of Operation Christmas Child and Samaritan’s Purse. I even discovered while reading this book that there was a student who attended Ozark Christian College at the same time I did who was a shoebox recipient. I am so grateful to be a part of this ministry and for the opportunity to learn more about it through this book ~ Bethel

In his book Operation Christmas Child, Franklin Graham shares the story about how a simple idea of packing gifts into shoeboxes became a ministry that has given 100 million children a chance to hear the gospel in 20 years*. Through a collection of short stories, you learn more about the project’s humble beginnings, when Graham offered to help assemble shoebox gifts for children in the war-torn country of Bosnia for Christmas 1993. Forgetting until right before Thanksgiving, Graham and others scrambled to get some shoebox gifts together and through God’s help were able to get 12,000 shoeboxes in about two weeks with only two contributing churches. Those who had the opportunity to go distribute the boxes saw God’s hand of which child received which gifts and had many children and their families come to know Christ through these efforts. With the success of the first collection, Samaritan’s Purse formed Operation Christmas Child as a project under their ministry and started figuring out how collect more boxes. As Graham shares the stories of shoebox packers and shoebox recipients, employees and volunteers, distribution trips and adoptions, you will gain a glimpse into part of what God has done through this ministry and will probably be inspired to get involved if you aren’t already. This book is a must read for anyone who is involved with Operation Christmas Child or wants to learn more about the ministry. Get your copy today!**
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Learn more about the work of Operation Christmas Child by visiting: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child

​In her book What Are You Waiting For, author Dannah Gresh addresses many of the difficult questions that teen girls and young adults have about sexuality, including the most significant question: Why should we wait until we are married to have sex? This question is addressed by exploring the meaning of the word that the Old Testament uses to talk about sex – yada. This word describes a deep and intimate knowing that not only is used to a married couple having sex, but also the deep knowing and trust that God wants to have with us. Seeing sexuality through this lens helps us to see God’s plan in a new light and illustrates the problem with doing things our own way. She then dives deep into the questions that many want answers to but most are afraid to ask when it comes to what is appropriate with our sexuality and how to repent and start over if you recognize that you have fallen short of God’s plan for your sexuality. It goes deeper and is intentional about addressing many girls’ questions about sexuality while remaining grounded in Scripture. It even gives biblical guidelines for qualities you can look for in a man who honors Him. 

However, this book does have a few minor problems. This book was released toward the end of the purity movement and it does share a few of the same problems as many of the books that were part of that movement. In Dannah’s attempts to be honest and blunt, her wording and methods for resolution have the potential to cause guilt or shame for anyone who has struggled with sexual sin. Even the title indicates that you should be a virgin when you get married, which was one of the purity movement’s most faulty goals. As she has done in several of her books, she defines sin as “to miss the mark” and uses an archer’s target to illustrate that anything that doesn’t hit the bullseye on the target is sin. While I agree with the premise of this definition, it can come across as legalistic when you start pairing it with man-made methods of how to walk away from sin, which can lead to guilt and shame. As Christians, we have to be careful about the way that we define sin and make sure that we carefully explain God’s ability to redeem our sins for His glory so they can feel free to come into the light.
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Secondly, this book encourages young women to find a godly older woman to confess their sins to and hold them accountable so that they can overcome their sins. This method was a common remedy of the purity movement and is largely based on common misconceptions about confessing our sins to others as it’s encouraged in James 5:16. That verses says that we should confess to one another and pray for each other, not to confess and then rely on them to help you get out of your sin. In my opinion, seeking an accountability mentor should not be a catch-all solution to overcoming sin, especially sexual sin.

Please understand that I am not saying that younger women shouldn’t learn and be taught by older godly women. Titus 2 encourages older women to teach younger women and I am not trying to discredit that. I also understand that when sin becomes any sort of addiction, a person probably will need outside help to overcome it, such as programs, support groups, or counseling. What I’m trying to communicate is that the Bible doesn’t talk about mentorship the way it is described in most Christian circles today (when a younger and older person meet for coffee once a week while the mentor does a colonoscopy on the young person’s personal life). Asking another sinner to hold you accountable in many cases diminishes the power of self-discipline (or self-control) God had already given to each one of us (2 Timothy 1:7). If you want to stop any sin, you have to be fully convinced in your own mind that it is a sin that you want to leave behind and never return. Once you have determined to walk away from your sins, then you can confess your sins to someone you trust, not to tattle tale on yourself out of guilt, but to give you other Christians in your corner praying with you through the battle.
Lastly, there were some assumptions made about a few of the specific sins addressed that were clearly assumptions that could not have been backed by readers, especially in Chapter 10 (which I am avoiding mentioning by name for the sake of younger readers).

Aside from these issues, this is a good book that could be a good tool for helping teen girls and young adults develop a biblically grounded view of sexuality. If this appeals to you, it’s worth checking out.

​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.

​This was a book that I needed. Like many of us, I struggle with finding peace when circumstances are not ideal or things don’t go according to plan. I was considering a few different books on peace or anxiety and landed on this one. This book ended being exactly what I needed and more. It connected the dots between many subjects and many obstacles to finding peace in a way that I had never considered. It revealed that the true key is to choose contentment in all the areas of our lives and surrender our uncertainties to Him. If you are a woman who struggles with anxiety, fear, or discontentment, then this is the book for you ~ Bethel

Contentment is something that Christian women want but often struggle to find. We know Paul’s declaration that he found contentment by doing all things in Christ’s strength, but wonder how that is even achievable. We tend to get caught up in the disappointments and fears that result when life doesn’t go the way we planned it. Uncertainty fills our hearts and gives way to other struggles, such as discontentment, grumpiness, bitterness, and even anxiety. We wonder if we will ever find our peace. It makes us ask the question: How do I find contentment in all circumstances?

​In her book Calm My Anxious Heart, author Linda Dillow walks women through the biblical and practical tools they need to find contentment and overcome struggles with anxiety. She acknowledges that every woman deals with worries and “what-ifs” that threaten to still our joy and contentment. However, when we learn how to see our difficulties through the lens of trusting God with what He’s given you, it allows you to find peace in situations you never thought possible. You will discover the areas of your life that may be holding you back from contentment, such as body-image, self-image, bitterness, and even the questions “what-if”, “if only” and “why”. It’s when we get these areas in order when we learn to lay our burdens at the foot of the cross and be content with who we are and what we have.

I only have one minor criticism of this book. She frequently uses the phrase “Blessed Controller” to talk how we should trust that God is in control of our circumstances. While I understand what she was trying to communicate, I am not fond of this description of God. I think it can be misinterpreted to imply that God somehow takes away our free will when we surrender to Him, which is not the way He works. I wish she had chosen a different phrase to help us grasp God’s sovereignty and how our choice to trust Him completely can help us find contentment.

Linda speaks with strength and wisdom to the heart of every woman’s struggles with finding peace and contentment. With many Scriptures to study, stories to inspire, and a study guide to help you dig deeper, this book is a great Bible study for any woman who struggles with discontentment or anxiety. Aside from these issues, this is a book that I highly recommend.

To read my review of Linda Dillow and Juli Slattery's book, Surprised by the Healer, click here

​I was excited to hear that Jackie had released another book. While it took me quite a while to get around to reading it, it was a book worth the wait. Not only does this book make the author’s transformation through Christ all the more evident, but also demonstrates an incredible ability to make difficult theological concepts accessible. This is a book I would recommend ~ Bethel

Holiness is a concept that many Christians struggle to understand. While it’s something that the Bible speaks about often, we struggle to see its relevance to our lives because we struggle with our sinful nature. However, it doesn’t take one long while reading God’s Word to realize that God is holy. With our struggle to understand holiness, it makes us harder to understand God or even know how to trust Him. It makes us ask the question: how can we trust God when we have been hurt by those around us?

​In her book Holier than Thou, bestselling author Jackie Hill Perry helps her readers understand that if they truly understand that God is holy, we can trust Him, and the reason why many of us don’t trust Him is because of our misunderstandings about His holiness. We are reminded that our struggle to understand holiness comes from our sin and the sin of those around us. These affect our ability to accept that God is holy, morally perfect, and transcendent, since we often project our experiences onto Him. Understanding this allows us to see God through new eyes and put aside many of our barriers to trusting Him fully. It also allows us to see ourselves as sinners that can only achieve personal holiness through the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Walking through many different Scriptures and relying on the insights from many theologians, Perry walks through holiness in a way that is accessible to the average reader and with wisdom beyond her years. If you want to understand holiness in a whole new way, this book is definitely worth reading.

​To check my review of Jackie's first book, Gay Girl, Good God, click here