​When I heard that Kristen and Bethany of Girl Defined Ministries were planning to release another book about biblical womanhood, I was quite excited. It had been a few years since their last book was released and I was looking forward to reading another book from them. But I was pleasantly surprised when they reached out to me last year to ask me to read and give them notes on the first draft of Made to Be She. I was honored that they asked me to help and trusted me to give them honest feedback on everything from the flow of the content to the theology of their teachings (which says a lot about their desire to get this book right that they would ask for honest feedback from myself as well as several other people). When I read the draft, I knew that even in this unfinished form, this book was incredible and had the potential to be their best book yet. Now that I’ve read the finalized book, I believe that it is their best work, and I am excited to see the impact it will have on the next generation of Christian women that read it. I was quite blessed to be a part of it, even in a small way. ~ Bethel
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PS – If you do purchase the book, you can find my name in the acknowledgments 😊

In their book Made to Be She, authors Kristen Clark and Bethany Beal dive deep into what it means to be created as a woman in the image of God. They start by addressing the ways in which our views of womanhood have gone wrong, explaining that there are not only pitfalls to believing in feminist womanhood to give you a satisfying identity, but also in religious womanhood that tends to rely on personal works and legalism rather than God’s grace and redemption. Both of these ditches (feminist womanhood and religious womanhood) are examined carefully through the movements that influenced their current state while helping readers see that the only way to find a fulfillment in your identity as a woman is to rely on the truth God reveals about your design through His Word, providing guidance on how to improve your biblical literacy and diving deep into six core traits that God designed into males and females respectively. The fallout of many difference aspects of feminist womanhood are explored, including transgender ideology, the birth control pill, and the normalizing of choosing a career over motherhood. Through it all, you are encouraged to find hope and confidence by reclaiming God’s timeless design so that you can live out fearless femininity.

​This book is full of wisdom and inspiration for women of all ages. Kristen and Bethany tackle some difficult topics with clarity and bring biblical truths to areas that are often hidden beneath ideas that rely on feelings and human reasoning. They are honest about the aspects of womanhood and their faith that they got wrong so they can help others get it right. No matter where your views of womanhood are, you will hopefully find a fresh and must-needed perspective that will ground your identity in the truth of God’s Word. It’s a must-read for women who desire to find their identity as a redeemed daughter of the King of Kings. Get your copy today!

​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.

Change. Disappointment. Rejection. Worry. All of us have experienced these detours from the narratives we had planned for our lives. No matter how well we plan things out or how good our intentions may be, life is bound to throw us some curveballs. Knowing how to navigate these changes is hard and often painful, especially when we are dealing with major life changes. We want to believe that God is good, but it can be hard to understand His plan or feel His presence when we feel the rug ripped out from under us again and again. It makes us ask the question: How can I learn to fully trust God when life doesn’t go the way I expected?

In their book Not Part of the Plan, authors Kristen Clark and Bethany Beal dive deep into helping their readers navigate the twists and turns of their story while trusting God fully. Kristen and Bethany open up in a way they never have before about their stories not going according to plan. Through Bethany’s years of unfulfilling longings for marriage and Kristen’s years of struggling with infertility, they discovered that even when life doesn’t go according to plan, God is good, ever-present, and can bring us hope and peace amid heartache and disappointment. Pairing their stories with Scriptural and practical truth, this book is designed to help young women to work through past and present detours in their stories. Each chapter includes prayers, reflection questions, and challenges to help them dive deeper. This book is honest and real in a time in history when everyone has faced challenges due to changes from a worldwide pandemic. This is a book that every young woman needs to read. Get your copy today!
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*I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review

“Thank you” is a phrase that is often unappreciated in our culture. We say without thinking about it or actually meaning what we say. We struggle with being thankful when many of us are in general ungrateful. We complain about every little thing and we get overwhelmed when we face difficult circumstances. This seems to be especially true for Christians, and we get frustrated when we are told that that we are to “give thanks in all circumstances”, because we often don’t even know where to start. We want the joy found in an abundant life in Christ, but we don’t know how in the middle of all the difficult circumstances that life brings our way. It makes us ask the question: How can we live grateful and joyful lives in our world today?

​In her book, Choosing Gratitude, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth [published under her maiden name, Nancy Leigh DeMoss] helps her audience find the more abundant life that comes when our gratitude is as abundant as the grace that redeems us. When looking at the circumstances, Nancy says we have two options: “I can whine OR I can worship.” We learn what it means to worship and give thanks in everything, not just despite our difficult circumstances, but for our difficult circumstances. Giving examples from Scriptures and from the lives of others, Nancy helps us see that living a life of gratitude is possible in hope of our salvation in Christ Jesus. There is no promise that it’s going to be easy, but we will find peace and hope if we trust and obey. This book is compelling and relevant to all of us, regardless of our age or phase of life. This is a book that every Christian should read. Get your copy today!

Don't forget to check out my other reviews of Nancy's books in the Book Review Archive

The stories of our lives are filled with twists and turns. Some of those twists are happy, while many of those twists are difficult and painful in endure in the moment. Many of us have heard that God is the Master Storyteller. Those of us that have read Hebrews 12 know that Jesus is the “author and perfecter of our faith”, but we have a very hard time holding onto this truth in confidence that that God will work all things out for our good. Sometimes all we can see is the pain, and we push back, trying to find ways to write our own story, which often doesn’t work out very well. He sometimes reject His plan for us, and often end hurting those we love. It makes us ask the question: How can we embrace the story that God is writing?

​In their first shared project, You Can Trust God to Write Your Story, couple Nancy and Robert Wolgemuth help us see that we can trust the Master Storyteller by embracing the mysteries of providence. It was originally intended to be the story of how Robert, a widower after forty-five years of marriage, and Nancy, a woman who have never been married in her fifties, fell in love and were married. But it became so much more than that. They found they didn’t want this book to be just about them. So although they share their personal stories throughout, there is only one chapter dedicated to that part of their story. The rest is meant to use the stories of others to illustrate the same lesson that they learned: God can be trusted to write our stories, even in the most difficult of chapters of our lives. Many of the stories shared are people they knew personally. But there are also many stories from the Biblical narrative that so clearly demonstrate God’s hand at work. Through all of this, we are reminded that even in the mist of the most difficult chapters of our lives, God is with us and for us, using the narrative you’re in for your redemption and His glory. It both part of the smaller story you’re in and the eternal story that He is writing, one of which you should feel blessed to be a part. What we need to do, like the old hymn tells us, is trust and obey. This book is incredible. The stories, both personal and biblical, were well-chosen and well-written. Powerful, compelling, and hope-filled, this is a book I recommend to practically anything. Get your copy today!

*I recieved a copy from the publisher for the purpose of this review