Review of A Woman after God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George

I know this book has been around for at least a decade, perhaps longer. But when I set about looking for a book to use for the ladies' Bible study at our church, A Woman after God's Own Heart came highly recommended. Now after over six months of teaching through a chapter per week, we've finished it. Both I and the ladies who attended the Bible study loved it. Here's why:

1. It covers a wide range of Biblical subjects that pertain to married women. It has sections on growing spiritually, being a wife, being a mother, and caring for a home.

2. It teachings are rooted in the Bible. The author did a good job of backing up the principles she espoused with scripture. Plus there is a lot of encouragement for women to dive into the Bible on their own and not just use supplemental material.

3. It's written with by an experienced woman with a concerned heart. You can easily tell how passionate the author is about helping women become better wives, mothers, and Christians. You read about the authors past mistakes and triumphs, plus her warnings and advice.

Drawbacks: There are a couple drawbacks, though the majority of the book was so good I really have to be picky to point anything out. Some of the chapters are pretty practical in nature. Not that there's anything wrong with being practical, but suggestions for time management aren't exactly on the same level of importance as principles about caring for your children. As the ladies of my church studied the book, we delineated between what was a Biblical principle and what was merely a practical suggestion. Also, the author sometimes makes herself seem like Superwoman. Really. When she gets to listing everything she does in a certain area, one can easily get overwhelmed and think "Yeah right. It's not possible to do all of this stuff. If I even did a quarter of that, I'd be doing awesome."

Overall, this book was great. I can see why it's popular, and it's relevant to a large number of women despite their religious backgrounds. If you're looking for a book to encourage you spiritually and highlight the Biblical duties God has given married women, then this book is an excellent choice. It covers the basics of Biblical womanhood in a way that is fresh and relevant to our current times.

If any of you have read this book, I'd love to hear your opinions in the comment section below. Or if you've read another spiritual growth book recently that you really recommend, please share that as well.

Take a Break: and Survey the Cross

Hello all you wonderful blog readers. How's your week been? Mine's been a bit crazy, as we're getting ready to leave for a two week trip. No, not to the Bahamas (sad, I know, I since we've had three winter storm warnings in six days). My mom's having pretty serious surgery on Monday, so we're going for a little visit. With all the packing and writing and cleaning I've been doing, I needed a little break. So I hopped on over to YouTube and found the most beautiful hymn. Enjoy.

What about you? When you get so busy you can hardly stand up straight, how do you de-stress?

Take a Break from Your Busy Week

Happy Wednesday, everybody! Are you stuck in the middle of a busy, overwhelming week? I sure am. We're doing some maintenance work at the church where my husband pastors, which means ripping up old cement, cleaning out some drainage tile, painting, and the like. Plus I had an emergency proposal request from my agent yesterday, and we've got even more things going as the week races to a close.

Regardless of how busy you are (or aren't), take a moment to listen to this beautiful hymn, view the lovely pictures, and give yourself a slight break from life's busyness.

On Friday, we'll be hearing from one of our favorite contributors, Sarah. So be sure to check back in.

Praying for Our Kids

One of the benefits of being a pastor's wife is I get to listen to lots of great sermons delivered by my wonderful husband. Yesterday he preached on intercessory prayer from Genesis 18.

To briefly summarize, it's the story of God deciding to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. God tells Abraham of His plans, and Abraham says "Wait! You can't destroy it. My friend Lot and his family are there. Surely the city isn't that sinful and wicked. If you find, say, 50 righteous people living there, will you spare it?"

And God says, "Yes, I'll spare it for 50 people." Except He doesn't find 50 righteous people, so Abraham goes back to God and asks God to spare it for 40 people, then 30 and 20 and finally 10.

God doesn't spare the cities, which is sad and a whole other topic in that ten God-honoring people couldn't be found in two cities. But God still partly answers Abraham's prayers and saves Lot and his family.

There's amazing power in intercessory prayer. Through prayer, Abraham begged that two entire cities be saved, and he would have gotten his wish--had there been righteous people in those cities.

And so, as we think about how powerful prayer is, and how much good prayer can do in our lives and our country, I'm wondering how often we pray for our kids. I'm not talking about little prayers like "God, please help Sammy to have a good day at school" or "God, let Sammy score a goal in hockey today," or "God, give Sammy a good grade on this test."

Really, truly, how often do we get down on our knees and beg the Creator of the Universe to intercede in our children's lives?

God has given me two precious little boys, and I only have one chance to raise them. I'm going to start praying harder for my little ones, and I hope you'll join me in praying harder for your children as well.

*****

Angie Dicken is hosting me over on Writer's Alley today. I'm being interviewed on entering your unpublished manuscript in writing contests, particularly ACFW's Genesis contest (which I finaled in last year). Stop by and say hi if you have a chance, and feel free to ask lots of questions. I'll do my best to answer them.

Also, if you like the photo of my little guys at the top of the page, be sure to check out Michaela Wickman at www.michaelawickmanphotography.com. Michaela took some author and family pictures for us last fall, and she did a wonderful job! She'd going to be appearing on our blog in February and giving away some photos.