Secure Daughters, Confident Sons

Secure Daughters, Confident Sons: How Parents Guide Their children into Authentic Masculinity & Femininity

by Glenn T. Stanton

The world has a lot of gender confusion going on lately. Take the recent story about the parents who decided not to tell anyone their baby's gender with the exception of the baby's siblings. Even the grandparents were left out of the gender knowledge (guess that eliminates Grandma as a babysitter!) The reasoning behind this decision? They don't want to push gender identity on the child. They want to let him/her decide for himself/herself. Just as this story broke the news, I received my copy of Secure Daughters, Confident Sons. I eagerly started reading to find out what Glenn Stanton had to say about these types of issues.

The book talks about how both boys and girls/men and women have unique, God-given character qualities and gifts, and that they should be celebrated for their uniqueness. Instead of trying to make both genders "the same," or discount certain traits in each, Stanton essentially says that to make light of or try to equalize gender is to discount one's humanity. He talks about how to encourage natural traits in children and provide them with a healthy environment in which they can appreciate themselves for who they are/what they were created for, and therefore thrive.

I thought this book was a very interesting read. I find myself naturally being interested in psychological and sociological issues, and this book didn't disappoint. Though I don't have kids of my own yet, I treasure the knowledge I acquired from this book, which I hope to utilize when I do become a parent. I think this book would be good for parents, anyone who wants to become a parent someday, those who teaches children at church or school, and anyone who deals with kids at all. I believe it provides valuable insight into the shaping of children in today's world.

Click here to rank my review.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Billy

Billy

by William Paul McKay & Ken Abraham

Billy Graham has always been one of my favorite evangelists. As I was growing up, whenever his crusades were on television, my parents somehow knew, and we would make sure to watch. When I was a teenager, my parents and I took a trip to North Carolina to visit Billy’s childhood home, which had been relocated. It was fascinating to tour the home of such a powerful yet humble man of God.

When I found out his biography was available for review, I was excited to read more about his life, from childhood to the present. I loved reading about how he knew God was calling him to be an evangelist, and how he and his wife, Ruth Bell-Graham (now deceased), fell in love.

I also found it interesting and sad to read about his former friend, Charles Templeton, who turned from the faith to become an agnostic. The two men, Templeton and Graham, who were so similar in the beginning of their evangelistic days, couldn’t be more different at the end of their lives.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good biography and is interested in reading more about this humble man of God.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from BookSneeze. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Praying for Your Future Husband

I grew up on Robin Jones Gunn's "Christy Miller" series, and later read her "Sierra Jensen" series. I dreamed of having the same adventures as Christy Miller, and of one day finding my own Todd (Christy's wonderful Christian boyfriend). I always admired the way Robin uplifted the character qualities of godliness, patience, and steadfastness throughout her books. 

Reading Praying for Your Future Husband brought the themes in Robin's books full circle for me. Robin writes about her own love story. Co-author Tricia Goyer writes about her own as well. Both women prayed for their future husbands before meeting them, and both loved and lost several boyfriends. I found myself relating to both women's stories. Robin related how her fiance broke up with her 6 months into their engagement - her wedding dress in the closet, church paid for, invitations about to go out. I too had this happen to me. I could relate to her depression, bitterness, and distrust in the months following her broken engagement. I had been there. I could also relate to Tricia's stories of wanting to be accepted and loved by someone. 

This book is not a manual on how to get a husband. It is not a guide for how to pray in the right way so God will "finally" hear your prayers. I feel the subtitle of the book says it all: "Preparing Your Heart for His." Not just the heart of your future husband, but the heart of Christ. Robin and Tricia talk about how praying for another person not only affects the person being prayed for, but the person praying. For when you pray for the qualities of patience, steadfastness, and godliness in your future mate, you realize how much you also need those traits. Praying also brings you closer to God's heart - the most important trait to have, whether you get married or not.

I felt this book was primarily geared for high school girls, but that doesn't mean a 30-something can't get something out of it too. I highly recommend this book to any single woman who wonders why God hasn't brought the right one into her life yet. As the last line of the book says, "What exactly will happen once you start praying for your future husband? There's only one way to find out…PRAY!"

Please click here to rank my review.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."