Behind the Veils

I can think of an endless amount of reasons why you should read this book but I only have room for a few of the things that impacted me...........

- it showed me more of who God is
- it is a terrific picture into the Muslim woman's world
- it convicted me of my willingness to share the Gospel
- it gave me perspective on my view of what God's people are facing around the globe to take His Word to them
- it broadened my mindset of what darkness the lost Muslim world is shrouded in

In Behind the Veils of Yemen, a female Christ follower tells of her personal experience walking with the One True God and into the lives of the Yemeni women. I originally picked it up as part of my Around the World in 80 Books Challenge because it was based in Yemen. Little did I know how much it would impact my life. I know that the Lord, in His sovereign way, brought it to my reading list more for my heart change rather than a check mark on my challenge.

Complete Set

I am so excited to have this complete set of the Women's Evangelical Commentary - Old and New Testament. It is a fabulous tool for women desiring to enhance and have that 'extra' in their time of personal Bible study or preparation for sharing more of God's Word with others. Thank you to Mrs. Patterson and Mrs. Kelley for making it a reality and my sweet husband for giving it to me.

Here is brief description of the New Testament version:

The Women's Evangelical Commentary: New Testament is a Bible commentary written and edited by women for women. While other commentaries take an egalitarian view of the relationship between men and women, the editors and writers of this commentary believe the complementarian view of the relationship between men and women most accurately interprets God’s intent as expressed in Scripture. Features include:

• Introductory background (author, recipients, setting, outline, themes)

• Verse-by-verse exposition, giving special attention to passages of interest to women without sidestepping difficult-to-interpret passages

• Charts, maps, and word studies

• Character sketches of women in the New Testament

• Pronunciation guide for difficult proper names

• Archaeological notes

• Featured articles on topics of interest to women

• Devotional insights and inspirational notes

• Suggested bibliography for further study

Girls Gone Wise

Women, you must read this.........Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild by Mary Kassian. I finished it earlier this summer and it is still working on my heart and mind. It is something every woman or young lady in the reality of today's culture needs to read. If you are not the wild woman now, you have been or are in close contact with ladies who are and the way of the wild is not God's best for any woman. Kassian takes a structured, Biblical approach to combating the destruction caused by a woman being caught in the enticement of our seductive culture. From Proverbs, she offers 20 points of contrast of the Wild Thing and Wise Thing: heart, counsel, approach, attitude, habits, focus, appearance, body language, roles, sexual conduct, boundaries, authenticity, neediness, possessions, entitlement, reliability, speech, influence, sustainability, and teachability.

Each chapter or point of contrast can impact your daily living. Perfect for individual study and reflection, this book would also be a great small group resource. The Biblical principles are laid out in a candid and graceful way in order to encourage women to embrace the meaningful and redemptive life found only in Christ. Kassian's website www.girlsgonewise.com has a video book blog, study questions and numerous other resources to supplement the book.

You Can Still Wear Cute Shoes

There are lots of words, titles, thoughts that describe me. Some of them I would like to rid myself of, but there is one I love that will always be a part of me.....pastor's wife. I knew God called me to be a 'ministry wife' before I met Nathan, I just didn't know exactly how it was all going to play out. Music guy, missionary guy, youth guy, pastor guy? Only God knew which one of these 'guys' was the best for me. And here I am eleven years after marrying my spectacular pastor guy. There is too much to know about being a pastor's wife that it can't all be jotted in one post- or any one book, but I do want you (specifically other minister's wives - or future ones who don't have their 'guy' yet) to know about a book I recently finished. Lisa McKay has written and recently released You Can Still Wear Cute Shoes -

'An utterly honest, charmingly-witty, and biblically insightful guide for every minister’s wife who wants to serve the church and support her husband -without losing herself along the way.'

I loved this book because of Lisa McKay's willingness to write about the realities of life married to the ministry in an easy to read, straight-forward manner. She writes like she is sitting across the table from you chatting over a nice Starbucks drink. She uses Scripture to set forth strategies for dealing with the issues that are often struggles in the life of the woman standing next to the man in the pulpit - church conflict, fitting a mold, friendships, raising PKs, saying hello and goodbye. There are questions at the end of each chapter to help you evaluate where you are on each topic.

If you have ever wanted to know what life is like living in the fishbowl of ministry, grab this book. Lay people and staff wives alike will get a good glimpse of what it is like for a woman, called by God, to serve alongside her ministry guy. Definitely a good, easy (I finished the 198 pager in under 24 hours with four kids) read for any woman in the ministry and a great encouragement to those drowning in the turbulent waters of their calling.