Friday Book Pick: Praying For Your Future Husband by Robin Jones Gunn and Tricia Goyer

Today's book pick needs to be in the hands of every Christian teenage girl and every young single woman--it is the book that I wish I'd had back when I was single. Praying for Your Future Husband: Preparing Your Heart for His by Robin Jones Gunn and Tricia Goyer is a remarkable mixture of pragmatic advice, heart-gripping personal stories, touching romance, and inspiring devotional--all tied up in a single beautiful package.

Written primarily for young teenagers, Praying For Your Future Husband would be a great resource for any woman who is single and trying to focus their hearts on God's will for their lives. Each chapter contains stories, journal entries, letters, scriptures, prayers and study questions to help point the reader toward a certain aspect of prayer that will strengthen both a future husband as well as the young woman, herself. The practice of praying for their future will also bring young women into a closer relationship with the God of the Universe who desires to be first in all of our hearts.

Why did I--a happily married mother of two--read this book? It made my husband a little nervous when it arrived on our doorstep, but I was excited to crack it open. The two authors, Robin Jones Gunn and Tricia Goyer, have both been long-time favorites of mine (see other book picks listed at the bottom of this post) and I knew that any collaboration on their part couldn't be missed. Also, as a mother to a young daughter, I want to be prepared to talk to her about her future. So many girls have little preparation beyond fairy-tale romances. This book will help me to get her thinking beyond "I want someone tall dark and handsome." As she enters her teen years, I want her to know that somewhere out there is a young man who is already making choices that will affect her future, and her choices will affect his future. Praying for him will help not only to protect him--but as the subtitle says--it will help to prepare her heart for his.

Click here to download chapter one of Praying for Your Future Husband: Preparing Your Heart for His. 

Other great books by Tricia Goyer:
Book Pick on September 25, 3009: Blue Like Playdough
Book Pick on February 26, 2010: Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie, Montana.

Other great books by Robin Jones Gunn:
Book Pick on August 7, 2009: Sisterchicks in Sombreros
Book Pick on November 13, 2009: Finding Father Christmas
Book Pick on June 5, 2009: Waterfalls

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for free (from WaterBrook Multnomah's Blogging for Books program) for the purpose of review. 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.”

Friday Book Pick: Delivered With Love by Sherry Kyle

It's a gorgeous day here in the Pacific Northwest--the kind that makes me long for one of two things: a road trip or an afternoon sitting in the sun with a good novel. Today's book pick fulfills both of those dreams. Author Sherry Kyle has served up a delightful story with her debut novel, Delivered With Love. When you pick up this fun book, you will follow 23-year-old Claire James on a California road trip that will change her life forever. Already longing for a fresh start, when Claire finds an old love letter in the glove compartment of her late mother's 1972 Volkswagen, the idea of finding the mystery writer is simply too tantalizing to resist.

If you would like to learn more about Delivered With Love, check out the novel's video trailer. If you'd like to learn more about Capitola (the setting for the novel), take a video tour with Sherry and she'll show you some of the fun places featured in her book.

While Delivered With Love is Sherry Kyle's first novel, you may remember that I blogged once before (see Book Pick, Nov. 19, 2010) about her tween-age non-fiction title, The Christian Girl's Guide to Style. It's one of my daughter's favorite books and the librarian at our Christian school recently mentioned that it has been such a highly requested book that she's ordering additional copies. With such amazing writing talent and versatility, I look forward to seeing more of Sherry Kyle's books on our shelves in years to come. 

Puppy Love

My family has taken in a foster puppy while her owner is recovering from some health problems. My husband has been wanting a dachshund for a while and my kids were eager to have a dog, but I wasn't so sure. I've got a soft spot for all animals, but I've always thought of myself as a cat person. So, of course, who does the puppy attach herself to? Yep, me. It's flattering, humbling, and a bit annoying all mixed together.

Wherever I go in the house, I'm tripping over her. When I sit down to work at the computer, she plops down in her little dog bed at my feet and waits. If she gets hungry, she'll run down to the laundry room and grab a mouthful of kibble, run back, drop it at my feet and then eat it there. And all the while, she's staring up at me with her big, brown eyes.

Yesterday, my husband and kids took her out for a walk and tried to introduce her to our neighbors. Not matter how much my family reassured (and reprimanded) her, she would only growl and bark at the nice folks next door. When I wandered out to join them, the puppy wiggled with glee and then promptly walked over to meet our neighbors politely. They said she seemed like a different dog.

It makes me think of Chris Tomlin's song, "I Will Follow."

Where You go, I'll go. 

Where You stay, I'll stay. 

When You move, I'll move. 

I will follow...

I hope that I can follow after God with the same devotion that this little pup is giving to me. I don't deserve her adoration, but He definitely deserves mine. 

Bear with me--Teddy Bear, that is!

This coming Saturday, I am speaking at our church's annual mother's day tea and I am very excited about it. I know--I should be nervous. Anyone who knows me probably figures that I am terrified.

But for once--in a very out-of-character fashion--I am not nervous.

Maybe it will hit me in a few days. Maybe not. I'm trying very hard to remember that I had oodles of public speaking experience in my pre-kids life, I love these people, and the topic is seriously fun. So why be scared? Oh, that and...I'm letting God do most of the work. I should be letting Him do all of the work, but I'm trying to be honest here.

This year's theme is a "Teddy Bear Tea" and I'm trying to run with that topic. There will be lots of kids present, so I'm going to pepper my talk with reading from children's books, sharing some goofy stories from my childhood and showing lots of slides of stuffed animals.

For fun, I did a search on Bible Gateway to see if there were any good verses with the word "bear." I was astounded to learn that there are 209 references to "bear" in the NIV. Some of those were actually about "beards" not "bears" and many of the others had to do with seed-bearing plants, bearing children and armor bearers. But there were some good ones about real life bears, too. Here's a small sampling:

• 'The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.' 1 Samuel 17:37. (David to Saul regarding Goliath).
• Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people. Proverbs 28:15
• Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool bent on folly. Proverbs 17:12.
• It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him. Amos 5:19.
• We all growl like bears; we moan like doves... Isaiah 59:11a

Then there are others that use the word "bear" in other ways. Here are a few of my favorites:

• The human spirit can endure in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? Proverbs 18:14.
• 'I have much more to say to you, much more than you can now bear.' John 16:12 (Jesus to disciples).
• Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2.
• Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13.

So, as you ponder these verses, say a prayer for me about this Saturday's talk. Pray that I remain enthusiastic and not frightened and that I strive to let God speak through me rather than saying my own words. And--oh yes--please pray that I don't panic and forget everything that I planned to say!

Have a great week!