Bringing Up Girls ~ by Dr. James Dobson

It is a scary time to be bringing up a child. Nonetheless, we are doing it. So I was thrilled when I had the opportunity to read and review Bringing Up Girls by Dr. James Dobson. In his long awaited and highly anticipated follow-up to Bringing Up Boys, Dr. Dobson tackles the issues that are plaguing girls today. He discusses the importance of safe, healthy and nurturing familial relationships (with an emphasis on mothers and fathers in different ways) and the ways we can help our daughters to grow up well in this oftentimes difficult and dangerous world.

Girls today are dealing with drugs, alcohol, bullying (emotional, physical and cyber), immodest and immoral behavior, clothing and expectations, and for the most part, an over-sexed and largely morally bankrupt society. By default, many of their hero’s are celebrities who at best are out of touch with reality and at worst are immoral, shallow and typically “bad girls” who appear to be hell-bent on their own destruction. Adolescence (and even pre-pubescence) for many girls is a cesspool of pain and trauma. In their pain they drink and do drugs, have eating disorders and are involved in cutting or other self-mutilation tactics. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Dr. Dobson shines light on the issues and offers sound advice. He reassures the reader that we as parents are not without control. We have more power than we may realize and our children love and listen to us. He offers statistics and cites other great sources to back up his claims. In addition to his own book, he offers parents many other resources to refer to – some that are his, some that are not. His words are real, sometimes somber and other times humorous.

If you have a daughter, this book will speak to your heart and offer you wisdom and encouragement – especially when it comes to dealing with emotions and hormones! It will help you to navigate the murky waters of feminine maturation. If you don’t have daughters, but know someone who does, this would be a great gift that may be appreciated more than you could even know.

This book was provided to me for review by Tyndale House Publishers.

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Bringing Up Girls

By Dr. James Dobson

Bringing Up Boys by parenting expert and best-selling author Dr. James Dobson was, and continues to be, a runaway hit, selling more than 2 million copies to date. Now, Dr. Dobson presents his highly anticipated companion book: Bringing Up Girls. Based on extensive research, and handled with Dr. Dobson’s trademark down-to-earth approach, Bringing Up Girls will equip parents like you to face the challenges of raising your daughters to become healthy, happy, and successful women who overcome challenges specific to girls and women today and who ultimately excel in life.

Love & War ~ John and Stasi Eldredge

The Eldredge’s are back with a new book! Love & War by John and Stasi Eldredge is a fantastic book about marriage. In their humorous, insightful and unique way, this couple opens up about their own marriage and delves into the mystery that is marriage. It is about the journey of marriage, including individual brokenness, More Than Just Roommates, How to Have a Really Good Fight, Learning to Love, Sharing the Adventure, and of course, The Chapter on Sex.

Love & War is refreshingly honest and open, with plenty of references to scripture, and again including scenes or lines from popular movies. I knew it would be a great book when I read in the very first chapter:

This should have been our announcement in the Sunday paper wedding column:

Will Anyone Ever Love Me? was joined in marriage to I Will Never Need Anyone last week. The groom, Mr. Insecure Perfectionist, wedded his bride Miss I Know I’m a Disappointment at the Congregational Church. The lovely train wreck has taken up residence in Monrovia. A public reception and private disaster are soon to follow.

This book should be read by all who are married, have been married or hope to get married!

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

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Love & War

By John and Stasi Eldredge

What the Eldredge bestsellers Wild at Heart did for men, and Captivating did for women, LOVE & WAR will do for married couples everywhere. John and Stasi Eldredge have contributed the quintessential works on Christian spirituality through the experience of men and the experience of women and now they turn their focus to the incredible dynamic between those two forces.

With refreshing openness that will grab readers from the first page, the Eldredges candidly discuss their own marriage and the insights they’ve gained from the challenges they faced. Each talks independently to the reader about what they’ve learned, giving their guidance personal immediacy and a balance between the male and female perspectives that has been absent from all previous books on this topic. They begin LOVE & WAR with an obvious but necessary acknowledgement: Marriage is fabulously hard. They advise that the sooner we get the shame and confusion off our backs, the sooner we'll find our way through.

LOVE & WAR shows couples how to fight for their love and happiness, calling men and women to step into the great adventure God has waiting for them together. Walking alongside John and Stasi Eldredge, every couple can discover how their individual journeys are growing into a story of meaning much greater than anything they could do or be on their own.

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To get more information about Love & War, including online purchase options, simply visit

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385529808

Kiss Me Again ~ by Barbara Wilson

Love and marriage, and . . . sex. In her new book Kiss Me Again, Barbara Wilson explores intimacy and sex in marriage and how emotions, sexual abuse and past sexual impurity can sabotage the sacred union between a husband and a wife. In society today, premarital sex is more the rule than the exception (sadly, even in Christian circles), and this creates unhealthy and invisible bonds to any persons with shared sexual history. And these bonds cause pain, scars, and hang-ups that are damaging to marriage. But forgiveness, healing and freedom are available. This great book includes a 10-week study guide at the end. It can be read and worked-through individually, as a couple, or even within a safe women’s small group setting.


This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

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Kiss Me Again
By Barbara Wilson

Many married women genuinely want to feel more desire toward their husbands. But while sex before marriage was hard to resist, now resisting seems like all they do. In her new book, Barbara Wilson shows how couples can suffer for years from the “invisible bonds” of previous relationships without even knowing it. Hidden emotions of distrust, shame, and resentment can sabotage even the most loving marriage.

In Kiss Me Again, Wilson:

~ Shares her own story of healing and renewed desire
~ Helps women forgive themselves and their husbands for past choices
~ Shows readers how to break free from “invisible bonds”
~ Explains God’s plan for helping a husband and wife to re-bond
~ Includes conversation helps for both wives and their husbands
~ Helps couples reignite the passion that they thought was lost

With assessment tools, write-in exercises, and gentle guidance, Kiss Me Again offers a biblical plan for rekindling the closeness and passion women long for in marriage. Because no past is beyond the reach of God’s healing touch.

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Author Bio:
Barbara Wilson is the author of The Invisible Bond and former director of sexual health education for the Alternatives Pregnancy Resource Center in Sacramento. She speaks nationwide to youth and adults with her message of sexual healing, and she teaches frequently in the women’s ministry at the multi-campus Bayside Church in Northern California. Barbara and her husband, Eric, have been married for twenty-eight years.


To get more information about Kiss Me Again, including online purchase options, simply
visit http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781601421586

The Power of Respect ~ by Deborah Norville

I’ve just finished reading The Power of Respect by Deborah Norville, and have to say I am very impressed! Deborah is best known as the anchor for Inside Edition, and this is not her first book, but it is the first by her that I’ve read. In it, Deborah delves deeply into the subject of respect, both giving and receiving, in all types of relationships. She clearly shows the often forgotten importance of respect in the family, business, organizations, schools, etc. She also looks at both self and others respect, and how closely self-respect is linked with self-image and confidence.

The book is filled with examples, studies, facts, stories, great quotes and even Scripture that will help anyone to become better at giving and receiving respect. It would be a good resource for parents, bosses, teachers, leaders, and anyone who is in a place of influence. It would also be a great book for those who see themselves as followers rather than leaders, though the truth is we all lead, influence and guide someone.

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The Power of Respect
By Deborah Norville

Best-selling author and journalist Deborah Norville researches the importance of respect in our daily lives and in society as a whole.

Respect, a lost value in our world today, is the latest subject of research for Inside Edition anchor and best-selling author Deborah Norville. Citing scientific studies and using stories based on personal interviews, Norville reveals the importance and benefits of respect in many areas of our lives:

* Personally and with others
* Marriage and parenting
* Classrooms and education
* Business and leadership

Readers are reminded that how we look at ourselves and others determines our level of respect. And respect, when given, unleashes the power of goodwill that boomerangs back to the giver in the form of loyalty, trust, and mutual respect. This others-focused approach causes recipients to operate at higher levels of performance, increase productivity, improve relationships, and increase their overall effectiveness.

Let God Talk To You ~ by Becky Tirabassi

I think it is safe to say most of us would like converse with God. To have a prayer life that is not just talking to God, but also hearing from God. In her latest book on prayer, Let God Talk to You, Becky Tirabassi explores this concept that many people struggle with. She explains that God truly does want to talk to us, and that He uses many methods to do so. If we will take the time and prepare our hearts to hear from Him, He will not disappoint, and our lives will be so much richer, stronger, peaceful and purposeful for doing so.

In addition to using examples from her own life, Tirabassi also uses examples from bold pray-er heavyweights such as D. L. Moody, William Wilberforce, George Mueller, and Andrew Murray. This is a great book for anyone, regardless of whether they are new to the discipline of prayer, or have already made it a lifestyle.

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Let God Talk to You
When You Hear from Him, You Will Never Be the Same
By Becky Tirabassi

It is possible – you can hear from God!

Do you long for a closer connection to God? To talk to Him and hear His voice? To follow His instructions, if only you knew what He was saying?

For many of us, talking to God sometimes feels like sending words out into empty space. And hearing from God as the biblical prophets did may seem like an ancient fairy tale.

But Becky Tirabassi shares that it really is possible to hear from God. In fact, God longs to talk to us. He loves us and wants to communicate with us, just as we desire to communicate with those we love. You’ll discover how to develop a conversational relationship with God, one where you can both talk to and hear from God.

You’ll see that God is talking all the time, and there’s no special prayer to pray or requirements to meet in order to hear from Him. Becky shows the many ways that God talks to us and how God has spoken to her in big and small ways, saying things that have redirected her day or changed her entire life. You can hear from God, too. When we set aside the time and focus our hearts on God every day, God talks to us.