Christian book review – Heather C. King

Find Your Brave
by Holly Wagner

Holly Wagner has experienced shaky times, including a magnitude 6.7 earthquake in Los Angeles in 1994 that caused devastation in her community. She writes, “Figurative earthquakes can rock our lives with chaos and fear. And the aftershocks can feel just as devastating.” In her book, Find Your Brave, Holly talks about how to find courage during the shaky times, the dark seasons, and the difficult circumstances in life.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book for me were her insights on the apostle Paul’s journey to Rome in Acts 27 as he traveled in a storm-tossed vessel that ship-wrecked of the coast of Malta. Each chapter covers a brief portion of Paul’s trip and experiences and then offers wisdom for our own journeys, such as using support lines to brace ourselves, knowing what to throw overboard, and setting our sights on hope. While I’ve read this biblical account quite a few times, this was the first time I’d read a close study on this portion of Scripture and how we could apply it.

Holly also does something uniquely powerful; she includes a chapter on what happens when you’ve caused your own storm. We tend to think about and talk about the storms of life as circumstances that happen to us. But she’s right: there are times we cause our own storms just as the sailors did in Acts 27 by ignoring Paul’s advice about when to travel. And yet, there is grace and redemption. Even when our own poor choices or lack of discipline causes our troubles, God can restore and heal and bring beauty.

The book also includes a collection of scriptures to speak over your situation and a few discussion questions for personal reflection or mall groups at the back. Every Christian will encounter storms in life, but these lessons from Acts can equip us for the future or help us right now in the tempests we face.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and 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.”

Disclaimer: Heather King is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Moms Raising Sons to be Men
by Rhonda Stoppe

I had settled into my life as a mom to three daughters when I had my son, so I’m always eager to read books about how to parent my little guy. Rhonda Stoppe’s book, Moms Raising Sons to be Men, combines Biblical wisdom with practical tips on how to bring up boys. Her book is divided into two parts: Part One: Life Lessons from Moms of the Bible and Part Two: Guide Your Son Toward Godly Manhood. In the first part of the book, she gleans principles from Biblical moms like Mary, Hannah, Jochebed, Salome, andothers. The second part of the book presents seven principles for parenting sons, including teaching respect for authority, independence, Biblical thinking, wisdom and strength.

There is a lot in the book to like. Her encouragement that God chose you to be your mom’s son speaks to the heart of every mom. We need the reminder that this is our mission and our ministry, part of God’s great purpose and plan for us. It reminds us that God is with us to help us and guide us. It also reminds us not to give up or feel like we have to do everything the same way as another mom with a different personality and different child. God uniquely designed you and your son for each other. She also hits on some top advice for any mom: Be prayerful, seek advice from older moms, and build up a strong network of friendship.

Although she tries very much to broaden the principles so that single moms aren’t left out in the parenting solutions, much of the book is going to apply mostly to Christian dual-parent homes and, even more than that, to stay-at-home moms.

There are a few instances in the book of specific parenting and disciplinary methods that I disagree with. I think that’s probably true with any parenting book—you glean from it. Choose what rings true and what will work for your child and your family. One of the things that I did love was her emphasis on teaching with the end in mind. Instead of just correcting her son’s negative behavior, she’d say, “I know you want to grow up to be a kind man….” and make the development of kindness the goal. For new moms, I think the best advice when reading parenting books such as this is to be prayerful, be very aware of your end-goals and know yourself and your son well. Take some advice. Put other advice aside. If you try a method and it doesn’t work, don’t feel like a failure! Maybe it just wasn’t a good fit for you and your family.

All in all, moms of sons will receive a great deal of encouragement from Rhonda Stoppe’s book and will likely walk away feeling more purposeful and prayerful as we fulfill our mission of motherhood.