Book Review: The Resolution For Women

With everything you have to do, have you taken the time to decide who you want to be?

From best-selling author Priscilla Shirer, in partnership with the creators of The Love Dare, comes a resolution that challenges you to realign your daily decisions in a way that glorifies God and fulfills who He created you to be. Layered with biblical truth and seasoned with encouragement, The Resolution for Women will inspire the woman you see in the mirror to trust God's perfect plan for her lie, resolving to become "purposefully feminine, surprisingly satisfied and faithfully His."

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I am so excited to tell you all about this book that I don't even know where to start. I want to do it justice so that you will be inspired to read it for yourself.

The Resolution For Women is made up of fourteen resolutions to better your life, broken down into three parts: This Is Who I Am, This Is What I Have, This Is What Matters To Me. The author begins each chapter with a story and weaves it in with that chapter's resolution, making it personal so it will relate to the reader. Each section ends with questions to ponder or actions to be taken, as well as a spot to sign your name, solidifying your commitment to that particular resolution.

Funny, challenging and oftentimes in-your-face convicting, this book will inspire you to want to be a better wife, mother and friend. The author is respectful, yet she is not afraid to speak out on the stuff that is hard to talk about. She acknowledges topics that stretch our understanding and may cause us to feel uncomfortable. She has a way of presenting a new idea or thought pattern to help us re-frame our way of thinking.

There is so much I loved about this book and it is full of highlighted paragraphs and folded down pages. So much truth and knowledge packed into each page. I loved the list of affirming Bible verses in Part Two, re-written in the first person so that when they are spoken out loud they are affirming. It's a great go-to place to be reminded of who I am and what I am expected to do to strength my faith.

This book has inspired me to be a more loving mother who is intentional in her parenting, as well as to be more encouraging and supportive of my husband.

In the chapter entitled "How Do You Heal An Unbroken Heart?" the reader is challenged to rethink the prayers that ask for our be hearts protected from things we see or experience. But if our hearts are healthy and whole, they don't need healing. The author challenges us to pray for our hearts to be broken so that we can be healed by the ultimate Healer. It's a crazy thought to get our heads around, isn't it? It's our nature to protect ourselves and here we are presented with the idea of asking for our hearts to be broken. But it makes so much sense. I want His healing touch, don't you?

The author tells us how to live with integrity and how to forgive those who have hurt us. These resolutions have inspired me to be a better wife, one that honours, loves, encourages, prays for and submits to her husband as the spiritual leader of our home. To be a mother who is intentional in her parenting, loving deeply and offering affection and affirmation, showing them what it looks like to be a woman secure in her femininity who chases Jesus with her whole heart and models Him to others. A better friend, who shares her time and gifts with others, encouraging and esteeming them as I am best able.

One of the topics I found difficult was that of submitting to my husband. This is always a tough topic and I have balked at it countless times in my marriage. The author explains submission in it's biblical sense and stresses that by submitting to our husbands we are not lessening ourselves, not at all! She goes on to say that the feminist movement has taught us not to submit to a man, to be in control of ourselves, to view ourselves as equal - as if not better - than our spouses. Oftentimes this produces a hard and controlling woman, taking the role of spiritual leader from our husbands as God designed.

Tough stuff to get your head around, isn't it? I know! But to be honest with you, I do submit to my husband as the spiritual head of our home. I do not feel lessened by it or controlled by it. It feels right and he handles this role well, and I admire the way he leads our family using his God given gifts and talents. He respects me and I am a factor in every equation. Instead of it being a master/servant type of scenario some people view submitting as, I actually feel more empowered knowing our roles in our home.

The section on integrity challenged me as well. It calls us to look at what types of entertainment we seek out that may encourage us to sin. The type of sinful behaviours we watch, listen to or read, that we would never participate in or tolerate in our real lives, simply for the entertainment. What other type of sin do we entertain under the guise of "fun"? So thought provoking and painful to think about, but so necessary in order to become a woman of integrity.

The Resolution For Women, put plainly and simply, is a must read. It will inspire and challenge you to live a more authentic and intentional life that will enable you to leave a godly legacy.

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"Book has been provided courtesy of David C Cook and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from B&H Publishing Group".