Books Reviewed at our Women's Conference 2019

Give Them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick & Jessica Thompson The authorship duo of mother and daughter encourage us to dazzle our children with the love of Jesus. They understand the  problems we face in parenting and provide a solution. "Raising good kids is utterly impossible unless they are drawn by the Holy Spirit to put their faith in the goodness of another. You cannot raise good kids because you’re not a good parent. There is only one good Parent and he had one good Son." The book explains how the gospel can transform our parenting.  Reviewed by Donelda The Valley of Vision by Arthur Bennett​ Arthur Bennett has put together a collection of prayers and devotions of the Puritans. Writings of John Bunyan, Charles Spurgeon, Isaac Watts and other dead guys are included. They knew their hearts, their Bibles and their God better than we do. These meditations encourage us as we worship God.Reviewed by Donelda Eve in Exile by Rebekah Merkle​ Rebekah lives and writes at a time when culture is trying to break down the boundaries of gender. She believes that following the biblical boundaries provides the opportunity to excel as a woman. After a summary of the history of feminism, she presents our design intentions and how we might live them out. This book is an exciting challenge to women in our culture. We can return from exile!!Reviewed by Donelda Happily Ever After by John Piper, Francis Chan and more​ Is your marriage harder than expected or better than a fairy tale? This book has 30 devotions written by 13 different authors. Each short devotion challenges your thinking about marriage and how you might live out a biblical marriage that brings glory to God. Each devotion has questions to help you personalise what you’ve read.Reviewed by Donelda Life as a Vapor by John Piper​ The information on the back of this book says: "In these 31 meditations, John Piper will connect you to a fresh understanding of God and a renewed relationship with Him. You will find your faith stirred to make every day count for Christ when you consider life as a vapor." Having read this book, I could not have put it better and I felt it fitted well with the theme of the conference.Reviewed by Priscilla The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield ​In her late 30s, lesbian professor of English Rosaria encountered something that turned her world upside down - the idea that Christianity might be right about who God was, an idea that flew in the face of the people and causes that she most loved.What follows is a story of what she describes as a "train wreck" at the hand of the supernatural. These are her secret thoughts about those events, written as only a reflective English professor could.Reviewed by Michael