We'd love to use the blog to share books, blogs and other resources that have encouraged us in our spiritual journeys... Here's "a gem of a book" that Claire Percival would love to commend to you...
Disciplines of a Godly Woman, Barbara Hughes
"I make no secret of the fact that I'm a bookworm and always have been. I read widely but not always deeply. I'm pretty discerning though about what I read, after all, time is sometimes short and I'm not going to waste my rare free time on something that isn't well written, engaging or suitable.
I've struggled over the years with finding good Christian literature that meets me where I'm at. For many years I was a single female professional, and lots of the books out there were written by American apple pie, stay at home Momma's who seemed to have magic wands to make their homes, children and husbands perfect, and forget about single, working professional women. Well, even now that I am a stay at home Mum, I still struggle with these books and my home is not even remotely something that resembles the ideal of these authors. So, I was delighted to stumble upon a gem of a book about 7 years ago and I have read it and reread it and studied it with others and recommended it and loaned it and bought it for others for birthdays, weddings and just because... So I really want to share this with you - and challenge you to find yourself a copy and read it!
Barbara Hughes is American. There, I've said it. But she's a lovely, mature, experienced woman who has walked with her husband Kent throughout his 40 year ministry and brought up four children, who are all now married with children. So she's more than qualified in life experiences and wisdom. Her writing is grounded and real. She gently teaches and challenges, without preaching or idealising.
Disciplines of a Godly Woman is a treasure trove of practical help and pointers to live life in true relationship with God. It covers disciplines relating to soul, character, relationships, ministry and grace. Each chapter tackles a subject, with a balance of personal stories and biblical teaching, and finishes with a number of questions to challenge and encourage practical application. The questions are also useful if you intend to read the book and discuss it with someone else. The book is not exclusively written for any type of person, so welcomes young and old, single and married, mature Christian and new sister.
Her husband Kent has written Disciplines of a Godly Man, and whilst the books are similar, they don't follow the exact same chapter headings in the same order. However, Stephen and I read through these books together and challenged each other in our learning. We've also read Disciplines of a Godly Family as we seek to build a strong family home. Can you tell that I am a fan of both the author and the subject matter? And, if I haven't done a good enough job of selling it to you yet, it has now been republished with a natty new front cover, which makes my copy look very dull and boring - but don't judge a book by its cover, dive on in and submerge yourself in how God wants to mould and shape you as you walk with Him."
Look out for other books on our "resources" page of the W2W website...
