For those of you who have been around a bit, or have dived into past posts of mine, you will see I am a BIG Lysa TerKeurst fan. I love her confident and emphatic writing style and how she can seamlessly weave God’s word throughout her narrative. Quite frankly, half the time you forget that you have a book in your hands rather than a good friend in front of you, giving you faith-filled words of encouragement.
I believe, however, the main reason why I enjoy reading Biblical narratives by Lysa TerKeurst is that she provides a different perspective than the “self-love” narrative that mainstream media ushers to young women. Instead of clinging to the idea that we are all superior “goddesses” as many an influencer has promoted, this author instead confronts the reader with their own flaws–or more adeptly put: sin–and puts it starkly against our identity in God. TerKeurst dives deep to address common transgressions that the world excuses: bitterness from rejection, resentment, anger, pride, and selfishness and uses scripture to neatly unravel the lies we tell ourselves and gently points us toward God’s grace and goodness. She uses humorous, self-deprecating, relatable portrayals of past sin to describe how these internalized thought patterns ultimately harm our relationships with others, but also inhibit our ability to surrender wholly to God.
“Bitterness, resentment, and anger have no place in a heart as beautiful as yours.”
Lysa TerKeurst
While this book may not be as deep as some of the apologetics reading that I have lined up, I would still recommend this book to any young woman today. There are so many Christian women who struggle with one form of rejection or another, and they let it fester inside of them. Social media and the current culture certainly do not help as they feed this negativity, resentment, and pure self-entitlement. We desperately need more books like Lysa TerKeursts to set against this narrative within the world and to remind us that we “live by every word that comes out of the mouth of the LORD”, rather than devouring the empty words and promises of man.
Happy Reading,
~the Brown-Eyed Bookaholic
Instagram: @browneyedbookaholic
Bushel and a Peck of Books 