Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Archives for July 2011

All the Single Ladies

I’ll spare you my Beyonce impersonation. Besides, this isn’t a music review; it’s a book review.

On to the book: “Every Single Woman’s Battle.”

I’m not single, but I did find value in this book by Shannon Ethridge. I haven’t read any of this series of books but this workbook/guide quotes a lot from “Every Woman’s Battle,” which piques my interest in that title.

I wish I’d known what Ethridge presents when I was single and engaged. I think it would have been helpful for the foundation of my marriage. Of course, it’s never too late to learn about protecting the emotional health of your marriage or creating intimacy, so I appreciate the questions and tools Ethridge presents.

A couple of questions that stood out to me:

“Do you expect marriage to eliminate all your sexual temptations?”

“Do you want to love God more than anything else? How would that look in your life?”

I did not take time to personally answer the questions in this particular book but they did get me thinking about my own relationship with God and my husband. I look forward to using this in ministry to young women sometime in the future and assessing my own history of sexual and emotional compromise.

Ethridge doesn’t hold back, addressing issues that some might see as controversial, especially in the church. But I think her willingness to shed light on darkness is needed in an age when sexual purity makes a girl abnormal.

Click here for a preview of chapter 1.

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In exchange for this review, I received a free copy of this book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

If you appreciated this review, please take a moment to click the link below and rate it on the Blogging For Books site.

Putting money where my mouth is

It’s time for a change.

I’ve been stuck in a rut for a couple of months now, weight-loss wise, and this weekend I found myself back to square one. Any weight I’ve lost in the last year is back on my body, and I’m supremely frustrated and ticked off at myself.

Sometimes, it’s a matter of not getting to the gym often enough and being too sedentary. Summer, after all, is not my ideal time to be outside in the heat and humidity. But that shouldn’t stop me.

© Jay Crihfield | Dreamstime.com

The bigger issue than exercise — because I actually like to exercise — is food, which I also like. Too much.

I have little to no control over how much I eat. Or, more accurately, I don’t exercise control over how much I eat.

Late-night snack craving? How ’bout some ice cream followed by some chips?

Kids making me crazy? I’ll just pop some chocolate in my mouth and everything will be fine.

I’m not extremely disciplined for my own sake, so while wondering how I might change this set of circumstances, I was presented with a reality that I cannot ignore.

Photo taken by Lalrosiem Songate, general director of the EC Church of India, on a visit to Liberia

It is this: Every 30 minutes, 1,000 people die from starvation. Probably that number is higher. I think the statistic might be outdated. Even so, while we sat in our Sunday School class yesterday, eating cheese puffs, cookies and bagels with cream cheese, people somewhere else in the world died because they don’t have enough food to eat. It was enough to make me want to vomit.

These two events have led me to a personal challenge, and I’m asking you to join me in some way over the next 6 months.

Here is the challenge:

Photos by Lalrosiem Songate. These are children in Liberia. I don't know if they are orphans, but they stir my heart.

For the next six months, I will pledge $5 for every pound I lose to help care for widows and orphans in Liberia through the EC Church’s micro-enterprise program. (Click here for more information. It’s No. 8 in the Giving Catalog.)

I will weigh in on Tuesday, July 5 to determine my official starting weight, and I will aim to post weekly about my journey, including what I learn about hunger and poverty in the process. You can follow the posts under the category “my loss their gain challenge.”

I’m making this public because I need accountability. I need your emotional support, and I need to hear your experiences with weight loss and overeating and, let’s face it, food addiction.

Beyond that, I’m asking you to take the journey with me. Do you have weight you want to lose but just can’t seem to take it off? Pick a cause close to your heart and make the same pledge. Or, if you want to live vicariously through me, make a pledge for my weight loss, too. At the end of the year, I’ll be making my donation based on the number of pounds I’ve lost. You can do the same at that time.

Excited. Nervous. Scared. Intimidated. Hopeful. I am these things and more.

And ready for a great adventure.