What's AGE Got To Do With It?

Hi girlfriends!  I read a new book this past week and wanted to share it with you.

What's AGE Got to Do With It, by Robin McGraw (better known as Dr. Phil's wife), is a great read for any woman of any age.  At the age of 55, Robin wants to share a few things she's learned about accepting her age and being the best she can be.  Robin Includes 9 Chapters in this friendly-read, including What's AGE, FITNESS, NUTRITION, SKIN CARE, HORMONES, HAIR, MAKEUP, FASHION, AND FAITH got to do with it?

To be honest, my initial reaction to the title of this book was that I'm only 37 and this may not be a good fit for me and the current issues I'm facing as a woman.  However, I was quickly drawn into the sincerity of her words that became a source of motivation for me to be my personal best at any age.  I believe that this book is extremely appropriate for even younger women as well, since it gives incredible assistance in areas that all women deal with on a regular basis.  In addition, it will help a younger woman prepare for what is to come one day soon.  If we take care of ourselves and build good habits now, our "aging" process will be much easier to handle and more enjoyable for ourselves and those around us!

This book touches on a few areas that may seem frivolous in the real scheme of life.  Robin consults with experts in the areas of skin care, make-up and fashion, as well as her own personal experiences and preferences in these areas.  She takes time however, to show us how our outside self can be a reflection of our inside spirit.  True beauty starts from within and if your inner-soul isn't at peace, your outside can reflect that.  Further, small changes in these areas of our lives can help bolster our confidence as a women.

Most importantly, the last chapter, on faith, is inspirational as Robin shares her story of coming into a relationship with Jesus and how ultimately, this is where she finds her peace at any age.  Without this basic foundation, nothing else matters.  This book would be a great book to share with a girlfriend who doesn't know Christ!  

Forgive and Forget?

When bad things happen to good people...

In Bible Study on Wednesday night, we got into a discussion on dealing with the difficult people in our lives. When someone hurts us deeply, how do we respond? We had some great discussion on this topic, including the idea that forgiving doesn't mean we condone the action that hurt us. We're simply giving it to God so that our spirit can be freed from the weight of our pain. However, if we don't choose to forgive, what does the Bible say will happen? This led to the recommendation of a book that Martha Sutton has read.

Forgive and Forget... Healing the Hurts We Don't Deserve is a book by Lewis B. Smedes. Here are a few of the quotes from the book:

To forgive we reverse the flow of seemingly irreversible history...of our own history...of our private painful history. We reverse the flow of pain that began in the past when someone hurt us, a flow that filters into our present to wound our memory and poison our future. We heal ourselves when we perform a miracle that hardly anyone notices. We do it silently, no one can record our miracle on tape. We do it invisibly, no one can record our miracle on film.
We do it freely, no one can ever trick us into forgiving someone.

When we forgive we ride the crest of loves cosmic wave; we walk in stride with God, and we heal the hurt we never deserved.

But why is Jesus so tough on us? He is tough because the incongruity of sinners refusing to forgive sinners boggles God's mind. He cannot cope with it; there is no honest way to put up with it. So he says: if you want forgiving from God and you cannot forgive someone who needs a little forgiving from you, forget about the forgiveness you want. Take away the eloquence of King James English and you get Jesus saying something like this: if you refuse to forgive other people when you expect to be forgiven, you can go to hell.

Several of the ladies were interested in taking a look at this book. Hopefully this will give you more insight into what the book is about and help you decide if it's an investment you may want to make.

Thanks, Martha!