Encouraging Ladies of All Ages In Femininity And Biblical Womanhood

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Botkin sisters’ first book So Much More. When I heard about their second book, I ordered it with a lot of hopeful anticipation! I have read several “emotional purity” handbooks, but this one was quite different. In “It’s Not That Complicated”, Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin address guy-girl relationships from a Scriptural standpoint. While I may not have agreed with everything that was presented, it definitely offers a lot of food for thought and provides a great foundation for healthy relationships.

In the book, the authors cover a variety of topics, including:

… and many more! I really enjoyed reading this book. Coming from the perspective of the-least-amount-of-interaction-between-guys-and-girls-the-better, I am hesitant to endorse the idea that girls and guys should be friendly with each other. It’s much safer to keep a far distance. I firmly believe that my spouse (and yours) is already chosen by the Heavenly Father and that we should conduct ourselves with the mindset that we are already spoken for, and that we should judge our actions based on the question “Would I be doing this/saying this/acting like this if my husband were standing beside me?” In an effort to not be too forward, it is easier for me to be withdrawn to the point of generally ignoring guys completely.

However, as believers we are commanded to love one another with brotherly love and we are also instructed to treat the younger men as brothers with all purity. I think that is the main goal of this book … what does it mean to treat young men as brothers with all purity? So while “It’s Not That Complicated” gave me a lot to chew on and I haven’t finished swallowing it all yet (!), I think that there is a lot of beneficial information and encouragement and I am happy to offer to give a copy to one of you!

Giveaway Rules:

You must be a subscriber to the Shining-Stars-Magazine-quarterly-publication-that-comes-to-your-mailbox, in order to enter this giveaway! If you are not currently a subscriber and would like to be, please leave a comment on this post to join the giveaway and include your snail-mail address. I will then add you to the subscription list and remove your address before I publish the comment. There is no set subscription fee; we send the magazine free of charge to anyone who requests it and just ask that readers prayerfully consider donating to help cover publication costs.

All Shining Stars subscribers are allowed one entry! Multiple family members are welcome to enter also.

For additional entries (leave one comment for each additional entry):

• Follow Shining Stars through your Blogger Dashboard.

• Add the Shining Stars link to your website or blogroll.

• Post about this giveaway on your own blog (make sure to leave the link to the post).

This giveaway ends on May 22nd.

Congratulations to Abbie S and family who won the copy of Raising Maidens of Virtue!!

Thank you to everyone who entered this giveaway (and for those of you who didn’t win, make sure to check this book out!). We will be featuring another home business and giveaway on April 8th :)

Raising Maidens of Virtue was written by a mother of seven daughters and is more or less a handbook for young ladies who want to live virtuous lives. This book covers a number of different topics, discussing various aspects of godly young-womanhood!

Each chapter is followed by thought-provoking questions and assignments. The author recommends that this book is read and discussed by mothers and daughters together. She also recommends making a Virtuous Maiden scrapbook during the process – capturing special memories, thoughts, quotes, Bible passages, photos, etc. Not only is Raising Maidens of Virtue a great mother/daughter project, it would also make an excellent book for a study group.

Interspersed throughout this hard-cover book are illustrations and prayers. To sum it all up, Raising Maidens of Virtue presents an attractive and feminine appeal and it contains a lot of wonderful encouragement and advice for young ladies, as well as mothers/mentors.

So do you want to win a copy?!

Giveaway Rules:

You must be a Shining Stars Magazine subscriber to enter this giveaway. If you are not currently a subscriber and would like to be, please leave a comment on this post to join the giveaway and include your mailing address. I will then add you to the subscription list and remove your address before I publish the comment.

All Shining Stars subscribers are allowed one entry.

For an additional entry (leave a comment for each entry):

• Follow Shining Stars through your blogger dashboard.

• Add the Shining Stars link to your website or blogroll.

• Post about this giveaway on your own blog. (Make sure to leave the link to the post).

This giveaway ends on March 22nd.

Congratulations to Savannah Carranza, who won the copy of Before You Meet Prince Charming! I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did :)   Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway. I highly recommend that you get a copy of this book, if you have not read it already!

Our next giveaway will begin February 8th – we will be featuring more home businesses. I am making a couple changes with the giveaways: first, I’ve decided to use random.org for drawing a name, as that means less work trying to keep paper slips straight! Second, beginning in January 2012, if you have won a book that was reviewed within the past four months, you are not allowed to enter a book giveaway – but you are allowed to enter the home business giveaways. Similarly, if you have won an item from the FHB giveaway within the past four months (beginning January 12th), you are not allowed to enter another giveaway, but are allowed to enter for a book.

I just want to make sure that everyone gets a chance to win and we don’t have the same people winning multiple items! Thank you all for understanding and please check back in February for our next giveaway!

I had heard about this book for quite some time and was always interested in reading it, but for some reason I never made it happen! When my sister gave me the book on my last birthday, I was delighted and enjoyed it immensely. “Before You Meet Prince Charming” is subtitled “A Guide To Radiant Purity” and tackles the subject of how to remain emotionally pure before marriage.

Although I’ve read several “emotional purity handbooks”, this is one that I can whole-heartedly recommend to girls of all ages. As one mother wrote; “It did not compromise one’s purity while reading about purity”. The author (Sarah Mally) discusses a number of topics, including the dangers of the modern dating system, setting standards and sticking to them, how to control your thoughts and guard your heart, having right relationships with young men, surrendering dreams and desires to the much bigger and better plan of the Almighty and living a joy-filled, contented lifestyle while “waiting”.

Interwoven throughout the book is a story of a princess in a castle and her struggles with these issues that we girls face. There are testimonies from other young women as well as suggested assignments at the end of each chapter. This book was an enjoyable read that offered wonderful advice and encouragement … and I heartily recommend it for all unmarried young ladies! It would also be a great book for a mother and daughter to read together.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of “Before You Meet Prince Charming”, here is what you do!

Giveaway Rules:

You must be a Shining Stars Magazine subscriber to enter this giveaway. If you are not currently a subscriber and would like to be, please leave a comment on this post to join the giveaway and include your mailing address. I will then add you to the subscription list, and remove your address before I publish the comment.

All Shining Stars subscribers are allowed one entry.

For an additional entry (leave one comment for each entry):

• Follow Shining Stars through Google Connect (on the sidebar).

• Add the Shining Stars link to your website or blogroll.

• Post about this giveaway on your own blog. (Make sure to leave the link to the post).

This giveaway ends on January 22nd.