Theology for Women

As women, our lives get busy and our attention has to be on so many different things that it is often difficult to slow down and articulate what we believe and be intentional about how we live our lives. It is easy to get overwhelmed by the pressings and priorities of now and lose sight of the big picture.

I have had several women say to me that they don't want to read books that make them think. They would like to read easy to read books. They don't want to sort through theology and what they believe if it isn't easily decipherable. At first, I was surprised by these comments and honestly shocked. And then, of course, God put me in their shoes!!

A few weeks ago, I said to a gal at church, that I just couldn't read any more heavy books about theology and living out the Gospel-centered life. I was reading a book about the Emergent Church, Doctrine by Mark Driscoll, and another book at the time. I was overwhelmed because I don't always have a lot of brain power left at the end of the day after taking care of the kids, homeschooling, and caring for our home.

Yes, I said exactly what someone had said to me just four months earlier!

And in all honesty, I'm not able to tackle Nathaniel Hawthorne's House of Seven Gables right now. I tried one day. My husband looked at me puzzled when I set it down and explained to him that I just wasn't as smart as he is! Honestly, I think it's more that he reads books like that regularly and I don't. I have forgotten a lot of the vocabulary and meanings of words. It makes it much more difficult to read books like that when you don't know what the words mean.

But, books can be difficult to read not just because of the vocabulary. They can also be hard to read because they ask you to really think about what you're reading and process it. With all the things on our plates as women and as moms, there often isn't a lot of energy left to put towards reading books that challenge us.

Or at least it feels like there isn't enough energy.

One thing that I find that helps is finding a book that I really want to read or that I feel I really need to read. I also just read a little at a time.

I just finished reading Practical Theology for Women. I requested it after reading the introduction on Crossway Book's website. (http://www.crossway.org/product/9781433502095) I enjoyed the introduction and wanted to read more.

Wendy Alsup's heart is to share solid theology and biblical commentary with women. This book reminded me of the book John Stott wrote about the basics of the Christian faith that pastors often quote.

This book covers the basics of theology, "which is the study of the nature of God". p. 23

In part one, Ms. Alsup talks about what faith is, and what it means to walk in faith. Then, she talks about who God is, which includes who Jesus and the Holy Spirit are. In the third part, she addresses how we communicate with God and what the Word is.

She covers the basics well. I was impressed that this is a book that is perfectly suited for a mentor to go through with a new Christian. Reading this book would remind older believers of what they know and help new Christian women understand what the Bible says and who God is. It would also be a good book for a Bible study which includes young Christians as well as women who have known the Lord for a long time, because younger believers wouldn't feel at a loss not understanding many of the words Christians use.

Here is an example of something that I thought was very well put in the chapter about the Holy Spirit:

"If a ministry talks more about the Holy Spirit than it does about Christ, it is probably not controlled by the Spirit of God. The Spirit is all about Christ rather than himself. The best way to figure out if a ministry is controlled by the Holy Spirit is to evaluate the clarity of its teaching and worship of Christ." p. 109

I have often longed for a book that I could recommend to new believers that wasn't fluffy or unbiblical. Too many books today are thinly veiled self help psychology books with a few encouraging Bible verses in them. I have also found many books that are simply unbiblical in what they say and take verses out of context.

I highly recommend this book if it sounds like what you are looking for.

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from Crossway Books.

Comparison of Verses

Tonight I was reading the Mom's Bible again (NCV) and compared this verse: NCV Ephesians 5:22-24 22 Wives, yield to your husbands, as you do to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church. And he is the Savior of the body, which is the church. 24 As the church yields to Christ, so you wives should yield to your husbands in everything. NIV Ephesians 5:22-24 22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. The Message 22-24 Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewis...

Grieved

Why is it that my generation (I belong to Gen X) and generations after us always seem to think that they know more than the generations that have come before us? Why is there such a lack of respect in our generation for our elders? Why do we think that the liturgy of the church and hymns are irrelevant? It is ironic to me that the emergent movement is saying that the seeker sensitive movement is irrelevant. It seems as if it was only a few years ago when it was the seeker sensitive movement that said to the traditional church that it (the traditional church) was irrelevant. I'm reading a book with all of these big words and I want to be honest--I didn't understand a lot of it. I'm not dumb. I understood most of it, but the author was assuming a lot of background knowledge on the part of the reader. Most of the time I learn deep theological concepts and then I have to store them in my "attic" (as Autumn would say) because there isn't enough room in the ...

Missing Pieces

The other day I was discussing a book with my mom and explaining to her my concern about how "blame" is cast upon the child in the story. My mom commented about how deeply I read and consider what is written. Sometimes I wonder if I go overboard. Am I questioning too much? Am I overreacting? Why am I reacting this way? I come back to knowing that God wired me this way. But, I also reflect on how God has guided my path through the maze of books I've read over the past few years and what I've learned from the books themselves and from reading them. Recently, I read a book that troubled me. The book I finished reading was Guiltless Living by Ginger Hubbard. When I began reading it, I found myself puzzled and then disconcerted. And in the end, I cried. But, I cried for a different reason than one might suspect. I'd like to explain. I did not read Ms. Hubbard's previous book “ Don't Make Me Count to Three ”, but I knew from f...

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