In this post, I’m going to list the top 10 books I recommend for Christian women. I’ll share the summary (found on Goodreads.com) for each book, and where you can purchase it! Many of these titles can also be found at your local library.
So, without further ado, here is my list.
#10
For Young Women Only: What You Need to Know About How Guys Think by Shaunti Feldhahn and Lisa A. Rice
Unlock the Male Mystery
Guys will be guys. And now girls can know what that means! For Young Women Only dives into the mysterious inner-workings of the teenage male mind so that you can begin to understand why guys say and do what they do. Exploring critical topics including respect, insecurity, appearance, physical affection, and the “tough and tender”-ness of guys, this book is also packed with “ask the expert” sections, quotes, and fun personal stories from guys in all walks of life. Why is he so visually stimulated? You may wish it weren’t so, but that won’t make it so. I don’t want to put on a front for him to like me. Actually, he wants your genuineness, too! This book will help you grasp how God wired the opposite sex so you can enjoy your relationships with them.
“This is a phenomenal book that I wish I’d had as a teenager!”
-Shannon Ethridge, Bestselling author, Every Young Woman’s Battle
“Girls, this book is a MUST-read!”
-Candace Cameron Bure, Actress, speaker
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My Thoughts: This book was written for younger women after the now well-known For Women Only book was released. I’ve read it a couple times and found it to be very insightful and helpful. It answered some of my questions and made me want to strive harder to understand and respect the men in my life.
#9
Growing Up Duggar: It’s All About Relationships by Jana, Jill, Jessa, and Jinger Duggar
It’s All About Relationships!
In this delightful and very personal book, the four oldest Duggar girls share their hearts and their core beliefs, explaining that it’s all about relationships!
• Relationship with self: The girls share their own personal journeys to self-acceptance and navigating the difficult stage of adolescence.
• Relationship with parents: You’ll find revelations about how Jim Bob and Michelle keep the lines of communication open with their children.
• Relationships with siblings: Here, you’ll get a peek into the Buddy system, how the siblings handle conflict, and how the loss of little Jubilee (their sister) affected their relationships with each other.
• Relationships with friends: You’ll find principles on how the Duggar kids deal with peer pressure and how they interact with friends outside their family.
• Relationships with boys: You’ll learn the Duggar view of dating and courtship, and these four sisters will address the often-asked question of when one of them will get married.
• Relationship with God: And woven throughout the book, the girls talk about their most important relationship of all—their relationship with God and their own personal faith and beliefs.
This candid look into what Jana, Jill, Jessa, and Jinger believe and why they believe it will give you practical insights into your own life and will inspire you to evaluate principles that will work for you.
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My Thoughts: While I didn’t agree with every single thing this book presented, I found it over all to be a wonderful book about relationships and how to form wholesome, healthy ones! Geared, perhaps, toward younger/middle teens, but it was encouraging and helpful to me as well. Parents reading this book with their daughters would be a great idea.
#8
Jump Off the Hormone Swing: Fly Through the Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Symptoms of PMS and Perimenopause by Lorraine Pintus
In Jump Off the Hormone Swing, Lorraine Pintus shares openly about the inner tension a woman can feel at certain times of the month between wanting to love her neighbor on one hand, and wanting to strangle her and shoot her ugly dog on the other. While many books discuss the physical and emotional symptoms of hormones, this is the first to explore in depth the spiritual aspects. Jump! is a mentoring book, not a medical book. The focus is on attitude, not anatomy. Lorraine shares insights from her own journey as well as wisdom from 1,500 women she surveyed. Sound biblical wisdom is laced with humor because after all, when it comes to hormones, you either have to laugh or cry, and laughing is better!
Get answers to these questions:
· What is the number one thing I can do to feel better physically?
· How does PMS and perimenopause affect me spiritually?
· Which foods ease PMS symptoms…which make them worse?
· How do hormones affect my brain?
· Why does stress make my PMS worse and what can I do about it?
· Are there benefits to PMS and perimenopause? (you’ll discover 10!!)
· How can God possibly love me when I hate myself?
Includes a 10-week study for individual and group use.
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My Thoughts: If you struggle with hormonal issues, this book is a must-read! After struggling and thinking I was alone for a long time, this book had me crying and laughing and understanding a lot of things I hadn’t before. Highly recommend.
#7
When God Writes Your Love Story: The Ultimate Approach to Guy/Girl Relationships by Eric & Leslie Ludy
In their most popular book, bestselling authors Eric and Leslie Ludy challenge singles to take a fresh approach to relationships in a culture where love has been replaced by cheap sensual passion. When God Writes Your Love Story shows that God’s way to true love brings fulfillment and romance in its purest, richest, and most satisfying form. This new edition includes an extra chapter from Leslie Ludy about the surprises of life after marriage!
“I had dreamed of a perfect love story for my entire life. But somewhere in the midst of the endless cycle of temporary romances, my dreams had shattered.”
How can I find a love worth waiting for?
Lay the foundation now—whether you’ve met your future spouse or not—for a lifelong romance. Bestselling authors Eric and Leslie Ludy invite you to discover how beautiful your love story can be when the Author of romance scripts every detail.
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My Thoughts: This is a book about romantic relationships and waiting on God’s timing. Eric and Leslie Ludy have some awesome insight to share about such topics.
#6
When Dreams Come True: A Love Story Only God Could Write by Eric & Leslie Ludy
This daringly real, intensely moving love story gives vision and hope to everyone in search of a love worth waiting for. In their bestseller When God Writes Your Love Story, Eric and Leslie Ludy described the breathtaking perfection of God’s plans for each young person and offered fresh guidelines for being Christlike in relationships with the opposite sex. When Dreams Come True shares the Ludys’ personal story, illustrating how they lived out the principles of the first book in their own romance and marriage. Includes an all-new chapter from Eric Ludy, “What Happened Next?”
“I had a God who knew my every desire. He also knew how I would fall. And yet He was waiting on the other side of my failure and my shattered dreams with some dreams of His own…”
Story Behind the Book
Eric and Leslie Ludy know that most young people today have never seen a successful, Christ-centered relationship modeled, and believe that “happily ever after” is a thing of the past. The Ludys wrote When Dreams Come True to offer their own example of a God-written love story, providing the vision for that “something better” that so many young people have never seen.
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My Thoughts: This book is kind of a companion to When God Writes Your Love Story. Eric and Leslie tell the story of their incredible romance … which I’d been wondering about since reading the other book! Real, humorous, and absolutely beautiful, this book is a must-read if you want to hear of a romance scripted by God.
#5
The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate by Gary Chapman
Are you and your spouse speaking the same language? While love is a many splendored thing, it is sometimes a very confusing thing, too. And as people come in all varieties, shapes, and sizes, so do their choices of personal expressions of love. But more often than not, the giver and the receiver express love in two different ways. This can lead to misunderstanding, quarrels, and even divorce.
Quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, and physical touch are the five basic love languages. Dr. Gary Chapman identifies these and guides couples towards a better understanding of their unique languages of love. Learn to speak and understand your mate’s love language, and in no time you will be able to effectively love and truly feel loved in return. Skillful communication is within your grasp!
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My Thoughts: Though this book is geared toward married couples, I, as a single, found it to be extremely insightful. Both in how to interact with siblings/parents and friends, and also to prepare for marriage someday. Very highly recommend this book!
#4
I Kissed Dating Good-Bye: A New Attitude Toward Romance and Relationships by Joshua Harris
Joshua Harris’s first book, written when he was only 21, turned the Christian singles scene upside down…and people are still talking. More than 800,000 copies later, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, with its inspiring call to sincere love, real purity, and purposeful singleness, remains the benchmark for books on Christian dating. Now, for the first time since its release, the national #1 bestseller has been expanded with new content and updated for new readers. Honest and practical, it challenges cultural assumptions about relationships and provides solid, biblical alternatives to society’s norm.
Tired of the game? Kiss dating goodbye.
Going out? Been dumped? Waiting for a call that doesn’t come? Have you tasted pain in dating, drifted through one romance or, possibly, several of them?
Ever wondered, Isn’t there a better way?
I Kissed Dating Goodbye shows what it means to entrust your love life to God. Joshua Harris shares his story of giving up dating and discovering that God has something even better—a life of sincere love, true purity, and purposeful singleness.
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My Thoughts: One of the best romantic relationships books I’ve read! Joshua Harris has something to say that’s against the norm – but it’s a something worth pondering.
#3
Boy Meets Girl: Say Hello to Courtship by Joshua Harris
Purpose Driven Romance
The last thing singles want is more rules. But if you’re looking for an intentional, God-pleasing game plan for finding a future spouse, Joshua Harris delivers an appealing one. A compelling new foreword, an all-new “8 Great Courtship Conversations” section, and updated material throughout makes this five-year revision of the original Boy Meets Girl a must-have! Harris illustrates how biblical courtship—a healthy, joyous alternative to recreational dating—worked for him and his wife. Boy Meets Girl presents an inspiring, practical example for readers wanting to pursue the possibility of marriage with someone they may be serious about.
Filled with inspiring stories from men and women who have rediscovered courtship, Boy Meets Girl is honest, romantic, and refreshingly biblical. Keep God at the center of your relationship as you discover how to:
• Set a clear course for your romance
• Get closer without compromise
• Find support in a caring community
• Deal with past sexual sin
• Make the right decisions about your future
“I wrote I Kissed Dating Goodbye to challenge singles to drop the worldly approach to serial dating and reconsider the way they pursued romance in light of God’s Word. Since then, I’ve received letters asking questions like, So, what comes between friendship and marriage? and, How can you know when you are ready for marriage? Boy Meets Girl answers those questions. Now as a happily married man I can look back on my courtship with Shannon and see from personal experience that God is faithful. If you trust Him enough to wait on romance in dating, He will lovingly guide you as you pursue it in courtship … right to that wonderful moment when you kneel together at the altar.” — Joshua Harris
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My Thoughts: This is an amazing sequel to I Kissed Dating Good-bye. Great thoughts, ideas, and insight. These books are so worth reading.
#2
Answering the Guy Questions: The Set-Apart Girl’s Guide to Relating to the Opposite Sex by Leslie Ludy
Bestselling author and speaker Leslie Ludy follows up her powerful, ground-breaking release, Set-Apart Femininity, with the book every young woman has been waiting for. How does today’s young woman handle the difficult questions surrounding guys, relationships, and waiting for the right one? Leslie uses her experiences, both in mentoring numerous girls and with her own beautiful love story, to give straightforward help and advice on these questions and more.
Instead of trying to follow the world’s plan for capturing the man of your dreams, Leslie challenges her readers to live a set-apart life and develop a Christ-consumed heart. She shares the secret to becoming a woman who is truly beautiful and irresistible to a godly man. From understanding modern guys and the plan God has for them, to learning how to treat and interact with guys in everyday life, Answering the Guy Questionswill equip young woman with inspiration and strength to live God’s way in all their relationships.
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My Thoughts: This book is incredible. After reading it, it had my mind reeling for days. I kept thinking about it. It was an informational, wonderful read that challenged, encouraged, and left me with joy and hope for God’s plan!
#1
The Holy Bible
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My Thoughts: While the books of others can provide clarity and thoughtful insight, ultimately, we need to be rooted in the Word of God. The Holy Bible should be our one source of truth; every other book (and such) measured against what it says. If we want to draw nearer to God, walk His path, be everything He made us to be, then we need to know what His Word says. No book is more important than this one, women. Read it. Study it. Keep its words close to your heart.
Hebrews 4:12
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
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I hope you enjoyed my Top 10 Books I recommend to Christian women! Have you read any of these books? What books would you recommend?
~ Lady Grace ~
Lady Grace ~ a quiet & gentle spirit 