Saturday, February 11, 2017

Control Girl by Shannon Popkin – A Painfully Good Book – It’s a Keeper

Not that I would like to admit that I’m controlling, but when I saw Shannon Popkin’s new book Control Girl – Lessons on Surrendering Your Burden of Control from Seven Women in the Bible, I knew I wanted to read it.  Perhaps the Lord had something He wanted to me learn about being controlling.

How come it’s always easier to see a behavior, attitude or action as sinful and wrong in someone else’s life but be oblivious to it in my own life?  I guess in some respects I let my sin blind me to the reality that being a control freak is not good and may be downright sinful.  God used Control Girl to make me more aware of my sinful propensity to be controlling. 

In this book, Shannon does an excellent job unveiling the tendency in some women to be controlling.  She does this by being open and transparent with her own life and shares the negative and hurtful consequences of being controlling.  More importantly, she takes the reader to examples from the Bible of real women, that lived in a different day and age, who also had inner control girl issues.  Through Scripture she shows examples from the lives of Eve, Sarah, Hagar, Rebakah, Leah, Rachel and Miriam on why and how our control girl may spring into action and how it effects our relationships.  Being a control freak may not be conducive to our own happiness and reflects and impacts our relationship with God.

This is an excellent book to help people who struggle with control issues to see it for what it is.  Being a controlling person is sinful and not something we should leave unexamined and unfettered.  But we can have victory when we repent, trust God and surrender control to Him. 

I found this book to be painful as I recalled examples from my own life of being a control girl.  Things that as I look back on, make me want to cringe.  How in the world did I not see that as wrong back in the day? 

Warning…you may find this book to be painful and direct in confronting sinful controlling tendencies.  But Shannon manages to it with tenderness and grace and from the vantage point of someone who has addressed the issue in her own life.  This is also an encouraging book to help us walk in a manner that honors and glorifies God, trust Him and help us to treat people with loving respect.   

I highly recommend Control Girl.  If you think you have control issues, read this book.  If you have a loved one who struggles with control, you may want to read this book to better understand what may be going on beneath the surface that rears its ugly head as being controlling.  This book is a keeper, you may want to reread it and make notes as you go along. 

I would like to thank the people at Litfuse and Kregel Publications for the opportunity to read Shannon Popkin’s new book Control Girl.  I was under no obligation to give a favorable review. 


Friday, February 10, 2017

Control Girl Giveaway with Shannon Popkin


Are you trying to stay in control of your quest for peace, joy, and security . . . and you're exhausted? Shannon Popkin's debut book, Control Girl, is a must-read for anyone with a heart that craves control. Join Shannon as she shares what she has discovered about her own control struggles and about God from studying seven Control Girls in the Bible. Whether it was Eve's desire to know instead of trust, Sarah's inability to wait for God to move, or Rebekah's controlling hand on her family's future, each of these women's stories contain warnings and lessons for us today.

Learn how to give up control to God and become a Jesus girl! Enter to win a prize pack that will help you give up your Control Girl tendencies.


One grand prize winner will receive:

Enter today by clicking the icon below, but hurry! The giveaway ends on February 21. The winner will be announced February 22 on Shannon's blog.

Saturday, February 04, 2017

Picture of the Day - A Room with a View


Absolutely love this view from the Marland Estate in Ponca City, OK.  Love the colors and the veiled view through lovely curtains.  We visited in December when the landscape was brown and bare, but beautiful nonetheless.  


Friday, February 03, 2017

Picture of the Day - Pioneer Woman Statue


Love this sculpture, Pioneer Woman Statue, by artist Bryant Baker.  We saw this beautiful piece when we toured the Marland Estate in Ponca City, OK.  It seemed like the perfect picture for the Scripture on the Proverbs 31 woman.  


Thursday, February 02, 2017

A Picture a Day - The Mercantile


On our recent trip to Oklahoma, we planned to visit Ree Drummond's new store The Mercantile.  For any of you who watch The Pioneer Woman this may be on your list of places to visit.

Saturday is a busy day for The Mercantile and this particular day it very cold outside.  They graciously provided heat lamps for people waiting for their turn to go in the store.  Pawhuska is a small town.  They have some beautiful old buildings.  Hopefully they too will be restored. 

With All Her Heart by Kelly Irvin – Likeable, Thoughtful Characters

Kelly Irvin’s newest novel With All Her Heart – is the third book in the Amish Calling series.  I enjoy Kelly’s Amish themed books and lo...