I am always on the lookout for the best Christian books for women.

Whether it’s finding amazing new authors to follow {you can see that list here} or finding the best family devotionals {you can see that list here} or even reviewing some of my favorite books on amazon, I’m always looking for books.

The best Christian books for women that will challenge, inspire, teach, disciple and lead me in my walk with Jesus.

I have quite a large pile with me here in West Africa that I’m going to be digging into over the next few years.

I have quite a few that are still impacting my heart even now, long after the last word was read.

Highlights, notes, quotes, and ponderings from books that cause me to think, grow and move forward.

I’ve been compiling a list of these best Christian books for women to share with you.

Some of them I’ve read. Some of them are in my pile to read.

Some will be authors you know. Some will not.

{and yes, this post does contain affiliate links for Amazon.

Continue reading Best Christian Books for Women at every single page.

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I have decided that learning to “think on these things” is one of the hardest things to do.

Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

To which my heart cries, “YES!”

Yet, when reality hits and situations come my way, choosing to think on these things becomes an act of obedience to Christ.

Learning to think on these things takes self-control, solid boundaries, and great faith.

It takes moving forward to the next beautiful thing. Even if it is not so beautiful.

Even when your thoughts seem stacked against you.

In preparation for our second term overseas, I honestly COULD NOT imagine getting on the plane. I didn’t know how I’d feel in that moment and didn’t know know how I’d fly away from America again with a one way ticket.

Knowing the realities of life in Africa, the poverty, the daily struggles, the loneliness, the language barriers, the difficulty of basic things… it seemed overwhelming and daunting in a way I didn’t feel the first time we left.

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“You have family mottos?”

“Yeah… Well, we have these phrases that my dad taught us. My mom added some too.”

This is a common conversation when people are talking to our girls.

The next question is always “What are your family mottos?”

Soon, three Goodwin girls are reciting by memory our list of fun family mottos that are a part of our family culture.

They are good mottos to live by and things that our girls can fall back on throughout their lives.

I shared a few of our family mottos briefly in this post but I’ve been asked by some of you to expound a bit and share them all.

Apart from family devotions and parenting ahead, these family mottos are at the core of raising our girls especially in their teen years.

What is a motto?

Dictionary.com says “an expression of the guiding principle of a person, organization; a sentence, phrase, or word expressing the spirit or purpose of a person, organization.”

What is a family motto?

A phrase or slogan that is a guiding principle for your family or a sentence that expresses the purpose or spirit of your family.

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Families in transition face some monumental challenges in the weeks and days leading up to a major life transition.

We are realizing again how traumatic, overwhelming, exciting and emotional these global transitions can be for the whole family.

For families in transition, finding the resources, help, and needed support can be difficult.

Especially for families in transition around the world on constant repeat.

For our family, we all sense the next transition and begin feeling the effects about 2 months prior to the move.

We all feel the emotions building. We all experience the mixed mental challenges of being here and being there at the same time.

So many decisions, goodbyes, frustrations, to-do lists and challenges come into play each day through a cross cultural move.

Stress rises, tensions escalate and tears flow.

Random meltdowns for kids and parents alike are normal for families in transition.

Sometimes teachers notice, sometimes friends feel the tension, sometimes close family sees the effects of another move. Generally, people aren’t sure what to do or how to help.

But what can we all do to help families in transition get through the moving season in healthy, good ways?

Continue reading Tips for Strengthening Families in Transition at every single page.

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You are on the hunt for something fresh… newsletter ideas to get you in the writing mood.

You know it is time to send out your next newsletter but you just aren’t sure what to say.

You wait another month. And then another.

And pretty soon, it has been ages since you’ve last communicated with your support base.

Or, you send out newsletters regularly but no one opens them. No one responds to them.

Not only do you spend hours trying to get yourself to actually write the newsletter, when you do start writing, out flows this amazing, deep, full-of-numbers, picture-packed, newsy ebook that even your mom thinks is too long.

You probably spent a whole day designing the colors and the fonts and editing your pictures to be just so.

Only to have it go unread by the hundreds of people you’ve sent it to.

So why do it? Why should we send out newsletters?

I’ve been asked a few times recently for my thoughts on writing newsletters.

“We desperately want to write newsletters that people will excitedly read and not cast aside because they’re long and boring.” – new blog reader

Newsletters are important.

Continue reading Newsletter Ideas For Overseas Workers at every single page.

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