God, Girls, & Guys - Review

God, Girls, & Guys: Answers to Questions on Dating and Relationships

By: Robin Marsh & Lauren Nelson

Published: August 1st 2012 by Harvest House Publishers

176 pages

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!)

( Goodreads | Amazon )

Goodreads description--Following their popular devotional for teen girls, God, Girls, and Getting Connected, award-winning news anchor Robin Marsh, and Miss America 2007, Lauren Nelson, now help young women shape a healthy, biblical perspective on dating, emotions, and love.

With humor, Christ-centered counsel, and straight-talk to girls, Robin and Lauren share openly about their early dating misconceptions and their discovery of God's Word as the best guide for every girl. Personal stories and relevant chapter topics encourage and empower young women to make smart, godly choices.

What is love? How do I become the girl God wants me to be? What does godly dating look like? How far is too far? What's he really thinking? Does a perfect guy or perfect relationship exist?

This fresh resource honors the dreams and questions of today's girl with a clear look at God's hope for their heart.

I was pretty excited when I read the description of this book. Growing up, there was nothing I wanted more than to be married. Having passed from childhood into adulthood and actually being married now, I’ve learned a lot about life and relationships. One of the things I noticed for myself and among my friends was how often we would realize that the guy we’re in a relationship is NOT “the one,” yet for various reasons we’d choose to remain in the relationship. Often times, I saw this in others and experienced it myself, we grow complacent or comfortable because even though we might not be completely happy or satisfied in our relationships, at least we’re not alone, and at least we know what to expect. And that weighs on my heart because I want our young girls to know that they don’t have settle. And so that’s what drew me into this book.

I have to be honest. I wasn’t blown away with this book. I was confused at times over what age the target audience for this book really is. Sometimes I felt like the authors were speaking in severely simple terms which might be suited for a younger audience (early teens), but yet they addressed some topics that I would assume were for the mid to older teens. Maybe they were trying to span all teens, I’m not sure.

Either way, as an adult I thought the authors touched on several issues I wasn’t expecting (such as modesty and not being the one to pursue the guy), and I could very much appreciate that. As an adult already having been through the dating world and such, I can look back on these topics and see the wisdom of the authors, and I pray that my children will make better decision than I did. But I fear that any teen reading this book might take the “yeah right" approach, and just gloss over the authors’ suggestions, advice, and even the Scripture pointed out to them. I know when I was a teen I wasn’t really up for listening too much.

It’s easy to look back now and see what I should have done differently, when at the time everything feels so difficult. You’re so unsure of yourself and of the world that you make some really stupid decisions. But isn’t that the way we learn? As much as we pray for our children to make better decisions than we did, the most important life lessons they will learn is when they screw up. Sure we don’t hope for them to screw up, but we can’t negate what an teaching tool experience is.

The one part in this book that really got to me was Ann’s story. I cried reading it because it hits close to home, and because I know from experience that many teens will read that and say “well that’s not going to happen to me” despite how often we see examples of a single moment’s bad decision changing the lives of other people.

As an adult, I give God, Girls, & Guys 4 Stars, but I do wonder how truly effective this read would be for teens. Have you read God, Girls, & Guys? If so, what did you think? Let me know!