This Week In Faith 11-14-19
/BOOK REVIEW: Raising Worry-Free Girls
**This is a guest post by Stephanie Atkinson. Stephanie is a counselor and Certified Academic Life Coach locally through Grace Counseling of Athens. She and her family have been members at Faith for over 10 years.
When I first saw the title of Sissy Goff's latest book, "Raising Worry-Free Girls" I thought, "Finally! I must know this secret for stopping worry so that I can fix myself and others." My second thought was, "Wait, this book has to be another attempt at telling people to 'stop worrying and trust Jesus' and therefore, I will never read it." The book is actually neither of those.
Four out of five calls to my office are related to anxiety and worry. The calls are from men, women, teen boys, teen girls, young boys and young girls. The struggle with worry is not unique to one gender, age or demographic. In reading what the Bible says about worry and being anxious, I have been struck that God says, "when". He does not say "if" or "you may". The Lord knows we will have worry and we will be anxious. So, He reminds us that we are not alone (Haggai 1:13); He reminds us that we have hope in His plan (Jeremiah 29:11); He reminds us that His ways will work for good of us and His Kingdom (Romans 8:28). He does not say, "stop it" or "that's silly". He simply reminds us that He knows this world is hard (John 16:33) and that He is with us walking through the worry (Isaiah 41:10).
Sissy Goff is a Licensed Professional Counselor and author who has worked with women and children and families in the counseling field for many years. In this book, she gives explanations of what anxiety may look like externally and internally. She uses her experience in the counseling office to provide examples of how worry and anxiety are heightened and influenced in today's culture. Throughout the book, Sissy offers practical suggestions for being proactive in conversations, for diffusing "meltdowns" and for identifying when someone may need additional help. For example, is shouting and being grumpy before school a child being disrespectful and mean or is she worried about a test or event at school and does not know what to do with the thoughts and feelings that worry brings?
The target audience for "Raising Worry-Free Girls" is parents of adolescent through adult daughters. However, I encourage everyone to read this book to gain an understanding of what your own worry may look like or what your child (regardless of gender) may be experiencing. As I read the book I recalled many conversations with former or current clients who struggle with worry that were very similar to what she describes. With each chapter of the book, Sissy gives information about mental health and points us to God's Word for truth and encouragement.
My hope for our community is that we will learn recognize worry and to engage with the heart of the fellow worrier in the everyday world around us.
Busting Myths About Teen Girl Anxiety
To add to what Steph said above, here is an article on anxiety in teens, highlighting research from another recent book. There are some helpful things to understand here, including what Stephanie says above, that stress and anxiety affect boys almost as often as girls, and in many of the same areas.
Click here to read the article by Kara Powell.
Hollywood’s “Harriet”: A Real Heroine and a Powerful God
I agree with what he says here about the new movie which tells the story of the incredible life of Harriet Tubman. Kelly and I saw it when it first came out, and I’m planning to take some of our kids to see it as well. While there are some historical inaccuracies with some of the creative decisions made in making the movie, I think it tells a great story about an important Christian from history. We need to help our kids understand the ugly parts of history so they can learn from them and work to keep us from repeating them. We also need to regularly put stories in front of our kids that display the courage God has placed in ordinary people, through faith, to do extraordinary things for his glory.
Click here to read the article by John Stonestreet.
3 Ways Churches Coddle KidZ and StudentZ
This is a short article but a helpful one. i thought the book The Coddling of the American Mind had a lot of good insight into the things we have done to keep this next generation from growing in a healthy way and the things we can do to change that. Here are three simple things to think about. I actually think our church does a pretty good job of these but it’s also important to remember these are intentional things we want to cultivate in our church. In our own family, we have seen the benefits of number 2 for our kids, particularly in our experience as a foster family.
