A year ago, I posted the following thoughts in preparation to write Made to Crave for Young Women. But I wanted to repost this now that the book is out and give several copies away. Please leave a comment below to be entered.

I wrote this book with Shaunti Feldhahn, amazing friend, author and social researcher. In other words, moms, if you really want to know what your girls are thinking, you’ll want to read this. She has woven her amazing research with teens all throughout this book.

The focus of this book centers around ways Satan tries to distract us from God. He wants us to get legitimate needs met in an illegitimate way.

Oh how I wish I’d had this book in my teens years.

Satan comes after us in these three areas:

Physical Desires
Material Desires
Emotional Desires

It’s the same three ways he came after Eve in the Garden of Eden. It’s the same three ways he came after Jesus in the desert.

It’s the same three ways we’re told not to get lured away from God in 1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

Here are those same verses from The Message Bible:

Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world — wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important — has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out — but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.

So, how do we communicate these truths in an everyday way that will connect with a teens heart? One way to do that is by equipping them with the right questions to ask. For example, under the section on emotional desires, I tackle attention and affection from boys.

Whew… what a topic right?

As a mom of teen girls, there’s a big part of me that wants to say, “stay away from boys until you’re 30!” Okay, maybe 28. Ahem.

But, maybe a more realistic approach is to teach them the right questions to ask before spending time with a friend boy. (And yes, that wording is intentional.)

Worship — Who or what does he worship in the shrine of his heart?

Words — Do his words (spoken and written) build others up or tear them down?

Character — Who is he when no one else is looking?

Personality — Who is he around other people?

Interests — What kinds of things does he do to recharge?

Feelings — Do you feel better about yourself when he’s around?

Attraction — Is your attraction to him centered around something that will stay over time?

When asking these questions about a boy you are interested in, don’t ask based on what you hope will be in the future, ask these questions based on the reality of today.

What do you think about these questions? Are there others you would add? What speaks to your heart most from the verses shared from 1 John 2? Which young woman in your life do you want to share this message with?

Leave a comment and you’ll be entered to win one of five signed copies we’re giving away.

In my new book, Made to Crave for Young Women written with social researcher, Shaunti Feldhahn, we encourage moms and daughters to watch this video and talk about it together.

Seriously, it’s eye opening.

It just goes to show the illusive beauty benchmark the world dangles in front of women and girls is unrealistic at best and unattainable at worst. In short, beauty isn’t looking like the models. Even the models don’t look like the models. Beauty, true beauty, comes from within.

And that isn’t just some convenient Christian cliche. It’s truth.

That’s why I am so passionate about this new book, Made to Crave for Young Women.

Here’s a note a woman named Libbi just posted on Amazon. It made me tear up with thanksgiving that this book that was so challenging to write, is reaching people — young and old.

Every single person, man, woman, boy or girl, has a longing on the inside of us. The longing for something more.

We have longings to be loved, to feel happy, even if for a moment. Those longings, while natural, will destroy our lives if not handled correctly. We were made to fill those longings with God. Not chocolate chip cookies, or a handsome boyfriend, or those adorable shoes at the store.

In this fantastically written book, Shaunti Feldhahn and Lysa TerKeurst show that it is God’s plan for us to run to Him instead of to food, material possessions, or even other people. If we run to God, we can experience eternal happiness rather than short-lived enjoyment.

This book was exceedingly better than I could have hoped. This book was perfect for me at this time in my life. I have always seemed to have a problem with self control. This past week, however, I have been trying to walk in more self-control. This book could not have come at a more perfect time.

This book has helped me so much, I can’t even begin to tell you. Though hard to pick, I think one of my favorite quotes is this one, “The key, friends, is not to simply follow a rule- it’s to be wise about our choices so we rely on God rather than something we crave.”

Talk about a perfect quote! Using scripture throughout, this book easily makes the best non-fiction book I have read this year. Overall, I would one-hundred percent recommend this book. It is one of the few books that is COMPLETELY worth your money. I guarantee it.

Sincerely,
Libbi H.

Thank you Libbi for taking time to share with me these sweet words of encouragement. They are a treasure to my soul.

Today, I’m giving away 6 copies of Made to Crave for Young Women. Just leave me a comment below and I’ll announce the winners of this contest and the She Speaks scholarship contest on Monday.