Godly self-esteem can be tricky. Trying to help your daughters develop it is even tougher if you have your own issues with self-esteem. So what is the secret to raising daughters who are confident in godly ways?
Confident Moms, Confident Daughters by Maria Furlough attempts to answer that very question. In the forward of the book, the author shares about a time she went forty days with avoiding mirrors. She did it to try and stop comparing herself to the world’s ever changing standards of beauty. She wanted instead to try and see herself as God sees her. More importantly, she wanted to give that gift to her daughters.
The thing I appreciated the most about this book is that Furlough interviewed quite a few experts in various fields about the areas that most often cause women trouble with their self-esteem. I appreciated the author’s willingness to share her platform with others instead of trying to summarize their thoughts or choose a couple of random quotes.
Not only did that give the advice additional credibility, but it removed the issue of readers being expected to take advice from an author who is still having struggles with an issue, while also presenting herself as an expert. In this book, readers can identify with her struggles and then turn with her to experts for advice.
The advice covers everything from physical health to body weight and more. The experts range from physicians to therapists to young people. The book addresses underlying issues as well as giving practice advice.
Although the book is written from a Christian perspective, I wouldn’t consider it a Bible study. Some scriptures are shared, but not a lot of them. There are questions at the end of the chapter. Some chapters have questions that are basically secular, while others dig deeper in to scripture or godly principles and other faith type topics. I would think if you wanted to use this as part of a Bible study, you would need to add some more Bible content to it.
Over all, this is a solid book on self-esteem. It’s not memorable enough to be outstanding, but will help many mothers who struggle with self-esteem. Those who want to work on this issue with their daughters will definitely find it helpful.
A copy of this book was given to me free for my honest review. An affiliate link is included for your convenience.