I'd like to thank EP Books for giving me a copy of Growing Up God's Way for Girls by Dr. Chris Richards and Dr. Liz Jones in return for my honest review, and also for providing a copy for this giveaway!

Addressing puberty is an issue that can strike fear into the heart of the most stalwart parent of girls. We hear it all the time: "Julia won't date until she's 30!" Never mind that Julia's momma was married at 21. It's tempting to pretend that puberty isn't coming – that if we don't discuss it with our girls, they won't experience the changes and feelings God has planned for them.

But puberty is God's plan for our kids. He designed it.

It's our job to explain this new season of life to our children – before they're hit upside the head by biology. I think that's especially true for girls. After all, failing to prepare our daughters properly for puberty can place them in a scary position when they begin menstruation. They need to know what's coming and why God designed them that way.

Growing Up God's Way for Girls (EP Books, 2013) is a great resource for girls by two Christian pediatricians from the UK, Dr. Chris Richards and Dr. Liz Jones. I especially appreciated the fact that the book addresses the facts of the physical maturation process and the Bible's outline for marriage and family without a lot of extra editorializing. While there is a section on the dating and marriage process, I think this is written in such a way that it can be used to spark a conversation between parent and child.

Growing Up God's Way for Girls is a well-produced 78-page resource with thick pages and colored cartoons (like the one on the cover) on nearly every page. The book explains to girls their upcoming transformation into women with candor and sensitivity. There is an emphasis on God's intent for family and the proper use of intimacy (within marriage only). The book also briefly and carefully explains the changes that will occur within boys as they go through puberty. This is important because girls may one day marry, and they truly need to know where babies come from. However, if your child isn't ready for this particular chapter, it's easily censored for a period of time by reading the book aloud and skipping the information about boys.

The information specifically pertaining to girls is detailed without being overly graphic. There are certainly cartoon diagrams of the changes that will occur in breast shape and size, the need for menstrual protection (and a diagram of how to facilitate that) and diagrams of fetal development and childbirth. Again, these are not graphic, but they do give children a really good understanding of what, exactly, will occur in each situation.

The chapter headings in Growing Up God's Way for Girls are:

1.An introduction to puberty

2.Marriage

3.Puberty and how it starts

4.How your body changes

5.How the body changes in boys

6.Physical intimacy

7.Changes in the way you think

8.Going out and beyond {on the process of dating}

9.Preparing for the future

Puberty is a part of God's grand plan for our kids. Growing Up God's Way for Girls by Dr. Chris Richards and Dr. Liz Jones is an excellent resource to use with your 9-13-year-old girls as they approach the changes that will help them become women, mothers and wives.

I could not be more pleased with this purchase! My daughter is 9 and I was looking for a book about puberty that we could read together and be on her level of understanding. It was of the utmost importance to me that the book be from a Christian viewpoint and emphasize that the changes of puberty are God-designed and for a very special purpose. I was beyond pleased with this book. It more than exceeded my expectations. My daughter absolutely loves it and as soon as we finished, asked if we could read it again. I have four girls and will definately be using this book for them in the future!

As a father and as a minister of families, I am always on the look out for books which aid parents teach their children, from using media to dating and marriage as well as everything in between. One series of books that caught my eye a few months ago, and that I recently had the privilege of reviewing, is Growing Up Gods Way which is published by Evangelical Press. The series is comprised of two books Growing Up Gods Way: For Boys and Growing Up Gods Way: For Girls, each book focuses on helping parents talk to their children about their constantly changing bodies, the opposite sex, and romantic relationships. While both books has a similar premise, each book is unique to the gender of the child.

First lets look at the similarities of both books. Each work beings with the foundational idea that people, children specifically, are created by God and that He has a plan for their lives. That while the children are growing up God has created special changes for each gender that will have an effect on the rest of the earthly existence. Furthermore that these changes are purposefully given to growing children so they can grow up to fulfill their given purpose of glorifying God. This God-centric foundation is grounded in Biblical truth, so that the covenant children of God will grow to be men and women of God.

51v1ehwpqkl-_sx352_bo1204203200_Looking specifically at Growing Up Gods Way: For Girls, both Richards and Jones focus on how a young girls body is changing and how it changes her thought mentality, while at the same time showing how a young boys body is changing as well. There is also a great background focus on biblical womanhood and a womans complementary role in marriage as well as in life.

Switching to Growing Up Gods Way: For Boys, both Richards and Jones focus on the changes that young boys will go through in puberty as well as how their relationships with girls and other boys will changes, including changes to their bodies and minds. I was happy 41nbrpv7xsl-_sx334_bo1204203200_to see the authors have their work immersed in Gods Word but to specifically add a section on Biblical headship as well as how men alone are qualified for the offices of the church (Deacon, Ruling Elder, and Teaching Elder) was a welcomed addition. Furthermore I was surprised to not truly see a weak-spot worth mentioning this work for each section and chapter were on point both Biblically and medically.

Page after page I am continually surprised how both Richards and Jones keep these squeamish and many times confusing topics at a level that growing children can not only understand but apply to their lives, as their body and thought processes change. At such a difficult time in their lives these books are a resource that should not be over looked and can never be overused, for children are in desperate need of Scripturally grounded truths taught by the people who have the most influence on them, guided by godly medical professionals.

This work is ambitious in its goal, to be Biblically sound while still understandable by children and it brilliantly succeeds. I will be recommending this book to parents of growing children in the church I serve in, as well as any who minister to parents of growing children, without hesitation, and I will be using these works when my own children grow to an age-appropriate time to discuss this important topic of living a God-honoring lives with regard to their bodies and future romantic relationships.

This book was provided to me free of charge from Evangelical Press in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.



Growing Up Gods Way: For Girls

2014 by Chris Richards and Liz Jones

Publisher: Evangelical Press

Page Count: 80 Pages

ISBN: 978-1783970001



Growing Up Gods Way: For Boys

2014 by Chris Richards and Liz Jones

Publisher: Evangelical Press

Page Count: 80 Pages

ISBN: 978-0852349991

My daughter and I are reading this book together. She is 10 going on 11 and it is right at her level. It presents the information on God's design for marriage and puberty changes in a very easy to understand manner. The pictures are not graphic and so far my daughter has been open to the information. I am very pleased with the book.

Such a great book that helps girls focus on the right thing as well as being informed with all the information needed!