Book Review of Building Your Strengths & Three Giveaways!

by Sally Matheny

(Women of Faith Books)

I love Thomas Nelson publishers. Not only are they blessing me with wonderful books, but they want to bless my blog readers as well.

This month, they’ve sent, not one, but six beautiful, Women of Faith Bible study books to me. Three for me, and three to give away. 

How cool is that?

Building Your Strengths is the one I’m working through now. I’ll be giving away a copy of it in addition to Praying with Power, and Giving God Your Future. Look for giveaway details in this post.

Strengths and weaknesses.

We all have them. The problem is we tend to overestimate the weaknesses and underestimate our strengths. I know I do.

Patsy Clairmont wrote in the foreword of this book,

“The thing that helps me survive my own insecurities is understanding my God-given gifts and strengths.  As an ex-agoraphobic [irrational fear of public or open spaces], I know what it’s like to feel three ribbons short of a gift. I was certain I had been overlooked. I didn’t realize my gab was a gift. Because it’s a funny thing about gifts—we usually don’t consider ours as unique or as stunning as someone else’s gift, because whatever ours is, it comes so easily to us that we don’t get the big deal about it.”

Oh, friends, isn’t that the truth? We think there’s nothing extraordinary about our ordinary.

But there is! This Bible study book will help you discover how God has given you abilities to be a light for Him.

(Building Your Strengths)

There are twelve chapters:

Intellectual Strength

Relational Strength

Professional Strength

Domestic Strength

Personal Strength

Unwanted Strength

Strength in Weakness

Divine Strength

Building Strength

Embracing Strength

Celebrating Strength

Where Do I Go from Here?

This is not a book where you simply list your strengths and how you can use them for God. It goes much deeper.

For example, in the sixth chapter, the focus is:

“A strength is not the same thing as a calling. And being good at something you dislike doesn’t mean you have to do it all the time.”

Through this Bible study, you’ll not only consider your talents, but also personal experiences and trials. Through scripture and thought-provoking questions, you’ll meditate on how God works through our strengths and weaknesses to bring him glory and point others to him.

You can work through this book alone or with a group. Each chapter opens with a brief focal point followed by seven to nine questions based on the truths you dig for in the Bible. Each chapter closes with a “Digging Deeper” life application thought, points to “Ponder and Pray,” and a “Trinkets to Treasure” memory enhancer.

I like the areas provided for notes and prayer requests and I greatly appreciate the leader’s guide included at the back of the book.

I’m still working through this book. I look forward to learning more about how God can help me discover, fine-tune, and develop my strengths to be used for his glory.

How about you? Would you like to win a copy of one of these valuable resources?

Three winners will be selected on Friday, February 3. The prizes are the three Women of Faith Bible study books Building Your Strengths, Praying with Power, and Giving God Your Future.

The first person whose name is drawn from the honest hat will have first choice of the books, the second will choose next, and so on.

How do you enter the giveaway?

All you have to do is leave a comment below. You may want to tell us how God is using one of your strengths—or weaknesses! Or perhaps you simply want to ask us to remember you in prayer as you seek ways to use your strengths for God’s glory. And if you’re shy about commenting at all, just type, “I need this book!”

All who comment, or leaves a smiley face, will have their names entered into the drawing. 😄