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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Uncompromising, by Hannah Farver

"Imagine what it would look like for a person to be completely sold out to the Cause. Imagine her heart, soul, mind, and strength consumed with knowing Him. Imagine how much joy it must bring to Christ when the people He shed His blood for live their lives out of love for him." (Chapter 11, page 223)

If I had read Uncompromising as a teenager I would have fist pumped the air and danced around the room exalting in the fact that I was on the right track. (Yeah, a bit prideful.) This is one of those, "If I ever wrote a book it would look like this..." books for me. Which almost makes me a bit unqualified to talk about it, in my opinion, because I have a lot of love for it. I love it so much I'm sliding it onto my book shelf to keep and hand over to my daughter a decade or so from now - because this book will still be relevant and necessary even in ten years. It will be relevant until the end of time because young women everywhere will constantly be warring against their sin natures as they pursue their individual relationship with God. For as long as this internal struggle exists, there will be a need for women like Hannah Farver to stand up and encourage other women to pursue Christ whole-heartedly. That is the point of this book.

In Uncompromising: A Heart Claimed By a Radical Love, Farver discusses causes that get in the way of pursuing THE Cause of a Christian - following Christ in a whole-hearted fashion. She primarily focuses on two little 'c' causes that frequently cause females (in particular) to stumble: beauty and romance. Her discussion of these topics does come across as a bit "hip" in the sense that she uses a bit of sarcastic humor and dialogues with her reader a bit as she writes. That comes across as "friendly" writing and she acknowledges this to be the case, while also being quick to specifically point out that she is not trying to write in such a manner as to claim every reader as her best friend. She is a conversationalist who states that this book is pretty much a collection of Notes to Self in a sense. She has an approachable writing style for this time in history. I can't say that this style of writing will be good for all time, (regardless of the message), but it suits for now. She directs her remarks primarily to single Christian women.

The gist of her arguments are as follows:

* We should not submit or buy into the world's definition of beauty. Beauty, she argues, is individualized and is most apparent when a woman is acting and behaving in a manner that brings glory to God. This, Farver argues, (and I would agree), is the woman's express purpose.

"While we may never figure out . . . the reason for our hair type or height, we can be certain that God has a purpose for our appearance and not a single feature was a mistake. We are not valued because we win beauty contests but because God made us. Every freckle, hair, and mole was created by God for a reason - if only for His pleasure." (Chapter 7, page 46)


* God created both male and female for His glory. Both are image-bearers but they function differently. Without launching into what could be come a very long argument, she is basically a proponent of Biblical femininity.

* She encourages women to study theology. She argues that following after God means learning more about them. I liked what she said here:

"Once a girl told me that she didn't care about getting deep in theology because she was happy to "just love Jesus" - as if loving Jesus and learning about Him could possibly be separated. How can someone really love someone else unless they take the time to get to know that person? . . . When we refuse to care about theology, we're refusing to care about the nature of God." (Chapter 8, page 161)


* Farver also takes the time to talk about entering into a romantic relationship - the primary focus on the discussion centering around the importance of purity.

I personally thought all of her arguments reasonable and on target. I can think of a few people off the top of my head who would quibble with Farver's arguments about what romantic relationships should or could be. Let's just say that Farver is very conservative, but not strict or self-righteous in her approach. Probably the best way to describe her perspective (again, without making this post longer than necessary) is by saying, "She thinks as I do." (That will help a few of you out anyway.)

I appreciated her words of caution, wisdom, advice and humility as she approached a subject which she quickly admits she has not dealt with personally as yet. (However, I would argue on her behalf that her ideas and arguments are true and helpful having already played the "dating game" and now being married with children.)

In short (as I can make this!) - I really, really, really liked this book. I think it's a good message for young women of today and one that is worth being considered. It is this: to love and follow Christ above all. That's a hard thing to do. Every little bit of personal encouragement helps! Therefore I'm a fan of this book. It is much-needed encouragement and is therefore welcome to some space on my bookshelf.

I'm excited to say that the publisher, Moody Publishers, has offered up FIVE copies of Uncompromising to five of you! This is most generous. In order to win, all you need to do is leave a comment below. I'll give you an additional entry if you have a daughter of age to read this book RIGHT NOW. (Just leave two comments if you have a daughter between the ages of 11-19.) I'll do that this time because I think this book is particularly relevant NOW!

This contest will be open through Tuesday, July 26th and is open to U.S. Residents only.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. THE WINNERS (as selected by Random.org) ARE AS FOLLOWS:

#19 - Jennifer @ Snapshot
#22 - Andrea G.
#1 - Melissa @ Breath of Life
#15 - Shoyna
#4 - Jennifer

Congrats, ladies!

Thank you, Moody Publishers, for sending a copy of this book my way and for offering to give away additional copies to some of my readers. I hope and pray that we make the most of this book's message.

32 comments:

Melissa said...

This one is also on my wish list.

Melissa said...

And leaving the 2nd comment since my girl is almost 13.

Melody ________________________________ said...

My dad had already mentioned this book to me before and I want to read it even more after reading your review.

(By the way, I am a fairly new follower of Reading to Know and have been enjoying it very much as I love reading and sometimes have trouble finding good books. I am homeschooled, so I have also been able to use some of your suggestions for our high school history and literature program. Thank you for your help.)

Jennifer said...

Hey, I'm eighteen. :) This book sounds like one I would really enjoy. Thanks for the giveaway!

Kelly said...

Sound like I "think like the author" also--please enter me in the giveaway

Kelly said...

I am leaving a second comment for my 17 year old daughter--would love to have a copy for her!

Kristin said...

Sounds like a great book. I think I would be sending it over on long term loan to my teenage (and almost teenage) sisters!

Anonymous said...

Would love to read this book! I don't have a daughter but I do have a 2yo niece who will be ready for this book one day.

Jon A. Delamarter said...

I have 4 daughters, 3 of whom are in your age range! (Eldest daughter, Melody, already commented.)

Thanks!

Jon

hanananah said...

I've followed Hannah's blogging for some time, but would love to have her book too!

aconstant said...

Yessss please! I would love to get a copy of this book-- unfortunately can't really afford much else right now thanks to tuition. :( Please enter me!

Heather VanTimmeren said...

My daughter is not quite in the target age range, but I would love to have this on hand to give her in a few years.

Alee said...

I would love a copy of Hannah's book! I heard about her from the Rebelution and have been following her blog ever since :)

Anonymous said...

Would love to share this with my younger sisters and sister-in-law! They've been grappling with these issues lately.
Joan S
(jrstoller1 at live dot com)

Shonya said...

Oh wow, that sounds really good!

Shonya said...

Here's a second entry for my 15 yod, Briana! ;)

Christy said...

Your review made me curious about this book. Would love to read it and share it with my teenage cousin.

Narnia_girl said...

Sounds like a book I want both of us to read. Only leaving one comment, as my daughter is 2 mos. shy of your target age. :)

Unknown said...

Enter me!

Unknown said...

And another comment for Miss Amanda :)

Andrea G said...

This sounds like a great book!

agreer@yahoo.com

Andrea G said...

This would also be great for my almost 13 yo daughter...

agreer65@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

I am a follower and email subscriber. Tore923@aol.com

Unknown said...

Please enter me in contest. I really want to read this book. It sounds very good. Tore923@aol.com

ChristyJan said...

This sounds like a wonderful read

ChristyJan said...

I don't have a daughter in this age group (anymore) but, I do have an 11 year old granddaughter who is living with me for the summer.

wyse111 said...

I would love a copy of this book. Thank you!

wyse111 said...

I have an 11-year-old daughter - second post =)

Anita Yancey said...

I would love to win and read this book. Please enter me. Thanks!

ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

Cassandra said...

I am married but this still sounds like a really good book!

Hannah said...

Sounds like a great book!

Hannah said...

Second entry ... my daughter is 14 and I would love for her to read this book.

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