religious studies

This book was very powerful in my life. I read it at a time in my life when I really needed to understand the type of hope that God offers us. It helped me look at myself honestly and to learn how to share with God with my "raw self/feelings" and to find hope there. I could not put the book down. At times I cried, at times I sat in stunned silence and at times I called my friends to read them paragraphs from the book. You can't read this book and remain neutral to it's truths. I needed to hear what God has to say to me as a woman in a very busy, stressful life situation. There IS hope. The author is an amazing painter with words. I loved her description of the heart of a woman, and the way she points you to God.

I found this book rather randomly one day while I was shopping for a gift. I searched for John Elderidge's book, Wild At Heart, and bought it for a growing Christian friend. Under recommended titles, I saw The Allure of Hope by Jan Meyers. Having read Wild at Heart, I had been wanting something similar that addressed the issues faced in a woman's life rather than a man's. John Elderidge actually wrote the introduction to this book and recommended it highly. So, respecting him as an author, I bought a copy.
I absolutely loved it and I have since given away copies to friends and family alike. I felt like it was relevant to events in my life and helped me to work through some problems that I have encountered as a developing Christian. Many Christian books that address lifestyles and relationships with God seem "preachy" to me, and I have a difficult time getting into them. I also feel like they dwell too heavily on discipline and abstinance, neglecting the source of discontent that leads people astray. Jan Meyers, however, does an excellent job by speaking to the reader as a peer. Her voice sounds like that of a friend and it conveys a sense of pain that she is experiencing and working through, much like her audience. Her writing, while it may lack the eloquence and development of John Elderidge, is powerful nonetheless because of its honesty, tenderness, and warmth.
This book is an excellent read for any woman searching for a closer and purer relationship with God. I plan on using it in a Bible study I am leading later this year.

A must read for women in their 20's, 30's or 40's. Jan calls us to keep our hearts open in the deepest diappointment. Book studies on this book are popping up in all sorts of place, at my church, within christian ministries etc...A book that finally speaks to the true heart of a woman..