The 10 Best Decisions a Woman Can Make: Finding your place in God’s Plan

BOOK REVIEW

The 10 Best Decisions a Woman Can Make: Finding your place in God’s Plan
Author: Pam Farrel
Paperback
256 pages
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
Available: Most Christian Bookshops

Have you read or listened to those self help books and tapes, those ones that tell you that you can achieve anything; you are all powerful, the god of your universe; and six months later your self esteem is no better, just the opposite, because you have not achieved the results they promised?

In The Ten Best Decisions a Woman Can Make, author and motivation speaker Pam Farrel points out how every woman can be successful without being too hard on herself. Pam picks out the things that matter most to women, and the daily struggles they go through and applies God’s word to them, teaching women how to be authentic, be successful in each season, overcome obstacles, take good care of themselves, be daring and leave a legacy.

“The average woman today feels as though her life is like a giant jigsaw puzzle. There are lots of important pieces- she is even convinced there is a beautiful picture- but she is looking for the puzzle box lid because she is not sure where to start or what she is really aiming at,” she writes.

Her message is to the active woman who is frantically trying to balance all of life’s demands, trying to please those around her, but most of the time feeling as though she is always letting them down.
“Do you wonder if God is pleased with your life? Are you pleased with your life? Are you wondering, “Is this all there is to life?” Have you been pushing yourself headlong and are now wondering, “Why?” or “Was it worth it?” or may be you have just been drifting, doing the next thing that came along, and now you find yourself far downstream or off-course from the place you thought you’d be at this age or stage of life.”

And if you are wondering whether you are one of these women here are some pointers she gives:
•    Cleaning up the dining area means getting the fast food bags out of the backseat of your car.
•    Your reason for not staying in touch with family is that they do not have email addresses
•    Your idea of being organised is multiple coloured Post-it Notes
•    You are excited when it is Saturday and you can wear sweats to work
•    You think half a day means living at five o’clock
•    You think it is more strategic to buy clean underwear and socks than try and find any in your kids rooms to wash
•    You think wining and whining should be used interchangeably
•    The purpose of make-up is so you can hide behind it
•    A bad hair day, a broken nail or a change in plans are the makings of a tragic epic suitable for a TV mini-series
•    Everything has to be approved by your girlfriend
•    Happiness to you is a goal or right

Much of what Pam shares is drawn from her experiences as a wife, mother to four sons and co-founder of Masterful Living, an organization that provides insights for personal relationships. The book is sprinkled with anecdotes most her own, that profoundly carry the message that every woman is precious in God’s eyes and that each woman should discover this value and live by it. Then she can gladly embrace God’s plan for her in confidence and stop drifting through life. The author emphasizes the need to tune out all the negative influences such as the fear of failure, fear of criticism and negative friends and instead concentrate on the truth of God’s word.
“ Because we all long for respect, we can fall into the false trap of looking in the wrong place for our affirmation. We cannot depend on our husband, children, friends, parents, or boss to give us the validation, affirmation and reassurance we are looking for. Even if we are surrounded by positive and affirming people, their words will help some, but they will still not fill the void in our hearts.”

The book has ten chapters, each expounding on the ten decisions. Each gives solid advice supported by scripture and then offers thought-provoking questions at the end. Each chapter is about 20 pages long, making it perfect for a time of reading each day. At the end of the book the author has presented a study guide and questions for those who want to study it in a small group.

In this book, readers will realise how precious they are to God, find a positive place to direct their creativity and energy, gain confidence regarding the value of their time and efforts, assess their strengths, weaknesses, skills and talents, and learn to stop pleasing people and start pleasing God.

Pam is the author of Fantastic After 40 and Woman of Influence and has co-authored with her husband Bill, other books such as Men are Like Waffles-Women are Like Spaghetti, The 10 Best Decisions Every Parent Can Make, Every Marriage Is a Fixer-Upper and Red-Hot Monogamy.