A Voice Becoming by Beth Bruno

I read a lot of books on a wide range of topics.

Some Christian. Some not.

Some real life. Some fiction.

WWII and memoirs always land at the tippy top of my list.

How to build a strong business

and how to be productive

and how to squeak out more creativity every day.

Novels that my son Jackson needs to read

so we read aloud together.

I love reading.
All of it.

Which is why, on vacation,

I’ve been known on more than one occasion,

to show up with a stack of 9 books,

because, well, you just never know what mood

you’re going to be in when you get

a chance to steal away with a book,

so you have to have variety at the ready.

It’s how I roll.

I love variety.

In every area of my life.

Especially books.

So because of that,

I’m pretty careful what I recommend because
if you’re always saying

“This is a great must-read book,”

the tendency would be for people

to discount the recommendation.

But I’m about to recommend a book, 

that I think has the potential to change the
trajectory of parenting girls

in the coming decade.

If you have a daughter,

whether five or fifteen,

THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU.

A Voice Becoming.
By Beth Bruno.

Go order it.

Ship it to your door.
Read it immediately.
And then intentionally put into practice what you learned.

And if you live in Chicago,
join me for a book club night in February.
Leave a message if you want more details!

I met Beth in the 90s when she and her husband were off to Turkey,
and I to Indonesia.
We attended the same church in Chicago for a short season
and while I don’t know her well,
I have been able to gather,
through what she shares on social media platforms,
the business she started,
A Face to Reframe,
the articles she’s written for various publications,
and a shared love of photography and story,
that our hearts beat very similarly.

Beth is the real deal and her heart is for the vulnerable

and for leveraging her influence for the good of others.
Whether that’s her own family
or sex-trafficked teens
or African women in crisis.

“I want to be a hope pusher,
a darkness-disrupter,
a justice-warrior, a grace clinger.”
-- Beth Bruno

OH, I SO DO, TOO!

Jack and I have been intentional about raising Maddie,

so much so that from the time she was very little,
as in, like, toddler,
(she’s now 15 ½)
we decided that when she turned 13,
she’d go on a special trip with Jack,
to continue to foster that daddy/daughter relationship
that is so pivotal to healthy strong women in our world.

 It was a joint effort,
but I think because of my heart’s desire for Maddie
to have a really strong healthy relationship with her daddy, 
I pushed extra hard for the nurturing of their relationship
with absolutely no regret for making that a top priority.

Leading up to that special nine-day-trip that Maddie and Jack

took to Belize in February of 2016,
we had special daddy/daughter and mommy/daughter dates
over the year,
where we talked about modesty
and boys and hygiene
and sex and everything in-between.
And all that was good.
Very very good.

But what was so refreshing
about “A Voice Becoming”

was the direct reminder that as her mother,
I have a super important intentional part to play
in welcoming her into womanhood, too.
That in providing direction for her life,
Maddie needs me as much as she needs Jack
in that vision for being a strong woman.

I knew that,
and I can say with confidence I’ve been doing that,
but this book called me
to a new level of vision-casting.
I love the call to intentionally cast a vision
of who she is becoming and why she’s been created.

We, as moms,
need to
“lift our daugther’s lives
out of the
teen drama of bodies,
boys and besties.”
Our girls need to
know they are needed
and valued in God’s kingdom,
starting RIGHT NOW!
They’re invited to join
a global sisterhood
that reflects the image of God!”

And so,

I found myself pulled swiftly into
A Voice Becoming,
sometimes brought to tears as what I was reading
was just exactly what was on my heart.

The truth resonated at gut-level.
More than a handful of times I found myself saying,
out loud and to no one in particular,
“YES. It's about time someone said this!
That is SO TRUE.”

Beth put words to the longing in my own heart

for the freedom I want my daughter to experience.
I want her to live a passionate
and purposeful life
and it absolutely begins in now.

I love the fact that Beth addressed
the modern culture our girls are facing.
“God is no longer in a nice box.
We are no longer worried about
worship style used in services
or as concerned about
the differences between dating and courtship.
We need a new approach
to raising our girls in light of our current culture.”

So with 100% 5-star-rating, 
I recommend this book
to you if you have a daughter,
no matter the age.
Start now so you have a longer lead-up time
to her "year-of-becoming."
And if you don't have a daughter,
buy it for your friend who has a daughter.
Or your sister who has a daughter.

Quick.
Go grab your copy where books are sold
and step into the flow of beautiful,
intentional parenting.

*Photos from a walk through the greenhouses

at the Chicago Botanic Garden last week.

I was dying for green.