Description
There are many questions that surround Christian womanhood: What does it mean? When does it happen; at a certain age, status, or maturity? How do we know we’re no longer girls? And when we’ve figured that out, how will others know how to recognise us as a “woman” rather than a “girl”? After all, Christian women don’t usually get a rite of passage in which they are named a “woman”. Seeing this need, Amy Davis Abdallah has created such a rite, and this book accompanies it; there is no need to go through her rite of passage, however, to name yourself a “woman”. The Book of Womanhood creates a path through the confusion that surrounds the identity of women by its flexible framework, developing the reader’s understanding of a woman’s relationship with God, their self, others and creation. Amy writes simply as one perhaps further along in her journey of womanhood than most, and she doesn’t write alone; she includes the stories of Biblical women, of friends young and old, and even more. The diverse voices come together as a cloud of witnesses encouraging us in our individual journeys.
The Book of Womanhood is about recognition, reaching out not only to women, but also to men who seek to understand and empower their wives, daughters, and friends to be the women God has formed them to be. Read for empowerment; read for transformation. Read and become the woman of God you were created to be.
About the Author
Amy F. Davis Abdallah, PhD, is a passionate wife and mother who writes, teaches and preaches in the United States and abroad. Woman, the rite of passage she pioneered, has been empowering its many participants for years. Amy is also an Associate Professor of Theology and Bible at Nyack College.
Contents
List of Tables
Foreword by Lisa Graham McMinn
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Beginnings: Habits for the Journey
Section One: Relationship with God
Getting “Behind the Wheel” Spiritually: Introduction
2. Fashioned and Formed: The Image of God
3. Biblical Herstory: Women in Scripture
4. Sex and Gender: Femininity and God
Section Two: Relationship with Self
Liking Myself: Introduction
5. Alone and Lonely: Can the Two Be Separated?
6. Body Parts and Life-Giving Red: Embracing Our Sexuality
7. Sexy Self-Care: Embracing Our Physicality
8. Stand and Speak: Confidence and Voice
Section Three: Relationship with Others
Created for Community: Introduction
9. Relationally Healthy: Principles for the Journey
10. Girlfriends: Relating to Other Women
11. Harry Was Wrong: Women and Men as Friends and Colleagues
12. Doing Life Solo: Enjoying Singleness
13. First Comes Love …: The Dating Life
Section Four: Relationship with Creation
Nature-Like: Introduction
14. The Rest of Creation: Sabbath
15. Back to Earth: Conservation
16. To Fashion and Form: Creativity
17. Where Do We Go From Here? Conclusion
Bibliography
Endorsements and Reviews
Amy has artfully constructed this rite of passage for women in order to help women understand and embrace what it means to be a woman and to celebrate the beautiful and delicate complexities that make us uniquely feminine. The Book of Womanhood is an outstanding resource for families, churches, and colleges.
Wanda Walborn, Director of Spiritual Formation, Nyack College
Expecting to be married with children in her twenties, life unfolded in unanticipated ways for Amy Davis Abdallah. These became opportunities to journey with God toward self-discovery and empowerment. This book builds wholeness in all its relationships. For these reasons, The Book of Womanhood is hard to put down!
Mimi Haddad, President of Christians for Biblical Equality
