A Review of True Beauty: Cultivating Christ-Centered Father-Daughter Relationships by Vision Forum

From the cover, "God's Word speaks volumes to the relationship between fathers and daughters. His most sacred duty is her protection and preservation from childhood to virtuous womanhood. In these powerful messages given at the 2008 Father and Daughter Discipleship Retreat, speakers Doug Phillips, Scott Brown, Geoffrey Botkin and daughters Anna Sophia and Elizabeth Botkin illustrate elements of this important priority as they explore such topics as how to build the father-daughter bond, true feminine beauty, the Proverbs 31 woman, how to transition from beautiful girlhood to noble womanhood, and how to prepare daughters for marriage. Other highlights include a look at examples of godly, dominion-oriented womanhood from the young pioneer girls fo the nineteenth century, as well as the importance of the thirteenth year in a girl's life."

I have always been encouraged and challenged when listening to the many Vision Forum cassetes, cds and dvds that we own and this time was no exception. As always these speakers encouraged me as a mom to become that which we want our daughters to become. So many times I am disheartened to see selfishness and discontent displayed in any of my three daughters lives, but I am forced to realize that I am simply looking at a mirror. They are reflecting what they see in me, their mother. It is terrible to realize that my own weaknesses so many times are the same ones that bother me so much in my daughters' lives. How blessed they are to have a caring father who recognizes sin and can gently and patiently correct them.

All of the messages were very good, but a couple stuck out to me as especially interesting because they addressed a problem we are having in our home. The Botkin sisters discussed their role as sisters to both older and younger brothers and seem to encourage them in all of their endeavors while building up a great relationship with each other. We have one daughter with two older brothers, two younger brothers and two much older sisters. Sometimes I think she probably feels lost in the shuffle and acts out to be noticed. This message will hopefully be very helpful to her. I also greatly enjoyed Scott Brown's message on the Proverbs 31 Woman. What a great reminder of what God has in mind as a woman who truly follows the Lord.

I think this album of 4 cds with seven messages would be a great Father's Day gift for the father of daughters in your life. Check the Vision Forum link here on my blog for more information on this and many more great products.