Joy: A Godly Womans Adornment by Lydia Brownback

Joy: A Godly Womans Adornment Reviews

• 
  Cassandra

  I was reading along, thinking this book was going to be ok, some scattered tidbits of wisdom but no depth. Then I came across this thought - "Rather than wrestle with God through difficult and downcast seasons, we take a pill. Rather than acknowledge the sin that underlies so much of our relational dysfunction, we blame the upbringing we had" (46).
  
  As someone who is in therapy and also is raising an adoptive child with trauma (which changes physical brain development!), I couldn't read any further. Sometimes medication is necessary. Sometimes upbringing does cause our relationship dysfunction. Yes, we need to wrestle with God and acknowledge sin. But sometimes we also need therapy and medication. Attitudes like what I quoted do not help people find healing.
• 
  Kara

  As a busy mom of four, I have to be creative to find time to spend with God. I'm always on the lookout for resources to facilitate my walk with Jesus and growth in my relationship with Him, so I was very grateful when Crossway Publishing offered me the opportunity to review Joy: A Godly Woman's Adornment, part of the On-the-Go Devotionals series by Lydia Brownback.
  
  
  Don't let the book's compact size and fairly short length fool you. This little book is packed with biblically sound, Christ-centered truth. Ms. Brownback doesn't shy away from theological discussions in favor of lighter fare and rather shallow Scripture application, as some women's devotionals seem to be prone to do.
  
  
  Coming in at just over 100 pages, Joy: A Godly Woman's Adornment contains an introduction and forty-one devotions, all focused, as you've probably guessed from the title, on biblical joy. Each devotion begins with a Scripture passage followed by a short (approximately two page) meditation on the passage. Not surprisingly, the book of Philippians and the Psalms figure prominently, although there are selections from multiple Old and New Testament books.
  
  
  I loved her statement that "joy and Christ-centeredness go hand-in-hand..." and her observation that "joy is the out-working of worship".
  
  
  A few of my favorite devotions were:
  Joy, No Matter What (Philippians 1:12) on joy in difficulty and trials
  Joy in Wisdom (Proverbs 15:21)
  Joy in Waiting (Habakkuk 3: 17-18)
  Joy in the Path of Life (Psalm 16:11) on fellowship with God
  Joy in Being Home (Psalm 84:2) on making our home with God
  During my busy days, it's difficult to find time to do more than read in bits and pieces a few minutes at a time. My household is just too busy for in depth reading on a regular basis through the day. I save those books for early in the morning, late at night, or when I know I'll have longer than 5 or 10 minutes to devote to them. Otherwise I find myself constantly having to backtrack a few pages to pick up the train of thought where I left off. So, I really appreciate the short length of these devotions. I'm able to grab the book, read one in just a few minutes, and then chew on it and talk to God about it as I go about my daily tasks. The compact size makes the book easy to toss in my purse or bag and take along (or even better yet, get the Kindle edition!).
  
  
  I found Joy: A Godly Woman's Adornment to be convenient and easy to use, without sacrificing depth. The devotions were gospel-saturated and refreshing. I'm thankful to Crossway for providing a copy to me and look forward to reading the other titles in the series (Trust, Contentment, and Purity). You can find out more about the series and discussion groups at Crossway's blog.
  
  
  (Crossway graciously provided a review copy of this title to me in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.)
  
• 
  Rachel

  A charming little devotional book. I ought to have looked at the page numbers though because it was much smaller of a book (only 1/4-inch thick) than I had anticipated. It really is a little pocket devotional meant to read one or two of the little chapters and good for women on-the-go. However I liked the format in the end, with a scripture for each chapter to focus on and a short 1-1/2 pages or so to read at a time, I could choose to read as much or as little as I needed. Mrs. Brownback's clear style of writing brings a challenging message while bringing insight and encouragement. The book covers many facets of the meaning of "Joy" and how it is to be applied in our lives from attitude, to our lifestyle of living, and prayer. Some of these lessons I've learned already but there were still other chapters that gave me new insight into places I'd not yet thought much on.
  
  "If we cannot - will not - rejoice in today, we are rejecting God's providence. It means that we believe we have better ideas for today than God's plan. It means we don't trust. It means we are rebels." (p.79)
  
  If you are not an avid non-fiction reader this may be just the thing for you as it's not overly deep but most definitely still has the power of truth from God's Word. :) For me it was a nice simple little read that I read alongside my other deeper non-fictions.
  
  
• 
  Angela

  Short devotionals - each one focused on a Scripture pertaining to joy. Some were really great - especially since I could probably be a little more joyful . . .
• 
  Lexi Zuo

  FINALLY a Biblically sound devotional for women! I absolutely loved it! Joy by Lydia Brownback is full of truly gospel-centered meditations on joy! Can't recommend this enough! Thank you!
• 
  Gretchen

  One of my favorite devotionals. Short, but deep and meaningful! LOVED IT!
• 
  Barbara

  This book is one in a series of “On the Go Devotionals.” Each entry is short, two to three pages in my Kindle app. There are forty-two devotions which concentrate on a different Bible verse about joy.
  
  While we might go through times of sorrow and trial, gloominess and moodiness usually come from “looking at what we lack rather than all we have” (p. 9).
  
  

  Even those of us going through a season of darkness can pursue joy, trusting that God designed us for it. Sooner or later, in Christ, we will find it. The trick for some of us is to change our self-oriented, worldly focus to Christ, and for others it is to take fresh hold of God’s promises that no matter how dark life seems, he is going to push you out into the light. . .
  
  Our moodiness dishonors God and robs us of the happiness that lies right at our fingertips. If we want to change—to live with perpetual joy—we must pursue it, and in Christ we are guaranteed to find it. (p. 10).

  
  
  In the very first entry, Lydia declares, “Self-surrender leads to joy” (p. 15). That doesn’t sound very joyful, does it? We think we’d be pretty happy if everything went our way. But His way really is best.
  
  We can experience joy in the Lord despite our circumstances. After reading this book, my thoughts ran to Psalm 43:3-5, a passage Lydia didn’t use:
  
  

  Send out your light and your truth;
      let them lead me;
  let them bring me to your holy hill
      and to your dwelling!
  Then I will go to the altar of God,
      to God my exceeding joy,
  and I will praise you with the lyre,
      O God, my God.
  
  Why are you cast down, O my soul,
      and why are you in turmoil within me?
  Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
      my salvation and my God.

  
  
  Joy isn't dependent on our circumstances--joy is found in the One we rejoice in.
  
  I really enjoyed this book and know I'll need to reread it again in the future.
  
• 
  Allie Fullerton

  A wonderful, powerful but gentle, gospel centered devotional on true joy.
• 
  Melissa

  Great little devotional for encouraging us in the Lord and seeing His purposes are good!
• 
  Cathy

  Another gem! I'm so glad I found Lydia, she is profoundly right on point.
• 
  Amanda

  Like many Christian women working full-time, I sometimes struggle to find the time for daily devotions and a time to dive into God's Word. This book was exactly what I was looking for to solve this dilemma. I have 2 15-minute breaks during my work day, and these short readings were perfect for some much-needed quiet meditation. I found them to be both refreshing and inspiring, and I often found myself wanting to share passages of the readings with others. Highly recommended.
• 
  The Gatekeeper

  This was such a great book! The readings are short, realistic, and extremely encouraging. It was a great reminder of how much I have to be joyful about - and I need every reminder I can get. I highly recommend this to all Christian women - though its message is one that applies to both male and female believers.
• 
  Sarah

  This book didn't seem as easy to understand or apply as the other ones in the series. I still liked the book and plan to keep it around for when I need a devotional to read though. I do still like the formatting of this book, and it's a good one to take on a trip or read when your schedule doesn't have much extra time in it.
• 
  PollyAnna Joy

  Well worth the read. I love that the chapters are short and easy to read, but powerful. For anyone studying JOY or just wanting to read about Joy, JOY: A GODLY WOMAN'S ADORNMENT by Lydia Brownback is definitely a must read. I will read this book, for sure, often...every year if I can.
• 
  Beth Trask

  Easy to read and contemplate as a day by day devotional.
• 
  Caitlin

  One of the best devotionals I've read. They're short, but so deep and so good! If you don't really have a lot of time, this is the perfect little devotion to read. I will be reading more of these!