For women only - review

After having read this book I feel like I want every woman I know in a relationship to read it also!!

Its great! Well so I think, I know some people say different!

I have gained so much from the wise words of Shaunti. A lot of the information I guess I already knew but I just didn't acknowledge until now.

I would recommend this book to all my girl friends out there! I think its especially good if you are in a relationship and you want to make sure the relationship stays as good as it is right now or you want it to be even better!

I have actually read a few reviews of other people and they have said they have gained so much from the book that they are giving this one and 'For Men Only' as wedding gifts! I think that's a wonderful idea!


For any of you who are reading this and thinking....'What on earth is this book about??' Look no further..here is a short summary and a few things that have been taken from the book!

For Women Only is full of eye-opening revelations you need to not only understand the man in your life, but to support and love him in the way he needs to be loved.

A friend posted this next part and this is the reason I bought it to read...Thanks Kel! :0) It gives the main highlighted issues of the book.

1. Men would rather feel unloved that inadequate and disrespected. Husbands need to know that their wives respect them publically and privately. Men thrive when they know that their wives trust them, admire them and believe in them. Shaunti Feldhaun's (Christian writer of the book) research indicates that men would rather sense the loss of loving feelings from their wives than be disrespected by them.

2. A man's anger is often in response to being disrespected by his wife. When a husband seems angry with his wife, he may not just come right out and say "You're disrespecting me!" but there's a good likelihood that he's feeling stung by something that his wife has done that he considers disrespectful and humiliating.

3. Men are insecure. Men are afraid that they're not cutting it in life - not just at work, but at home, in their role as husband. They may never vocalize this, but inwardly they are secretly vulnerable. The antidote? Affirmation. To men, affirmation from their wives is everything! If they don't receive this affirmation from their wives, they'll seek it elsewhere. When they receive regular genuine affirmation (not flattery, by the way), they become much more confident and secure in all areas of their lives.

4. Men feel the burden of being the provider for their family. Intellectually, it doesn't matter how much or how little a man makes, or whether or not his wife makes more than he does. Men simply bear the emotional burden of providing for their family. It's not a burden they've chosen to bear. Men are simply born with this burden. As such, it's never far from their minds and can result in the feeling of being trapped. Wives cannot release their husbands from this burden, but they can relieve it through a healthy dose of appreciation, encouragement and support.

5. Men want more sex. Everyone's natural response to that is probably, "Duh!" But, that response is probably for the wrong reason. We primarily think that men want more sex from their wives for a physical reason (their "needs"), but, surprisingly, research shows that men want more sex because of their strong need to be desired by their wives. Men want to be wanted. Regular, fulfilling sex is critical to a man's sense of feeling loved and desired.

6. Sex means more than sex. When men feel that their wives desire them sexually, it has a profound effect on the rest of their lives. It gives them an increasing sense of confidence and well-being that carries over into every other area of his life. The flipside of this coin also carries a profound negative effect. When a husband feels rejected sexually, he not only feels that his wife is rejecting him physically, but that she is also rejecting his life as a husband, provider and man. That's why making sex a priority in marriage is so important!

7. Men struggle with visual temptation. This means that the vast majority of men respond to visual images when it comes to women. And, this doesn't just mean the guys with wandering eyes. Even the most godly husband cannot avoid noticing a woman who dresses in a way that draws attention to her body. Even if it's just a glance, these visual images can reappear without warning. Men can choose to dwell on these images or repress them, but they cannot control that they are visual people.

8. Men enjoy romance but doubt their skills to be romantic. True, many men appear to be unromantic clods. But, it doesn't mean that they want to be that way! Men want to be romantic, but they just doubt that they can pull it off. They are plagued by internal hesitation, perceiving the risk of humiliation and failure as too high. Wives can do a great deal to increase their husbands' confidence in their romantic skills through encouragement and redefining what romance looks like. For example, a wife may balk when her husband asks her to go along to the hardware store, but it's likely that he's asking because it sees it as an opportunity for them to get away as a couple and hang out together. What's not romantic about him thinking that and wanting to be with her?

9. Men care about their wife's appearance. This isn't saying that all men want their wives to look like a supermodel. What men really want is to know that their wives are making an effort to take care of themselves (and not letting themselves go) because it matters to their husbands. Husbands appreciate the efforts their wives make to maintain their attractiveness.

10. Men want their wives to know how much they love them. This was the number one response of men. Men aren't confident in their ability to express this, but they love their wives dearly. Men want to show how much they love their wives and long to express this fact.

You may have just read over the above and thought....yeah yeah tell me something I don't know and you may think this book is not for you!!! TRUST ME GIRLS....this book is for all of us!!!!

I really do hope you will give it a read and then let me know what you think!

What im reading right now....

For Women Only (FWO) by Shaunti Feldhahn

This book is wonderful so far. It seems very insightful and I have been able to identify with a lot of points in the book. I am beginning to realise that men are very hard work at times...haha...but they are so worth it!

They have a lot of pressure on them to be a lot of different roles in a relationship and if anything this book is making me love my Richard more and more with every chapter. I understand more why he does things the way he does and how mch certain things mean to him.

If you havent read this book....I would definatly recommend getting your hands on it and reading it!!

Chicago and dinner!

Tonight my parents, sister and myself all went out for a meal and to see the show Chicago. It is my moms birthday tomorrow so my sister and I thought it would be nice to treat her to a nice meal before the show.

We took her to The Olio in Belfast which in my opinion is the best restaurant in Belfast!! Every time I g there I am very pleased with the service and the food is out of this world!!! Needless to say I was not disappointed tonight...It was amazing!


Then of course we went to see the show...i was my first time seeing it and I was very impressed!! It was great I really did enjoy the whole show! My parents and sister have seen it 3 times before and they even said it was still as good as the first time they seen it!!

All round we have a great family night out!!

The Shack - my review

For all you who have not yet read this book....here is a general outline:
The novel is set in the American Northwest. The main character is Mackenzie Philips, a father of five, called "Mack" by his family and friends.

Four years prior to the main events of the story, Mack takes his three youngest children on a camping trip to Multnomah Falls and Wallowa Lake near Joseph, Oregon. Two of his children are playing in a canoe when it flips and almost drowns Mack's son. Mack is able to save his son by leaving his youngest daughter Missy alone at their campsite.

After Mack returns, he sees that Missy is missing. The police are called, and the family discovers that Missy has been abducted and murdered by a serial killer known as the "Little Ladykiller". The police find an abandoned shack in the woods where Missy was taken, but her body is never found. Mack's life sinks into what he calls The Great Sadness.

At the beginning of the book, Mack receives a note in his mailbox from "Papa", saying that he would like to meet with Mack on that coming weekend at the shack. Mack is puzzled by the note - he has no relationship with his abusive father, who left when Mack was young. He suspects that the note may be from God, who his wife Nan refers to as "Papa".


Mack leaves his family and goes alone to the shack, unsure of what he will see there. He arrives and finds nothing, but as he is leaving the shack and its surroundings are supernaturally transformed into a lush and inviting scene. He enters the shack and encounters manifestations of the three persons of the Trinity. God the Father takes the form of an African American woman who calls herself Papa, Jesus Christ is a Mideastern carpenter, and the Holy Spirit physically manifests himself as an Asian woman named Sarayu.

The bulk of the book narrates Mack's conversations with Papa, Jesus, and Sarayu as he comes to terms with Missy's death and his relationships with the three of them. Mack also has various experiences with each of them. Mack walks across a lake with Jesus, sees an image of his father in heaven with Sarayu, and has a conversation with Sophia, the personification of wisdom. At the end of his visit, Mack goes on a hike with Papa, who shows him where Missy's body was left in a cave.


After spending the weekend at the shack, Mack leaves and immediately is nearly killed in an automobile accident. After his recovery, he realizes that he did not in fact spend the weekend at the shack, but that his accident occurred on the same day that he arrived at the shack. He also leads the police to the cave which Papa revealed, and they find Missy's body still lying there. With the help of forensic evidence discovered at the scene, the Little Ladykiller is arrested and put on trial.

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After reading this novel, I found myself having so many different emotions! The book opened my eyes and kind of made me think a lot about my own faith!

I know this book addresses a lot of issues and the biggest one for me was how I identify with the Trinity. I mean, God was portrayed as a big friendly and mothering black woman. This made me think, why do I picture God in one way and that way s never changing?

God made the world and can be anything he wants to be and appear in any image!!

Seeing Jesus as a carpenter was actually the way I do see him in my mind. Fixing things all the time.....fixing hearts and people who are broken!

The Holy Spirit physically manifested himself as an Asian woman named Sarayu....this was interesting because I have never been able to picture what the Holy Spirit looks like!! This was amazing for me.....the book just portrayed the Holy Spirit in such a naturing, caring, guiding and loving way. All the things you would expect to be portrayed and it was so easy to gain comfort from how the book made you think of her.

I need to remember not to limit them in all they can do, because they can appear in any image they choose! They can appear in a friend, husband wife, child, father, mother, even a stranger!

As a Christian myself, I found the way the author delivered the view on Faith a little comforting and at the time a little discomforting. Let me explain what I mean:

Comforting - in the way that God can appear to people and be so visual if he chooses to.

Discomforting - in the way that some people can read this book and think their faith obviously isn't strong enough to have such a revelation as Mack did in the book.

Some people may read this book and turn to Jesus for the wrong reasons, thinking that they will find answers to situations in their life........yet they don't go about actually getting to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior!!

On the other hand, some people may read this book and find themselves wanting to know Jesus more. Which is an amazing thing of course!

Personally, and this is completely my own opinion on this book......I LOVED IT!!

I found it so insightful and gripping! I didn't want to put it down the whole time I had it!

I do think it is a little unfair to led people into believing they need to have a certain level of Faith before thy can have the same kind of encounter. Also t kind of led people to believe they could find answers to similar situations if only they would open their eyes to see further than their mind allows them.

I know there has been a lot of controversy over this book since it was published and became a USA Today bestseller, having sold 1 million copies as of June 8, 2008. It has also maintained its status as #1 Paperback trade fiction seller on the New York Times best sellers list since June 2008.

I think this book is one which should be read and then an individual opinion can be gained.

Just remember we are all different and all have different perceptions on how things look, feel or smell......if we were all the the same the world would be a boring place!!

Hope you enjoy the book!