It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books.  A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured.  The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between!  Enjoy your free peek into the book!


You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Amy Hayes

and the book:

I Am My Beloved’s: Christian Devotionals for the Bride to Be

Madison Street Publishing (January 11, 2012)

***Special thanks to Rosanne Spears of Madison Street Publishing for providing a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Amy Hayes makes her home in Portland, Oregon with her husband Doug where they have raised five children and are now thoroughly enjoying four grandchildren. Her commitment to Jesus Christ has inspired her to serve numerous people in her church both as pastor's wife and wedding coordinator. Her books, All Things are Ready, I Am My Beloved's, and Advent and Christmas in Family Worship, are the fruit of these labors.

Amy offers wedding tips on her blog at http://www.weddingchristian.com/blog/

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

I Am My Beloved’s is a collection of Christian devotionals, written for the bride-to-be, designed to help her keep her perspective and sanity during the tumultuous weeks of wedding planning. In thirteen chapters filled with spiritual and practical application, Amy Hayes encourages brides to be a blessing to those around them and to glorify God throughout the period of life we call engagement. The Bible-based devotionals in this book provide a pleasant oasis for the busy bride to be refreshed in graciousness and godliness as she travels the exciting journey toward her wedding day.

The foreword and the chapters contained in this volume are excerpted from the larger work All Things Are Ready: A Bride’s Complete Christian Wedding Planner (Doorposts Publishing, 2012).

Product Details:
Kindle Copy
List Price: $4.99

File Size: 135 KB
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Madison Street Publishing (January 11, 2012)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B006WQLOMY

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

A New Name

“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”

(Song of Songs 6:3)

The glory of a wedding is two people becoming one in Christ. A new family. New identities taken as new names are bestowed—Husband and Wife. Partners who will carry forth His work better as one than as two halves. Marriage is a beautiful picture of love, cherishing, submitting, and working which reflects the relationship of Christ and His Church. It is a marvelous mystery and one of the greatest joys of our journey through life in God’s world.

Even now, before you are named Wife, you have taken on a new name, identity, and work. Your name now is Bride. The question is: how will you wear this name? Will you be the Bride who is making herself ready for the Bridegroom (Revelation 19:7-8, Esther 2:12-13)? Or will a self-seeking attitude bring confusion and disorder to your wedding planning (James 3:16)?

The Bride is usually considered the center of the wedding preparations. This means you will receive much of the attention, glory, and blessings. It also means you set the tone. Just as a woman creates the atmosphere of a home for good or ill (Proverbs 12:4, 14:1, 18:22, 19:13-14, 21:9, 19, 25:24, 27:15, 31:10), the Bride creates the tone of an engagement. How you think, act, speak, and work during the next weeks and months will determine whether your engagement is a time of joy and anticipation or stress and frustration. How will you wear the name of Bride?

Consider the weeks that lie before you as an opportunity. What can you do during your time as “Bride” to be a blessing? There are many people surrounding you during engagement that you can bless with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. Consider your husband-to-be, mother, mother-in-law, father, maid-of-honor, bridesmaids, friends, your groom’s friends—the list could go on. For many of these participants, your attitude toward them will determine their experience of your wedding. Bestow blessings upon them.

One way to bless those around you is to share your joy. Most couples will naturally be pretty wrapped up in only each other during their engagement. It will bless your friends and family, however, if you take time to bring them into your plans, conversations, and activities. Give liberally of your time and attention. Enjoy their excitement over your happiness. Your friends and family will want to be a part of what is going on with you and be reassured that they still have a place in your life. Take time to notice what is happening in their lives. Be careful not to fall out of all other relationships as you focus on your relationship with your fiancé.

A bride can also be a blessing by practicing the good habits of a godly wife now. Ward off the many temptations incumbent in being a bride by actively choosing to love your groom in your words, actions, thoughts, and priorities. It is very easy as a bride to unintentionally fall into unlovely habits. Avoiding this requires actively pursuing the good habits you wish to have as a wife. Remember to put your groom’s desires before yours in the details of the wedding, seek out ways to include and enjoy his family members in your plans, take time to put aside planning and just focus on giving love and attention to him, and spend time praying and preparing for your coming role as wife. Such positive actions will help keep you from sin and prepare you to be a blessing to your husband when you exchange “Bride” for “Wife.” Habits are hard to break for good or ill. Use your engagement period to form good habits.

Also keep in mind that your groom may or may not have as much time as you to spend on the wedding. Be gracious and understanding of his time constraints and energy level. Give time to one another that doesn’t involve the wedding. If possible, consider taking one night a week as a date-night during which no wedding plans are discussed. Go out and enjoy one another’s company. Talk about his week at work and your future together. Tell him what you appreciate about him. This may seem obvious; however, as the busyness and stress of the wedding builds, you may find yourself forgetting to do these simple things. As far as is possible with you, do not let the wedding overshadow the marriage. Put your fiancé and your relationship with him first.

Aside from the relationship with your groom, two of the people you can most bless during your time as a Bride are your parents. This can be a particularly difficult transition for parents. While you are excited to start a new life, they are anticipating letting you go and the many changes that will bring. This will be even more true if you have been living at home with them up to your wedding day. Little attentions towards your parents will make your time as a Bride especially sweet to them as well as you.

Typically, Mom will be heavily involved in the wedding plans and trying to spend as much time with you as possible before you marry. Do your best to welcome the extra involvement and be grateful for her help. Be sensitive to your mom’s stress level and gracious as you work through problems with the wedding plans or differences of opinion on wedding decisions.

Keep in mind that she may have been dreaming of this day even longer than you have! Most moms will feel particularly blessed by a daughter who makes an effort to spend time together before the wedding. Go on a mother-daughter date. Ask your mom’s advice on your coming marriage. Be creative in finding ways to show your appreciation for all she has done to prepare you to be a wife. Let her know that you want her to be a part of your special day and new life.

Dad is often expected to stay in the background and just write checks. Many dads, however, would love to have their opinions requested and considered. Does he have any ideas or wishes for how his money is spent? His helpful input may extend beyond who you should marry, if only you’d ask him!

Dad also probably has a lot to work through at the thought of giving away his daughter. Continuing to show deference and affection for your father as you prepare to leave his home and leadership will strengthen your relationship and bless him. What thoughtful actions can you take towards your father when you are spending your final weeks as Daddy’s girl? He will appreciate the attention just as much as Mom.

As you walk through this wedding process, it will help you navigate possible pit-falls if you make it your mission from the beginning to put on the self-sacrificial mind of Christ in your attitudes and responses to the various situations that will arise during the wedding preparations (Philippians 2:2-16). Hold your plans loosely. Realize that some things just won’t work out. Consider others’ plans, needs, and expectations as you approach various decisions and especially disagreements that may arise. Take a moment’s pause before responding to every situation. Check your attitude. Begin your wedding planning process with a commitment to put on the mind of Christ, who laid down His life for others.

Lastly, enjoy this time! That also may seem a little obvious. Sometimes, though, when we get carried away with the busyness of life we forget to step back and take joy in the process. Enjoy the memories you are making with your mom, your girlfriends, your fiancé, and your families. It may be cliché, but stopping to smell the roses is valuable advice. Planning the wedding may be a bit of a blur, but try and pause once in a while to enjoy your moments. If nothing else, take lots of pictures so you can look back and enjoy them later! Ecclesiastes tells us there is nothing better than to eat, drink, and enjoy the fruit of our labor. Be sure in the midst of all your wedding labors to take a few minutes to enjoy them.

Each of the devotionals in this book is designed to encourage you in your journey to wifehood. Each contains a little something to meditate on in the midst of your plans, to help you focus on becoming a wife and finding joy along the way. I pray you will find these encouraging. May they help you relax, enjoy your wedding planning, and be a blessing and find blessing in it all.