Satisfied by Alyssa Joy Bethke

This is a beautiful book. It's one you could place on your coffee table or a shelf convenient for frequent perusal. The photos by Jenna Strubhar are stunning. There are beautiful landscape photos and fun scenes of the Bethke family and friends. But the photos are only there to support insightful comments.

Bethke explores a number of themes in this book. Moving to Hawaii, for example, she writes of the struggle to find new women friends. She realized, “God is the only One who will ever fully satisfy our longing souls.” (10) She has a touching account of her miscarriage and the work of grief on her healing journey. She shares her thoughts on the power of music, the trap of comparison, dealing with fear, body image and identity, holy moments, consumerism and more.

This is a beautiful and insightful book for the young Christian. It provides an opportunity to stop and take a few moments to gaze at wonderful scenes and read encouraging comments on living life for Jesus. It would be especially attractive to women who love garden tea parties and luncheons where all the women wear dresses. Bethke has included some of her favorite recipes too.

Don't be intimidated by the family photos with beds all made and pillows strategically places, shelves and play areas tidy, kids with absolutely clean clothes, cleverly decorated rooms with no dust bunnies or dirty kitchen counters. While Bethke sometimes writes about the messes of life, none of them were allowed to be seen in the perfectly crafted photos.

You can find out more about the book and watch the book trailer here.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Alyssa Joy Bethke is a mother of three children, Kinsley, Kannon, and Lucy, and a dog named Aslan. She and her husband, Jeff Bethke, live in Maui, and are bloggers, YouTubers, and hosts of The Real-Life podcast. Jeff and Alyssa are the New York Times bestselling authors of Jesus > Religion and It's Not What You Think and Love That Lasts. They are passionate about encouraging and strengthening families at familyteams.com a program that brings families together with the idea of becoming a team.

Worthy Books, 240 pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)