She Laughs – Book Review

Ever read Proverbs 31? I do not consider myself a Proverbs 31 woman! I am pretty sure that she would take one look at me most days and shake her head! Proverbs 31:25, “She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.” If that is not completely the opposite of me! Me without fear of the future? Guess what….she laughs alright! Ladies and gentlemen, in case you didn’t know, I have a plan. And then I have several backup plans, just in case. There is definitely fear of the future!

What is the plan for the week? Who has appointments? Who is working and on what days? What are we doing about this group of cattle? How did that cow get injured? Did the bills get paid? Why is this on the floor? Trust me…. I am definitely “concerned” with the future, even if it is just the next hour or day!

So when I was sent this book, She Laughs by Carolanne Miljavac, I laughed! God is certainly on a roll lately and you will completely understand if you read the other most recent book review here or previous blog post here. God is working on me and I must not be getting the point since He is pressing so hard!

So I dove into this really cute, very pink book. The author uses each chapter to break down how we women, mothers, can get from fear to faith. Each chapter focuses on using humorous stories in her life and her experiences to bring the reader back to scriptural references and faith based truths about ourselves.

The first chapter, “She is Restored”, focuses on finding rest and and restoration in the Father. This restoration can even come out of bad situations. “Those called according to God’s purpose will always be shown a way to make something of their pain.” And the outcome of that is the “She laughs without fear of what the future holds, because with faith her worth is always restored.” What a resounding truth that all women need to hear!

The chapter entitled, “She Speaks”, is one of my favorite. I am a firm believer in what we say. And I can say a lot of things! But I have tried to learn myself, and teach my children to speak based on this scripture. Proverbs 18:21 is one of my favorites to quote. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” This chapter really hit home to me about that inner voice. You know that one that we use and really give it to ourselves? Come on, be honest. I can’t be the only one that gives myself a hard time and a tongue-lashing or two. What we say to ourselves is as powerful and what we say to others.

Here, Carolanne refers to Isaiah 55:10-11. “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit.” What fruit are your words growing? I’m scared to think on it too long! And let’s not even get started on the words others are saying about us! I hope they are good and kind words, but more often than not, the ones we hear about are the negative ones. Those words can grow faster, I believe, than the words that are good. Why is that? Probably because once we hear them, we feed and water them instead of ripping them out at the root! “She laughs, unafraid of the enemy’s lies. When he tries to speak death, she will choose to speak life.”

“Our words should plant seeds of value, feed a hunger for love, grow ourselves as well as others, and water what is good.”

I know you are dying to read this book! You can follow this link to order from Amazon, or click on the picture below to enter a giveaway! I can’t begin to share all of the stories. From kid stories, to hitting pedestrians with her car, to thumping her husband in the head over dog poop, this book will keep you laughing from start to finish. But in the end, I believe that those laughs will sink in along with God’s word and help us all overcome fear and grow in our faith.

I will leave you with one last thought from the book. “The enemy uses fear to make you feel like you’re drowning, but here’s why she laughs. She serves a God who will part the water so she can walk out instead of staying under. All you have to do is move your feet.” Sounds simple doesn’t it? It is. It is that simple. All He is asking us to do is listen and obey. I am learning, sometimes hard lessons, but all He wants is our obedience. And when we obey, He acts on our behalf and then….she laughs. She laughs because she never had it all together. She never had any control. He had her all the time!