A BETTER ENCOURAGEMENT:
Trading Self-Help for True Hope
By Lindsey Carlson
Crossway. 174 pages. £10
ISBN 978 1 433 577 710
Encouragement: that thing we long for more of; that thing we know to be good for us; that thing we long to give to others; and yet the thing that is all-too-often fleeting or elusive. Why?
Lindsey Carlson – native Texan, pastor’s wife, and mother – addresses women specifically, although her Biblical examination of encouragement is certainly relevant for men too. Carlson tackles the reason why a better encouragement is needed in a Christian culture that has been invaded by self-help strategies, empty platitudes and false promises: ‘You can do it!’; ‘You’re amazing!’; ‘You can be whatever you want to be’. Lies masquerading as truth which fail to provide real or lasting encouragement.
