Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace

by Margaret McSweeney

Publisher:

Moody Publishers

, 2009

Overview

After experiencing the death of both parents, Margaret McSweeney recognized the importance of community like never before. Through these difficult times in life, she learned how God uses gritty circumstances to conform us to the stunning image of Christ.

McSweeney also realized that she was not at all alone. It is for this reason that she decided to compile essays into an inspiring book: Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit Experiencing Grace. Through this collection, readers will be encouraged by the heartfelt writings that deal with loss and hardship in a real and honest way. Respected authors such as Shaunti Feldhahn, Melody Carlson, Debbie Macomber, Robin Jones Gunn and others help remind every woman that they are not alone and that no circumstance is beyond the grace of God.

McSweeney uses the metaphor of a pearl in order to better describe the situations that ail us all. When an oyster takes in a piece of sand in order to create its coveted masterpiece, it is initially painful to the soft flesh of the creature. But after the pain, appears a clean, white symbol of simplicity, purity, and endurance that any woman would be proud to wear. McSweeney believes that each woman is a pearl and together, form a necklace of great worth. In this book, readers will discover community and encouragement: women are alone in neither their pain nor victories in life.

Contents

Susan May Warren: Angels of Forgiveness
DiAnn Mills: Cinderella
Andrea Jones Mullins: Pushing Back the Darkness
Nicole Braddock Bromley: The Secret is Out!
Dianne Neal Matthews: The Ties that Hold
Rebecca Ondov: The Darkest Night
Brenda Neuhaus: Strength in Weakness
Michelle McKinney Hammond: Fruit for Thought
Jami Kirkbride: A Safe Embrace
Marcia Lathrop: Man’s Refuse, God’s Jewel
Lucinda Secrest McDowell: If We Are Willing, God is More than Able
Lisa Jefferson: A Life-Changing Phone Call
Mary M. Byers: The Miracle at the Post Office
Shannon Woodward: The Gift
Kendra Smiley: Half Empty/Half Full
Crystal Bowman: Little Ol’ Me
Felicia Middlebrooks Hill: Saying Good-bye to My Friend Regina
Virelle Kidder: Running to the Finish Line
Heather Gemmen Wilson: A Secret Club
Nancy Sebastian Meyer: Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Rita Canning: Rainbows: The Language of God
Jane Hampton Cook: My Weight Loss--A Heart Change
Bonnie St. John: Let God and Let Go
Lori Kasbeer: Finding God in the Waves of CHange and Brokenness
Jennifer Schuchmann: Getting Lost and Found
Cynthia K. Stiverson: "What Goes Around Comes Around"
Kimberley Woodhouse: As Seen on TV!
Karen Granger: Sacrificed Dreams
Pat Ennis: Abandonment to Hope
Kathi Macias: Learning to Set Up Chairs
Brittney Thomas: Learning to Dance
Kristin Billerbeck: I Just Don’t Fit In
Deb Kalmbach: To God Be the Glory
Tricia Goyer: God’s Plan...Not Mine
Meg Wilson: Hope After Betrayal
Shaunti Feldhahn: God’s Generosity
Camy Tang: Good for Me
Carol Kesner Ruhter: Releasing the Rope
Debbie Macomber: From a Marriage on the Rocks to One Built on The Rock
Elizabeth Musser: The Treasure in Our Suffering
Rachael Phillips: Future Perfect--Who, Me?
Melanie Talbot Montgomery: God Stayed with Me
Robin Jones Gunn: My Capsized Life
Sharon Thompson Rhea: Marissa and the Bear
Nancy Moser: Waiting and Delighting
Stacie Ruth Stoelting: Pain Forms Pearls
Sarah Chapman McManus: Hope Lives
Michele Guinness: Finding My Father
Dawn Meehan: Time
Mary E. DeMuth: Spill Your Guths to God First
Melody Carlson: Perfect Delusions
Carolyn Rhea: Thy Will Be Done?
Maureen Lang: Proof of Strength... It’s in the Genes
Jenny Tarter: No End in Sight
Trish Perry: Bigger than Fear
Patricia Crisafulli: As Tough as Pearls
Nanette Swick: "God Has Heard"
Marti Wibbels: A Season of Sorrows, A Season of Hope
Wendy Alsup: My Good and His Glory
Danielle E. Crowell: Miracles and Healing
Deborah Raney: Abba, Our Father
Anna G. Joujan: "On This Day"
Karla Porter: A Birth and a ReBirth
Julie Scudder Dearyan: Looking Backward for Forward Faith
Chris Shenk: Everyday Pearls

Product Details

• Title : Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace
• Author: McSweeney, Margaret
• Publisher: Moody Publishers
• Publication Date: 2009
• ISBN: 9781575673509

About the Author

MARGARET McSWEENEY lives with her husband, David, and two teenage daughters in the Chicago suburbs. After earning a master’s degree in international business from the University of South Carolina, Margaret moved to New York City to work at a large bank where she met David. Margaret is the editor of Pearl Girls, author of A Mother’s Heart Knows and co-author of Go Back and Be Happy. Charity and community involvement are very important to Margaret. She has served on the board of directors for WINGS (Women in Need Growing Stronger) for over six years.