Hot Buttons, the Bullying & Image editions, by Nicole O'Dell

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 Ms. O'Dell, in this series of books, encourages parents to not only face head on the issues that arise with adolescence, but to intentionally open conversations and resolve the issues that face modern teens and pre-teens before they crop up. She clearly discusses the big, taboo questions from "How do you feel about how you look?" to "Have you ever looked down on someone because of their looks or abilities?".

The first part of the book tells us the importance of pro-active, open communication and why it is important to each of these topics. This section is interlaced with testimonies from the author's life, and real-life responses of teens.

The next section is the work manual, the hands-on guide to communicating clearly, which Nicole calls "pressing the hot buttons."

  

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This section is filled with thought provoking questions and how to answer the answers. One key she always emphisizes, is to never, ever, react to what your teen says, but to act. This shows respect for their opinions and keeps communications open--the result being a teenager who is respectful of what you have to to say and is willing, wanting, waiting (thank you Mr. Doolittle), to communicate with you. If the lines of conversation stay open and clear, you eliminate a lot of the issues caused by frustration. 

These are not easy questions, and a lot of thought and massive amounts of prayer should go along with the recommended exercises.

As for recommendations, these are great books for parents (for whom they were intended) or for teachers, counselors, and youth leaders.

There are several titles in this series: 

Hot Buttons: the 30-Day Challenge

The Bullying Edition

The Dating Edition

The Drug Edition

The Image Edition

The Internet Edition

The Sexuality Edition

 

Defending the Faith by Mary Jo Sharp

By Emma Rose
Sometimes we have trouble asking ourselves why we believe what we do. As a consequence, this often hinders us from sharing our faith to others. After all, how can we explain something, if we don't even know why we believe it? The problem is most of us don't know how to go about asking ourselves the correct questions. In this step-by-step guide, Mary Jo
Sharp lays out the basis for going about building the foundation that we need.

Description:
Women want answers!

A busy twenty-first century woman who has not taken the time to think through exactly what she believes about God, even why she believes in God, tends to live as a practical atheist. Today's Christian woman needs the transformation that having a reasoned belief in the reality of God's existence can bring, the intellectual confidence that will empower her to speak boldly on faith issues, with love and self-control.

It's not that women need different or special apologetics arguments; they simply need to be encouraged and instructed in the importance of apologetics in their daily lives. Women who are exposed to apologetics find themselves energized and excited about sharing their faith with family, friends, and coworkers.

Popular apologist Mary Jo Sharp issues a personal challenge for sisters in Christ to approach their faith on an intellectual level, along with a compelling call for women's ministries to help women love God with their minds by incorporating apologetics into their programs.

Author:
Mary Jo Sharp is director of the nonprofit apologetics ministry Confident Christianity, Inc. She holds an MA in Christian Apologetics from Biola University and is Assistant Professor of Apologetics at Houston Baptist University. Sharp maintains a rigorous speaking schedule throughout the year.