Soul Friends: What Every Woman Needs to Grow in Her Faith

by Leslie Parrott

Are you missing out on one of the most transforming means to a deeper and more vibrant faith? In Soul Friends , Dr. Leslie Parrott explores the intimate stages of a woman's spiritual journey while showing you how soul friendships can deepen and enlarge your faith. God brings us soul-friends to help in our spiritual journey, sometimes in predictable small groups, friendships, and mentors. But they’re sometimes found in places we don’t expect―these “hidden guides” are people, past or present, whose role in our life may even be hidden from them, but nevertheless, have a deep impact on our growth and vitality. Whether it’s a hidden guide, a member of a small group, or a friend we’ve had for years, these soul-friends all hold the potential to embody grace that enables us to take a next step in the unfolding journey of our faith. Leslie reveals how every woman traverses four stages of spiritual growth―quest, calling, crisis, and communion – again and again. And whatever stage you find yourself traveling right now, you need soul friends to help you move forward When we seize the initiative to connect, together we will form a part of the deep communion that is the sisterhood of the traveling saints, journeying together in our desire to know God, serve him, and love him more deeply. Through story, poem, and reflection, Leslie Parrott reminds each of us of the incredibly intimate, intricate, faith-forming work God does in us through the gift of the women he places in our lives.

Genres: Friendship, Religion, Christian Living, Christian Non Fiction, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published February 3, 2015

About the author

#1 New York Times best-selling authors, Les and Leslie. A husband-and-wife team who not only share the same name, but the same passion for helping others build healthy relationships. In 1991, the Parrotts founded the Center for Relationship Development on the campus of Seattle Pacific University - a groundbreaking program dedicated to teaching the basics of good relationships.

Married in 1984, the Parrotts bring real-life examples to their speaking platform. Their professional training - Leslie as a marriage and family therapist, and Les as a clinical psychologist - ensures a presentation that is grounded, insightful and cutting-edge.

The Parrotts are New York Times #1 Best Selling Authors. Their books include the award-winning Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts, Love Talk, Real Relationships, The Parent You Want to Be, The Hour That Matters Most and Crazy Good Sex.

Each year Les and Leslie speak in over 40 cities. Their audiences include a wide array of venues, from churches to Fortune 500 company board rooms. Their books have sold over two million copies in more than two dozen languages.

The Parrotts have been guests on many national TV and radio programs such as CNN, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, The View with Barbara Walters, NBC Nightly News, and Oprah. Their work has been featured in USA Today and The New York Times.

Visit their website for lots of free resources at www.LesandLeslie.com

Reviews

[Casey | Essentially Novel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went into this book expecting it to be about friendships and developing strong, biblical relationships. What I found was that each chapter likens to a short essay with a few questions at the end. But the bulk of this small book is just stories: from the author’s life, people she’s met, and even from movies and novels. There are also a ton of “I” statements that made this one come across as self-centered. Plus, I did not care for the author’s statement at the beginning of the book, saying men’s brains are damaged and that it affects their capacity for connection and emotion. How about that men are created and wired differently, not that there’s something wrong with them, which is what the word damaged implies. With not much Scriptural foundation nor relevance to its title, this book was a disappointment.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It's like talking with a friend. It helped me through a very difficult time. God's word always provide comfort. Leslie Parrott's honesty, compassion, humanity helped my tender heart hurt a little less and her love for God and spiritual support was so helpful to me.

Thank you for sharing and writing this book. God bless you.

[Jenny Moyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the short chapters of this book providing snippets of wisdom and encouragement. It wasn’t a life changing book, but had solid insights into living life with others. It’s a good book to read after a bad day when you need a little pick me up.

[ANTHONY ALONSO · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great time that I'm going through and confronting my best friend what she had meant to me bringing me to christ

Rating i had chosen cause made me think and come back to christ and what friend means to me and having a sister in christ

[Kierstin O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book with with quick chapters and short nuggets. Perfect for someone busy with not much time. The nuggets of truth buried throughout are refreshing and encouraging in all stages of life.

[Michele Morin · Rating 3 out of 5]

We live the questions, holding one another’s feet to the fire.
We raise our kids and pray for each other on those “I’m a Rotten Mom” Days.
They know us at our worst, and they love us anyway!
They are our Soul Friends: What Every Woman Needs to Grow in Her Faith.

Dr. Leslie Parrot writes that these deep-spirited relationships are the essential element to the formation of her faith, but Soul Friends is no formulaic manual for finding or being a better friend. Dr. Parrott invites her readers to turn the pages and feel the warmth of a spiritual journey, lived alongside sisters-in-faith who believingly follow Jesus. Sharing the faith journey “where you are right now” is a process of living, obeying, loving and believing “right there,” in the context and with the people God has provided. This spiritual journey in company with one’s soul friends is marked by four major landmarks:

1. Quest: This is a recognition of one’s own adventure and involves finding the treasure of God’s will and, in the process, becoming a treasure for those we know and love.

2. Calling: God’s action plan for the traveler requires humility, for we are ever in the process of being stretched as we depend on God and the sustenance of our soul friends along the way.

3. Crisis: We travel an unknown road and find grace to meet the challenges. Dr. Parrott’s account reads like excerpts from a spiritual journal as she walks beside those who battle cancer, mourn the loss of a child, absorb the news of unexpected pregnancy, or manage the decline of a beloved parent.

4. Communion: The command to love one another is the essence and the destination of our spiritual journey. Travelling with soul friends, the expedition transcends the ordinary, yielding “fruit that remains,” (John 15).

Rich in supporting Scripture and following a framework of wise quotations ranging from Winnie the Pooh to Henri Nouwen; Harriet Beecher Stowe and Leslie’s own lyrical poetry, Soul Friends is realistic:


“No matter how deep the synchronicity of souls, there will always be gaps. True love wakes up every morning and recognizes the need to stretch stiff muscles that may even be sore from the work of loving the day before.”

It is inspirational:


” . . . a simple life freely given in love can transcend the boundaries of place and time, stretching across oceans and extending beyond continents and decades.”

Questions for consideration at the end of each vignette probe and push on the point asking, “How would this aspect of godliness look in your real life?” Each essay serves as a picture in Leslie’s album, compelling her readers to look around and ask, “Whom can I invite to share this adventure?”

We benefit from Leslie’s travels (South Africa, Maui, Italy!), her role models (missionary Gladys Aylward, Jean-Pierre de Cassade, Amy Carmichael), and her mile stones (a family move to downtown Seattle; mentoring a band of delightfully flawed females). Her quirky perspective and lively faith invite us all into “the ministry of presence,” which makes the presence of God visible in this world.

This book was provided by Zondervan through the Book Look Bloggers program in exchange for my honest review.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a great reminder of how God wants you to share your life with your community. Dr. Leslie Parrott explains that you need to open up to people God brings in your life. You never know how He will use that person to help you in your daily Christian walk. Even if you tend to be very guarded and not always welcoming people to your inner circle, Dr. Leslie Parrott explains why this is important as you travel through your four stages of spiritual growth- quest, calling, crisis and communion. This book is perfect when you find yourself in a friendship dry spell, or it would be excellent as a gift to a friend!

[Malvina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely and gentle inspirational book about how soul friends can deepen and expand your faith. Loved the various illustrations she used, including some Winnie the Pooh moments...

[Jdoerner · Rating 4 out of 5]

great self-help book.