Shine Bright: 60 Days to Becoming a Girl Defined by God

by Kristen Clark, Bethany Beal

As Christian girls, it's hard to hold on to a sense of who we are in Christ in a world that is constantly telling us who we should be. But our worth isn't defined by society. It's defined by our loving God, who made us and calls us his redeemed daughters. God has a good plan for our beauty, femininity, relationships, and identity and wants to help us thrive in his freeing design.

That's what Kristen Clark and Bethany Beal have been sharing in their popular books, videos, podcast, and blog. Now they offer this 60-day devotional to help you find your entire identity in Christ. Beautifully designed and filled with uplifting Scripture, sincere encouragement, questions for reflection, some good laughs, and room to journal, Shine Bright makes a lovely and thoughtful gift--for a friend, a mom, a daughter, or yourself!

Genres: Nonfiction, Devotional, Christian Living, Christian Non Fiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2021

About the author

Kristen Clark is married to her high school sweetheart, Zack, and has a background in Biblical counseling, young women's ministry, teen mentoring, online blogging, and is the co-founder of GirlDefined Ministries. She and her sister, Bethany, are passionate about fighting feminism, embracing gender distinctions, and empowering young women to live out their God defined purpose. You can read her weekly blog posts at girldefined.com or follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/girldefined.

Reviews

[Audra Lowery · Rating 1 out of 5]

Condescending and contradictory. It's not worth downloading on the apps that have it for free. I was shocked when I checked their social media after receiving this book. It's constant talk about masturbation and giving up on dreams while begging for money from teens. Very strange for grown women.

[Ylva · Rating 1 out of 5]

Proof can be found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/FundieSnarkU...

The authors have been soliciting positive reviews and suggested launch team members leave a positive review without necessarily reading the book. One who refused was kicked off the launch team without an explanation and now they spread the rumour the person had been "hostile" towards the launch and that's why they were removed.

Regarding the book, it is rather superficial and does not offer a lot to "dig deep" into Scripture. We often get verses without context and just one or two verses to "dig deeper. I would have rated it a 2 stars probably if there hadn't been this unprofessional conduct and two very concerning messages:

- all you need to conquer an anxiety disorder with severe somatic symptoms is a few Bible verses

- if you struggle with masturbation or other sexual sin, you are told to discuss this with church leaders or teachers of any gender. I think it is highly inappropriate for a teenage girl to talk to a male leader about her masturbation habits and might create an opportunity for abuse. They should have given more guidelines on how to discern who is trustworthy or not.

[bunny ᥫ᭡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

lmao they’re probably writing all the 5 stars themselves. gitk bro

[Charmaine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I came across the ebook because of all the stuff that surrounded about how they kicked someone off their launch party.


I don’t think it’s a book for adults. I think it was for teenager girls who haven’t experienced the harsh reality of adulting. Which is fine, but I gave it one star based on the fact that each day it starts out with a Bible verse, a little mini story about some sin they struggle with, asks us to get books that they authored before on their blog or refers to different books that they encourage us to read based on the sin. Then they end it with a few Bible verses they want us to focus on. That’s pretty much how it is each chapter.


I wasn’t interested in doing devotions because I already had a book I really love, because it focuses on one Bible verses and it explains what that verse means, and then ask us what we can do to apply it to our lives which is the opposite of what Shine Bright does. So, I had speed-read the ebook and feeling like, the writers are very sheltered about how life is really about. Although I did enjoy Kristen’s mini stories more than I did with Bethany’s. Maybe because her life stories were more in line with what I had experienced from life, but still I felt like I had experienced life more than they did because it felt like their conflicts was all about teenage conflicts. Once again, I am 34 and this book would probably work on younger girls.


One thing I however do not agree with. Girls should not be bringing sexual issues they have to their pastors or youth pastors. If they feel obligated to tell someone, their mothers is probably the best to be discussing about this, or maybe their friends if they don’t have a good relationship with their mothers. Discussing about sexual sins has a way of bringing predators out to abuse the vulnerable girls because they were so sheltered that they have no understanding of predators.


I understand that I am a Christian, but that there are Christians out there who are stricter than I am, and I believe strict Christians would probably like the book more than I did.

[Alli B · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very poorly researched and edited. The lessons are frivolous and lack substance. Also includes lots of advertising for their other content instead of just including it, apparently as a cash grab.

[Kayla · Rating 1 out of 5]

Save your money, don’t support these clowns.

[Liza Tabita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this resource for young women and teens! This book helps you start your time in the Bible. For girls that struggle with their devotional time with God this book is great! Each day you have a Bible verse, a devotional and one or two questions that help you go deeper. I highly recommend this book!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an honest review

[Benjamin · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a Christian myself, my advice for anyone who considers getting the book would be to steer clear of it and not waste their money and time. It is poorly researched (if we are to speak about research at all), misleading, sometimes even downright toxic. There is nothing Christian or godly about the book. Do you want to honor God with your life? Then maybe get your advice from people who are not obsessed with talking about boys and masturbation and invest in books from authors who actually do have some expertise in the fields they are writing about. Bethany and Kristen appear to be narcissistic immature women who never got to grow up from their high school years.

Honestly, the book would be better (both stylistically and content-wise) if a 12-year-old wrote it. I only finished because I wanted to make the review as unbiased as possible (also, the writing was so bad it was actually funny at times).

[Brittany Neely · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was just released yesterday and I’m so excited to have gotten my hands on a copy of this brand new devotional. As a new believer, there are soooo many things that I am trying to understand about having a relationship with God. I recently purchased my very first Bible, and after reading the Book of Mark...I was very overwhelmed with what I should read next and how to make real-life connections to the Scripture. Kristen and Bethany’s book explained things in such a comforting and heartfelt way, as if you were having coffee with them on a Sunday afternoon. The book feels very easy going yet inspirational, and encourages readers to see the Bible as something that you can connect with and apply in modern day situations. It reminds you that we were all lost at some point...but God has found us and is asking us to honor His name. We have been chosen for a very specific purpose: to carry out God’s plan here on earth. The Shine Bright devotional allows us to acknowledge and accept these truths. It encourages us to shine our light every single day by connecting us with the Word of God. I highly recommend this devotional and I will be sharing it with everyone I know. It was THAT good.

[111 222 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t usually post stuff like this. I don’t normally write things like this; I don’t like to feed into drama; I don’t want to air dirty laundry on the fucking Internet.

But quite frankly, Kristen and Bethany are just high school me and girls that never grew up out of high school.

So this might be interesting to you. I thought you might wanna know a little bit about what’s going on behind the scenes with the launch team, for shine bright, 60 days to becoming a girl defined by God by Kristen Clark and Bethany beal.


So I’ve been on multiple launch teams, with them and there’s always a fair amount of drama. They are exceedingly immature and exceedingly unprofessional. They do not handle criticism well; however, this time is up to the nth degree.

In particular, I was part of the first wave of the launch for their new devotional, which is terrible FYI.

They wanted people on their book launch team to email and message others and hosts of podcasts, about their podcast.
Honestly, just felt weird like we didn’t sign up to volunteer to help promote the podcast. We did it to talk about the book, so it felt strange that they were asking that.


I wanna point out we weren’t being paid for this. In fact, we had to pre-order a book. Which might be the publisher. Not Kristen and Bethany; I have signed up other book launch teams. That has required, that and it’s been a publisher thing.


Additionally, the gifts that we received were lackluster. At best, I know that’s like a silly thing to care about.

However, they made a big deal. about how you were going to get a special gift, and a note, from Kristen and
Bethany.
When in reality, instead of a personal gift. Generic PR packaging generic PR gift generic PR note.

Which wouldn’t be a big deal if they hadn’t made such a big deal about it. But, instead, when I went to apply, almost everything I saw was signup, and you’ll get a note from Kristen Bethany, a memorable gift.
So to has received something generic that felt like a brush-off if I’m sincere.

Within 24 hours of the book being released, there was a major glitch in the matrix.


Basically, something went wrong with the box is not being scanned, in, or delivered on time, to places like Amazon warehouses and other book retailer warehouses.
Which this did not just affect Kristen and Bethany, FYI. Around the same, time there was some sort of glitch in the Amazon system. It made a bunch of books unavailable.
This was nothing, personal just a combination of some sort of weird. Computer glitch. When they were doing some kind of routine maintenance on Amazon, as well as Covid related delays.

Naturally, this is not the way Kristen and Bethany took it more on that later.

AnyWho because the e-books were available, people were buying them I’m on release day.

they started writing reviews
I wanna say a good 90% of those early reviews were fair and, quite frankly—the kind of one-star reviews one wants to receive.

Look negative reviews, aren’t fun for anybody to get. And I totally understand being upset about ones that are entirely skating.

But sometimes, in fact, a lot of times, they are pretty reasonably critical and actually give you a good insight into how your work could improve. And these are the best of the best, And indeed what you hope for negative reviews to be.
They were asking questions Kristen and Bethany should’ve asked.
they were pointing out issues that Kristen and Bethany have with their writing and structure ETC

They weren’t attacking, they weren’t skating, they weren’t cruel. On the contrary, they were excellent and helpful.

Of course, that’s not the way it was handled, unfortunately.

Regardless people started to freak out. Including Kristen and Bethany, there is immediate pressure from Kristen and Bethany and other people in the group to immediately write a five-star review.
I wanna point out that at the time, several people hadn’t even received their books yet.

Somewhere in there, Kristen or Bethany, I’m not sure which.

This ended up progressing this whole review debacle. To the point where Kristen and Bethany, not in so many words. Told people. To go and report, thumbs down, and outright attack negative reviewers.

Kristen or Bethany, I’m not sure which made this decision.

Essentially decided on these negative reviews because they had more thumbs up.
Then that meant it was a personal attack. Not for the record, im not kidding being hyper hyperbole like I wish I was.

Is this possible? Sure. Is it likely probably not?

So there was tons of pressure to write a five-star review. Regardless of honesty, I’m not OK with that.

To be avoid being bullied. I ended up bumping up my review from what it really should be.
I got scared of how some of these people were acting, many of them in their 20s. About negative reviews of a book, yikes,
Like you got to the point where people were probably checking things, like Amazon. Good reads five times a day to thumbs down negative reviews. That’s not freaking normal or healthy.

I thought Kristen and Bethany had a really great option there. To be like, hey look negative. Review sucks, but it’s a part of the job. We’re gonna read our thoughts, and we’re gonna be OK. But they didn’t, and they encouraged, oh my God, it’s just high school behavior.

Currently, they are on their second launch team.

Now let’s get into that tear-filled video about how their book launch wasn’t going well.

If you’re sensing animosity, that’s because there is some.

So basically, they had about 100 people ready and willing to help them launch their book that had agreed to it, and instead of coming to us and explaining to us what was going on and helping us figure out the plan.

They decided to post a video on Instagram and not communicate with their launch team at all.
At all.
We had to go to Instagram to find out anything.

We didn’t even know we had to reapply until someone saw it on Instagram, and they didn’t even confirm until almost 2 weeks later.


I’d like to point out that many of us had already written reviews at this point. Many of us had dedicated hours, if not days, to the project. I myself had taken, in three days, and read the book, neglecting other work I had. to make sure this book review was out as fast as possible.


Even though all of us had given hours upon, hours upon hours, tons of work put in a ton of effort.
Kristen and Bethany decided to disregard their team and what we were doing because. There was a glitch with the release, and instead of utilizing us and pushing, forward. they decided to hell with it


We’re going to get a new team because we don’t like this team anymore. After all, its launch didn’t go well.
Like seriously, so disrespectful, so unprofessional, I
The thing that really really really bothered me about that whole situation

Was then they started begging people to buy their book again

Many of these people had already pre-ordered a book. Myself included.

But they wanted us to order more copies from the publisher.

In fact, they released a coupon code. So if you ordered, I think 10 or more copies, yeah.

It’s also important to note that they have a flat of books. They have an apartment of this book, in particular, at least I think it is.

They wanted to donate some books to some youth groups, OK fine. They want people to send money to their Venmo to contribute to these groups, and I just felt awesome sauce.


They are in their 30s, obsessed with sex and masturbation, and cannot write for a lick of shame.


If I didn’t know they were in their 30s, I would think they were teenagers. That is the impression that the writing gives.
This is their fourth book, hoping that they would learn how to write by now.
Yeah, I know Kristen and Bethany, don’t know how to write, don’t know how to do research, don’t even get me started on that.

In summary, it’s terrible, and their behavior is shocking and inappropriate.



Also according, to some stuff I’ve seen on good reads, it sounds like it might be worse now.

So yeah, there you go 🤣 , my first and last post probably on this forever ever.

[Hannah Craft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Girl Defined in itself is such a blessing of a ministry and when I heard they were writing a devotional, I just had to have it! When I finally received the book and cracked it open, I was not only astounded by its physical beauty, but also the beauty of the content inside.

Here's what I love about it:
First, it's divided by day so you know where to start and where you left off.
Second, it always points back to scripture and gives you questions or a Bible study method to use for deeper study.
Third, each day can be as quick or as long as you need it to be because of how it's set up. They provide a great jumping off point to either have a quick 20 minute quiet time (if that's what your schedule allows) or a deep dive into the scripture they explore for that day.

You need to get your hands on this devotional!

[Chloe Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the biblical, Christ-focused books of Girl Defined, Love Defined, and Sex, Purity, and the Longings of a Girl's Heart, Bethany and Kristen come through again in this brand new devotional! Shine Bright is a devotional that truly helps Christian women get into the Word daily and habitually. It's simple, yet theologically sound and precise. If you've been struggling to get into God's word or don't know where or how to start, this book is for you! If you already have a grace-based structure for Bible study, and want to switch things up or add to your routine, this book is for you! No matter what stage you are at on your walk with God, this book is for you!

I've read devotionals that try to supplant the Bible. This devotional is not one of them. Instead, Kristen and Bethany really encourage on every page to go to God's word ourselves and dig deeper into the truths they share that they have learned and gleaned from the Bible. Every woman would benefit from this resource to cultivate a grace-based habit of listening to God through the Word He provided.

So some of you original launch team members may have received this comment on your Goodreads review. The review she left of the book explains her assumption that she was kicked out of the launch team because she wouldn’t give a 5 star review. What’s worse is that she spammed nearly every 5 star review on Goodreads with this message, insisting that we tell everyone that our positive reviews were coerced.

While it was true that the difficult decision was made to remove a team member, this was done out of concern that she was not honoring community guidelines and had hostile motives in joining the launch team. Unfortunately, this seems to be proven true by the review she left of the book

To address her comment, you are not required to identify yourself as a member of the launch team in your review. However, you are highly encouraged to state that you received a free copy from the publisher for the purpose of reviewing it. You are also not required or coerced in any way to give a five star review. We want your reviews to be honest.


*I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an honest review.

[Bethel Grove · Rating 5 out of 5]

In their devotional, Shine Bright, sisters Kristen Clark and Bethany Beal help young women get into God’s Word with 60 days of Scriptures, journaling prompts, and other spiritual exercises. Sharing stories and insights that are both new and familiar to the followers of their ministry GirlDefined, Kristen and Bethany connect the Scriptures they share with real-life experiences in a way that is engaging and relevant. Through the variety of Scriptures and topics they discuss, you are given a picture of what it looks like to become a woman defined by God’s Word, which will give the readers the ability to “shine bright” for Christ, if they choose to embrace these truths. This book is well-written and well-designed (the cover is so cute!). Designed to encourage the reader to build consistent Bible study habits, this book would a great option for any teen girls or young women that want to develop the discipline of doing devotions. Get your copy today!
*I received a copy from the publisher for the purpose of an honest review

[Libby Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall this has been the best of, Kristen’s and Bethany’s books.
The short format, works very well for the writing style.
I think it’s straight to the point without wondering, no endless metaphors. Which, was really nice to see from both of them.

The book itself is easier, to read, in the past, they’ve been sort of harder to read. with my dyslexia, this one is a lot easier.

It’s also a gorgeous cover, gorgeous inside, the whole book is simply gorgeous. props to the designer.

Now let’s talk about the drawbacks.

The amount of times that Kristen and Bethany both mention something to do with their ministry. Is will exhaustive and offputting.

There’s barely a chapter/day where they’re not mentioning, their ministry the sisterhood, or the girl defined sisterhood,
Often times directly saying go to our website, read are blogs, subscribe to are content.

I get that you want to promote, yourself but you don’t need, to do it in every page, of your book. trust me I get that ,self-promotion is a huge, part of the social media job. This is excessive,

Overall this is nice, The short format works really well. I hope they write more stuff like this.

Glad to pick up a copy.

I was in this book for review I am on Book  to launch team all opinions are my own

[Jashania · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are like Martha in the Bible, who is focused on getting the work done but sometimes loses focus like Mary, this book is for you. Bethany and Kristen give every Christian girl from different stages of life the opportunity to set a quiet time and rest at Jesus’ feet. You have the chance to read a Devo and then submerge in the word, always being fulfilled on a busy day (Coming from a Ph.D. student and a full-time employee, this is a great resource!) It can fit into a book bag or purse to read when going to either class or during lunch. This devotional reminded me of how we would write devotionals in our campus ministries. You get to know the author based on their stories and their interests. You are then given a chance to read a scripture based on a particular day with a prompt for a journal. Remember to grab your Journal to sow what was planted by these wonderful Deborahs!
Disclaimer: I received this copy from the publisher for an honest review.

[Akemi Hori · Rating 5 out of 5]

A MUST-read !! I found tremendous encouragement to live out my faith in Christ in an effective manner and SHINE brighter in the midst of an increasingly darker world.
Kristen & Bethany share their wisdom and insight from a practical, sister-relatable perspective— their love for Jesus and younger sisters in Christ permeates the pages of this devotional.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so excited to have a copy of Kristen and Bethany’s new devotional!! I can’t wait to read it!!
Based on what I’ve seen of it, as well as how much I’ve enjoyed their first 3 books, I know I’m going to enjoy this. God bless!

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an honest review

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would recommend Girl Defined Ministries to any girl of any age! And Shine Bright is such a wonderful Devotional that I feel so blessed to be reading! So encouraging and so convicting, yet all done with such grace as a goal for one thing: To be a girl that chases God’s Word for Truth and Glorifies Him in every aspect of life!
Shine Bright is amazing and I would encourage all girls to read it!!

[Kaylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome way to get in the Word every day!! Great habit starter! Lots of room to add my own notes and offers additional references to look up to keep the studying going!

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a blessing it is have this devotional! I’m currently reading it, and I know it’ll be such an encouragement! I urge you (whoever is reading this) to buy a copy for yourself. Read it by yourself, or with a friend!

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the day-to-day format of the devotional. Each day is 2-3 pages of insightful information that helps point the readers, young and old, to find their identity in God and not in the world. Each day provides an extra passage to read and questions to help you dive deeper into the topic of the day. Highly recommend!!

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a teen this book had really helped my faith as I was struggling to get into the word. Great book!

[Tiffany Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so much
You all need to get this book

[Rachel Bassett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have not finished this book yet so me review will be written for the part that I have read

I have been reading this devotional for just over a week. I have throughly enjoyed reading this and found it to be an easy way to get back into the bible. I am the type of person who likes to write down what I have read and what it meant this devotional makes that easy as they explain what the verses mean and they relate them back to experiences that most girls / women have gone through. I throughly enjoyed Isiah 41:10 and found myself crying and feeling really connected to the verse and story . I even texted my best friend and my mum and we spoke about it . This has definitely reignited my love for devotional time especially the go deeper sections as they give you more scripture or guided payer or questions to ask . This has definitely brought the structure back into my quiet time . It’s not the best devotional on the market and I definitely don’t recommend this to older more mature Christians .Overall if your a teenager or a newer Christian you will probably more than likely benefit from this book .

*I was kindly accepted into the Girl Defined Launch Team
However I bought the book myself and was not sent or provided with a free copy so all thoughts and comments are my own
*

[Lillie Blankenship · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly encourage anyone who wants to find their identity in Christ or to grow their identity in Christ, to read Shine Bright. This 60-day devotional is relatable, encouraging, empowering, and moving. This is a good study for someone who is new to their faith because they give you scriptures to read. This is excellent for people who want to grow their faith because they give you challenging questions and scriptures to think about. I know sometimes we get into devotionals and by the tenth day or so we want to quit reading, however, this is different because there is a whole GirlDefined community to read it with. Starting June 1st there is a summer study for Shine Bright so hurry up and grab your copy today so that you can reflect the Savior with us!

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an honest review*

[stuck_in_a_booksuzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed reading this devotional, I've learnt so much!

[Rébecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are so many things that I enjoyed and appreciated about this book!
All of the topics are approached with humbleness and encouragement. The verses used and the questions asked make you reflect and act. The actions for the day start with one thing and over time, more elements are incorporated so that you are not thrown into the deep end. It is truthful, anchored in the Bible, and funny. It is easy and quick to read and each new term is defined in simpler words. It is such an encouraging book.
It is written to make you grow in your faith whether you are a new Christian or you have been one all of your life.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an honest review.

[Ian · Rating 1 out of 5]

There is no way the authors actually are Christian or read a book ever (let alone Bible)

[Gia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good devotional. Lots of verses and biblical truth combined in an easy to read devotional.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A devotional aimed for young girls (ehich I didn’t realize when I entered the contest for it) but most of it is appropriate for any age, very encouraging.