The Traveling Sisterhood: February 2013

Raising Maidens of Virtue


The Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines the word maiden as "a young unmarried woman; a virgin; fresh; new; unused." It goes on to describe a maiden as one who speaks and acts "demurely or modestly"... My goal isn't to resurrect an antiquated word, but to instill its meaning into the hearts and minds of young women.... A wise and noble Christian maiden should bring honor to her earthly father by glorifying her Heavenly One. ~Stacy McDonald

One of my deepest desires is to raise my three daughters to be "maidens of virtue".  For that reason, I was especially looking forward to reading Stacy McDonald's new edition of Raising Maidens of Virtue: A Study of Feminine Loveliness for Mothers and Daughters.

I was engrossed from the book's forward on.  Raising Maidens of Virtue is very well-balanced and really is, I believe, something that should be read by every mother of daughters and every Christian young woman who longs to live her life for God.  Stacy McDonald addresses a wide variety of things girls go through fromwhat it means to be chaste to taming the tongue. It talks about love and a knight in shining armor.  McDonald takes a relevant look at our culture today and she isn't afraid to speak truth that may be considered The book is convicting in a good way that will draw you and your daughters closer to God if you approach it with an open heart.  The author's words often touched my heart as I read.  So many times, I found myself taking out my pen to outline ideas that I wanted to read over again, and underlining sentences that spoke truth to my soul. The book is filled with poignant scripture that paints a beautiful picture of not only who are daughters can be in Jesus, but who we can and should be.


Jesus wants you to be beautiful, not to simply look beautiful.  May this type of radical beauty define your life--and may it be consistently evident to the lost and dying world around you!

Besides holding a fountain of wisdom for mothers and daughters, the book also included beautiful watercolor illustrations by Johannah Bluedorn.  I'm planning to frame them and hang them in my daughters' room.  The book also includes special memory making projects to do with your daughter(s).  Ideas like "a literary maiden luncheon" and "a virtuous maiden scrapbook" sounded like something I'd love to do with my daughters when they're a bit older.  

You can visit the author's blog at Your Sacred Calling, and you can purchase her book from my new favorite Christian bookstore Grace and Truth Books.  If you read only one book on raising your lovely daughters let this be it, or if you are a daughter, I challenge you to read this book and be inspired.