Women Finishing Well – A Review
Steph Nickel reviews Women Finishing Well by Chris Syme and Diane Bradley. She concludes that we need to set a good example for future generations.
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The Blurb for Women Finishing Well
Chris Syme and Diane Bradley have a podcast titled “Women Finishing Well.” Chris Syme has also written a book by the same name that is sitting on my To Be Read pile.
This is the blurb posted on the Amazon page:
It’s never too early…it’s never too late. Building a lasting legacy of faith is a lifestyle, not a time of life.
God has a race marked out for you to run. (Heb. 12:1-3) It doesn’t matter who you are, how old you are, or where you are in life.
You may be running your race already, or maybe you feel like you’re already done, or think you are too busy to run. But your race is waiting. God has put people in your everyday life that are looking for hope and longing for someone to cheer them on.
hopestreamradio · Women Finishing Well
Women Finishing Well is a Bible study that will help you recapture the joy of being a child of God and teach you how to infuse that undefinable love into the lives of others. You will be challenged to rejuvenate your relationship with God and establish lifestyle habits that will build a lasting legacy of faith
Also included in this study is access to an online bonus chapter that walks you step-by-step through the process of building a map for your own legacy journey. This bonus includes videos and online tools to get you up and running, and a community to support you in your race.
A Life Lived on Purpose
Finishing well is a life lived on purpose. Start your journey now.
I mentioned in an earlier review that I came across the Women Finishing Well podcast by divine accident. I was babysitting for our associate pastor and his wife and listening to podcasts after their son had gone to bed.
I came upon the last episode of the podcast Chris Syme used to do with her daughter, The Smarty Pants Book Marketing Podcast, and heard the announcement that Chris was going to focus her energy on a new podcast.
As a Christian woman just shy of 60-years-old, I most certainly want to finish well, to leave a legacy of faith for my family and others.
I regularly listen to the podcast and look forward to digging into the book … at some point. If you’ve listened to my previous reviews, you know that both my physical and virtual bookshelves are bending under the weight of books I have yet to read and those I want to re-read.
Social Distancing and Reading
You would think with the current “social distancing” that is in place, there would be a lot more time to read. I don’t know about you, but I have plenty to keep me busy. Plus, I’m finding focusing on lengthy Facebook posts is difficult enough—never mind getting lost in a novel or expanding my knowledge with nonfiction.
Still, because of the cyberage, I have numerous opportunities to reach out to others, to be a blessing, and to be a woman who finishes well—whether that’s these current challenging days or my life. Thankfully, I am generally a very healthy person and want to use this blessing to enrich the lives of others as long as I can.
Witnesses and Finishing Well
The introduction to Women Finishing Well begins with Hebrews 12:1,
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
The author likens our race through life with the 4×100-meter relay race in which a metal baton is passed from one sprinter to the next. She says, “You are carrying a baton of faith. It consists of your legacy; all your life stories with all the people God has put in your life. Jesus has called up all to go through life influencing people for him (Mt. 28:19-20). And you already have a circle of influence—people God has surrounded you with—as your starting block. Who are you passing the baton to?”
Passing the Baton
Perhaps, you’re passing the baton to family members, friends, even co-workers. Mind you, I would say we all have a trunk full of batons. As we pass from one phase of life to the next, from one situation to another, we are all passing along batons—unless you’re like me and try to hold onto all of them at the same time. But, of course, we know this doesn’t work.
How can we develop and pass on a legacy—in particular, a legacy of faith? As both Chris and Diane would say, we have to know what God has called us to and the people He has placed in our lives. At this time (March 2020), they have decided not to commit to producing a podcast weekly. They have family members to care for. Of course, for most of us, our family is our #1 priority.
Developing Relationships
Like these two women, we live out our legacy by developing our relationship with God, family, and friends, not only to set a good example for those closest to us but also to set a good example for those we might interact with from a distance.
I look forward to reading Chris’s book Women Finishing Well in the not-too-distant futures. And until then, I will listen to the new podcast episodes as well as those I haven’t yet gotten to.
I’d love to hear how you’re consciously seeking to finish well, how you’re seeking to leave a legacy of faith for those who will follow after you. You can get in touch with me through my producer’s page on HopeStreamRadio[dot]com.
May the Lord abundantly bless you and enable you to finish well.
Steph Nickel
Steph Beth Nickel is eclectically interested and eclectically involved. In all she does, Steph seeks to nurture and inspire. She is currently working on the first book in a nonfiction series. Nurture and Inspire LOVE is a compilation of the first devotionals she wrote for HopeStreamRadio.
Steph is a freelance writer and editor. She is the coauthor of Paralympian Deb Willows’ award-winning memoir, Living Beyond My Circumstances, published by Castle Quay Books. Deb and Steph are working on a follow-up book.
You can visit her website, stephbethnickel.com, to learn more about her.
Visit Steph’s contributor’s page or at Steph Nickel’s Eclectic Interests.
Chris Syme says
Wow, Steph. What a blessing when this came across my desk this morning. I am so encouraged to hear that Women Finishing Well is connecting with women and turning their hearts to the potential of embracing our everyday lives for God. Thank you for thinking of us. May God bless you. We are back to podcasting every week and just finished our first whole season. God is good and we are thankful to be serving Him by encouraging women.