Lauren Ducommun

At first glance, it may seem obvious that being a girl is a good thing. But if girls are struggling with the cultural expectations around them — whether from the secular world or Christian — then going to Scripture to see what it means to be a girl is a great thing! Through the fun poetic rhyme of It’s Good to be a Girl, Jen and Zoe Oshman share that girls are a good part of God’s plan, no matter what they are like or what they are called to do.

The Oshmans begin in Genesis, explaining that God created woman in his image and as “a needed part of God’s good plan.” They then go into detail about what it means to be a “helper” or ezer and that God also refers to himself as a helper. I appreciate how they explain women created to be “helpers” doesn’t mean “help meet” as the almost heretical book Created to be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl interprets it (please don’t ever read this book), that women were created to put meatloaf on the table or meet all of man’s needs. Instead, the Oshmans point out that God made girls to be “helpers” like him. Helpers that are brave, give life, protect life, etc. They also share examples of women in the Old Testament doing all “the kinds of things that God does”.

They go on to explain how girls can be good helpers through spending time with Jesus and loving others. Again, they share examples from the New Testament as well as church history of how women listened to Jesus, used their resources to help their church, or discipled those around them.

Growing up as a girl in the Christian church, there were sometimes unbiblical convictions people held and taught about what it meant to be a Christian girl and what was expected of us. Getting married and having kids are wonderful things, but that is not what our identity as women is found in. Combine this incomplete teaching with the gender issues our kids are surrounded by today, and it can be a little confusing to know what it means to be a girl and what our purpose is. Sometimes, girls may find themselves wishing they were a boy, because perhaps boys have a higher calling and are more important in God’s eyes.

For this reason, the Oshmans do a wonderful job of reminding us of “the goodness in God’s design for Eve and all her daughters.” Girls are good and necessary, and were created different than boys and with an incredible purpose. There are so many ways in which God can use us in his good plan!

“Let’s thank our God, rejoice and twirl, I’m very glad that I’m a girl!”

I received this book from The Good Book Company in exchange for an honest review.

It’s Good to be a Girl
by Jen & Zoe Oshman
The Good Book Company, 2024
32 pages