T.D. Jakes's insights and expressions are balm for every woman's soul. As he explains so compassionately, we have lost sight of "the lady," and it is a loss that continues to buffet women and misdirect men. Jakes eschews condemnation and exposes the lies that have cloaked women in sorrow, helping women to stand in the beauty, strength, and confidence God intended.

Bishop Jakes, church founder, pastor, and author of numerous books, including the bestselling Woman, Thou Art Loosed!, structures this book in three parts. In the first, he gently takes the hand of every woman who has been ill-used, crippled in the innermost being, and shows her what is truly beautiful about the feminine. In part two, he opens the door for communication between husband and wife, lover and friend. Part three brings alive the passion of the Lord for women, this most exquisite of His creations.

Much has been lost. Weep with Bishop Jakes over the pain to which women have succumbed. But loss is not forever. In fact, any woman reading this book will likely feel something emerge within her, something long forgotten but something that rings of truth. --Ann Weinheimer


From Publishers Weekly
A popular Christian preacher, Jakes has produced many books (e.g., Woman, Thou Art Loosed!), videos and audio tapes that are gaining ever-increasing mainstream attention. Here, he demonstrates an unusual ability to inspire, uplift, teach and comfort. An eloquent wordsmith, this African-American minister writes with an abundance of memorable metaphors and yet speaks to women's hearts in practical, often humorous terms, about "three relationships that must be balanced in order to achieve some semblance of fulfillment"?with their husbands, God and themselves. Rather than suggesting that women be selfless and restricted to hearth and home, Jakes directs them toward healthy self-love, success and creative expression, to become and be treated as "women of excellence." Jakes maintains an intimate bond with readers to the last page, through deeply personal stories: his helplessness in the face of his wife's grief over the death of her mother; the joy and hope he feels at the sound of his little girl's footsteps; the memory of his own mother, "a gentle woman with the strength to build a home and the power to create a family." Despite his book's romance-novel title and strong Christian slant, this masterful preacher offers all women sound advice and gentle, respectful encouragement. Author tour. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Jakes is a pastor who hosts a weekly television program that airs in the United States, Europe, and South Africa. He speaks a powerful message to women who have lost faith in themselves and seek salvation primarily in their relationships with men. To enjoy healthy relationships, women must first know themselves and value their own gifts and strengths, which they can do by putting God before all other relationships, according to Jake. The contemporary woman has learned to juggle so many roles that she has, of necessity, become a fierce survivor who is too busy to nurture herself. The woman who has suffered abuse or neglect can also learn to love herself with God's healing so that she can break free of the cycle that keeps her in destructive relationships. Jakes explores the vulnerability and expectations of men, pointing out ways men and women can appreciate each other's strengths by understanding their differences. Although Jakes makes a generous allowance, perhaps short of justification, for marital infidelity on the part of men, his intention is to encourage Christian women in general. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Jakes (best-selling author of Woman, Thou Art Loosed whose weekly television program airs on Black Entertainment Television) claims to have knowledge about women healing the wounds of previous disappointments in their lives to rebuild themselves from the inside out and improve their relationships. He examines what he calls a woman's three most important relationships: with herself, with the man in her life, and with God. Accordingly, Jakes divides the book into three sections, offering inspiration for women to meet the demands of self-improvement, relationships with men, and spiritual growth. He emphasizes the importance of self-love, of women moving beyond the notion that what they can most contribute to others is slavish dedication without consideration of their own needs. In relationships with men, Jakes stresses the need for communication and mutual respect for the differences between men and women and the differences rendered by individual personalities. Regarding spirituality, Jakes cautions against attending to career and family at the exclusion of spiritual development. The overriding theme is that women should maintain a balance in their lives, not overemphasizing one aspect to the detriment of others. Jakes, pastor, speaker, and author of several inspirational books, has made a particular career of exploring the spiritual and emotional needs of women. Vanessa Bush


Book Description
The phenomenal bestseller. At last, in trade paperback...

Here is the book that brought Bishop T.D. Jakes to the forefront of America's bestselling Christian authors. Selling over half a million copies in hardcover alone, The Lady, Her Lover, and Her Lord is as provocative as it is profound--a truly inspiring volume that shows today's women how to improve their relationships with their men, their God, and themselves. In a society that asks women to be perfect, sweet, sexy, submissive, and pristine, T.D. Jakes offers a spiritual path that cuts through the mixed messages and leads women toward the true self God wants them to be: strong, loving, and real.

"Bishop T.D. Jakes is a breath of fresh air....Take it from me, the material within this book does make a difference." --Natalie Cole

"He demonstrates an unusual ability to inspire, uplift, teach, and comfort. An eloquent wordsmith...[he] writes with an abundance of memorable metaphors and yet speaks to women's hearts in practical, often humorous terms....This masterful preacher offers all women sound advice and gentle, respectful encouragement." --Publishers Weekly


About the Author
T.D. Jakes is the bestselling author of fourteen books, including Woman, Thou Art Loosed!, Loose That Man and Let Him Go, His Lady, and Maximize the Moment. He appears regularly on his own television show, runs a church called The Potter's House near Dallas, Texas, and conducts conferences across the country every year.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"If you want to know the secret to a fulfilling life as a lady, if you want to know how to strengthen your relationship with your love, and most of all, if you want to establish a stronger fellowship with your Lord, then this book is for you. Bishop T. D. Jakes is a breath of fresh air as he shares important principles with every woman desiring to live a more positive and productive life. Take it from me, the material within this book does make a difference."
--Natalie Cole on The Lady, Her Lover, and Her Lord

July 1998

With his bestseller Woman, Thou Art Loosed!, Bishop T. D. Jakes showed women across the country how to heal the emotional scars left by the verbal, sexual, physical, and emotional abuse suffered at the hands of the men in their lives. Now Jakes has written The Lady, Her Lover, and Her Lord, the progressive next step for healing past injuries and moving forward into the future. The hugely popular Pentecostal pastor points out how our society demands women to be sweet, sexy, and submissive. Society demands women to be anything and everything but the one thing God wants them to be: real.

Jakes advises women who want to transform old pain into fuel for future accomplishment and achievement. The Lady, Her Lover, and Her Lord serves as a dialogue between the genders, not a monologue for one gender. Jakes's answer to creating balance and fulfillment in life focuses on the three crucial relationships in a woman's life: with herself, with her man, and with God. Jakes redirects the expectations characteristic of failed relationships by discussing the many things women often want from their man that can be truly fulfilled only by God.

Each chapter of The Lady, Her Lover, and Her Lord provides readers with a unique aspect of Bishop Jakes's message. Some examples: "Falling in Love with Yourself": Jakes examines the importance of self-love and the role it plays in our relationships with others. "Embracing Someone Else": a look at the search for a life partner. Jakes points out that we often choose partners because they are physically appealing, only to find out that there is not enough inner attraction to sustain such a relationship. "Pillow Talk": an exploration of what happens to relationships when we become the victim of hateful, thoughtless words, and what that can do to a relationship. "Serving the Lord and Making Money": a look at money, wealth, and financial strength in the Christian life.

Jakes concludes by reminding readers of God's capacity when things go wrong.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

A popular Christian preacher, Jakes has produced many books (e.g., Woman, Thou Art Loosed!), videos and audio tapes that are gaining ever-increasing mainstream attention. Here, he demonstrates an unusual ability to inspire, uplift, teach and comfort. An eloquent wordsmith, this African-American minister writes with an abundance of memorable metaphors and yet speaks to women's hearts in practical, often humorous terms, about "three relationships that must be balanced in order to achieve some semblance of fulfillment"--with their husbands, God and themselves. Rather than suggesting that women be selfless and restricted to hearth and home, Jakes directs them toward healthy self-love, success and creative expression, to become and be treated as "women of excellence." Jakes maintains an intimate bond with readers to the last page, through deeply personal stories: his helplessness in the face of his wife's grief over the death of her mother; the joy and hope he feels at the sound of his little girl's footsteps; the memory of his own mother, "a gentle woman with the strength to build a home and the power to create a family." Despite his book's romance-novel title and strong Christian slant, this masterful preacher offers all women sound advice and gentle, respectful encouragement. Author tour. (July)

Library Journal