Pause (eBook) by Sarah Allen

Pause to see menopause & midlife through Scripture's transforming lens

There are some things we’d rather not face – and midlife is definitely one of them. Who wants to look in the mirror and see their mother? But when our minds feel foggy and pressures mount, we need to pause rather than panic.

Dealing candidly with the struggles of midlife and menopause, Sarah Allen offers a refreshing biblical perspective to changing emotions, bodies and lives.

Selected commendations:

"You just turned 45! You’re feeling trapped and tempted to make choices that will devastate your life. What can you do? Pause wisely relates these signs of midlife to a choice we all have—to grow or self-destruct. With humour, transparency, and biblical wisdom, Sarah Allen reveals truth we may never know on our own. God designs a glorious purpose for us in this awkward time of life—to grow!" - Barbara Reaoch, Director of Bible Study Fellowship International, Children’s Division

"Sarah Allen shows how women can find comfort and joy even in the toughest parts of this phase of life. This is a great little read, not only for women, but for husbands and pastors to help the women they care about." - Rev'd Dr Michael Reeves, President and Professor of Theology at Union School of Theology

"Pause is helpful, realistic, reassuring, encouraging, and uplifting all at once. It is a wonderful reminder that God still has work for us to do. Full of hope. Thank you, Sarah." - Carolyn & Christopher Ash, Pastor, author and writer in residence at Tyndale House

"As Sarah walks through some of the challenges that greet women in midlife, she winsomely and compassionately holds out Christ as the one to treasure and trust through it all. It’s a book that will grow your understanding and empathy, but most of all, it’s a book that will gently lead you to hold onto Christ." - Sarah Dargue, Co-host of Two Sisters & a Cup of Tea podcast and author of Bumps, Babies and the Gospel

"I’m so glad Sarah wrote this book! Getting older is not for the fainthearted and hormonal issues are real, but books on these topics are rare. Sarah gives practical advice saturated in the gospel with plenty of real-life illustrations. She helps us remember that our ultimate hope is not in staying young forever but in an eternity with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." - Keri Folmar, author of The Good Portion: Scripture

A great read for:

Women in or approaching middle age
Those in pastoral ministry
Book groups & church fellowship groups

Key features:

Honest look at menopause & midlife
Biblical application for real life challenges
Broad spread of topics: family responsibilities, past disappointment, future ambition...
Reflection questions at the end of each chapter

Title

Pause
Author(s)

Sarah Allen
ISBN

9781837280421
Format

eBook
Publisher

10Publishing
Topic

Life's Challenges
Bible Book

Colossians
Audience

Female, Adults
Pages

112
Published

03/06/2024

Download a sample

Sarah Allen

Sarah Allen works as an English teacher and is involved in pastoral care and training of women in her local church and across the UK. She’s the author of Pause: How to enjoy God, find hope and bear fruit through midlife and the menopause and Clothed with Strength: Four Women who Built the Church and Changed the World.

Listen to her on the 10ofthose.com podcast talk about her book, Pause: Part 1 and Part 2.

Listen to Sarah Allen and Clare Heath-Whyte discuss Christian biography.

See other titles by this author

"You just turned 45! You’re feeling trapped and tempted to make choices that will devastate your life. What can you do? Pause wisely relates these signs of midlife to a choice we all have—to grow or self-destruct. With humour, transparency, and biblical wisdom, Sara Allen reveals truth we may never know on our own. God designs a glorious purpose for us in this awkward time of life—to grow!"

- Barbara Reaoch, Director of Bible Study Fellowship International, Children’s Division

"Sarah Allen shows how women can find comfort and joy even in the toughest parts of this phase of life. This is a great little read, not only for women, but for husbands and pastors to help the women they care about."

- Rev'd Dr Michael Reeves, President and Professor of Theology at Union School of Theology

"Pause is helpful, realistic, reassuring, encouraging, and uplifting all at once. It is a wonderful reminder that God still has work for us to do. Full of hope. Thank you, Sarah."

- Carolyn & Christopher Ash, Pastor, author and writer in residence at Tyndale House

"s Sarah walks through some of the challenges that greet women in midlife, she winsomely and compassionately holds out Christ as the one to treasure and trust through it all. It’s a book that will grow your understanding and empathy, but most of all, it’s a book that will gently lead you to hold onto Christ."

- Sarah Dargue, Co-host of Two Sisters & a Cup of Tea podcast and author of Bumps, Babies and the Gospel

"I’m so glad Sarah wrote this book! Getting older is not for the fainthearted and hormonal issues are real, but books on these topics are rare. Sarah gives practical advice saturated in the gospel with plenty of real-life illustrations. She helps us remember that our ultimate hope is not in staying young forever but in an eternity with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

- Keri Folmar, author of The Good Portion

Overall rating

4.5 based on 4 reviews

Refreshingly Biblical perspective on midlife

Menopause and Perimenoause are real buzz words currently. Various celebrities have championed the need for better medical care for women in mid-life. Therefore this book lands very well for our time. It is beautifully written, biblically grounded and seasoned with good humour and warmth. Sarah helps the reader to see Menopause and all that goes along with Mid-life through a refreshingly biblical lens. Each chapter takes a different theme of middle age, for example; regret, managing moods, coping with changing bodies and the family ‘sandwich’ we can find ourselves in and helps us think through those issues biblically. Chapters are short with helpful reflection questions to aid group discussion or personal reflection. Sarah is brutally realistic about the hard parts of aging and changing whilst also pointing us to the beautiful work Christ is doing in the midst of it all through his greater salvation story. We are helpfully challenged to consider whether we have spiritual desires and ambitions for this season of life. Taking a refreshing view of one of the banes of midlife- grey hair, Sarah comments, “Grey hair here (Prov16:31) is just a symbol- it’s not wrong to dye it out- but what it signifies is important; ageing is a good thing for Christian women. It is a sign of spiritual battles won and progress in godliness. That is a liberating thought.” What I most love about his book is its loud message of hope in the midst of a culture where women can often feel undervalued, discarded or invisible from around her 50s onwards. At this stage of life, women may have lost their ability to be fruitful with offspring but they enter a new season of spiritual fruitfulness and valuable service in the body of Christ. We have a nurturing privilege and responsibility toward the younger generation as well as other opportunities to fulfill the great commission to make disciples. I came away encouraged about this new season of life I am entering into. If you are looking for a spiritual ‘reset’ and would also like to know how killer whales are like middle aged women, then this is the book for you. Why not gather a few women together to discuss it and pray for each other? And don’t forget to signpost it to men in your lives and churches too so that they can better support their sisters in Christ. After all, as Sarah asserts, “The Lord is in the business of using middle -aged women to progress his kingdom all over the world, because he loves using the supposedly weak things to shame the strong.”

Roz

Gentle and Encouraging

Sarah's work in this book is thoughtful and encouraging and thoroughly biblical. Using the lens of Colossians, she thoughtfully walks through various aspects of menopause and midlife for women, discussing both the physical and practical changes and how God might be asking us to operate through them. I found it an encouraging read even as a younger woman as I face the transition into parenthood. This book would be a great read for anyone in the season of midlife, approaching it, or those who love women in midlife.

Brianna Taylor, Marketing Manager at 10ofthose

Honest, humorous and heartening

Allen's literary skill, along with understanding the pastoral problem and the gospel solution, makes this a pertinent and engaging read, filled with hope and encouragement.

Taken from Rebekah Brown's book review in Evangelicals Now, August 2024

Rebekah Brown, pastor's wife, ELT Baptist Church, Mile End

Pause

Having not thought much about this topic previously, I found this book really insightful! It covers more than just menopause, also tackling the other difficulties that crop up during midlife that are often going on alongside menopause. I'm grateful for how it will help me both look biblically at the difficulties I am likely to face later in life, and for how it will help me to care for the friends I have going through some of the things mentioned throughout this book.