Some Thoughts on and from "Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldredge

I don't know if there are any women visiting my blog - all the comments have come from men so far - but to my sisters out there, I want to recommend an awakening read. The Eldredges' new book "Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul" digs into the heart of every woman, revealing how we are created in God's image in a uniquely feminine way.

If you do not know that you are BEAUTIFUL, that beauty is your very essence as a woman, that you are worth fighting for - worth dying for! - that you are being romanced by the Creator of the universe (who is the Lover of your soul and who finds you captivating and delightful)... if you do not know that in Him you are enough and can rest, then I hope you will let God speak these things to you.

From "Captivating"

• The choice a woman makes is not to conjure beauty, but to let her defenses down...to let her heart show up. Beauty comes with it.
• Beauty...should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. (1Peter 3:4) To have a gentle and quiet spirit is to have a heart of faith, a heart that trusts in God, a spirit that has been quieted by His love and filled with His peace. Not a heart that is striving and restless.
• I know in my quiet center where God dwells that He finds me beautiful, has deemed me worthy, and in Him I am enough.
• A woman of true beauty is a woman who in the depths of her soul is at rest, trusting God because she has come to know Him to be worthy of her trust. She exudes a sense of calm, a sense of rest, and invites those around her to rest as well. She speaks comfort; she knows that we live in a world at war, that we have a vicious enemy, and our journey is through a broken world. But she also knows that because of God all is well, that all will be well.
• Women who are stunningly beautiful have come to know that when everyone and everything has left them, God is there.
• When you're with a beautiful woman, you find room for your soul. It expands. You can breathe again. You can rest. It is good. You are fee to be you. It is one of life's greatest gifts.
• I am worth dying for to the LORD of the universe! He has been romancing me and will continue for my whole life. My God finds me lovely - He is captivated by me, enthralled by my beauty. He has fought for me, and will fight for me until He comes or calls me home.
• Our hearts yearn to be loved intimately, personally, and yes, romantically. We are created to be the object of desire and affection of one who is totally and completely in love with us. And we are. God wants intimacy with us. In order to have it, we, too, must offer it to Him.
• For a woman to unveil her beauty means she is offering her heart...offering her presence....To come unguarded, undistracted - and be fully present, fully engaged with whoever we are with at that moment.
• A woman who is full of tender mercy and soft vulnerability is a powerful, lovely woman.
• The scariest thing for women is to offer our beauty into situations where we don't know if it will make any difference. Or worse, that we will be rejected...We can't wait until we feel safe to love and invite...God calls us to stop hiding, to stop dominating, to trust him, and to offer our true selves....to entice, allure, and invite others to Jesus by reflecting His glory in our lives.
• Unveiling our beauty is how we live by faith...Unveiling our beauty is our greatest expression of hope...To offer beauty now is an expression of hope that it will be completed...And unveiling our beauty is our greatest expression of love, because it is what the world needs most from us....Our focus shifts from self-protection to the hearts of others. We offer Beauty so that their hearts might come alive, be healed, know God. That is love.

Are you inspired? Doubtful? You ARE beautiful, my sisters. You are. Ask the LORD to show you your beauty, show you how He is romancing you today. Because He KNOWS you're beautiful, and He IS romancing you. That doubt you feel is Satan's doing because he knows you're beautiful, too, and he hates it. Rebuke him. Tell him he's a liar and you're in your Father's Hand. Get away from you, he has no authority over you. You belong to Jesus, and you are worthy. You are precious and chosen. You are beautiful and strong and you are enough in Christ. You are enough.

Men, I encourage you to read this, also (and women to read "Wild at Heart" - digging into the soul of men). Especially if you may be a father someday. Your daughters will either be affirmed or deeply wounded depending on whether you delight in them, offer them your strength and protection - or not. Chances are, the woman you love or will love someday has been wounded, and even though we find our healing and restoration and beauty in God, we need our men to understand our hearts, just as you need us to understand yours.