Friday, July 31, 2009

Summer Reading - Captivating - Chapter 8

Welcome back to summer reading book club Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul by John & Stasi Eldredge. This week we are finishing Chapter 8
Beauty to Unveil.

The author’s say that “the essence of a man is Strength” in the image of our Warrior God. The essence of Woman is Beauty in the image of a Captivating God.

“Every woman possesses a captivating beauty.” Woman are not problems to be solved but mysteries to be enjoyed.

Beauty Flows from a Heart at Rest
True beauty is a woman at rest. He will quiet you with His love. Zeph. 3:17 Trusting in God calms her and those around her. She gives a gift of her presence releasing tension and pressure.

Keep asking Jesus to show you your beauty and what He thinks of you as a woman.

Beauty is Inviting
Proverbs talks about two women – Lady Folly and Lady Wisdom. Both are lovely and inviting. One is the door to death and the other is the way to Life and peace.

A woman striving invites other to strive. A woman hiding pushes others away. A controlling woman makes others feel unsafe in their presence.

Offer Beauty
To be vulnerable might not feel safe but it will deepen your relationships. Share yourself and be enjoyed. Offer mercy.

In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength. Isa. 30:15

As women we have been through some things. Our hearts have enlarged by suffering. Like David, we can go through a desolate valley and find the place of springs. Ps 84:6

Cultivating Beauty
A gardens beauty does not diminish with age, neither does a woman’s. Tend your garden. Songs 1:6 Take time to grow in relationship with Jesus. Take time to be at rest.

“Beauty is a quality of the soul that expresses itself in the visible world.”

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