"Captivating"

This is the book I am reading with a new small group at church. It has been truly "Captivating" to me and I'm only in the 2nd chapter. There is much to be learned here as a woman. There is much to be absorbed and much to be changed!

The books begins with Eve. There are so many "captivating" things about Eve, as a Woman, that I never even thought of before! For one, let's think about creation. God created ALL that's in this world and then said, "It is good!" He created man in His image and it was good. But it wasn't enough. The world wasn't enough until He created woman. The God of the Universe didn't feel that His creation was enough.. until He created a woman? Wow! 

So many women feel the need to stand up and say, "I'm a woman.. I deserve this. I deserve that. I AM this. I AM NOT that." On and on it goes. However, do we really need to do this? Do we need to be such hard core feminists in order to feel that we have meaning? I say to you lovingly, no we do not. Because if the God of the Universe didn't think His creation was perfect & complete until we, as women, were created.. then that means.. we have great reason for being here on this Earth! It's not about claiming what we think we deserve. It's about basking in the love of God and realizing how much we mean to Him! Once we were created.. THEN, the world was perfect and complete!

 Now, I'll let you in on my own dirty secrets. I have struggled, I mean really struggled for over a year now with my weight and my body. Before I fell and sustained a severe injury to my pelvis, hip, lower back, and coccyx I was running about 3 miles a day. Now, to the marathoners out there that's nothing, but for me who was just getting in to running.. I was excited and pumped!! After my injury, I was advised no more running (for now) and I was a little devastated. Why? Because I began to gain the weight. Not just a lb or two.. but all the muscle I had worked so hard for in the gym-- pushing myself to great limits and seeing nice results.. were diminishing to flab. I found myself to be disgusting. That's just the truth of it.  I don't like saying it's true, but it is true and I'm all about being real, so let's get real! :c)

I am doing better with this struggle. Thankfully, I have a husband who is loving to me no matter what and I am so thankful for this. I know not all women are blessed with such grace and unconditional love. This book touches on these subjects in subtle ways that really spoke to the depths of my being.  So here are a few quotes that I found "captivating"!

"An external beauty without a depth of character is not true beauty at all."

"Sometimes the beauty [of God's creation] is so deep it pierces us with longing. For life as it was meant to be. Beauty reminds us of Eden we have never known, but somehow our hearts were created for. Beauty speaks of heaven to come, when all shall be beautiful.. All these things are true for any experience of Beauty. But they are especially true when we experience the beauty of a woman-- her eyes, her form, her voice, her heart, her spirit, her life. She speaks all of this far more profoundly than anything else in creation, because she is incarnate; she is personal." Translation: We are much more than beauty that is skin deep.

"A woman knows, down in her soul, that she longs to bring beauty to the world. She might be mistaken on how (something every woman struggles with), but she longs for a beauty to unveil." Translation: We ALL struggle! I'm not alone in this battle.

"Beauty is an essence that is given to every woman at her creation."

"A woman is not prized only for her good looks. We do not say a woman is here merely to complete a man, and therefore a single woman is somehow missing her destiny. We say that Eve is the crown of creation." -Paraphrased

"We struggle to know if we matter at all. If we are at home, we feel ashamed we don't have a 'real life' in the outside world. We are swallowed by laundry. If we have a career, we feel as though we are missing out on more important matters like marriage and children. We are swallowed by meetings." Translation: We all struggle with wishing we were doing or being something else.

"Nearly all a woman does in her adult life is fueled by her longing to be delighted in, her longing to be beautiful, to be irreplaceable to have her Question (Am I lovely?) be answered, 'Yes!'" - Paraphrased

You see? We all struggle.. and I identify with so many of these! Do you? How thankful I am that God loves us women.. flaws & all! He created us this way. It wasn't that He created our face and said, "Now her face is perfect!" He didn't just create her body and say, "That is one perfect body!" He didn't just create her and say that her hair looked great! NO... He created her.. the emotional, loving, tender, and beautiful woman that He made her to be. He saw all of her and it was then that He knew His creation.. His entire creation of what He wanted a Woman to be.. was complete. 

In the book, "Captivating" it reads, "She is the crescendo, the final, astonishing work of God. Woman. In one last flourish creation comes to a finish with Eve. She is the Master's finishing touch."  I love that!!

Now, I am in no way diminishing that men hold a dear place in the heart of God. They have a great role of great importance! I just think that we, as women, need to wake up out of our fog, be bold & courageous, and claim the truths of God in our lives! We were created for a great purpose defined by the love of Almighty God and because of a woman the Creator said creation was then perfect! We are not just what we look like.. we are who God made us to be! We are beautiful, a true masterpiece, we are "captivating"!

Micah 6:8 came to my mind tonight and I will end with it!

"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."