Captivating

In 2006 I read a book that really helped contribute to the transformation that I shared about in Monday's post. I loved the book so much that I even lead a Bible study to discuss the some of the book's concepts with other women (the first and only time I have ever done that). The book is called Captivating and was written by best selling author John Eldredge along with his wife Stasi. The book talks about the heart of a woman and how each of us has within us the desire to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure, and to unveil beauty. The book uses scriptures, movies, songs, quotes, and life experiences as part of the unveiling the mystery of a woman's soul.

There are a lot of wonderful eye opening, heart changing, revelations in the book, but the part about beauty really delves into the body image issue that most of us women struggle with. It does not try to squash the idea that we want to be desired, to be found attractive or beautiful, instead it nourishes it. The book encourages cultivating beauty in the way God intended it to be.

For me this book is one of my all time favorites and I personally would recommend it, although when I was doing some research online and read the Captivating wikipedia article it states that it is "a popular and controversial book in the American/Christian market." I never knew it was consider "controversial", but then again what isn't? At least everything that I am involved in seems to be. I am not saying the whole book is flawless, but you can use your own discretion.

In conclusion, it's a great book that I recommend, especially involving some of what I have been talking about this week. I know it's been out for a while, but if you haven't read it you may want to look it up, or if your like me and it's been a while it may be worth reading again.