Captivating - 1

I’ve begun to read thru a book called Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul that was written by John & Stasi Eldredge. So if you’ve known me more than like 2 weeks, you prolly just laughed that I would be reading such a book. I started to read it in Cali and then put it down, and have picked it back up again to read thru it with someone. As I read books like this I find myself flooded with questions. My brain goes a million miles a minute and I realize that I haven’t studied long enough to search out answers. So, as I read thru each chapter, I will summarize and pose questions about the unveiling of the mystery of a Woman’s soul. I hope, that those of you who will read this blog will join in my racing thoughts and provide input and knowledge as you can 


Chapter 1: The Heart of a Woman
The focus of the entire books centers around this “God created you as a women ‘God created man in his own image…male and female he created them’ (gen 1:27) Whatever it means to bear God’s image, you do so as a woman. Female. That’s how and where you bear his image. Your feminine heart has been created with the greatest of all possible dignities – as a reflection of God’s own heart. You are a women to your soul, to the very core of your being And so the journey to discover what God meant when he created women in his image – when he created you as his woman – that journey begins with your heart. Another way of saying this is that the journey begins with desire…..We think you’ll find that every women in her heart longs for three things: to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure and to unveil beauty. That is what makes women come alive”

I think I agree – women want to be romanced, be irreplaceable and to unveil beauty (not necessarily an societal outward beauty but a Godly beautiful). Stasi goes on to say that a women is a uniquely feminine warrior. That we will not fight the same way that men fight, and I get that but something about being a feminine warrior still sounds week to me; even though it is not intended to. Stasi mentions women like Esther, Mary & Ruth. As Stasi talks about beauty I cringe a little. I know she does not purposefully focus on the external beauty but it appears to be that way. Yes, it’s nice to look nice, to get dressed up and go somewhere BUT each women’s definition of nice is different. Not every women likes flowing dresses with sparkles, sometimes just a nice pair of dress pants or hell, a good pair of jeans can make ya feel like a million bucks. Maybe it’s a culture/generation difference but the thought of putting on make up and lip stick to look nice makes me want to vomit a lil on the inside. Then again, maybe it’s just a me thing.

The first chapter closes by presenting an overview of the desire of a man’s heart (which is was their other book is about –Wild At heart). The three core desires of a man’s heart are: to have a battle to fight, a desire for adventure, and to have a beauty to rescue.

Do you agree or does that all seem too simplistic?