Captivating Reflection
Well I can't make it to Bible study this week due to a huge exam tomorrow, but thought I'd take a few minutes to sit and reflect on an amazing book: Captivating by Stasi and Jon Eldredge. I know, I know, I'm way behind and the book's been out a while. I finally got a chance to sit down with it, and I HIGHLY recommend it for every woman to read (and if there are any men out there truly daring and willing to dive into the "mystery of a woman's soul"). So here's a few excerpts that really caught my attention:
"Jesus said, 'Do not throw your pearls to pigs,' (Matt. 7:6)... Consider your feminine heart and your beauty your treasure, your pearls. A woman can test and see if a man is willing to move in a good direction by offering a taste of what is available with her if he does. She does not give everything in a moment."
Wow. How many times I have failed at this... How many times did I throw myself emotionally at guys, trying to give them everything, trying to get them to accept me and love me. Whoops.
"You are a woman. An image bearer of God. The Crown of Creation. You were chosen before time and space, and you are wholly and dearly loved. You are sought after, pursued, romanced, the passionate desire of your fiance, Jesus. You are dangerous in your beauty and your life-giving power. And you are needed."
And probably my favorite and most convicting passage I saw (well for my own personal journey at least):
"We cannot love Adam while we are looking to him to validate us. It will usher in too much fear. If he's the verdict on us as a woman, we won't be able to truly and freely offer him our beauty. we'll hold it back in fear. Or, we'll give ourselves to him in inappropriate ways, in a sort of sexual or emotional promiscuity, desperate for his attention. And we won't be able to confront him and stand up to him when he needs that from us as well."
I think it was the phrase "emotional promiscuity" that really hit me. What? You can be emotionally promiscuous? I feel like the word "promiscuity" just brings into perspective how serious emotionally throwing yourself at people can be. So often we think that as long as we control ourselves physically, we're good. That's not the case, though, and I've definitely seen this in my own heart.
Well, I'm going to try not to over-share too much, so I'm gonna hit the books again. Hope everyone's having a great night!
O and I'm leading worship at CRU this week, and then Fall Getaway is this weekend! I'm so pumped for the rest of this week! (Once I make it through this test that is...)
"Jesus said, 'Do not throw your pearls to pigs,' (Matt. 7:6)... Consider your feminine heart and your beauty your treasure, your pearls. A woman can test and see if a man is willing to move in a good direction by offering a taste of what is available with her if he does. She does not give everything in a moment."
Wow. How many times I have failed at this... How many times did I throw myself emotionally at guys, trying to give them everything, trying to get them to accept me and love me. Whoops.
"You are a woman. An image bearer of God. The Crown of Creation. You were chosen before time and space, and you are wholly and dearly loved. You are sought after, pursued, romanced, the passionate desire of your fiance, Jesus. You are dangerous in your beauty and your life-giving power. And you are needed."
And probably my favorite and most convicting passage I saw (well for my own personal journey at least):
"We cannot love Adam while we are looking to him to validate us. It will usher in too much fear. If he's the verdict on us as a woman, we won't be able to truly and freely offer him our beauty. we'll hold it back in fear. Or, we'll give ourselves to him in inappropriate ways, in a sort of sexual or emotional promiscuity, desperate for his attention. And we won't be able to confront him and stand up to him when he needs that from us as well."
I think it was the phrase "emotional promiscuity" that really hit me. What? You can be emotionally promiscuous? I feel like the word "promiscuity" just brings into perspective how serious emotionally throwing yourself at people can be. So often we think that as long as we control ourselves physically, we're good. That's not the case, though, and I've definitely seen this in my own heart.
Well, I'm going to try not to over-share too much, so I'm gonna hit the books again. Hope everyone's having a great night!
O and I'm leading worship at CRU this week, and then Fall Getaway is this weekend! I'm so pumped for the rest of this week! (Once I make it through this test that is...)