I’m going to start with the posts I wrote on Captivating three years ago. I find it interesting and very telling, they are the most visited posts on my blog.

The original posts were my book study notes, at the time I did ask permission to have these posts on my blog but considering how frequently the posts are read I wonder if there is too much info posted making it so you aren’t inclined to get the book and read it in its entirety :-)… Please, get this book (Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul < — affiliate link) and read it. I promise you, you won’t regret it.

Captivating, Chapter 1

 A Woman’s Journey

• (page 6) …picture the women we hold up as models of femininity in the church. They are sweet, they are helpful, their hair is coiffed; they are busy, they are disciplined, they are composed, and they are tired.
• Think about the women you meet at church. They’re trying to live up to some model of femininity. What do they “teach” you about being a woman? What are they saying to us through their lives?
• Like we said, you’d have to conclude that a godly woman is …tired. And guilty.
• We’re all living in the shadow of that infamous icon, “The Proverbs 31 Woman,” whose life is so busy I wonder, when does she have time for friendships, for taking walks, or reading good books?
• Somehow she has sanctified the shame most women live under, biblical proof that yet again we don’t measure up. Is that supposed to be godly – that sense that you are a failure as a woman?

Unseen, Unsought, and Uncertain

• I know I am not alone in this nagging sense of failing to measure up, a feeling of not being good enough as a woman.
• (page 7) …gut feeling of failing at who she is. I am not enough, and, I am too much at the same time. Not pretty enough, not disciplined enough. But too emotional, too needy, too sensitive, too strong, too opinionated, too messy. The result is Shame, the universal companion of women. It haunts us, nipping at our heels, feeding on our deepest fear that we will end up abandoned and alone.
• We feel unseen, even by those who are closest to us. We feel unsought – that no one has the passion or the courage to pursue us, to get past our messiness to find the woman deep inside. And we feel uncertain – uncertain what it even means to be a woman; uncertain what it truly means to be feminine; uncertain if we are or ever will be.
• Aware of our deep failings, we pour contempt on our own hearts for wanting more.
• But the desires set deep in our hearts seem like a luxury, granted only to those women who get their acts together.
• The message … is try harder….

The Heart of a Woman

• We have missed the heart of a woman.
• (page 8) Think about it: God created you as a woman.
• You are a woman to your soul, to the very core of your being.
• We think you’ll find that every woman in her heart of hearts longs for three things: to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure, and to unveil beauty.

To Be Romanced

• At some core place, maybe deep within, perhaps hidden or buried in her heart, every woman wants to be seen, wanted, and pursued. We want to be romanced. (page 10)

An Irreplaceable role in a great adventure

• Before doubt and accusation take hold, most little girls sense that they have a vital role to play; they want to believe there is something in them that is needed and needed desperately. (page 11)

Beauty To Unveil

• Their young hearts intuitively want to know they are lovely. Some will ask with words, “Am I lovely?” Others will simply ask with their eyes. Verbal or not, whether wearing a shimmery dress or covered in mud, all little girls want to know. (page 13)

• (page 15) The desire to be beautiful is an ageless longing.

The Heart Of A Man

• (page 18) … men long to offer their strength on behalf of a woman.
• A woman in the presence of a good man, a real man, loves being a woman.
• His strength allows her feminine heart to flourish. His pursuit draws out her beauty.
• And a man in the presence of a real woman loves being a man.

By Way Of The Heart

• (page 19) On the surface we are busy and efficient, professional, even. We are getting by.
• On the inside women lose themselves in a fantasy world or in cheap novels, or we give ourselves over to food or some other addiction to numb the ache of our hearts.
• But your heart is still there, crying out to be set free, to find the life your desires tell you of.

“That is what we are inviting you to. Not to learn one more set of standards you fail to meet. Not toward a new set of rules to live by and things you ought to do….

This book is not about what you ought to do or who you ought to be. It’s about discovering who you already are, as a woman.” (page 19)

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Now, set your timer, clear your head, for five minutes of free writing without worrying about getting it right.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..

Oh and Ahem, if you would take pity and turn off comment verification, it would make leaving some love on your post that much easier for folks!

OK, are you ready? Please give us your best five minutes on:

{yes, I realize to many of you this is NOT an ordinary picture to post this time of year – however we, in Alaska, still have monthS of winter left. I’m working hard to not get spring fever yet :-D!}

Ordinary…

…Okay, this is hard to start again. Trying again….

Go:: 

What is ordinary? I immediately think ‘normal’? In a year when ‘normal’ has been turned upside down, I just wish I had ordinary back. It was comfortable. I knew it. I could think. function. relate.

Now, with a new normal – it’s like a new ordinary. So what should each day look like?

I want to be like others. A family {with two parents}. A home {not living with my parents}. An income {unemployment stinks & shouldn’t remain a normal}.

I want a good relationship with my kids to be what is ordinary. They’re growing up, what I think of ordinary, normal – they think old-fashioned, weird, out-of-date, and some how some where along the line they’ve decided the rules to the game of life changed. But they didn’t. not in our home.

I want to go back to normal. before. back to the ordinary days of being mom. spending time with my kids being enough. but not really. I know this is the right path, it’s just very different right now.

Our life has been anything but ordinary – for a while now.

However, I am ordinary. but not ‘normal’. Am I still enough?

I’m so thankful my Heavenly Father thinks so. says so. promises it is so.

::Stop

I am going back through and reading how God made me to be Captivating (by John & Stasi Eldredge), re-reading Angela Thomas’ Do You Think I’m Beautiful? These days I’m tired. I’m weary. I want to be energized in Christ. It will come, I just need to wait a bit longer.

Last year I did a book “review” of Captivating*. I see it being searched frequently on my little corner of internet world. I also have noticed as I try to go back and re-read my own posts, they didn’t transfer over very well from Blogger. They’re pretty annoying to read. Just so you know, I did get permission before putting all those posts up last year. Regardless, the book is way better in its entirety :-D, as I mentioned a few times.

*Totally on my own, not because anyone asked me to. I was incredibly encouraged by both & have bawled repeatedly in reading them, & have actually read each several times. I’d planned to do the same with Do You Think I’m Beautiful?, but never got to it. I have owned both books for 5+ years {I don’t remember, but know it’s been at least that long}

So, I’m putting a few questions out to you:

• Have any of you read Captivating?
• Would you like me to ‘clean’ these posts up and re-post them? {or is it not worth it – it’ll give you the push to go get a copy of your own, if I don’t}
• How about Do You Think I’m Beautiful, have you read it?
• Do any of you relate to either of these books as much as I do?

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