#17

A book you’ve read that changed your views on something.

There is a book called Captivating. It's by Jon and Stasi Eldredge. Jon Eldredge also wrote a book called Wild at Heart (which is basically the men's version of Captivating.)

Here's the description of the book:

Every little girl has dreams of being swept up into a great adventure, of being the beautiful princess. Sadly, when women grow up, they are often swept up into a life filled merely with duty and demands. Many Christian women are tired, struggling under the weight of the pressure to be a "good servant," a nurturing caregiver, or a capable home manager.

What Wild at Heart did for men, Captivating is doing for women. Setting their hearts free. This groundbreaking book shows readers the glorious design of women before the fall, describes how the feminine heart can be restored, and casts a vision for the power, freedom, and beauty of a woman released to be all she was meant to be. By revealing the core desires every woman shares-to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a grand adventure, and to unveil beauty-John and Stasi Eldredge invite women to recover their feminine hearts, created in the image of an intimate and passionate God. Further, they encourage men to discover the secret of a woman's soul and to delight in the beauty and strength women were created to offer.

Ok, so I don't normally read "Christian" books. I usually get bored with them and feel like I've heard a million sermons that sound like the book and I never get anything out of it. I'm not sure if it was the time of my life that I was in or the fact that this is actually a REALLY good book, but it seriously made me do a 180 on how I was feeling when I read this book. I let a friend borrow my copy a while back. I don't think she liked it. So, maybe it was just me and what I needed to hear at that time.

Anyway, here are a few quotes from the book that I particularly enjoyed:

"Fallen Eve controls her relationships. She refuses to be vulnerable. And if she cannot secure her relationships, then she kills her heart's longing for intimacy so that she will be safe and in control."

"A woman is a warrior too. But she is meant to be a warrior in a uniquely feminine way. Sometime before the sorrows of life did their best to kill it in us, most young women wanted to be a part of something grand, something important."