Chapter One

Before I begin our journey I have a couple of things to clear up. It was brought to my attention that it would be wise to include a sort of disclaimer about the book Captivating. John and Stasi Elderidge are great authors and their books have a had a huge impact on mine and Johnny's lives. But just like about any author I do not completely agree with everything they believe doctrinely. Please do not think that just because I agree with about 95% of things said in the book that I am going to become Stasi Elderidge. However, I also do not believe that just because someone believes some things that I believe are wrong that everything they have to say is wrong. God has given this couple an unbelieveable insight and the things that we have learned from their books are like nothing I've ever read before. Which leads me into the first chapter.
To be completely honest the first chapter of this book did not make a very good first impression on me. There were things said in the first book that flot out made me mad. I still don't completely agree with everything she said in the first chapter but something in there interested me enough to want to keep reading. There were actually a number of things that intrigued me. To begin with, she uncovered so many of the questions my heart was asking and feeling. We'll get more into those questions in later chapters but believe me, I'm sure you've all wondered about them too. They are questions that we as women will always ask because our world makes us wonder about them. Why exactly are women so emotional? Why did God make us "the weaker sex?" Why is it that I always want to do better but never feel like it's enough? Why is my need to be romanced so great? My friend, that is the way God made you!
Think about it this way. We know that the Bible tells us that we are created in God's image. But why is it that when we think about God we think only of masculine features? Is God a man? Is He a woman? The truth is very simple yet we seem to not understand it. We of course know that God is neither man nor woman. But the thing is that not only are men created in God's image... women are too! God created both of them in His image. You, my women friend, show a part of God's heart that no man can ever show. And God needs you to show it! Are you hiding it by trying to be "tough?" Are you hiding your true beauty because you don't think you're beautiful at all? I was. God showed me that was sin. God does not make mistakes. For years I wondered why I had to be so emotional. It showed my weak side and after awhile I realized that if people could figure out when I'm weak they could figure out how to hurt me. So as a result I made sure to never cry in front of anyone. Oh if I had known what I was hiding!
The book has a guided journal that I bought to go through after I read the book the first time. I want to share with you a few parts of the questions asked and my responses so you can see just what condition I'm recovering from.
One question asked me to skim over the pages of the first chapter and write about the things that stood out the most to me. The part that I remember especially striking my heart was a part about little girls and twirling skirts. C'mon... you have to admit that as a little girl you loved to twirl your skirts. It made you feel beautiful! But when I was a little girl and twirled my skirts I got in trouble. It was inappropriate. The message spoken to me concerning beauty when I was a little girl was "It's wrong to want to be beautiful. God only cares about what's on the inside so to strive for beauty is vanity." It wasn't until I read this book that I realized how wrong that was. It's true that when you focus on beauty too much and can become vanity. But it is not wrong to want to be beautiful! God put that in you!
Much of this may seem very abstract because the first chapter is kind of an overview of the whole book. I promise as we go on it will all start to make more sense. I do have a small challenge for you this week though. 1. Read a little of Song of Solomon. 2. Think about the movies you loved as a little girl. Even write them down. We'll talk more about it next week. Thanks for reading!
Cass