Captivating, is a book co authored and published in 2005 by the husband and wife team, John & Staci Eldredge. Within the 218 pages is the description of the
Staci explains her quest to answer this age old question at the heart of every woman by diving into her past in joining the feminist movement when she was in college in the 1970's. She explained on page 4 that she, "actually became director of the Women's Resource Center at a liberal state university in California. But no matter how much I asserted my strength and independence as a woman ('hear me roar'), my heart as a woman remained empty." She continues, " To be told when you are young and searching that 'you can be anything' is not helpful. It's too vast. It gives no direction. To be told when you are older that 'you can do anything a man can do' isn't helpful, either. I didn't want to be a man. What does it mean to be a woman?" She began asking, "How can I become a strong woman without becoming harsh? How can I be vulnerable without drowning myself in my sorrow?" Instead of living up to an unachievable model of femininity (both weak models and feminist models), she began searching out the Creator's heart for His daughters, her own feminine heart, as well as the hearts of many women across the globe.
This book is full of evidence of true femininity. From longing to be romanced to longing to join in adventure with her hero (in this case, her husband), to her true beauty shining from within gleaming through to the exterior, and even longing to be longed for. What's more important is that reconciling with femininity in no way says that a woman cannot get sweaty in the outdoors or that she cannot be skilled at working with her hands, etc. But it does say that when masculinity and femininity are harmonized once again and that both sexes respect and appreciate the other, perhaps the male/female conflicts and confusions will be restored to its proper balance - men will be masculine and women will be feminine... a truly beautiful thing.
In summary, I'll quote the book once more, directly from the back cover, "The message of Captivating is this: Your heart matters more than anything else in all creation. The desires you had as a little girl and the longings you still feel as a woman - they are telling you of the life God created you to live. He offers to come now as the Hero of your story, to rescue your heart and release you to live as a fully alive and feminine woman. A woman who is truly captivating.
There is a huge conflict in our culture today! Huge! And it's terribly sad when beautiful women are troubled with insecurities due to the image of "the perfect woman" painted by an extremely sexual culture. That is, a culture that has somehow lost the true value of an individual and has used media as the primary example. Media, in so so many ways, introduces and slowly but surely changes the way people perceive reality and within a single generation, can shape a new "reality." That is something to think about!!!
P.s. I read this book a little while ago, and have since read about three more... just catching up on "My Latest Reads," so I look forward to writing about the last few latest reads that I have finished. More to come ; D
