Customer Reviews

Captivating: A Guided Journal: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I love the book by the Eldredges entitled CAPTIVATING, but I was a little disappointed in the companion journal. A lot of space is taken up by quoting paragraphs from the book and the questions are sometimes redundant. I also found that it takes a little too long to complete a chapter of the journal. I'm anxious to get back to the book and maybe hold off on the journal for a later time.

That's really the best word I can think of for this book. I read the actual book it was made to accompany a while ago and apparently forgot about how lovely it is, because this book took my breath away (and I haven't even gotten all the way through it yet!)

So many books out there merely give women advice on how to serve, and this is a good thing; we are all called to serve. However, we need more than this lesson in life; in order to truly serve, we need to know what we can give, how much we have to offer. In this book, Stasi Eldredge tells us just how much beauty God put into His daughters.

I honestly think that the people who condemn this book as unChristian (namely women) are afraid: not cowardly afraid, but over-righteously afraid, to recognize and acknowledge their own beauty, the essence of their souls that only a magnificent and utterly Supreme God could create. In this book, Stasi Eldredge completely, fearlessly throws off the veil and explores women's beauty. It wasn't until I read this book that I realized just how much Christians shy away from this! Artists, poets, and philosophers are allowed to explore human beauty, but not Christian women; so often we shroud ourselves and hide from it.

I wouldn't have you think that this book encourages women to walk around, shameless and vain; just the opposite! Stasi spends the whole book praising God's beauty and our need to acknowledge His Supreme being, because only He could create such magnificence as Creation! This is what I love about Stasi Eldredge: she's utterly fearless. She's not afraid to explore human beauty to the utter core, to praise the mystical essence and beauty a woman holds, and yet she never comes across as vain or idolatrous; she traces it all back to God, whose beauty none could compare to. She proves to be a woman who knows and sees, vividly, every inch of beauty that God put on this earth and she's not afraid to praise every creation of His, including humans ourselves.

One of Stasi's strengths is her amazing empathy; I've never had an author pinpoint so many issues that I thought I was the only one experiencing. Because of her habit of examining everything to its core, she looks at details that many authors of women's issues totally overlook. When she was asking the reader how she feels about her own image, she actually asked, "Do you hate having your picture taken? Do you always scorn the pictures afterwards?" That really caught me off guard, because I do; I always shy away from the camera and find some disgusting fault with the picture after it's taken. Never before had any Christian author asked me this or taken it into account as part of how I see myself as a daughter of God.

It always amazes me how some of Stasi's critics try to take her to task for "inflating women's egos" or not chastising them. I can only conclude that such women have never read this book all the way through, because Stasi consistently describes the faults of the "fallen Eve" and how women should not be dominant, clinging, and controlling. In fact, another one of issues that she totally caught me off guard with was when she was reminding us that feminine beauty, at its best, invites the men in our lives to flourish in their masculinity, to be great and strong men of God. John Eldredge stepped in at this point and talked briefly about the desires in the hearts of men, to be adventurous and free.

Stasi then asked the reader point-blank, "How have you felt about these desires in men? Do you like them? Encourage them?" Casual questions, but once again, I was caught off guard, because I realized, to my shame, that I had not always encouraged these qualities in men. You see, there have been times in the past when, sick of hearing about quiet and submissive women, I began to subconsciously hate anything that could be described as softly feminine because I was afraid of resembling stifled women and weak femininity in any way. On the same token, around this time, I began to subconsciously hate and reject the idea of particularly strong men because I saw this sort of man as dominant. I did not want to be dominated or rescued, so I began rejecting the picture of masculine strength at its greatest, because it automatically represented suppression to me. I hadn't truly realized how harmful this is. Yes, some men do get too buffed up and proud, but this does not mean I should discourage masculine strength! By doing so, I was giving men the same disservice I was always afraid they would give me: suppression. Both men and women need to be all they can be, in order to be complete soldiers of God. I would sin greatly against my brothers in Christ if I did not encourage the power and strength God gave to them! As a partner in Christ to a man, I should encourage him and strengthen him to the best of my ability, not stifle him to keep him from stifling me. I'm so grateful that Stasi Eldredge reminded me of this. She helped me realize what I was doing and to remember the truth of both masculine beauty and feminine beauty at its greatest.

This book, just like its parent, is beautiful, refreshing, and totally unique. I cannot recommend it highly enough! Read it, my sisters, and don't stop here; there are so many other amazing Christian authors out there and the more I look, the more beauty I find. As of this moment, I am not afraid to say that I am a daughter of God, a creation of the Father, and I am beautiful (in His eyes, at least).

Your turn!


(Other Christian journals I recommend: Elizabeth George's "A Woman after God's own Heart Prayer Journal", Nancy Leigh Demoss's "Journey to a Heart Like His" and Debi Pearl's "The Helpmeet's Journey")

This is the first Christian book I've ever read and I'm going through it with a small group. It's eye opening for me and while I have a long way to go in understanding all of this, I am enjoying this new learning adventure.

This book is so good. I went into it thinking it would be all about how I am captivating and it is but, along with that I am finding God captivating. I want to know more, I am seeking Him more and I can't wait to learn more about who he is in me and who I am created to be. If you are looking for a deeper relationship with Your Heavenly Father, then this is the book for you Ladies!

I couldn't disagree more with one of the previous reviewers. I think this book is very insightful. It helps a woman to understand just how much God loves her and to realize that her life isn't ONLY about service to others. What I'm learning is more about how much He wants me to heal and to wake up to His unconditional Love - to be alive in Him and in my relationship with Him - to learn to TRULY trust Him as my Lord and Savior and Lover of my soul. If I learn more about His Love for me, and I learn to better love Him, I will better follow Him.

I have recommended this book to many woman. The book speaks directly to you about the love the Lord our God has for us. It will help you understand your role in life and how you can make a difference in all those around you. A MUST read

I cannot say enough about this book and the impact it has had on me as a daughter of our Heavenly Father. I felt it was a bit depressing in the beginning, and found some of the personal accounts almost hard to believe, but once I got past those, it was a big "aha!" I have never felt comfortable around women, don't trust them. This book has helped me to see women the way God sees women. I long for every Christian woman to read this--it is life-altering! Now that I have a daughter, it is even more important for me to pass on to her how God cherishes her. And I value her the way God values us as women. Knowing that I didn't want a daughter, my friend told me that having a daughter will help me to see how God sees me. I've never forgotten that, and reading this has given me hope for resolution with my mother. And hope for a better relationship with my daughter.
The book Lost Women of the Bible by Carolyn Custis James covers some of the same "ahas" that are covered in Captivating.

Excellent book! Gets to the heart of a woman's heart and to her relationship with men, with other women, and with God. Very empowering. Very healing. This book exalts God and helps us to understand who we really are and are meant to be. As a Christian egalitarian, I found the book empowering for both my husband and I and a resource for discovering greater strengthening and intimacy in our Christ-centered covenant of marriage.

I have been reading through this book along with using the journal with my small group of women from church. It's been great! It can be pretty heavy at times, but it's definitely a book all women should read. It helps to put words with things we've felt but couldn't verbalize. I really recommend this book.

I love this companion journal! The book is so dense with information, this journal provided a great place to take notes and sort through thoughts and emotions.

Get ready to do A LOT of writing!