May 14, 2010 By 20 Comments

Captivating – Week 8 (Beauty To Unveil)

“Show me your face, let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet and your face is lovely.”
(Song of Solomon 2:14)
Beauty…..as women, we desire it, we long for it, we yearn for it.  Beauty may be the most powerful thing on earth.  Beauty speaks.  Beauty invites.  Beauty nourishes.  Beauty comforts.  Beauty inspires.  Beauty is transcendent.  Beauty draws us to God.  The essence of a woman is beauty.  She is meant to be the incarnation of a captivating God…a God who invites us.   A woman who is unveiling her beauty is inviting us to life!  
But what are the messages that we have been told about beauty that have distorted our image of it?  This was the topic of discussion this week in our Captivating Bible Study.  As the facilitator of the group, I wanted so desperately to be the one who could respond with the undeniable “yes”, when it came around to my turn to answer the question of the night:  “Do you think you are beautiful”.  Although I believe that God is beautiful and that His creation bears His image, I still struggle with accepting what God says about me…that I AM BEAUTIFUL and that I have something to offer to this world.  And it grieves my heart.  Because I know that it grieves God’s heart.  If I was made in the very image of God but cannot accept myself as beautiful, then am I not telling God that I, whom He created, am not good enough?
Why do I get stuck here?  I am tired of going around this same mountain.  I have believed the lies of the enemy that others told me that:
  • I am undesireable; 
  • I am not worth keeping; 
  • I am not pretty;
  • I do not matter
  • I have nothing to offer; 
  • I am not good enough. 

How many times will I lay this hurt and pain at His feet, only to pick it up again and again?  My heart is still in need of Jesus’ healing. One woman on the DVD shared this quote which I’ve been reflecting on over the last couple of days:

“I know God loves me, and if He can delight in me, then there’s something there.”

God loves me!  He delights in me.  And because of that truth, I can rest in knowing that I am beautiful.  I have His attention!  In His eyes, I am the essence of beauty!

The King is enthralled by your beauty.  (Psalm 45:11a)

Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.” (Song of Solomon 2:13b)

Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful! Your eyes are doves behind your veil.  (Song of Solomon 4:1a)

You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way. (Song of Solomon 4:7)

Do you have trouble seeing yourself through God’s eyes?  Look up!  The more we gaze on the beauty of the Lord, the more we will be able to see ourselves in the light His beauty.  Take some time this week to ask the Lord to show you the truth of what He says about you.  Allow Him to unveil your beauty!

Filed Under: Book Studies, My Life in God
May 8, 2010 By 20 Comments

Captivating Bible Study – Week Seven (Loving A Man)

Women play a crucial role in the lives of men, not only their husbands, but also their brothers, sons, friends, bosses and co-workers.  This week we took just a small peek behind the curtain into the heart of a man.  With the help of the DVD lesson which represented a small group of men, we discovered that the core question in a man’s heart is “Do I have what it takes?  Am I a real man?”.  As women, we want to answer this question as a “yes” in every way, with not just our words, but also with our actions.  I remember as a child growing up that my brothers always wanted to play the role of the hero.  Every time there was an altercation that involved me, they would immediately come to my rescue.  If I need someone stronger than me to carry something, or fix something, I would call on my dad or brothers to help me. 
I shared a real-life situation that happened recently,

In our home, the toilet often gets clogged, badly. Now, some of you may immediately go looking for a man to assist you in this very arduous task of fixing the toilet.  Me, however, nope, I can do it myself!  So not too long ago, the toilet was clogged.  And ladies, I mean it was CLOGGED!  So, I took up my handy-dandy plunger and began to attack the toilet with great confidence.  I attacked…..and attacked…..and ATTACKED….and got frustrated and ATTACKED again (and by this point in time I am sure everyone in the house could hear me attacking the toilet).  Nothing, the water would not let go of the grip it had on the toilet bowl.  After a few very loud mutterings, I screamed for my husband.  And it was not a “Hey babe, would you please come and see if you can help me with the toilet” type of scream.  Nope, it was more of a “Hey you, can you get up and unclogged this stupid thing”!  And of course, he got up and eventually the water lost it’s grip and we had the ability to now flush once again.  The hero had come to my rescue.

I realize now that I probably should have asked my husband to take care of the toilet in the first place.  I can now imagine what my husband might have been thinking because I so very loudly took matters into my owns hands.  “She doesn’t need me”.  “I don’t have what it takes.”  “Isn’t this what a man is supposed to do.”  Well, I think it’s about time I schedule a date night with the hubby.  I think he needs to be romanced and told how very much I appreciate him and that he really does have what it takes, and that next to Jesus, He IS my hero! 
Next week we will be discussing our need to play an irreversible role in this world.
Filed Under: Book Studies, My Life in God
April 30, 2010 By 4 Comments

Captivating Bible Study – Week Six (Romanced)

In our last Captivating Bible Study, we discussed the subject of romance.  What woman does not love to be romanced, to be pursued and swept off her feet by the man she loves?  For those of us who have been married for a while, we discussed how easy the romance came early on in our relationships.  There were flowers, candy, opening of car doors, holding hands, phone calls just because, cards written, dinners made, etc.  As time has gone on, and especially once the kids came along, it hasn’t always been easy to keep the romance alive. And there is the single woman, the one who has not yet found the man of her dreams and experienced romance as she desires, or the woman who has suffered a severed relationship and any thought of romance brings her back to hurt and pain. What about her desire for romance?  Will it ever be fulfilled?
No matter where you are in your relationships, God wants to romance you!  He is the only one who can fill the void in your heart.  No matter how much we want our significant others to fill those voids, most often, they will fall short.
Do you know that you have stolen God’s heart?
Do you know that He longs to be with you?
Do you know that you were made for love –
to be loved by God and to love God?
Please take a moment to watch this video of beautiful images and hear this song by Brian Johnson called, “You have ravished my heart”.

I pray this blessed you today!  Let Him romance you. He’s calling to you, wooing you into His chambers. He wants to be with you, to share his secrets with you.
You have ravished His heart
with once glance of your eye!
Filed Under: Book Studies, My Life in God
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