Reflections on "Captivating" Series

     I'm currently reading a wonderful book entitled Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge. This book was actually recommended to me by my friend Rachel (check out her blog here!) about a year and a half ago. I could see a change in her as she read the book. From the outside, she always seemed to have a very strong faith life. But after reading Captivating, Rachel really shined as a woman of God in such a greater way than she had before. I saw her and thought, "That's what I want." So naturally, I went ahead and bought the book. I started reading it and was hooked! But, for one reason or another, I put it down and forgot about it for a while. I never got past the first two chapters... :(
     The second to last week of the fall 2012 semester (while I was packing up my dorm) I found Captivating in my bookshelf, completely forgetting that I had even packed it. I sat down and started to read it, again falling in love with the first two chapters. You can guess what happened next, I stopped and put it right back on the bookshelf. The first 40 pages changed my perspective on life so drastically that I needed a bit of a break before proceeding.
     I went back home for Christmas break and within the course of seven days, my life completely changed (refer to previous blog post). Many people assume I'm referring to some individual traumatic event. But on the contrary, it was just a number of things that all happened in my personal, academic, and family life in such a short period of time that sent me spiraling in despair. I was so absolutely lost that I decided to open up this book once more... at 3:00am on a Saturday night (Sunday morning?). I read the first 40 pages again and interpreted them in a COMPLETELY different way than I had two weeks previously. Crazy how much can change in such a short period of time, huh?
     This time however, I went well past my usual 40 page stopping point. I sped through half of the book before I thought to myself, "I need to share this with someone!" There were so many passages I was reading that I found incredibly profound. I was worried that if I kept reading at the same pace, I would forget them. So, for the 4th time, I went back to the beginning and started all over... this time, with my pink highlighter in hand. I made a commitment to highlight key passages and make notes of my thoughts.
     I'll be starting a series on Splendid Surprises titled "Reflections on Captivating" where I share these thoughts with you all. I've actually already brainstormed/written a few of the entries I plan on posting, but just haven't had the time to upload. So, a few of the first ones may appear within days of each other. But, I cannot promise the same for the last few. I'm going to take it slow this time and make sure I really savor the message of this beautiful book. I hope you find some inspiration from my posts, or at least short lived entertainment. But I'd like to thank anyone who reads them in advance for finding some importance in the random musings of a somewhat scatter minded college girl. :)

"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 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."

[Excerpt from the back cover of Captivating]