Fierce Beauty

Fierce Beauty: Choosing to Stand for What Matters Most(photo from Amazon.com)

The hook at the beginning of the summary of Kim Meeder's book , Fierce Beauty, was what drew me in when I selected it to review for Multnomah.  "True beauty is not about how you look but how you live." 

There were many segments in this book that brought tears to my eyes, if I wasn't already full on crying.  Kim is so honest and open in her writing.  She also has an incredible talent of painting such a vivid picture in her descriptions.  So often I felt like I was right there with her.  Without any pretense or sugar coating, she gets right to the heart of every lesson.  Her illustrations and comparisons are truly inspired by God and cut straight to the quick. 

The book is divided into three segments:  The Problem, The King and The Warrior.  Each segment has five or six chapters that provide real life stories and examples that delve deeper into God's purpose for our lives, as women of faith.  This world tells us that we can only be beautiful if we meet the standards that are set by the media, flashing at us on billboards, in movies and in magazines.  We spend so much time chasing outward appearances that we neglect the inside, our heart and our relationship with God.  If we follow His plan for our lives, He gives us true beauty.  It is only with His beauty that we can begin fulfilling His purpose for our lives and drawing others towards Jesus.

I loved this book.  I love Kim's writing.  And while I know that I have so much further to go and grow in my walk with Christ, this book was one thing, in a series of events, convicting me to step out in faith and give up on trying to meet the world's expectations. 

If you struggle with feeling unworthy and find yourself constantly seeking approval from this world, I highly suggest this book.  If you don't understand why you feel so far away from God or feel like you have to prove yourself before He will regard you as worthy... read this book.  Our worth, our beauty, and true happiness can only be found in a relationship with Christ Jesus.  Anyone can pretend to be a princess, but through Christ, we become a warrior and a daughter of the King.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Waterbrook Blogging for Books Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Comments

  1. DianeJanuary 22, 2012 at 10:01 AM

    Sounds like a great book to read and grow from. Thanks for your review. :O)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Despicable Shadow Puppets

Image
We watched Despicable Me today.  At the end, when they do the shadow puppets I had an idea.  I remember when I was little that my mom went through this silhouette phase in her artwork and made us kids pose for silhouettes.  I didn't like my own silhouette, even as a child. I also remember loving to do shadow puppets, and the very few times my mom would get out the old projector to show us slides, we would ask to have time with just the light on the sheet so we could play shadow puppets.  So my brilliant idea today, since we use a projector to watch movies instead of having a big, expensive TV taking up space, was to pause on a good spot and let the kids pose.  Here is what we came up with.  Not without a little begging and pleading on my end!  Two bunnies hopping towards a duck   Two ducks quacking at a bunny   Butterfly   Guy with mohawk   First shadow puppet ever...not sure what she is going fo...
Read more

Peanut Butter and Bananas

Growing up, my favorite sandwich in the world (when it came to peanut butter at least), was a peanut butter and brown sugar sandwich.  Crunchy peanut butter made it better.  My best friend's favorite sandwich was peanut butter, banana, and honey. "Gross!" I said. "Gross!" she said.  We both agreed that we wouldn't know until we tried it.  So, one day in her kitchen, we made our favorite sandwiches.  She sliced her bananas as I wrinkled up my nose.  I sprinkled brown sugar as she looked nervously at me from the corner of her eye.  We presented one another with our beloved sandwiches.  We had to try.  To understand one another a little better.  Just one bite... That's all it took.  And we switched right back.  She finished hers, and I finished mine.  Right now, I am sitting on the couch eating a frozen banana with peanut butter drizzled on top.  It is amazing.  Who would have thought that over twent...
Read more

Real Bread. The Second Half.

Image
For the first half of this story, check out this post .  I am following my version of a multigrain bread recipe from Mother Earth News . Whew.  This was way harder than throwing stuff in the bread machine.  So we ended last time with the soakers soaking and the sponges hanging out in the fridge. I took step by step pictures so that I could write less  provide a better visual guideline.  Well, almost step by step.  I couldn't some of the time because my hands were all gooey or had oven mitts or flour on them.  You understand... So, first I took out the sponges and let them get to room temperature.  I matched up my gooier (is that a word?) first sponge with the thicker looking buttermilk soaker.  It took longer than an hour, and I got sidetracked doing other things.  By the time I got around to making bread... they were good and ready. Then, I got everything else I needed out.  Mainly yeast, butter, flour, honey, ...
Read more