The Heart of a Woman

I have finished the first chapter of "Captivating" and I am so in love with this book already! The first chapter is about the heart of a woman. There are many things mentioned and discussed, but I'm going to highlight on my favorite parts. Maybe then you will want to know more and get a copy for yourself.
The book starts with how a person's heart is their "wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23). Our hearts are who we truly are and are the "core to who we are". The fact that we are women is the most important thing about us. Basically finding out what God had in mind for us when he created us as women is where we start to figure out what being a woman is all about.
The remaining part of the chapter is divided into three parts. Every woman longs for three things: "to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure, and to unveil beauty".
The easiest one of these for me to relate to was being romanced. I love being doted over and sought after. I feel like every woman goes through this at an early age and Stasi Eldridge agreed. Every little girl feels this way. Do you remember how you felt the first time you saw Cinderella? I do! It's still my favorite movie to this day. The way the Prince searches for his love and how much they long to be with each other makes it an all time classic for me. Every woman wants the fairy tale love story. Do you want "to be desired, to be pursued by one who loves you, to be someone's priority?"
The next one is about playing a role in an adventure. This topic starts off with examples of strong, powerful women who's stories we love to relate to, nurses in Pearl Harbor, or women of the Bible like Ruth and Esther. They play roles that make an impact on everyone around them.
"There is something fierce in the heart of a woman." I love this sentence! I feel like it's the one sentence that easily sums up this entire chapter. We as women were created to sweet, kind, and at the right arm of a man as his helper, but we have a fire in us that gives us an impact on the world. God gave us that and set it in our hearts to show the world His passion, compassion, His heart.
And lastly unveiling beauty...What more do you have to say? Every woman out there wants to be beautiful. I have to share a story in this section and I think it best explains a woman's desire to be beautiful and to feel beautiful (as we all know are two different things!) This is a story a little girl named Emma told her mother:
"Mommy", she said, "I had a wonderful dream last night." "What was it about?" I asked. "I was a Queen," she answered. And as she did her cheeks blushed pink. "Really!" I replied. "What happened in your dream?" "I was wearing a long, beautiful dress," she said with hands gesturing downward flowing. "Was there anything on your head?" I wondered aloud. "Yes, a crown." "Hmmm, why was that such a wonderful dream?" "I just love feeling that way!" "What way?" And with a sigh she spoke one word..."Beauty."
We don't just desire to be outwardly beautiful. We will continue with the Cinderella example (which was also used in the book). Cinderella is outwardly beautiful, but she is also inwardly beautiful with her sweet, servant heart. Her outward appearance wouldn't mean anything with out her beauty inside. Most people hear beauty and automatically refer to physical atributes, but their inward soul makes up who they are and makes them the beautiful people they want to be.
Lastly I want to leave you with a statement that I think spoke to me the most in this chapter. This book is co-written by a husband/wife team and there is a section of the book where they incorporate a little about a man's heart. The differences in a man and a woman's heart are meant for them to fit beautifully together. This really spoke to me because I am married and I have never thought about this, in this way, before. This statement, well more like a paragraph, drew me even more into this book.
"A woman in the presence of a good man, a real man, loves being a woman. His strength allows her feminine heart to flourish. His pursuit draws out her beauty. And a man in the presence of a real woman loves being a man. Her beauty arouses him to play the man, it draws out his strength. She inspires him to be a hero."

God wants me as a woman to be "glorious, powerful, and captivating"! :)
Sorry if I have bored you all to death, but I am so excited about getting into this book and learning from these amazing people. I hope you decide to read it with me!