Set-Apart Femininity , livre ebook

Harvest House Publishers, Inc. - Leslie Ludy

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108 pages

English

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Leslie Ludy, author of Authentic Beauty and the bestselling When God Writes Your Love Story, revealshow a young woman's pursuit of acceptance and sameness directly counters her true purposeto be set apart by her love for God and God's love for her.This empowering message filled with inspiring stories, personal illustrations, and a foundation of God's Word to awaken young women to sacred femininity and a life infused with meaning. Each chapter encourages readers to release worldly standards and set their sights on a more worthy pursuit as they:surrender to God's love and wholenessembrace the real blueprint for beautyenjoy spectacular purposecaptivate the masculine heartcultivate spiritual strengthThis journey will spark a desire in every woman to leave the fairy tale of the masses behind and walk toward the unique beauty, love, and dreams God has for her.

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Publié par	Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
Date de parution	01 août 2008
Nombre de lectures	1
EAN13	9780736934381
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0692€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Verses marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Verses marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible , 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.org )
Verses marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION . NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Verses marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Italics in quotations and Scriptures indicate author s emphasis.
Names have been changed in some of the stories featured in this work to preserve the privacy of individuals and their families.
Cover by Abris, Veneta, Oregon
Leslie Ludy: Published in association with Loyal Arts Literary Agency, LoyalArts.com .
SET-APART FEMININITY Copyright 2008 by Winston and Brooks, Inc. Published by Harvest House Publishers Eugene, Oregon 97402 www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ludy, Leslie.
Set-apart femininity / Leslie Ludy.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7369-2286-9
ISBN-10: 0-7369-2286-5
1. Young women-Religious life. 2. Femininity-Religious aspects-Christianity. I. Title.
BV4551.3.L85 2008
248.8 43-dc22
2008002135
All rights reserved . No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 / VP-NI / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
My Hope and Prayer
Chapter 1. Sacred Intent
unlocking femininity s spectacular purpose
Chapter 2. Sacred Design
discovering femininity s blueprint for beauty
Chapter 3. Sacred Priority
femininity that captivates the masculine heart
Chapter 4. Sacred Decorum
raising femininity to heavenly heights
Chapter 5. Sacred Mystique
femininity that changes men into princes
Chapter 6. Sacred Cultivation
unearthing femininity s valiant strength
Chapter 7. Sacred Ardor
femininity that makes marriage dreams come true
Chapter 8. Sacred Claim
awakening femininity s heroic call
Chapter 9. Sacred Ceremony
joining the fellowship of set-apart femininity
The Creed of the Set-Apart Young Woman
Notes
www.SETAPARTgirl.com
The Bravehearted Gospel
Excerpt from Leslie Ludy s New Book Answering the Guy Questions
About the Author
My Hope and Prayer
A few years ago, when I sat down to write my book Authentic Beauty: The Shaping of a Set-Apart Young Woman , I imagined myself sitting across from my reader in a quaint coffee shop for an intimate, personal conversation. I candidly shared my story, my heart, and my passion in the pages of that book. I have been so incredibly blessed that so many young women have responded to Authentic Beauty s message. (In fact, a nationwide community of Christ-seeking young women has formed as a result of that book, which you can learn more about at my website, www.setapartgirl.com .) In the years since Authentic Beauty s release, I have personally witnessed countless young women s hunger for the kind of femininity that counts. And that hunger has been my inspiration for this new book.
Though Set-Apart Femininity is written in a personal style like Authentic Beauty and I am honest and vulnerable in these pages, this book is not so much an intimate coffee shop conversation as it is a rousing call to arms-kind of like me standing on top of the table in the coffee shop and passionately proclaiming truth to any who will listen! God has challenged me in these past few years, at a much greater level than I would have thought possible, to rise above the typical mediocrity of modern-day womanhood and walk a road that is narrow, rocky, and misunderstood by the masses. Set-Apart Femininity presents that very same challenge to you. If you want to remain comfortably where you are in your feminine journey, this book probably won t be your cup of tea (or coffee, since we are in a coffee shop). But if you are one of the thousands of young women who hunger to showcase something spectacular and triumphant through your femininity, this book was written for you.
This is the eleventh book I have written, and it is by far the most straightforward. Even though Authentic Beauty was extremely candid in describing the decline of femininity in today s culture, Set-Apart Femininity presents spiritual challenges in a blunt, pull-no-punches way that is uncommon in today s soft-spoken Christian world. It may not sit well with those who dislike strong statements about absolute truth. It may annoy those who feel that the Bible should not be taken quite so literally. But I make no apologies for speaking this message as confidently as I believe it. Because the truths I share in this book have personally transformed my life. They have set me free. They have given me the joy, hope, and abundant life that millions of women around the world desperately seek every day. And it is my deep hope and prayer that they will do the same for you.
For resources that will help you take this message even deeper and to connect with other young women on the set-apart path, I would encourage you to visit www.setapartgirl.com . Please know that even though we may never have a chance to meet this side of heaven, I am cheering you on. I believe that God has an incredible design and purpose for your life and that, as you yield your existence to Him, your femininity truly will change this world for eternity.
Sacred Intent
unlocking femininity s spectacular purpose
1
It happened when I was 14.
Somewhere between encountering the sultry Victoria s Secret model in a push-up bra and thong and reading the Total Body Makeover article (complete with a three-page bikini shopping guide) in the new issue of my favorite magazine, I made the decision. Somewhere between watching a beautiful young pop star swivel-hip on stage as thousands of guys lustfully cheered and living vicariously through a perfectly proportioned actress as she found true love with a hot guy in the latest romantic comedy, I decided what I wanted to become an alluring young woman.
It s not that I wanted to be seen as trashy or loose. But I wanted to be beautiful enough that guys would drool over me. I wanted to be the kind of girl who looked incredible in a swimsuit-the kind of girl who somehow achieved flawless skin, perfect hair, pouty lips, and dazzling white teeth while shrugging the whole thing off with an I know I m gorgeous but I don t really care attitude.
It was more than just having the right look. I also needed an alluring personality. I wanted to be the kind of girl who could playfully tease cute guys just enough to toy with their desires and keep them constantly interested in me. I wanted to be the kind of girl who exuded the witty humor and endearing charm of a TV sitcom character-the kind of girl who was completely self-assured and self-confident in every situation.
I knew I had a long way to go to achieve my dream.
Back in sixth grade, I had been informed-rather rudely-by Sean Wyatt, the unofficial kingpin of Crestview Elementary, that I was (and I quote) the sickest, most disgusting-looking girl I ve ever seen! Sean had then climbed up on the orange cafeteria table and danced around, scratching his underarms and screeching like a monkey as he pointed at me and announced to everyone present that: She s so ugly, she belongs in a zoo!
Sean s crowd of followers had snorted with laughter and joined in with even more creative put-downs like You were so ugly when you were born that your mom tried to switch you with another kid at the hospital!
I had cried for so long that night that my parents had resorted to the only thing that could possibly cheer me up-a strawberry milkshake from McDonald s.
Though I realized Sean s comments were somewhat exaggerated, I also knew that I was no beauty. I was pale and gangly with thick glasses and crooked teeth and frizzy hair and heavy black eyebrows that looked like they wanted to overtake my entire face. My clothes were never cool (I wanted Guess jeans, but my mom made me wear Lee s, which I was convinced were the source of most of my sixth-grade woes.) And I was awkward and uncomfortable around people-especially around guys. So it s no wonder that I became an easy target for Sean in his theater of cruelty.
His mocking words-along with the disdain of many other guys growing up-convinced me that I was ugly and worthless. And it created a pain inside of me that was almost too intense to bear.
Over the next few years, I worked hard to discard the label of undesirable.
I chucked my glasses in exchange for contacts. I started wearing makeup-reasoning that if my eyelids were neon blue, maybe people wouldn t notice my too-thick eyebrows or crooked teeth. I bought the skimpiest clothes I could get past my parents. (At times I would leave the house in baggy sweats to conceal the miniskirt and halter top I was wearing underneath-the sweats came off once I got to school.) I spent countless hours wrestling with my hair, marveling at the many wonders of aerosol hairspray. I took Victoria s advice and started wearing slinky underwear and push-up bras. I stopped eating French fries because I was worried my thighs were getting fat.
And even though all of my efforts did eventually attract some approving attention from guys and put me into a more popular category