Ch. 2 "What Eve Alone Can Tell"

OK ladies once again before we begin let's open with a prayer and invite our Abba God into our discussion. This time I'm going to take our prayer directly from the workbook Stasi just has a way with words. :)
"Dear Jesus, I love you. I need you. I come before you now, once again, as yours, asking for your help, your grace. My life is yours. My heart is yours. Would you please come and shine your light into the depths of my heart that I might understand myself better and come to know your healing and your presence more deeply. Help me to remember what I need to remember. Help me to see, lift the veil of shame and help me to see what it mean ts that I bear your own image--as a woman. Jesus. I give you access to all of my heart. I invite you into every part. Come. Holy Spirit, have your way--that I might love you, God, more deeply and truly with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen."

I LOVE THIS CHAPTER!!!! :) The first time I read this chapter I could NOT control my excitement! Our friend Betty can attest to that fact.:) I can tell you that it's the very first time in my entire life that I got a really long look at the beauty God made in me. As new as it felt, at the same time, there was something familiar about it as well. For as long as I can remember I have felt that I was created for something special, something important, something world changing! I could never quite put my finger on it but my heart was so full of the knowledge that I was meant for something special that it kept me going when life should have been overwhelming. When I read this chapter my heart just SOARED! SO THAT'S IT!!! THAT IS FROM GOD!!!! I AM SPECIAL! It is still so exciting to me that I'm bouncing around in my chair trying to get all the excitement from my heart through my fingertips and onto this page!! As hard as I try I just can't do justice to the joy I feel. I'll just have to settle for LOTS of 'all caps' and exclamation points!!!! ;-)
Once again I'll be taking discussion questions from our workbook.
As you can tell, what struck me in this chapter most deeply was the knowledge that Eve (I) was NOT an afterthought! We as women are not just an appendage. We are the climax of story, the crowning jewel of creation! WOW!! WOW!!! What struck you in this chapter? Did you underline anything?
"The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Gen. 2:7 NKJV It is worth noting here the glorious intimacy of man's creation. All the rest of God's masterpiece sprung into being merly from God speaking it to be. 'Then God spoke. . .' But when it came time for God to create his image bearers, he formed them with his own hands. He breathed life into them himself. What do you think about that?"

"Eve is created because things were not right without her. Something was not good. 'It is not good for the man to be alone.' (Gen 2:18) NKJV. This just staggers us. Think of it. The world is young and completely unstained. Adam is yet in his innocence and full of glory. He walks with God. Nothing stands between them. They share something none of us has ever known-only longed for: an unbroken friendship, untouched by sin. Yet something is not good? Something is missing? What could it possibly be? Eve. Woman. Femininity. Wow. Talk about Significance.
Have you thought about being a woman in this way? What would it do for your heart to embrace this truth?"

"The vast desire and capacity a woman has for intimate relationships tells us of God's vast desire and capacity for intimate relationships. In fact, this may be the most important thing we ever learn about God--that he yearns for relationship with us. 'Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God'(John 17:3NKJV). The whole story of the Bible is a love story between God and his people. he years for us. He cares. He has a tender heart. Have you seen God as yearning for you? As longing to be loved by you?"

"How does it change the way you feel about your own heart's desires to hear that through Eve God makes romance a priority of the universe?"

"That longing in the heart of a woman to share life together as a great adventure--that comes straight from the heart of God, who also longs for this. He does not want to be an optional in our lives. He does not want to be an appendage, a tag-along. Neither does any woman. God is essential. He wants us to need him-desperately. Eve is essential. She has an irreplaceable role to play. And so you'll see that women are endowed with fierce devotion, an ability to suffer great hardships, a vision to make the world a better place. How does your heart respond?"

"Beauty is such a source of struggle for women. So let's really dig deep here-for clarity, and for the healing of our hearts. Beauty matters to God. Very much. But lest you fall into despair, here is very good news. You possess it. Yes, you. True beauty. (I know you just rolled your eyes, by the way). It may take the whole book to begin to clear this up, so hang in there. Let the emotions come. Invite Jesus into the whole way you feel about beauty-especially your beauty. Beauty is powerful. It is dangerous. It matters. Let's explore why.
First, Beauty Speaks. Being with a woman who is at rest, a woman comfortable within her own beauty, is an enjoyable experience. She is trusting God, not striving to become beautiful, but allowing his beauty to more fully inhabit her. Have you had the experience of being with a woman who is stressed, striving, worried? And how did you feel around her? Have you had the pleasure of being with a woman who is resting in God and knowing that all will be well? How did you feel around her? What kind of woman do you tend to be?"
"Beauty Also Invites. . . Recall what it is like to hear a truly beautiful piece of music. It captures you; you want to sit down and just drink it in. We buy the CD and play it many times over(this is not visual, showing us that beauty is deeper than looks.) Music like this commands your attention, invites you to come more deeply into it."
"Beauty nourishes. It is a kind of food our souls crave. A woman's breast is among the loveliest of all god's works, and it is with her breast she nourishes a baby-a stunning picture of the way in which Beauty itself nourishes us. In fact, a woman's body is one of the most beautiful of all God's creations. 'Too much of eternity', as Blake said, 'for the eye of man.' It nourishes, offers life. That is such profound metaphor for Beauty itself. As Lewis said, We do not want merely to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words-to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves (The Weight of Glory)
Have you had that experience? Where? When? What was it like?"

"One of the deepest ways a woman bears the image of God is in her mystery. By mystery we don't mean'forever beyond your knowing,' but 'something to be explored'. 'It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,' says the book of Proverbs, 'to search out a matter is the glory of kings' (25:2 NKJV). God yearns to be known., but he wants to be sought after by those who would know him. He says, 'You shall find me when you seek me with all your heart' (Jer. 29:13 NKJV). Are you aware of this yearning, as a woman? And are you being sought after these days?"
"Whatever else it means to be feminine, it is depth and mystery and complexity, with beauty as their very essence. Now, lest despair set in, let us say as clearly as we can:
Every woman has a beauty to unveil. Every woman. Because she bears the image of God. She doesn't have to conjure it, go get it from a salon, have plastic surgery or a breast implant. No, beauty is an essence that is given to every woman at her creation."
"What if? What if this really is true about you--that you ARE captivating woman? Let your heart go there for a moment; what does it bring?"

"O Jesus, come into this place in my heart. Help me to believe that you have given me your beauty. That I am a woman through and through, and because of your creation in me, I, too, have a heart for romance, I, too, am life-saver, and I do have beauty to offer the world. I ask this in your name. Amen."

WOW! AMAZING CHAPTER RIGHT??? I know this is a long one and if you stuck with me all the way THANK YOU! I want to encourage you to think on these questions for a while. Even if you decide not to post your answers here, I encourage you to write your answers down somewhere, a journal, a note pad but most of all on your heart. God LOVES YOU and has something vital to speak to your heart. It is no accident that you are here now reading his words for you. It is in His Divine purpose that you be wrapped in His arms, filled with His love for you and secure in the knowledge that you are His true love vital in His universe!
That is my prayer for you today and every day.
Be blessed today sweet princesses!
In His Love,
KP