Thursday, December 17, 2009

Redefining Beautiful ~ Book Review


billboards. magazines. television. pictures. media. newspapers. internet. posters. movies...perfect

Too often, women get caught up in a material world. We're taught through billboards, magazines, and other such things to love material things that "enhance" the way we look. The perfect makeup, the perfect hair, the perfect body, the perfect nails, the perfect nose...all of it. We let these things set the standard for what our definition of beautiful is. But answer me this, what ever happened to inner beauty? Is there any such thing in our society these days? After all, an apple could look red, juicy, and ripe on the outside, but it can be rotten at the core.

Jenna Lucado, like her father, obviously has a passion for speaking and writing. She really draws in her readers because she speaks from her personal experiences and struggles, even the ones she encounters today.

In Redefining Beautiful, published by Thomas Nelson, Jenna Lucado writes about the everyday struggles that we as women often face: self-esteem issues, dating, broken families, and abuse.

She shows us that the way we view ourselves is flawed. We tend to see everything we can "improve on" instead of everything we have to offer. However, her most important message to us is that God sees us all as beautiful. We are his children and he created us in his image, not by referencing to Vogue Magazine.

Jenna really works hard to bring out a woman's inner beauty in her book, and includes little tips and tricks along the way on how we can work on our inner beauty. She also offers advice for girls who are apart of broken families, or may not have a father figure in their lives, and reassures them that they already have a perfect dad....their father in heaven, who sees them as beautiful inside and out.

I recommend this book to any teenager looking for a uplifting, captivating, read. This book offers teenage girls a new vision of themselves and a new definition of beauty. Jenna Lucado brings hope as she helps teenage girls realize that the real definition of beauty is what God sees when he sees you. Since I too, have a teenage daughter, I highly recommend giving it as a gift to them. My daughter has also read it.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from Thomas Nelson Publishers and was not paid for this review.