Captivating - Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman-s Soul win 9.7

Captivating : Unveiling the Mystery of a Womans Soul review:4 stars (Understanding and Healing a Womans Soul.) - If your a man and just cant seem to figure out woman, then this book is not necessarily for you. I would encourage you to read John Eldredges, the co-authors other book, Wild at Heart. It touches on everything in this book, and will also help you understand yourself better as a man, which in turn will help you come to a better understanding of what makes woman tick. If you are a male that is into counseling woman then I would recommend this book to you.From my interaction with woman over the years, I can see this book bringing healing to many a womans life, as long as they give the book a chance and are honest with themselves. I do see some anger in some of the other reviews, but I really think these reviewers are just missing the point.As a man I do find the type of woman that the author tries to lead all woman to become, to be the only ones that I truly find Captivating. And no matter what some people would say, as a woman you are entitled to be Captivating. So buy the book and enjoy becoming all that you can be.5 stars (Every man and women on earth should read this and Wild @) - Hello!! Jesus came and died for our sins. We have been released from the curse of sin and death, this includes the curse issued in the Garden. I believe that this book should be read in conjunction with Wild at Heart for we can not understand our roles as men and women unless we understand each other. John has taken on an incredible task - to understand a womans heart. He did the only thing that he could do, he asked his wife to help. They have taken modern culture and showed us the desires reflected in unsaved and saved humanity. Then they showed us how to meet those desires - to pursue a romantic relationship with God. In order to give ourselves permission for this romance, they had to first show us that God needs us - no one else on earth can fulfill the purpose that God created us for. Then they showed us that God can answer our needs, he is the only one that will never leave us, never let us down, he is the deffinition of Love in all of its forms.Romance and intimacy are not the same as sex. Sex can offer a false intimacy and it can help to keep intimacy in a relationship, but it is not the same as, nor a substitute for intimacy or romance. To confuse this fact is to misunderstand the basic human need for God, because God is capable of intimacy and romance (not always represented by flowers), God knows us and knows our needs - he meets us where we are.I found such a release of pent up frustration when I read this book. I felt such a desire to pursue God and to have with him the relationship that I was created to have. I felt at peace with my role as warrior - to stand over my husbands woundedness and to allow him to stand over mine. The ones who deride this book are by in large narrow minded and short sighted. There is much to be had here - with prayerful hearts and knowledgeable minds, this book is a path to fullfillment. You can not expect to be given everything, you must seek in order to find. Its like the person who comes to church expecting to be filled with the holy spirit compared to the person who comes to church already filled and overflowing with spiritual gifts.Obviously, you must make your own decision about any book, but if you come with an open mind and an open heart - God will fill them both.1 stars (Deeply Disturbing) - For the root of all holiness is romance.I have a problem with that statement theologically and logically. It is very wrong. The authors have tied the idea of the love of God into our modern sexualized views of romance. English doesnt have the same ability to express different types of love the way the Greek can, but that doesnt mean they dont exist. The kind of love in this book is not what I want my personal relationship with Jesus to be about. The church being the bride of Christ does not mean that we as individuals should be desiring a fluttering-butterfly in the pit of our stomach feeling about Jesus.The thing the authors are trying to do is give women the knowledge that beauty is not about the outside, and they are deeply loved by God. Their goal is admirable. The methods are just not okay. Instead of using scripture to heal the broken hearts they apply examples from literature and especially cinema. The problem is encouraging people to live in a fantasy world will not help them adjust to life as it really is. Their point that we need to turn to God to complete us, and not other humans, is right on the money. But I dont find this book freeing. I find it deeply enslaving to a mental concept rooted in fantasy and fluff instead of what really matters.Real relationships are about being a community to one another and helping each other through practicalities in life. Closeness and deep connection do not require the artificial trappings of romance that are pushed on us by our consumer culture. We need to stop being victims and feeling alone and quit looking for Jesus to be a fill in for some movie hero. Hes so much bigger and so far beyond that fantasy foolishness!!!The evangelical community has done it again. Instead of engaging the MIND and exploring reason and reality we are pushing feelings and insubstantial fluff. We are taking our view of what our relationship with God should be from popular culture instead of taking our view of what culture should be from God.