It's much harder to review a really, really
good book. Mediocre? That's easy,
just ramble on about the storyline, and why it was good and why it
wasn't. But when it comes to reviewing one of those books that is just so good,
I stall. How can I put all that goodness into words? It's impossible. But I'm
going to try, because Fierce Beauty is one of those books.
Fierce Beauty is all about being a warrior for the King. It's about what true
beauty really is. Kim points us to the fact that God does call us to be
beautiful, but not in the way we've come to understand beauty. He wants us to
be beautiful on the inside where it really matters. He wants us to be fierce
beauties, to fight against the lies that define who we are, and against the
hopelessness that encircles our world. As Kim Meeder says, “You were not created to be
a princess of entitlement but a warrior fighting to bring love and hope to the
world.”
In Fierce Beauty, Kim shares
many true stories from her life, each rather extraordinary. Then she expertly
draws a lesson from each one, and points us back to our King and what we're
really made to live for. She summarizes the book in the introduction: “The first section is
a challenge to evaluate what you're honestly living for. The second section is
an invitation to discover the God who offers you His eternal love, hope, and
purpose. The third is an opportunity to see how you can answer God's call and
begin living the life you were uniquely created for.” In each of these
sections, she covers many topics like forgiveness, surrender, true beauty,
trials, using our gifts even if they're small, and never quitting, ever.
This idea that being a daughter of the
king meant being a warrior, a soldier fighting to the last to bring the good
news about God's hope, love, and peace, really resonated with me. I'd never taken
on the idea that being a daughter of God means I'm a little pink princess. Of
course, it's true – daughters of kings are princesses, but it can sort of
lead to an image that we sit here on earth fondling our tiaras while we wait
for the King to take us to heaven. But that part isn't true; we all have work
to do here, and that's where being a warrior makes more sense. We've got
to be active in the cause. This book was also encouraging to me in that it said
again, even if we don't have big gifts, God can still use our small things, even seemingly unimportant things like a smile. (There's a really good story in
the book about the power of a smile, but I won't spoil it for you. :)
Fierce Beauty
is a little different from Kim's other books (two of which are reviewed here and here), mostly because of the topic, but in my opinion it's the best. She
writes descriptively and well; it was never boring, uninteresting or preachy.
Instead, it's encouraging, inspiring, and motivating, and I recommend it to
everyone, especially young ladies who, like me, are wondering how and where they can effectively live life and share hope.
No comments:
Post a Comment
When you comment:
1. My day will be brighter, my face smiling, and my heart blessed.
2. I’m likely to immediately go and explore your blog (if you have one) to find out more of your amazingness, and return the blessing.
3. I will then attempt to craft a response to you that will somehow fail to convey how much I truly appreciate your thoughtfulness and kindness. I’m grateful for every word of encouragement you give, and don’t be afraid to share some constructive criticism also; there’s always more to learn. In short: thank-you! :)