Captivating

Book reviewed written in Sept 22, 2007

謝謝Jennifer的介紹這是一本很棒的書﹐棒到我希望可以買給所有我認識的姐妹們說到了神如何在造女人的時候把祂的形像放在我們裡面而撒旦又為什麼一直的要攻擊女人也說到了我們可以怎樣的回到神的裡面從新的找到祂當初創造我們的時候所給我們的一個公主的身份。And because beauty is the essence of God, that's why we long for beauty too.

Some excerpts from the book:

I don't think I'm alone in this. Have you ever wondered why the Cinderella story keeps haunting us? Not only is it a perennial favourite of little girls; women love it too. Think of all the movies made along its themes, moves like Pretty Women and Ever After and A Cinderella Story and Maid in Manhattan. Why is this notion of a hidden princess (and a prince who comes ot find her) so enduring? Is there something in our hearts that is trying to speak to us? Is it just fantasy, excapism? Or is there something more?

The desire of a woman's heart and the realities of a woman's life seem an ocean aprt. Oh, we long for romance and an irreplaceable role in a great story; we long for beauty. But that's not the life we have. The result is a sense of shame. Having listened to the hearts of women for many, many years, both in the context of friendship and in the counseling office, we are struck by how deeply and universally wmen struggle with their self-worth. "I feel like a house hold appliance," one woman confessed to us. Now, this is not to say that men don't also wrestle with their sense of worth. But there is something deeper to this struggle for women, and far more universal. And there are reasons for it, reasons unique to Eve and her daughters.

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The story of Eve holds such rich treasures for us to discover. The essence and purpose of a woman is unveiled here in the story of her creation. These profound, eternal, mythic themes are written not just here in the coming of Eve, but in the soul of every woman after. Woman is the crown of creation - the most intricate, dazzling creature on earth. She has a crucial role to play, a destiny of her own.And she, too, bears the image of God, but in a way that only the feminine can speak. What can we learn from her? God wanted to reveal something about himself, so he gave us Eve. When you are with a woman, ask yourself, what is she telling me about God? It will open up wonders for you.

First, you'll discover that God is relational to his core, that he has a heart for romance. Second, that he longs to share adventures with us - adventures you cannot accomplish without him. And finally, that God has a beauty to unveil. A beauty that is captivating and powerfully redemptive.

有興趣的就去買來看吧我自己反正是受益良多在看這本書的時候﹐聖靈在我身上的工作還滿多的希望你們看了之後也都有很大的得著﹗

Appointment in Jerusalem

I finished this book during my two days of lying in bed. When I started reading it, I just couldn't resist it. This is a good book for new Christians as Lydia explained how she met God when she earnestly seek Him. God also showed her the purpose of her life and lead her to Jerusalem with where she started children's home. She left her prominent Job in Denmark, and arrived Jerusalem penniless, but God is faithful and provide her all the while she's there.

During my read, I felt the excitement, the fear, the nervousness that she have experienced, and yes, get this book if you want to know more about God. I'm sure I would read it again and again!

Also, from this book, I only realised that actually we Christians owed big time to Jerusalem. I'll quote the page from this book on what she has said when she experienced the siege between the Muslims and the Jews, and when she meditated on the Bible, the verses of Isaiah 62:6-7.

...Searching out God's purpose for Jerusalem led me on naturally to His purpose for Israel.The two, I discovered, were intertwined and could not be separated. The very prophecies that promised mercy and restoration to Jerusalem promised the same also to Israel. The first could not be fulfilled apart from the second.

And how many promises of restoration for Israel I found! From first to last, the prophetic writings were full of them. How far, I wondered, had these promises already been fulfilled? In the decade since the war of 1914-1918, a steady trickle of Jews had been coming back to their land. But - if I rightly understood what I was reading - this was but a prelude to something far greater. God had actually committed Himself, through His prophets, to regather them as an independent nation in their own land. To this end, He had declared, He would bend all the forces of history....."What a strangely warped view we Christians have had all these years," I finally said to myself. "We have acted as though we were sufficient in ourselves, owing nothing to Israel or Jerusalem and needing nothing from them. And yet the truth is that God's plan of peace and blessing for all nations can never come to completion until both Israel and Jerusalem are restored - and He expects us to be His cowokers in bringing this to pass."

This part of the book has opened my eyes up, that we as Christians should pray hard for the peace and the people in the Palestine area, if it's not for this nation (the Jews), we wouldn't have got save and become Christians. If this part of the world has no peace, then there would be no peace at the other part of the world. This place seems small, and not an eye-catching place, yet it has its unseen forces that can destroy the whole world.

This is only my own understanding for this part that she wrote, and I hope all who has read this article, you would go borrow or buy this book. It really worths a read!

An Encounter

Don't expect too much when you read the title! haha! But I find it amazing that a lady walked up to me to introduce a book that she has read long ago. This afternoon after my practicum, I went and stroll in Manna Bookstore, and while flipping through books, a lady came over and asked me if I have read this book called - Appointment in Jerusalem. And I said I haven't. She said she's given that book when she first became Christian, and til now, it's still her favourite book.

I haven't buy it yet, coz I have a lot of books to read at the moment, but if anyone is in short of books to read, try and get this from the Christian Bookstore =)