Chapter 4, Wounded - Take your questions to HIM!

Every woman asks, "Do you see me? Am I captivating? Do I have a beauty all my own? Am I lovely?" Ask God these questions, not the world! Read Isaiah 62:1-5, but replace "Zion" and "you" with your own name. Jesus came to heal and to restore. Turn to Him now and let Him begin to come into your pain and begin the restoration process. Eldredge points out that we don't have to wait until we are in Heaven to begin to feel His healing. It will be perfect there, but He can start to remove pain while we are still on earth. "There is hope. There is healing. There is life." All we have to do is turn to Him!

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Chapter 4, Wounded, A young girls heart and every woman's question...

What are the core questions that every little girl asks? How was your question answered when you were little? Do you remember a certian incident or messages that you somehow receieved that caused pain or wounded your heart? How did this change the way that you viewed yourself? Take some time to ask God how events in your life changed or shaped how you viewed yourself or your beliefs. (This can stay between you and God, if you prefer, but work through it with Him. Turn it over to Him.) Are you willing to consider that these messages are not true? What does the Father say instead? Ask Him!

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Chapter 4, Wounded - He wants to heal our pain!

We often compare our lives to other women that we know, which can become very dangerous. Often, they might look better than ours and discourage us, when reality, they have similar struggles--their lives are not perfect either. Other times, when we hear about the hardships and difficult or painful pasts that another woman has suffered, we minimize our own pain. In reality, our pains and sorrows matter to the Father...You matter to Him. Read Psalm 56:8. What does this tell us about how precious our tears are to our Father? Eldredge reminds us that we shouldn't revisit our pains to feel sorry for ourselves; however, it is necessary to allow ourselves to go there so that we are able to turn them over to God and He can restore and heal those areas of our hearts. This will open us up to his loving truth and to better things that He has planned for our lives.

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Chapter 3, Fallen Eve and Aching Hearts`

In the book they talk about how we all have aches, pains in our hearts and unmet longings. God desires for us to bring our aching hearts to Him so that He can speak into our lives and touch our hearts. Where do you tend to turn when you have that ache and don't take it to the Father? How can you change that in the future? Read Hebrews 4:14-16. What is this scripture speaking to you?

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Chapter 3, Fallen Eve

Eldredge talks about women either becoming crontrolling and driven or desolate and needy? Can you relate to this and which direction do you tend to go? How does it play out in your life? Eldredge says, "We are in this together, gals. We need to look at our fallenness in order to find the redemption available to us in Christ and become the women we are intended to be. Thee is mercy for us. Even here."

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Chapter 3, Fallen Eve

Why do you think that Eve really decided to take the forbidden fruit? Read Genesis 3:10. Do you ever find yourself hiding? If so, how do you tend to hide?

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Captivating - Chapter 2, Created Eve

If you read the story of creation, you will see that afterAdam was created, God wanted to bring him a "helpmate". God said that it was not good for man to be alone and brings him all of the animals that had been created to be named, but no suitable helper was found.

Eldredge points out that Eve was His final creation, "She is the crescendo, the final, astonishing work of God. Woman. In one last flourih creation comes to a finish not with Adam, but with Eve. She is the Master's finishing touch. Eve is....breathtaking. Woman was not created as an afterthought, but as the pinnacle of creation."

Have you thought of the creation of woman up until this point as an afterthought or as something more? What do you feel in your heart when you hear "crown of creation"?

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