Free Downloads Becoming Myself: Embracing God's Dream Of You
God has dreams—just for you Becoming Myself is a hope-filled book for anyone who wonders if her life will ever change—if she will ever change.In Stasi Eldredge’s most intimate book yet, she shares her own struggles with self-worth, weight, and her past as she shows readers how God is faithfully unveiling who we truly are. Stasi urges you to lay down your past thoughts about yourself and receive God’s incredible dreams for you instead. We cannot heal ourselves. We cannot become ourselves by ourselves. But we are not by ourselves. The King of love wants to help us become. God desires to restore us—the real us. As he heals our inner life, he calls us to rise to the occasion of our lives. The most important journey any woman can take is the journey into becoming her true self through the love of God. It's a beautiful paradox. The more of God’s you become, the more yourself you become—the “self” he had in mind when he thought of you before the creation of the world. Discover your truest self—the woman God created you to be—in Becoming Myself.
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: David C. Cook; New edition (September 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1434708411
ISBN-13: 978-1434708410
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (408 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #5,547 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #20 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Women's Health > General #50 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Christian Living > Self Help #54 in Books > Self-Help > Self-Esteem
I enjoyed Stasi Eldridge's book Captivating, but I like this one even more. Though Captivating was intended for all women, nonetheless I felt it was written for somewhat younger women. At age 51, I feel that Becoming Myself, while helpful for women of all ages, is perhaps especially written for "women of a certain age" such as myself who need to know we still have a rich future ahead of us. I am at a stage in my life when I am struggling to make long-suppressed dreams come true despite discouraging odds. I am trying to emerge from low self-worth and get my head above water in the hope that I can once again see broad horizons opening before me. This book was like a long letter from an encouraging friend, one who knows all your weaknesses and failings but knows they do not define who you really are.Stasi Eldridge is extremely generous in sharing her own intimate life experiences with us. She does not present herself as "I've finally made it and you can too." No, the message here is that we don't have to "make it." While there are always ways in which we could grow and improve, we are beautiful and precious and worthy right now, just as we are. She helps the reader see past not only surface factors (such as weight) but even serious problems such as addictions or failures, peels those away, and shows us how Christ sees us: with eyes of love, mercy, compassion, loving us fully and completely right now.I found one of the most valuable chapters to be the one on society's hatred of women, the many ways this has eroded our sense of who we are, and how to stop buying into the lies society perpetrates to keep woman in a state of dissatisfaction with ourselves.
Sometimes I come across books that are hard to review. I, like other reviewers, fear negative remarks and attacks. So, why even write a review that isn't positive and what people want to hear? Well, because of concern--concern about how ideas and words can get twisted. My husband and I have read several of the Eldredges' books over the past years. We've noticed that there are some good ideas in their books, but that the points can get carried away.As I started out reading this book, I was very curious about what the pages ahead held for me. But, as I read the first few chapters, I began to get a little concern. I was surprised by the rabbit trails and paths that she took. The goal of the book, I believe, is to encourage women to understand that they are loved by the Lord for who He made them to be and that they are continuing to become that woman as they trust and walk with the Lord. Along the way, she addresses cultural issues (among them was misogyny and the hatred of women). She addresses the role of one's mother in a woman's life and specifically devotes time to how one's mother cared for you while you were in her womb. She asserts that this care would either lead a woman to be secure or insecure, to feel rejected or accepted. She doesn't include any scientific or psychological support for this statement. She sites a video by a woman that I did not recognize as her only support for several pages of assertions. She then moves on to freedom and not judging others. Another reviewer commented specifically and quoted several passages from this section of the book. I am not going to requote the same quotes in this review, but I will confirm that she didn't take them out of context or twist what the author wrote in the text. They were direct quotes.
*****This book offers encouragement, comfort, and most importantly, ANSWERS for the Christian woman who wants to understand and FEEL God's love. It is about how we can sustain changes in our lives, not via shame or self-discipline, but by allowing God to heal us from the inside out. I found this book to be like a drink of cold water to my soul on a hot day--a metaphor of God's love for me.The book addresses the paradox of John 3:30, "He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. (NLT)" Have you ever sung that song, "More of Jesus, less of me..."? I always felt weird, like my personality would have to be annihilated and I would eventually be not at all like me but just a version of Jesus that was spiritual and had no earthly likes or dislikes or personality that I could recognize. I never knew how to really interpret that verse in a way that made sense to me. The author explains and illustrates how when we surrender ourselves wholeheartedly to God, then He helps us to become our true selves--this journey is the most important one we will ever take. The more of God's we become, the more ourselves we become. I know this sounds paradoxical and odd, but the book illustrates how in fact this is so.It is about how we cannot transform ourselves, no matter how hard we try, but that God can and will transform us and help us to change in accordance with His will. Jesus will help us to make sense of our past and heal us from emotional hurts. The book shows how.
Becoming Myself: Embracing God's Dream of You Nora Roberts Dream Trilogy CD Collection: Daring to Dream, Holding the Dream, Finding the Dream (Dream Series) I Can Draw It Myself, By Me, Myself (Classic Seuss) You Are Loved Bible Study: Embracing God's Love for You (BELONG) Finding Ultra: Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming One of the World's Fittest Men, and Discovering Myself The Real Name of God: Embracing the Full Essence of the Divine Process Theology: Embracing Adventure with God (Topical Line Drives Book 5) So, You Want to Be a Physician: Getting an Edge in your Pursuit of the Challenging Dream of Becoming a Medical Professional Becoming Adult, Becoming Christian : Adult Development and Christian Faith ARE YOU RIGHT WITH GOD?: Discover how to be saved and right with God is not as hard as you think! (Walking With God, Walking With Jesus Book 1) Save Me from Myself: How I Found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Drugs, and Lived to Tell My Story Flip: An Unconventional Guide to Becoming a Real Estate Entrepreneur and Building Your Dream Lifestyle God Girl: Becoming the Woman You're Meant to Be The Me I Want to Be Participant's Guide: Becoming God's Best Version of You The Me I Want to Be, Teen Edition: Becoming God's Best Version of You The Me I Want to Be: Becoming God's Best Version of You God Guy: Becoming the Man You're Meant to Be Carry On, Warrior: The Power of Embracing Your Messy, Beautiful Life Embracing Grace: A Gospel for All of Us The Lifestyle of a Prophet: A 21-Day Journey to Embracing Your Calling
