Hello everyone! I'm back with a new author whose books I just read recently. Although I've only read two of her books, which we own, Leslie Ludy has landed on my list of favorite authors. I found that the two books we have, Authentic Beauty and Set-Apart Femininity are written with the knowledge that comes from experiencing first-hand everything she writes about.
Her books were captivating, convicting, and compelling. Reading these books make me take a step back and look at my life to see where I need to change. Leslie isn't afraid to make a stand for what she believes, no matter that people aren't going to like what she says.
I've included a section from the second-to-last chapter of Set Apart Femininity:
As we discussed earlier in this book, modern Christianity goes out of its way to convince us that the Christian life is all about us. The majority of today's Bible studies, sermons, and Christian books causes us to focus on what we are feeling, what we are needing, and what we are struggling with. Here is the publisher's description of that popular women's book Captivating. "The message of Captivating is this: You heart matters more than anything else in all creation." And what is meant by the term "your heart"? Accodring to the author of this book, "The heart is who we are. The real self. Me. My heart is me. The real me. Your heart is you."
So in other words, you matter more than anything else in all creation.
Really?
. . . While American Christians are preoccupied with healing their own inner wounds, being set free to their true selves, and fighting to be noticed and appreciated for their own unique qualities, staggering numbers of people around the world are living in such misery, squalor, and pain that we cannot even imagine.
I hope this short bit has convicted you as much as it has me. I would highly recommend both these books with one warning. Well, actually two. The first is that there is a bit of slightly graphic content in Authentic Beauty, mostly of examples of boy-girl relationships in a public school setting (where Leslie went to school). It's not super graphic, but I would say to exercise caution for younger readers.
The second is that your life will likely be changed in some form or fashion after reading these books. If you're truly looking to change, these books will give you a jump-start on it. Your life won't be the same after reading them. I know mine isn't.
