Jessie Faerber - More Than Just Pretty: Discover Your True Value, Beauty and Purpose

Jessie Faerber is a youth minister in south-west London, where she lives with her husband, Robbie. She is the founder of a project called Belle, which is passionate about girls realizing their true value, beauty and purpose through workshops in schools and youth groups. She is enthusiastic about journeying with girls, being real and authentic with her own story and embracing all that Belle is in Gods master plan.

Hey, lovely. This book was written for the girl whos trying to figure out who she is. This book was written for the girl who looks in the mirror and hates what she sees, worries too much about what she sees or doesnt see that she is so much more than what she sees. This book was written for the girl of no faith, the girl of the Christian faith and the girl of another faith. This book was written for the crazy girl, the quiet girl, the confused girl, the worried girl, the happy girl. You name it. This book was written to help you discover the truth about who you are despite the worlds obsession with image! This book was written for you because your story matters. You matter.

This book was written by a girl, a very normal girl. A girl who has a passion to see girls discover their true value, beauty and purpose! Lets rise together. Lets empower one another. Lets explore together. Lets discover how we are #MoreThanJustPretty.

Im excited for what you will realize about yourself and the impact it will have on your beautiful journey of LIFE.

Your friend, big-sister-type figure,

So. Read this book with an open heart. Take your time. Buy a pretty, cool, new little journal and jot down anything that you know youll need to remind yourself about. Jot down quotes/ideas/and anything else that may or may not knock your socks off. Or draw pictures (thats always fun!). Grab your set of colouring or calligraphy pens and make each page YOURS. Join the virtual conversation on the hashtag... wait for it... #MoreThanJustPretty. And start your own real-life conversations with your sister, mum, dad, carer, friend, youth group, school, teacher, cousin, mentor... anyone! This book is meant to be like going to the supermarket and buying a chocolate bar rather than a bag of apples (this analogy only actually works if you dont like apples that much...). What I mean is that my hope is that you will LOVE reading this book; youll be excited to pick it up and dig into it! So enjoy it and treasure every last word, page and chapter because they were intricately designed and chosen down to every last detail for YOU.

Shall we commence?

Ready. Set. Go!

Thank you, Robbie, for getting excited when I reported how much I managed to write each day that I sat down at my laptop to create this book (even when I only managed a hundred words). Thank you for celebrating the little wins with me and knowing exactly what to say when the wins definitely werent happening! The fact you proposed to me mid-writing phase is a very special thought. Thank you for embracing this crazy book adventure and for always championing girls and women alongside me. Thank you for loving Jesus just as much as I do.

Thank you, Mum, for sending me cards of encouragement that arrived miraculously at exactly the time I needed them. Thank you for being one of the greatest prayer warriors behind this book. Thank you for journeying with me in my insecurities over life, image and purpose, and for never saying they were stupid or to get over them. Thank you for walking, carrying and crying me through the other side of them. Thank you for always reminding me about the point of this book: God communicating his love for girls.

Thank you, Faerber family (Dad and Bex), for influencing every part of who I am. Thank you for loving me and having my back. Thank you for bringing me up, for doing life with me and for being such rocks. Thank you for all the adventures that weve had so far (and for the many that are yet to come).

Thank you to my friends who make life an absolute joy and pleasure and make me laugh until my stomach hurts. It hasnt always been easy, but the hardships have subsequently created a strength and a depth in our relationships, and for that, I am so thankful.

Thank you to all those who have influenced me in ministry, faith and life: you must know who you are!

To mention but a few, thank you to the Tolmans for taking me into your family and showing me what a life of ministry is all about and sparking a dream within me.

Also, thank you Mark Griffiths for calling out my strengths, being excited about my dreams with me and pointing me in the right direction.

Thank you to St Peters Church in Warfield for showing me the importance of doing life together with people. Lifelong family friends have resulted from my upbringing at such a family-orientated church (thats you, Harman family!).

Thank you to St Mellitus College for grounding my ministry in theology and drawing alongside inspiring people who taught me tons. Thank you for introducing me to lifelong friends who are smashing it in youth ministry.

Thank you to New Wine for being the place where I go to serve during the summer and the place where I am fed by faith-shaking, spirit-inspired teaching and communities.

Thank you to the community of St Michaels Church in Southfields for celebrating women in leadership, creating a role for me and for being the place where I worship and feel that I can be my true self.

To all the female empowerers out there (whether in the form of mothers, fathers, carers, siblings, friends, youth workers, magazine writers, charity starters, vicars, teachers, mentors, social media influencers...) KEEP GOING, please. There is a shift happening for such a time as this. Lets keep praying passionately for freedom for girls and women. Lets keep speaking out when we need to speak out. Lets keep speaking truth. Lets keep mentoring, supporting, teaching and role-modelling. On behalf of girls in the years to come THANK YOU.

To all the people who have spoken to me about Jesus thank you for speaking truth, life and hope into me.

My prayer is that this book contains words through which God will speak to you, just as all of these people whom I have thanked (and the others that I havent) have spoken words into my life that have come from God.

So finally, thank YOU for picking up this book (however it has ended up in your hands!) and I pray that the words spread across the pages influence, encourage and have an impact on YOU.

You may have bought this book for yourself or your mum/grandma/mentor/youth worker/school may have placed it in your hands and youre wondering who the heck I am and thinking that I have NO CLUE what youre facing! Stay with me, and I think youll realize that, in some areas, Im not all that different from you. This book will uncover the truth about some of my story and my experience as well as the story and experiences of other girls like you and me.

But first, to help you get to know me better, I thought a delightful place to start would be with a little quiz. It will help you frame an idea about who it is talking to you through this book (if you dont know already), and its a bit of fun, right?!

The questions are below, so get out that journal and jot down the options that best describe YOU. Then, towards the end of this section, you should find my personal, carefully calculated answers with which to compare!