Jessie gets it all the ways we can make ourselves feel ugly and what embracing our God-given beauty looks like. In this open, honest, entertaining book, youll feel like you are sitting across the couch, under a blankie with a girl whos been there talking about the power of our words, our dress, and our bodies and youll walk away feeling empowered to live a life of true, lasting beauty that grows more powerful not less with time. Thank you, Jessie, for using your voice to speak truth to a generation that needs it, and making us laugh along the way!
No matter what we look like, for most of us girls, beauty can be the one ugly subject. Jessie tackles the subject of beauty with a unique brand of honesty, transparency, and wisdom. More importantly, she shows us that the secrets to true beauty are found in Gods Word. For every girl who wants to feel beautiful, this book is a must-read.
Jessie helps us move toward embracing our true beauty by backing us away from the crazy talk we dont even realize we believe. Listen in, hear yourself, and turn away from lies and toward freedom. Silence the hiss and become be-you-ti-ful you!
NavPress is the publishing ministry of The Navigators, an international Christian organization and leader in personal spiritual development. NavPress is committed to helping people grow spiritually and enjoy lives of meaning and hope through personal and group resources that are biblically rooted, culturally relevant, and highly practical.
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Backwards Beauty: How to Feel Ugly in 10 Simple Steps
Copyright 2016 by Jessie Minassian. All rights reserved.
A NavPress resource published in alliance with Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
NAVPRESS and the NAVPRESS logo are registered trademarks of NavPress, The Navigators, Colorado Springs, CO. TYNDALE is a registered trademark of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Absence of in connection with marks of NavPress or other parties does not indicate an absence of registration of those marks.
Cover design by Nicole Grimes
Cover photographs are the property of their respective copyright holders, and all rights are reserved. Girl lying in bed copyright Image Source/Getty; girl in field copyright letohin/Dollar Photo Club; exotic woman copyright Paul Hill/Dollar Photo Club; woman with red lipstick copyright konstandinos/Dollar Photo Club; retro woman copyright chika_milan/Dollar Photo Club; black woman sitting copyright kazzakova/Dollar Photo Club; friends group copyright Monkey Business/Dollar Photo Club; blonde woman copyright Studio Kwadrat/Dollar Photo Club; woman with trendy glasses copyright arthurhidden/Dollar Photo Club; African woman copyright iconogenic/Dollar Photo Club; young woman copyright deniskomarov/Dollar Photo Club; beautiful and fashionable women copyright nuzza11/Dollar Photo Club; girl with fluttering hair copyright nizas/Dollar Photo Club; woman with stylish makeup copyright blackday/Dollar Photo Club; woman in gym copyright Boggy/Dollar Photo Club.
The Team: Don Pape, Publisher; Caitlyn Carlson, Acquiring Editor; Nicci Hubert, Developmental Editor
Published in association with the literary agency of Wolgemuth & Associates, Inc.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible, Holman CSB, and HCSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
Some of the anecdotal illustrations in this book are true to life and are included with the permission of the persons involved. All other illustrations are composites of real situations, and any resemblance to people living or dead is coincidental.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Minassian, Jessie.
Title: Backwards beauty : how to feel ugly in 10 simple steps / Jessie Minassian.
Description: Colorado Springs : NavPress, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015033531 | ISBN 9781612916293
Subjects: LCSH: Teenage girls Religious life. | Christian girls Religious life. | Beauty, Personal Religious aspects Christianity. | Self-perception in adolescence Religious aspects Christianity.
Classification: LCC BV4551.3 .M54 2016 | DDC 248.8/33 dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015033531
ISBN 978-1-63146-429-4 (ePub); ISBN 978-1-63146-430-0 (Kindle); ISBN 978-1-63146-428-7 (Apple)
Build: 2015-12-30 15:48:43
To my beautiful daughters, Ryan Kailey and Logan Cassidy.
May you always know (and believe!) how perfectly exquisite you are.
Introduction
Ive read a lot of books lots of them and all my favorites have something in common: Each one made me feel as if I were talking with a friend, or at least someone who cared about my life. I guess when it comes down to it, I dont like having someone Ive never met tell me how to live. Wild guess here maybe you dont either? Its easier to listen to advice when we hear it from someone we know and who we know cares about us, right? (And, lets be honest, sometimes its really encouraging to hear that an author is human, just like the rest of us!) So before we dig into this book together, its only fair that we get to know each other a bit.
Im Jessie. My given name is actually Jessica, and my last name is so hard to pronounce that I avoid using it when possible. (Just for kicks, its pronounced min--see-in.) My single momma brought me into this world on a beautiful Californian March day just a few years ago (wink). She got married when I was five, and I grew up in a blended family of five kids. I played lots of sports in school and tried to figure out how to love God with my whole heart when it seemed to be