Carolyn Mahaney - True Beauty

This book contains fascinating and eye-opening information about our American beauty habits. Carolyn and Nicole have acted as our research assistants to open our eyes to the vanity of physical beauty and our hearts to the power of true beauty.

Dannah Gresh, best-selling author and creator of Secret Keeper Girl

Our society is obsessed with the cult of beauty, and it is high time we recognize that this cult is nothing less than the worship of an idol. Carolyn Mahaney and Nicole Whitacre deliver a prophetic word against this idolatry, but more importantly, they rescue beauty from the clutches of the idol and present a biblical understanding of true beauty. This book should be read by every Christian woman and it should be put in the hands of every young girl as soon she can understand it. These gifted authors have not only written a book; they have launched a revolution.

R. Albert Mohler Jr. and Mary K. Mohler, President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; and his wife, Mary, Director of the Seminary Wives Institute at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

In a world where a womans identity can easily be defined by how she looks, what she wears, or how she feels about herself, Carolyn Mahaney and Nicole Whitacre challenge us to something greater: the discovery of the truth about who we really are as Gods crowning creation. Whether single, married, wife, mom, husband, father, brother, or boyfriend, True Beauty is a must-read. With so much wisdom, knowledge, and practical advice, this book will awaken your spirit to understand, to fight, to inspire, and to love.

Webb and Dowd Keith Simpson, Professional golfer, PGA Tour, and his wife
and mother of three

Delight in his flawless design is an incredible statement from the pages of this inspiring book. You will delight in the timeless principles and truths that, when applied, reflect the work of our wonderful Creator.

Karen Loritts, author; conference speaker; blogger, MomLife Today;
mother of four and grandmother of eight

Finally, a book about beauty that gets to the heart of the issue. As much as Id like to blame my inadequacies on my clumpy mascara, outspoken personality, or spotty fitness routine, Carolyn and Nicole remind me that my problem is actually much deeper. Its not that Im concerned too much or too little with my appearance; its that Im concerned with the wrong thing altogether. True Beauty puts in his rightful place the Source of all that is beautiful and good, and begs me to look there instead of my bathroom mirror. Its about time. How refreshing to finally get my eyes off myself!

Lisa Anderson, Director of Young Adults, Focus on the Family; Host,
The Boundless Show

This is a wonderful, enjoyable, highly readable book that teaches Gods true standards of beauty in contrast to the misleading standards promoted in popular culture today.

Wayne and Margaret Grudem, Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies, Phoenix Seminary. Wayne and Margaret have been married for
forty-four years and have three children and three grandchildren.

Combining the eminently practical with the deeply theological, Carolyn and Nicole give us a work that is both terrifically up-to-date and rooted in Gods unchanging Word. With plenty of personal anecdotes and an inviting conversational style, True Beauty will meet women of all ages right where they are. But it wont leave them there! Carolyn and Nicole expose the lies we have picked up from the world and the half-truths that get passed along from well-meaning but misguided believers. We will recommend this book often and set it aside for our daughters to read as they grow up.

Kevin and Trisha DeYoung, Senior Pastor, University Reformed Church,
East Lansing, Michigan. Kevin and Trisha have been married for twelve years and have six children.

What woman hasnt struggled with the impossible standards of beauty bombarding her from magazine covers to her own mirror? We owe a debt of gratitude to Carolyn Mahaney and Nicole Whitacre for taking on this confusing crisis of beauty. From self-loathing to apathetic acceptance, from closets to curbside, from plunging necklines to plastic surgery, the authors help us dig down to the real issueour pursuit of self-glory. They show us the link between a womans heart and her purity, modesty, and body image. True Beauty is theologically astute as well as practical, offering deliberate suggestions without being dictatorial, freeing us to develop our own Christ-honoring tastes as we see and savor authentic beauty in God and his Word. True Beauty will help every reader steward her beauty effectively for Christ. Read it. I cant wait to see the results!

Jani Ortlund, Executive Vice President, Renewal Ministries; author,
Fearlessly Feminine and His Loving Law, Our Lasting Legacy

Finally... the book Ive been wishing someone would writea book that helps women like me who obsess about our own beauty (or more accurately, our lack there-of) to the detriment of our souls and our witness to the beauty and sufficiency of Christ. The answers Carolyn and Nicole put forward to our consuming and crippling desires to be beautiful on the worlds terms are neither square nor simplistic but rather completely scriptural and deeply satisfying.

Nancy Guthrie, Bible Teacher; author, Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament
Bible study series

In a culture befuddled about femininity, True Beauty helps define what women are really looking for in their quest for that illusive thing called beauty. Carolyn and Nicole have tackled a subject that women everywhere care deeply about and really want to understand. Though the world has the microphone when it comes to peddling beauty, the promised payoff never satisfies. This book gives women a much-needed biblical response to the worlds sales pitch.

Nancy Wilson, Pastors wife; author, Fruit of Her Hands; True Companion; Our Mother Tongue

A misunderstanding of what beauty truly is can tangle us up and keep us from walking in the freedom that all who trust in the Savior can enjoy. I recognized my own struggles through the pages of this book and was encouraged and renewed by the higher, broader, eternal, more beautiful vision of beauty it unfolded before my eyes: a vision made and grown and held together in Christ.

Kristyn Getty, Hymn-writer and recording artist

Rare is the woman who doesnt struggle with her appearance. With four daughters and five granddaughters, we should know. This is a timely, relevant, and much-needed book, filled with gospel-fueled and theologically informed counsel. While relatively short, it contains a massive amount of hope and direction for women who confront the ongoing lies of our culture and their own hearts. Carolyn and Nicole address practical issues clearly without imposing personal standards, and share inspiring stories of women who have found grace in the midst of their battles. Whatever your season of life, True Beauty will lead you to behold and reflect the beauty of the Savior who is worthy of all our love and praise.

Bob and Julie Kauflin, Director, Sovereign Grace Music, and his wife

This is more than a book on beauty or a book on how to see ones self as beautiful in Gods eyes. True Beauty points us to the beautiful One. The authors help us see Gods pattern for reflecting the beauty of Christ in our hearts first and foremost, but also in the care of our bodies, in our fashion, and in other areas of life where beauty for its own sake tends to be a temptation. May all who read this book come away with greater desire to reflect the beauty of God in all of life.

Thabiti and Kristie Anyabwile, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of