John Eldredge - Captivating: A Guided Journal: Unveiling the Mystery of a Womans Soul

OTHER BOOKS BY JOHN ELDREDGE

The Sacred Romance
(Coauthored with Brent Curtis)
The Journey of Desire
Wild at Heart
Waking the Dead
Epic

To my friend Sam,
Who so unabashedly dives into matters of the heart.

Copyright 2005 by John Eldredge and Stasi Eldredge

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by Nelson Impact, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, Tennessee, 37214.

Published in association with Yates & Yates, LLP, Attorneys and Counselors, Orange, California.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations noted Alter are from Genesis: Translation and Commentary. Copyright 1996 by Robert Alter.

Scripture quotations noted NLT are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations noted NASB are from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations noted NKJV are from THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

05 06 07 08 09 RRD 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Contents

Welcome and well done! Choosing to purchase this guided journal means that you are hungry for more. More of God, more healing, and more restoration into the woman you were created to be. It says that you are willing to take a journey of discovery with him. You have said yes to God. You are continuing to say yes. May he meet you in the deep places of your heart and bring you hope, courage, healing, and the delights of intimacy that only God can bring.

First, this is not your normal workbook. There are no wrong answers. No fill-in-the-blanks. You dont have to struggle or worry about getting it right. Who wants another workbook anyway? We have enough work to do already. Besides, calling this a workbook would imply that the messages in the book Captivating are to be mastered. And mastered in a measurable way. Not at all. The messages in the book are to be pondered, considered. Some embraced. Some practiced. Some set aside for a later time.

This journal is for your heart.

And words are the voice of the heart.

The excerpts from the book and the questions we ask are here simply to provoke further exploration of your own heart and the heart of God. The pages provided allow space for your soul to express what lies within. Dont edit yourself. These pages are for you and God alone. If you choose to journey with other women in a small group, share what you desire. You dont need to be afraid of getting it wrong or saying something stupid. We really are in this thing together. Its amazing how much in common we have in our experiences, our feelings, our doubts, our fears.

Within each chapter, we have included special features called Windows to the Heart and Lifting the Veil. These include excerpts from other books and movies as well as side notes that we wanted to include but couldnt fit in the companion book, Captivating. We hope you enjoy them and that they are helpful in your journey with God.

If you are using this little book to facilitate deeper conversations, dont try to answer all of the questions together in one gathering. Three or four will be enough. React. Respond. Share honestly. Take the risk of being vulnerable with one another. A covenant of privacy will help. Decide together that what is shared within the confines of your gathering is sacred and not to be shared with others.

Providing a haven where ones heart is welcomed to show up is a great gift. Your heart is wanted. Whether you are using this journal alone, with God, or with a group of women and God, allow room for your heart to show up. Quiet yourself. Relax. Invite the Holy Spirit to guide you, speak to you, reveal what he desires to reveal.

The invitation is a true one. It is from God. And it is ever before you to come more fully into his presence and know him. Know yourself. And become ever more you, ever more his.

All of us are on a journey whether we know it or not. A journey of becoming. Henri Nouwen writes in The Life of the Beloved that, the spiritual life is not simply a way of being, but also a way of becoming. May God use this book in your life to aid you in becoming the woman you truly are. May he draw near to you as you draw near to him. Ask him to come. And rest assured that he will for, indeed, he has promised to do so; he delights in coming.

Stasi Eldredge

For Zions sake I will not keep silent,

for Jerusalems sake I will not remain quiet,

till her righteousness shines out like the dawn [until you shimmer],

her salvation like a blazing torch.

The nations will see your righteousness,

and all kings your glory [your beauty];

you will be called by a new name

that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.

You will be a crown of splendor in the LORDs hand [the crown of creation],

a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

No longer will they call you Deserted,

or name your land Desolate.

But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah

for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married.

As a young man marries a maiden [he pursues her, romances her]

So will your sons marry you;

as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride [you are lovely],

so will your God rejoice over you.

IS. 62:15 NKJV

Sometimes its hard to be a woman.
TAMMY WYNETTE

You belong among the wildflowers
You belong in a boat out at sea
You belong with your love on your arm
You belong somewhere you feel free.
TOM PETTY, WILDFLOWERS

I love the sentence Sometimes, its hard to be a woman from the old Tammy Wynette song. Talk about an understatement. Yes, there are many, many times when it is very hard to be a man as well. Yet, we women are living at a time when the pressures from without and the pressures from within to live well as a woman often feel massive and relentless. Sometimes, its harder to be a woman.

Welcome, Beloved of God. Take a deep breath. Relax. You are among friends here. Before you pick up a pen, take a moment to invite Jesus into your time now; ask Him to guide and lead and have his way with your thoughts and your heart. He is after all, the creator of our hearts, as women. He knows who we are. He knows and understands the stories of our lives much better than we do. And he knows the desires of our hearts with intimate detail. He placed them there. Lets ask him to come and to help us.

Dear Jesus, I love you. I need you. I come before you now, once again, asyours, asking for your help, your grace. My life is yours. My heart isyours. Would you please come and shine your light into the depths of my