My Spreadsheet Brain

Before I chat about this weeks review, Wild by Cheryl Strayed, I need to tell you a little story first! So last month we reviewed Captivating by John and his wife Stasi Eldredge and at the end of the meeting Anika (my spiritual momma) made an announcement: She had tweeted at Oprah’s Book Club about our very own South African book club and guess what:
OPRAH SENT US BOOKS!!!  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCK! Yes, we literately all went: AAAACK! in the coffee shop.

Signed by Oprah and the author

The book was this very same WILD, by Cheryl Strayed – hand picked for us by the wonderful Oprah. Wild is an autobiography written by Cheryl about her experiences while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail during the Summer of 1995. Yes girls, she did this all on her own some! See write up here:

A powerful, blazingly honest memoir: the story of an eleven-hundred-mile solo hike that broke down a young woman reeling from catastrophe—and built her back up again.

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life: to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and to do it alone. She had no experience as a long-distance hiker, and the trail was little more than “an idea, vague and outlandish and full of promise.” But it was a promise of piecing back together a life that had come undone.

Strayed faces down rattlesnakes and black bears, intense heat and record snowfalls, and both the beauty and loneliness of the trail. Told with great suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild vividly captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.

Now, as Christian, Lord-loving gals, we obviously found the Jesus in this book 🙂 and I must say that it totally brought us back to: Spending time alone with God. I mean, I woulda totally had some holy spirit moments if I were to hike any trail by myself, without seeing anyone for DAYS! Cheryl says she discovered herself on that trail…  proof that it’s such a recipe for uncovering the deepness of God, getting to know Him and who YOU are in Him and just totally surrendering to Him.

Oh btw, we had breaki at The Blue Orange, in Walmer. It was a windy day and the only seating they had available for us was outside. So it was a bit chills. Breakfast wasn’t that amazing. The coffee, however, made my day! While taking pics outside (like proper weirdos), one lady asked us what we were taking pics for. We then explained our book club to her, and showed her our wonderful Oprah book. Yes, she also totally AAAACKED.
Especially when we gave her a spare copy of the book! She literally almost cried 🙂

This past few days I got into John and Stasi Eldredge’s novel, Captivating. Can I just say: WOW! This book was really something else. When I first started reading it, I was like… bleeuuughghghghghghghhghghghg…. But then it started speaking to me in words that totally made sense and I found myself going “I know!!! right?!!!!” and “Ohhhhhh now I see” outloud. Sometimes in public.

Okay lets get the venue and food out of the way (yes, the book is THAT good!) We had breaki at a place called Marilyn’s (duh, tribute eating spot to the great Monroe). Food was average’ish. I had a Marilyn breakfast, I think.

Right, back to the book! Aaack! This is such a MUST READ for all you females out there. I know that I am like more than a few days late with this post, but its so fitting to chat about this today, since yesterday we celebrated Woman’s Day in South Africa.
Captivating is more than just a self help book. This book speaks to the heart of every woman and our desire to be loved, wanted, needed and delighted in. The question burning in every female heart is: Am I lovely? 
And as Stasi and John explained, even as young girls we dress up as princesses and fairy’s and yearn to be delighted in. This is recognizable in the age old question: “Do I look pretty?” (now disguised as “does this make me look fat?” )

I learnt that as women, we are powerful beyond what we can imagine. Uhm, hello, the serpent in the garden tempted Eve, not Adam. Not because she was daft. But because she was the way IN. Woman are the “relationship builders”. They hold families and friendships together. They know when its so-and-so’s birthday or 20th wedding anniversary. They urge husbands to visit loved ones in hospital or donate something to the little boy standing on the corner with a shiny tin in his hand. We were built to be relational. Therefore the most important thing about you, as a woman, is your HEART. We are known as the crown of creation!

God has a special purpose for every single woman he has placed on Earth. You were made in His image and created to be relational like He is. God yearns to be in relationship with us, and He has given females that desire to love on others the way He does. But because of past hurts and mindsets forged while growing up, we have somehow moved away from what He wants for us.

Stasi speaks about her moms death and how the roles of females in our lives, kinda programme us to see ourselves a certain way. In the same way, our dads and their love and excitement over us as little girls, totally impacts how we view ourselves as adults.

I’ve really learnt so much about why I tick the way that I do. God has a purpose for every single heart. He wants to draw you out of the muck that the world has “taught” you to feel about yourself and show you your true beauty and value! He wants to reveal to you that you are the IRREPLACEABLE heroine in YOUR life story. That you ARE lovely. How might God be inviting YOUR heart to come alive?

Happy Woman’s Day to all!