Redefining Beautiful by Jenna Lucado – book review
I chose this book, knowing full well going into it, that is was aimed at teen girls. It’s been a while since I was one of those, but I do have a pre-teen daughter and remember what it was like to be one myself. I wanted to see what a young person might write about this topic of self esteem, identifying yourself by who you are in Christ and evaluating relationships with boys, friends, Dads and God. Would this be a book I could give to my daughter or could we read it together? Could I get anything out of it, as a thirty-something Mom of 3, or would it be so full of teen-speak, emoticons and text acronyms that I would feel insanely old?
It was, in a word, refreshing. It held my attention, was surprisingly deep, offered lots of helpful tips and practical advice, plenty of scripture references and even threw in extra encouragement from Jenna’s Dad, Max Lucado. I had just read and reviewed his book Fearless a month ago. It seemed fitting to keep things in the family, so to speak.
I would say, as a Mom of a 10 year old, I do think some of the subject matter is a little much for her to take in alone. We haven’t had the major talks yet – sure we’ve discussed body changes, hormones and cycles, but other than that, we haven’t tackled the tough subjects like dating, modesty, sex, drugs, etc. I know those are talks I need to have soon, as kids are hearing about those issues earlier than I did growing up. I think this will be a great book to give to her when we’ve had a chance to lay the groundwork ourselves. Note: the book does touch on other hard-hitting subjects like cutting and eating disorders. Those are very important to bring up, since they are much more prevalent or at least talked about more openly these days.
All the while, Jenna boldly talks about herself and her own struggles with her image, sibling rivalry, peer pressure, dating, modesty and more. I really liked that Jenna left herself very vulnerable – I think girls will really appreciate that. Coming from Max Lucado’s daughter, you might think it will be a straight-laced Bible study guide. While it definitely is filled with common sense and Biblical truths, it’s also real and relevant to today’s girls, without being preachy or prudish. I like her humor and her conversational style. I like that she throws in anecdotes and stories of friends who’ve gone through similar issues. There are questions asked to help the reader along to discovering any underlying issues that might be leading to an unhealthy self-image.
I had one of those and I also had a boyfriend who told me too often that I wasn’t good enough. I never felt beautiful, so I see the trap that girls get themselves so easily ensnared in. I was with the wrong person for the wrong reasons and I didn’t have anyone telling me the truth. I wasn’t in God’s word, letting His love wash over me. I wasn’t getting words of life spoken into me. I let the world be my soundtrack and it took its toll. I try to be mindful of how my daughter might be feeling at this time in her life – the changes and expectations. I pray that I’m speaking those words of life into her. I pray that she sees how much God loves her for who she is in Him and not for what the world sees. I try to encourage her unique set of gifts and praise her for being herself. It’s a balancing act and I have to be intentional about it. I wish it came naturally, but it doesn’t – I really have to make an effort. That part of me is still littered with the garbage of the past. I wrote a song called You’re Beautiful, which I really wrote for myself and her. It says, “You’re beautiful, God loves you and no one can take that away. Shed no tear for the words you hear; this world can be unkind, so guard your mind.” The more I’m guarding my mind through God’s word and watching what I’m letting into my head and my heart, the more beautiful I see myself. I want that so desperately for my daughter.
I admire Jenna for how she talked about her Dad and how obvious it is that he made a concerted effort, and still does, to let her know how much he adores her. It’s nice to see that she noticed, even if it took time and distance to get there. My husband tries constantly to reach out to, connect with and lavish love on our daughter. I hope it sinks into her being like it did for Jenna.
A really clever touch was the Facebook chapter – comparing how we view our relationship to God to that popular social media site’s relationship status. I have to admit that one really hit home and I think we could all do some searching as to what our daily relationship status would read.
If you have a teen, I think she’d really like this book – maybe it’s even something you can read together. Nice job, Jenna and way to go, Max.
I am a member of Thomas Nelson’s Book Review Blogger program http://www.booksneeze.com.
