Redefining Beautiful: What God Sees When God Sees You

I was recently sent a copy of the book Redefining Beautiful: What God Sees When God Sees You by Jenna Lucado and her dad, renowned author Max Lucado. Jenna relates to the reader by sharing stories of her teen years and empathizes with the reader. She discusses boys, friends, and the way the media portrays young women. While the book is designed for tween and teenage girls, as an adult woman, I also found great value in it. The book speaks to the reader as a friend and even has spaces for the reader to record thoughts and feelings in response to questions asked by the author. Jenna talks about the pressures of friends, boys and even media to look a certain way. She talks about the need for a strong relationship with your father. But wait...there are lots of girls today who do not live with their fathers, or have fathers who are emotionally distant or abusive, and some who do not even know who their fathers are. Does this mean they are doomed to never feel beautiful? Absolutely not! Jenna goes on to explain that our Heavenly Father loves us as we are. She encourages the reader to focus on what He finds beautiful in each of us and to let that define how we see ourselves. We can constantly be improving our physical look through diet and make up, but even those who are deemed most beautiful by the world, are often unhappy with their looks. True beauty can only come from within and this book does a great job of helping young girls to realize this. It acknowledges a young girls desire to be viewed as popular and attractive, but it gently reminds the reader that as a daughter of God, she will always be beautiful in His eyes. I recommend Redefining Beautiful: What God Sees When God Sees You for any young woman who has even the slightest relationship with God. The author "chats" with the reader as a friend would, speaking at the right age level. It will likely help the reader develop her relationship with both her earthly father and her Heavenly Father as well as help her to become more comfortable with who she is. The teen years are tough, especially on young girls. Developing self confidence is essential to making it through and this book will help them do just that.

I had a tough time as a teenager. Most of my pre-teen and teen years I spent being the chubby, awkward kid and I was teased for it. That sort of thing can definitely carry into a person's adulthood, which was the case for me. I wish I had a book like Redefining Beautiful when I was going through those difficult years. I think it would have helped, a lot. Jenna Lucado, daughter of the much loved, and trusted, Max Lucado, gives young girls a heartfelt and personal guide to understanding God's love and where true beauty comes from. I am very impressed with this young lady's writing and her ability to write in a way that will speak to the hearts of young woman. Jenna has included questions and room for journaling in this book, but there is still a lot of substance to be found in Redefining Beautiful. Also throughout this book are `Notes from Max' in which Max Lucado adds fatherly encouragement and advice. Of course, this would not be a book for teenage girls without beauty and clothing tips, such as appropriate make-up and outfits for today's Christian teenagers. If my teen years were as difficult as they were, I can't even begin to imagine what teenagers today must go through. The pressure seems to have multiplied over the years. I highly recommend Redefining Beautiful for all young Christian ladies.

This book for girls is about learning what beauty is from God's perspective. Jenna changes the focus from looking in the mirror, to looking at what God, our heavenly Father, sees when He looks at us. As she talks about each girl's personal style, it's not about just the outside appearance; it's about the inside, about our attitudes, our quirks, how we view others, how we view ourselves and why we view ourselves that way. Then she takes that and compares it to what is pleasing to God. When I ordered this book, I wondered: Would Jenna be able to relate it to girls like me, the girls without earthly fathers to help us to relate to God? And I was pleased with the answer. She does a great job in relating to girls with good dads, not so good dads, and absent dads. She uses her own story, stories from the Bible, and the stories of others to give examples. She asks questions, and then gives room for answers, which really helps in applying the things she talks about in a person's life. This book is something I recommend every girl read, no matter her age. It says it's for teens, and that's great--but I'm a young adult, and this book really touched me as well. Member of Thomas Nelson's Book Review Blogger program: [...]

This is a terrific book for girls and young ladies alike. I'm 32 and recently divorced, so it brought insight to me as well. Jenna shares many personal stories which enables the book to be real and practical. I thoroughly enjoyed relearning how God defines beauty, which is counter to the culture we live in. I need to focus and value His definition of beauty and not the world's. Thanks Jenna for a great book for young ladies, so they can see the joy in trusting God and how He sees them as beautiful and worthy.

Jenna's book is an insightful look into the heart of how a young woman views her beauty. Anyone, regardless of age, would benefit from Jenna's honest and at times humorous outlook on beauty. As a mom of two daughters, I appreciated Jenna's down to earth ability to speak to young women in an easy to understand heart to heart language. Her message is positive and uplifting and shows how our relationship with God redefines our outlook of inner and outer beauty. I enjoyed the book and would suggest it as a great read for everyone. I am a blog reviewer for [...]