You are a beautiful daughter of God.

True? Yes. Encouraging? Perhaps. Helpful? Not really.

This is the message we hear from a lot of Christian women speakers. We see it hand lettered on pretty Instagram pictures. You are beautiful. You are so loved. All you need is Jesus. This is all true. It sounds good. It feels good. But are these sayings really all that helpful?

How does knowing you’re loved help you when you’re struggling with crippling anxiety? How does knowing you’re beautiful help you battle the shame over the damaging sins of your past? How does knowing you need Jesus help you when He seems to be silent as you’re swallowed up in grief? We need something more.

And that “something more” is depth. Phylicia Masonheimer teaches in her book Stop Calling Me Beautiful that we need more than watered-down teaching and shallow theology. We need a deeper walk with Jesus, and the only way we can have this deeper walk is to dive deep into the Word of God. She writes – 

“We need more than ‘pink fluff’ theology of out-of-context verses, compliments to our personalities that never challenge us to grow, and topical messages about womanhood and identity. We are tired of the Bible being watered down and made palatable. We need and want truth, because only truth will set us free.”^[1]

Through personal stories of her own struggles and a variety of Bible passages, Phylicia shows her readers what is possible through deeply studying Scripture. We can have victory over legalism and shame. We can have freedom from anxiety and fear. We can overcome grief and brokenness. We can discover lasting community. And we can make a true difference in our world. As she wraps up her book, Phylicia leaves her readers with this charge – 

“I hope everyone who reads these words leaves with a desire to know Jesus for who He is, not just for what He can do for us. My greatest hope is that you will grow in faith and knowledge of the Word…”^[2]

I don’t know if I’ve ever read something that had a mission and a passion so aligned with my own. Like Phylicia, I want you, my readers, to leave this blog every week having a greater desire for Jesus and the Bible. I want you to grow in your faith and knowledge so that you will be equipped for whatever life throws at you. This has definitely been one of my favorite books that I’ve read in 2020, and I hope you will pick it up and read it, too.

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^[1] Phylicia Masonheimer, Stop Calling Me Beautiful: Finding Soul-Deep Strength in a Skin-Deep World (Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 2020), 13.

^[2] Ibid., 198.