Tinki Talks

Captivating: Finding Romance in God

Book Title: Captivating
Written By: John & Stasi Eldredge

Yes, AGAIN... I don't care what you think... =p

"Every song you love, every memory you cherish, every moment that has moved you to holy tears has been given to you from the One who has been pursuing you from your first breath in order to win your heart. God's version of flowers and chocolates and candelight dinners come in the form of sunsets and falling stars, moonlight on lakes and cricket symphonies; warm wind, swaying trees, lush gardens, and fierce devotion."
– (Eldredge, 2005, pp. 116)

Isn’t it just beautiful? I think both John and Stasi are really good descriptive writers… They manage to capture the emotion and give it just the right touch to make you feel what they want you to feel… At least, I hope what I felt was what they wanted me to feel… Haha… Anyways, it’s all good…

This paragraph made me see that God romances me in the most wonderful ways through the things I see daily but so very often take for granted – twinkling stars (I have a thing for stars; I do, I do), brilliant moonbeams (across the mini Selat when I look at the sea from my home balcony), sweet smelling blooms (there’s this rose I found in Australia that really reminds me of my maternal grandfather but that’s another story) and pretty rainbows (saw three huge ones side by side when I was in Perth)… Sigh… I have a God who has a thing for beauty; He has a thing for nice and pretty things… And I, in turn, simply adore the works of His hands…

And check out these next few lines that came in the paragraph that followed…

"This romancing is immensely personal. It will be as if it has been scripted for your heart. He knows what takes your breath away, knows what makes your heart beat faster.”
– (Eldredge, 2005, pp. 116)

Ain’t it grand to know that this God who loves you is one who knows what really appeals to you, what arouses your interest and what captures your heart? He knows exactly what you really desire deep inside… Perhaps even before YOU know it yourself! Simply fab, huh?

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Bibliography
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Eldredge, John & Staci (2005), "Captivating: Unveiling The Mystery of a Woman's Soul", Nelson Books: Nashville, Tennessee.

Captivating: Broken Hearts

Book Title: Captivating
Written By: John & Stasi Eldredge

Have been on this book for a bit… A good read with heaps of things to learn and plenty of suggestions for self-improvement… Wish I had the time to really focus on it but… Sigh… I’ve only been able to sneak in pages with it – before food arrives during meal times and those few minutes before I head off to La La Land at night… It’s a page-turner for sure though… It’s times like these I wished that I had more than 24 hours in my day… =(

So anyways, the following is a paragraph in the “Captivating” that caught my eye and I realise that I’ve gone back to read it a couple of times… I love the way the paragraph is written and the way the message is conveyed… Check it out…

"You cannot be alive very long without being wounded. The sun rises, the stars follow their courses, the waves roll in crashing against the rocks, and we are wounded. Broken hearts cannot long be avoided in this beautiful yet dangerous world we live in. This is not Eden. Not even close. We are not living in a world our souls were made for. Something's rotten in the state of Denmark and in our backyards as we journey through the unknown terrain of the moments and months that make up our lives."
– (Eldredge, 2005, pp. 64)

Yeah yeah, I know… I’ve recently blogged about having broken hearts and, as I said before, there’s no escaping it… Not in this world we live in that’s far from perfect… It’s definitely no haven to protect, shield and envelop our oh so fragile souls… Everything changed with the fall of man…

We’ll never be free of having broken hearts… We were born into a world that was set up for terrible heartbreaks… Dishonesty, deceit, lies… Pain, grief, misery… They’re all apart of our vocabulary… Unfortunately for us, they’ve become a major part in our lives at present… A part that so powerfully wounds, damages and abuses us, sometimes even without us realising it…

We can’t run away from heartaches… Not unless, of course, we shut everyone else out from our worlds and never let anyone get close enough to be able to do reach that part of us that’s buried so deeply… Hmmm… But then again, with that, you never give your heart a chance to really beat for someone other than yourself… Think about it for a moment… That, my friends, is sad… It really is… Dying from a lonely heart is no better than dying from a broken one… A life lived for no one but yourself is a life that holds no purpose; it has no meaning…

But… In such a world we live in, I’m glad I’ve got someone who will never let me down… Who will never break my heart… Who, on the other hand, was broken for me… And for that, I am thankful… I know I’ve been truly blessed for having found my Anti-Heartbreaker, my Soul-Saviour, my Lifesaver… Literally… =)

I admit, I can’t yet say that I’m eagerly jumping – the hop-skip-and-a-jump kind of jump – onboard the whole heart-on-the-line train… I want to… But it’s never easy to do… I guess it’s a case of things being easier said than done… Whatever it is, I’m just glad that with all the sucky things that are happening around us in this day and age, I know that my heart is safe in Him…

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Bibliography
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Eldredge, John & Staci (2005), "Captivating: Unveiling The Mystery of a Woman's Soul", Nelson Books: Nashville, Tennessee.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Found this really lovely paragraph in Mitch Albom's 'The Five People You Meet in Heaven'... I must say, 'Tuesdays with Morrie' was a better book... Unfortunately, I never got down to blogging it... Started the post but... Haha... It kinda got overlooked over time... Uh oh... Will work on it soon... =)

The following paragraph was in the context of a death that took place years back before the lead character, Eddie, found himself reunited with that particular lost loved one - his wife... Bear in mind that it has been edited slightly, although, rest assured that the message remains the same...

"Lost love is still love. It takes a different form, that's all. You can't see their smile or bring them food or tousle their hair or move them around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken, another heightens. Memory. Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it. You hold it. You dance with it. Life has to end. Love doesn't."

*inhales* ...beautiful... *sighs*

Empowering Women ala 'Courting Trouble'

Got this out of a really good book... Heh heh...

"A gentleman should never lower the intellectual standard of his conversation in addressing ladies. Pay them the compliment of considering them capable of an equal understanding with gentleman. You will, no doubt, be somewhat suprised to find how many cases the supposition will be grounded in fact, and in the few instances where it is not, the ladies will be pleased rather than offended at the delicate compliment you pay them. When you "come down" to commonplace or small talk with an intelligent lady, one of two things is the consequence: she either recognizes the condescension and despises you, or else she accepts it as the highest intellectual effort of which you are capable and rates you accordingly." - Our Deportment (1882)