Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman

Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman

I enjoyed this book.  In an age when most Christian women’s books serve to comfort us in our “struggles” as women, Anne Ortlund’s classic is a breath of fresh air.  Her advice on how to live beautifully is so helpful. It reminded me, too, that the complementarian point of view is not a new one.  These truths from the Word have been understood and normal throughout Christianity. As usual, there were some positive things about her book and some negative.  Here they are: 

Pros:

• I actually liked her her practical helps.  Although her details are showing the passing of time (pre-computer and cell phone era) she mainly is illustrating the need for purposeful acts of growth and glory.
• Chapter 7 was my favorite chapter, and her use of the illustration of the keel on a boat pointed to the deep unseen stabilizers in life, prayer and Bible devotions.

Cons:

• The book is a bit clunky style in the beginning.   Not my favorite style to read.
• This is the second book I’ve read from this era, where almost half of the book is more of a how-to manual on how to keep the house, how to dress, what your schedule should be, how to organize your life, etc.  This is how she applied the deeper truths, and maybe that’s more needed than we like to think.  How often have I heard women have all the right answers in a Bible Study or Sunday School class, yet they couldn’t get to church on time with their families, or can’t seem to keep their home clean and tidy, or they just don’t follow through with obligations (homeschooling, church volunteering, honoring husbands)?