I see you. I see me. We're standing on the brink of defeat, relying on cliché quotes like, "Beauty comes from within" and "You're perfect just the way you are". I knew this stuff wasn't working, but I thought it was enough if I just believed it harder. I thought I was the problem. But no. It's not me. It's not you. These quotes on beauty are void of substance. They are lacking something so incredibly important. Why is confidence so hard to grasp? The moment you think you've took hold of it; it slips right out of your fingers. But I think we've just started to accept insecurity as a part of human nature. It isn't. It has wounded us. It has crippled us, and it has taken the lives of so many. But these views on beauty and worth conceal our wounds and wrap them up in a little bow of "You just need to love yourself more." And even as a Christian, I still questioned why I loved Jesus but couldn't seem to love myself. My life was a crippling walk into rooms surrounded by walls of self-hatred and empty quotes that were slowly closing in on each other. I had so many questions. Where is my value? How do I love myself? How do I have confidence? Isaiah 53:2 "He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him." Jesus had no beauty. In fact, in scripture, He became hideous in more ways than we even realize. He came to us in an unattractive state, and ended His life becoming even more hideous than when He first appeared. But in my journey of uncovering Christ's ugliness, I was shown nothing but beauty. I was shown nothing but majesty. And I only desired Him more. Then I realized something much more profound needed to take place in us if we wanted to truly take hold of confidence. So. What are we to take from the ugliness of Christ? An embarrassing amount, both emotionally, physically and spiritually. It's going to change a whole lot about the way we see the world. And frankly, it will inevitably change a whole lot about the way you view yourself. Prepare to intake the most radical belief about identity and beauty you have ever encountered.Trust me.This is gonna' get ugly.

Jesus Christ is arguably the most famous man who ever lived. His image adorns countless churches, icons, and paintings. He is the subject of millions of statues, sculptures, devotional objects and works of art. Everyone can conjure an image of Jesus: usually as a handsome, white man with flowing locks and pristine linen robes. But what did Jesus really look like? Is our popular image of Jesus overly westernized and untrue to historical reality? This question continues to fascinate. Leading Christian Origins scholar Joan E. Taylor surveys the historical evidence, and the prevalent image of Jesus in art and culture, to suggest an entirely different vision of this most famous of men. He may even have had short hair.

Originally published: San Francisco and London: Harper & Row, Ã1987.

Whenever Christa Black looked in the mirror, she was waging a war with herself. Her hatred of her face and body drove her, as a young woman, into frantic overachievement, addiction, and an eating disorder that landed her in rehab. A preacher's kid, she'd grown up imagining God as a "thou shalt not" tyrant. It was only when she miraculously discovered God's unconditional love for her--physical imperfections, moral failings, and all--that she finally began to accept herself. As she tells her story, Christa shares the tools she uses to combat the self-rejection that harms so many people's lives. In this raw testimony, Christa Black takes women on a step-by-step journey of faith and positive belief to reveal that if God loves ugly, then we can too.

In high school, Kristen Welch wore a big, sparkly rhinestone “Jesus” pin to school every day and carried her Bible wherever she went. (Yes, she was that girl.) But she didn’t realize her faith, though sincere, was shallow; much like her artificial accessory, it would one day tarnish, no longer a true fit for who she was. As real life catapulted Kristen into places and situations she’d never imagined, there came a day when she stood shocked in the slums of Africa and realized in one desperate moment that Jesus wasn’t enough for her. At least . . . she wasn’t living like He was. On the brink of a risk bigger than any she’d ever taken, Kristen knew she didn’t stand a chance—unless she was willing to put aside the rhinestones and get branded by the real thing. Rhinestone Jesus is the story of one woman’s journey from comfortably living a safe, “good-girl” faith that didn’t cost much, to realizing that God was daring her to say yes to a bolder, more authentic, more dangerous way. This story of spiritual adventure throws the doors wide open for any woman who’s ever thought of herself as “just a mom.” Kristen will inspire and empower you to say yes to God right where you are—and stand amazed at how your life will shine.

Excerpts from Ugly Church: "An ugly church can meet in a cathedral, a multi-million dollar facility, a '60s era church building resembling an upside-down ark, a storefront, or under a highway overpass. It is not defined by where it meets, nor the size of its building or bank account. They can be found in the grittiest urban core, the remotest Native American village, the wealthiest beach-side community and the most common suburb. It is not defined by its appearance or its location. It is defined by its adherence to the mission and message of Christ. It is defined by closely following the steps of its scandalous Savior. Simply put, the Church should be found where one would expect to find Jesus if He were walking the earth here and now, and filled with the people for whom His heart broke.""Where are the churches for the outsiders and the outcasts? For the least, the last, and the lost? I'm not suggesting there aren't ugly churches in existence doing great things for the Kingdom of God, but I do believe there are far too few of them. Certainly there are too few of them in a world filled with people who would consider themselves "ugly" if you had an honest conversation with them.""The world needs the real Jesus. Not self-help Jesus. Not prosperity Jesus. Not social club Jesus. Not a sanitized, safe, or diluted Jesus. The world needs the radical, audacious, and revolutionary Son of God, full of grace and compassion for the least of us, willing to die for the worst of us, and offering real and abundant life to all of us."

Understanding more of God's character and how he loves us changed bestselling author Holley Gerth's life in beautiful, powerful ways. She realized that she didn't have to settle for "I'm fine" when there was someone whispering to her in every moment, "You're mine." The hope, joy, peace, and purpose she longed for were already there, in the heart of God. Now in 52 devotional readings, Holley shares with women the answer to the restlessness they feel in their hearts that keeps them hurrying, striving, pushing. She shows them that "the God who scattered stars like diamonds across the velvet of the universe, the keeper of every sparrow, the maker of us all, is inviting us to draw closer to him. He is the place where our hearts can go on the hard days and the happy ones, in the highs and lows, when we are sad or frustrated or downright giddy. He is what we've been searching for all along."

At just twelve years of age, Kathy met Kris, age fifteen, and it was love at first sight. Before her lay the journey of engagement and marriage to a man who would become an influential leader at Bethel Church; raising children while being part of one of the most influential Spirit-filled networks on the globe; and her own involvement in leadership--sparking a movement with her husband that has impacted much of the world. In this unfiltered, messy, and exciting narrative, Bethel Church matriarch Kathy Vallotton traces her life with Kris as she recounts their early married life, his heart-wrenching nervous breakdown, troubling financial setbacks, the jarring experience of living with a prophet, learning to develop a healthy kingdom culture at home--and how she grew to trust God in the midst of it all.

What do you do when you wake up and feel like you're not enough for your life? Or when you look out the kitchen window as dusk falls and wonder how do you live when life keeps breaking your heart? As Ann Voskamp writes, “great grief isn't meant to fit inside your body. It's why your heart breaks.” And each of us holds enough brokenness to overflow—to be given as the greatest story of our lives. In sixty vulnerably soulful stories, The Way of Abundance moves from self-weary brokenness to Christ-focused givenness. Drawing from the critically acclaimed, New York Times bestseller The Broken Way and Ann's online essays, this devotional dares us to embrace brokenness as a gift that moves us to givenness as a way to draw closer to the heart of God. Christ Himself broke like bread, giving Himself to us so we might have a lifelong communion with Him. Could it be that our brokenness is also a gift to the world? This gentle but exquisitely profound book does nothing less than take you on an intimate journey of the soul. As Ann writes, "The wound in His side proves that Jesus is always on the side of the suffering, the wounded, the busted, the broken." Discover how surrendering in unexpected ways is the first step toward receiving what you long for. Discover the good news that your beauty is not in your strength but in your fragility. Discover why your healing shines radiant through your wounds—and how only in brokenness will you ever be whole—and find the way to the abundance you were meant for.