Paperdoll

"So be that girl. Be the girl who can love outrageously, because she is loved unconditionally."

I'm just going to start this blog off on a super personal note.

So, I have this thing. This thing where I don't really want to be in a relationship, because I have so much independent energy and focus right now... but I'm also terrified of being alone for too long. So, sometimes this causes me to talk myself out of things, while, at the same time, hold on to them.

Anyway, I've wanted to write about this book ever since I first read it, because it was just what I needed to hear at just the right time. I literally read it within 24 hours of a pretty significant leap of faith... a letting go, of sorts.

The book is Paperdoll by Natalie Lloyd.

I can honestly say that Natalie Lloyd is one of the women I look up to most. She is lovely, strong, kind, encouraging, inspirational, and... she just gets me. Haha. I was lucky enough to receive this copy from her. Not only did she write me a note in it, but she also sent me a card. She's just great, guys. Go read her blog.

The whole book is a fantastic read. To be honest, picking it up I thought it would be geared more to a teenage girl with the usual insecurities. But it hit closer to home than I ever knew, and shed light on the story of the Samaritan woman at the well that I had never considered before.

So, check her out... but here are a few excerpts from the book. I could blog on this book for a week. But, hopefully it's just the thing you need to hear tonight.

Natalie refers to what she wishes she could have told her college self:


"You are finally starting to dip your toes into a culture with many pristine imitations of love. And those imitations are starting to get to you. You're actually starting to believe that being loved is the same as trying a new identity. But when one identity doesn't work, you tab on another one like some co-ed paperdoll. You keep letting things and people define you. You're disconnecting from the love that you know is real and true.


Don't misunderstand me. It's okay that you're trying to get something from this experience. Go see the world. Read brilliant books that make you laugh and cry. Go to concerts with your friends and sing along loudly. Make new friends. Fight losing battles. Live this moment completely. You're going to be so glad you did all that. But it will mean more if you do it out of the overflow of God's perfect love."


"You are not alone in this, so stop disconnecting yourself from the love that tore through the heaven and earth to find you. Look people in the eye when you talk to them. Move into your life with courage, not fear. Start living your life like a girl who is loved. Don't waste anymore time."


"Living in the fullness of God us so much better than the wells we keep going to for perfect love. He's it. He is the only perfect love. Trying to dig it up from other places to ultimately fill the deepest longings in our heart is a colossal waste of time"