Ms. Jenkins helps us to realize that we must accept ourselves as who we are, and to accept life as it comes.
With an amusing look and attitude toward life, she helps us realize what our outlook should be.
Below is a link to the first chapters of her book:
(http://files.tyndale.com/thpdata/FirstChapters/978-1-4143-7870-1.pdf)
August 16
Weight: 142 pounds
Calories: 2,260
Pants that are too tight: 3
Wrinkles: 8 too many
Resolve to lose 7 pounds and double up on eye cream.
Beauty Queen
Tara McClary’s a good-lookin’ woman—the quintessential
Southern belle. Perfectly mannered and manicured, blonde hair
and brown eyes, tall, thin, and tan. It’s little surprise, then, that
in 1990 she and her mom were crowned Mother/Daughter USA.
She’s a pageant success story, and in truth she’s the kind of woman
most of us love to hate. Problem is that once you get to know her,
you’ll have a hard time finding just cause.
I met Tara when I was a junior in college. My boyfriend, Dallas
(now my husband), and his family had known the McClarys for
years. And after reconnecting in their early twenties, Tara and Dallas
came up with an idea for a book they wanted to cowrite. As a nontitle-
holding, average girl, I felt a bit unsettled when my boyfriend
told me he was going to be working for hours on end with a beauty
queen. When I expressed my concern, he explained that he didn’t
think of her that way. She was a family friend, and besides, she wasn’t
his type; she was too perfect. He preferred the girl next door.
Problem is that in spite of Tara’s wisdom and the freedom
it brought her, I haven’t been able to stop comparing. Logically
speaking, I know I’m running a race I can’t win; someone will
always out-pretty me. But even when I’m not comparing myself
to someone else, I keep an ever-growing list of things I’d like to
change. If only I could tighten up my abs and get rid of a few
wrinkles, then I’d be content.
Yeah, right.
So if logic doesn’t snap me out of my vain haze, how will I be
able to accept myself, flaws and all? And since the pressure to be
beautiful seems to come from both the inside and the outside, is
it even possible to escape it? What’s the trick to being happy just
to be me?
Also in the book is are discussion questions, when used with a women's study group could be helpful.
1. What is your hope for this book, Confessions of a Raging Perfectionist?
That my transparency would get readers one step closer to freedom from their own impossible goals; that it would open their eyes to the strangleholds we sometimes don’t even see, but shape the way we think and spend our time; that it would get us laughing at the stuff we hide; that when brought into the open, things like vanity, materialism and desire for recognition would lose their power/hold on our minds and hearts.
2. In your book, you talk about your addiction to perfection. What were the signs that this was an issue for you?
Little things. For a long time, I didn’t let my husband see me without makeup. I got really upset/frazzled when people dropped by unexpectedly. I got easily embarrassed when I messed up, and I wouldn’t admit to struggling. And I thought I had life pretty together—that I actually didn’t struggle/mess up/sin as much as other people did.
(http://mediacenter.tyndale.com/downloads/press_kits/PerfectionistQ&A.pdf).
I would ( and will be using this book) as part of a women's ministry/ study group.
Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book
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