Magnetic

Magnetic

Chapter 1—The Power to Become Magnetic: The Captivating Characteristics That Make a Girl Gorgeous

Why doesn’t he like me? I just couldn’t figure it out. What is it about me that isn’t as attractive as her? Am I not as pretty? Am I too loud? Are my friends not cool enough? The questions gnawed at me, eating away at my confidence. He had liked me once; surely I could get him to like me again. There had to be a way.

I was determined to find out what was wrong with me.

Maybe it was my body. Once, when I was surrounded by people who already intimidated me, my “friend” Dave called out, “Hey, Lynn, why do you bother wearing a bra? You’re so flat, you should just wear Band-Aids.” If only I could have evaporated into thin air.

Then again, maybe it was my hair. Not only was it curly, it was out of control. Dave nicknamed me Lucy, as in Lucy from the cartoon Peanuts. Not exactly the image you’d find under hot on Wikipedia. I wondered if her hair was the reason Schroeder, the piano dude, never asked her out.

Flat and frizzy…I convinced myself these were the reasons I couldn’t attract Greg, the guy I wanted. Maybe I never would. It seemed I didn’t have what it took to get this guy.

Do you ever wonder…
   What does she have that I haven’t got?
      Why doesn’t he ask me out?
         What makes her so popular? Why not me?
            What’s wrong with me?

Do you sometimes feel as if your life’s equation is Boy + Me = Valuable?

Invisible to Perfect Guy, it’s easy to think, The problem must be imperfect me. Maybe you’ve even tried fixing “the problem”:
   Hair: new color, new cut. Check.
   Clothes: cute outfit. Check.
   Friends: do what it takes to become more popular. Working on it.
   Body: join the gym. Ask Mom and Dad.
   Yet, no matter how hard you try, it’s never enough.

The Magnetic Attraction
Back in my own “wish I were dating” days, my highs and lows depended on whether or not I saw him in the hall; my happiness was determined by whether or not he noticed me. The crush I had was crushing me.

I wish there had been someone who could have helped me. Although maybe I wouldn’t have listened. But I wish someone could have shown me that the longing in my heart pointed not to my need for a guy, but to my deeper need for something even greater. That I was created to be loved perfectly and unconditionally, made to have my heart filled each and every day with love from the Perfect Man, Jesus.

I wish someone could have shown me I am valuable just as I am, created for an amazing purpose—and nothing on this planet should hold me back from my purpose, especially not some guy!

Then I could have spent my time, energy, and emotions, not on a guy I didn’t have, but on the One I did. I could have moved from obsessing over why I wasn’t wanted to becoming the type of girl a guy would want. Not just as someone to date but as the one he’d want to spend the rest of his life with.

I remember making the list, a gargantuan description of everything I was looking for in the guy I would marry one day. The more powerful list would have described the woman I wanted to become, the woman he couldn’t resist!

What would happen if you made the switch now? Shifted your focus off a guy and onto the Guy?

What if, together, we discovered an irresistible beauty deeper than designer clothes, skinny jeans, and flawless skin? A confidence so attractive, nothing could cause us to lose it? A glamour simply magnetic?

In my quest to discover true beauty, I began to see gorgeous as much more than the face in my mirror. Gorgeous is not skin deep but heart deep, a beauty that develops as my heart discovers and returns true love.

This beauty, this attractiveness, is found in the girl who has what I call Nothing on this planet should hold you back from your purpose, especially not some guy! captivating characteristics—what the Bible calls the fruit of the Spirit. These heart traits are described in Galatians 5:22–23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Let’s unpack what the Bible means by the fruit of the Spirit. Picture a gorgeous piece of fruit, a luscious and juicy Florida orange. The bright and plump skin calls, “Peel me!” As you pull back the skin, juice squirts everywhere. This orange is just the kind Tropicana looks for!

Then there is another orange. Puny and shriveled. Something on the tree went terribly wrong. Bugs, disease, lack of sun? Whatever the reason, the orange never reached its full potential. Dried up, the ugly fruit is no use to anyone!

What caused the drastic difference between these two pieces of fruit? One so beautiful, the other so…not? The juicy orange, pleasingly healthy, drew in all it needed to reach its full potential. Sunshine, water, and nutrients from the soil nurtured the fruit into the fullness it was created for. The other orange did not absorb the nourishment it needed.

When you’re planted in God, you become like the tangy, appealing fruit! He provides you with all you need to reach your full potential—to be the best you you can be!

That is one beautiful you!

Instead of chasing after the guy running from you, you’re pursuing the One coming after you. In the process of seeking His heart, you’ll become the amazing individual He designed you to be, a girl who is irresistibly magnetic, beautiful inside and out!

Think of the two pieces of fruit. Which one attracts your interest?

The same is true for guys. They are drawn to you when you are at your best, your greatest potential! So the you you become impacts who you’ll attract. If that guy you’re crushing on is mature and solid in his faith, he’ll be attracted to a girl who is mature and solid in her faith. Notice I didn’t say that the guy you’re crushing on is going to return the favor. I am saying that the type of guy who will be drawn to you is someone who shares your priorities and passions. A guy who is like you is the guy who will like you.

You’re thinking, Yeah right! I don’t see this happening. You obviously haven’t been to my school. You have no clue what guys are like; there aren’t any of that type of guys, the godly guys, out there.

I agree there aren’t too many guys pursuing God. But check this out: there aren’t too many girls pursuing God either! The few guys I have met who are running hard after Jesus, though, are keeping their eyes open for a girl who is doing the same.

Gorgeous Glorifies God
Have you ever met a girl who has a genuine love for other people? Instead of being focused on herself, she focuses on others, making those around her feel wanted, special, valued. There is something so beautiful about her!

Think of a girl you know who’s joyful. She looks on the bright side. You feel good just being around her! Who doesn’t want to be close to a girl like that? She’s more fun to hang out with than the one constantly complaining.

What about the one resisting the pull of girl drama, refusing to get dragged into arguments or backbiting? She’s peaceful, her calm outlook refreshing.

Got a friend who never uses the word annoyed? Patient with others, her time is your time. Every conversation doesn’t have to be about her; she really listens and cares.

Think of a girl you’d describe as kind and good. Every person is important and valuable to her. She never says “I was only joking,” because she doesn’t have a rude comment to cover up.

Have a friend you can tell anything? Your secret’s placed in a vault when you tell her. You have no fear of your secret slipping out; she’s faithful. She’ll be your friend through everything.

How about the girl who is gentle, not controlled by peer pressure, not obnoxious or attention seeking? Comfortable with who she is, she’s intentional about her choices because her priority is honoring herself and her God.

A girl like that is magnetic. Who could resist wanting to be around her?

Guess what? You can be that girl!

How?

These magnetic traits are the result, or fruit, of the girl who has given her entire life to Jesus. She now spends her emotional energy allowing Him to live His life through her.

Now, you don’t have to burn yourself out trying to become perfect. These gorgeous qualities will show up as you spend time with God and He pours His perspective into you!

Get Up and Get Growing
To help you toward your goal of becoming the girl He wants, we’re going to investigate these captivating characteristics together.

Right now I’m picturing you joining me on a Thursday night when my living room is filled with a group of girls who love Jesus and are trying to figure life out. We’ve been getting together for about five years, learning more about God and ourselves. I know you’d fit right in!

If you don’t have your own group, you can start one! Pull a group of your friends together, make a snack, and go through Magnetic together. Of course, it’s also perfectly okay to do this with just the two of you: Jesus and you.

As you go along, you’ll find questions to help you see how the fruit of the Spirit can grow in your life. You’ll also find lots of insights from girls much like you as well as comments from godly guys about what they find attractive. I interviewed both guys who have found their own magnetic girl and those who are still looking. Their comments are really revealing!

I love quizzes, so I’ve included one for each of the captivating characteristics. In the back of the book, you’ll find a chart where you can record your score for each one. This way you can identify which of the captivating characteristics are your strengths and which are areas where you need to grow. You’ll find the chart on page 187. Try folding down the corner of that page to make it easy to find quickly.

As we’re going through Magnetic, sometimes you might feel like change in your life is coming fast. Then a bad day will trip you up and you’ll think, I’ve not changed at all. Not true! You are growing; you just had a setback. Get up and get going! Just keep on taking small steps, one after another, as Jesus leads you to become the girl He wants.

Grab your Bible and a journal, and let’s do it! Let’s learn what it means to be magnetic!