Monday, July 12, 2010

Escaping the Vampire

Every girl longs to be loved.

Not just loved, but deeply, passionately, and epically loved.

We long for a Hero (especially if he's dangerous!). We crave being swept up in delicious romance. We want to feel beautiful, sought after, protected, and most of all, to be loved with wild abandon. We need real love, the kind that is heroic, and fierce, and sacrificial. It's the foundation for every fairy tale little girls ask to hear over and over again, and every romance novel and chick flick we consume over and over again as grown women.

Even if we don't want to want it, we do. Even if our hearts know that we could never deserve such love, we still want it. Even if we've had our hearts crushed seemingly beyond repair, our yearning for real and wild love remains.

What's worse is that the world tells us that desire for love, romance, passion, a Hero, is somehow evidence of our brokenness.

But, it is not!

The need for passion, romance, and above all, LOVE
is not a weakness or flaw,
but is an essential strength of women.

God intentionally created women with
a limitless desire for love
as an expression of Himself.

That deep longing is meant to flourish and be satisfied.


I know some of you women are thinking, "Are you kidding me?! Those desires are the bane of my existence! They've caused me pain and suffering every single day! There is no fairy tale! My life is proof of that! If I could have that part of me surgically removed, I would!"

And yet... The need remains.

The "Twilight" Series. A whole generation of teen girls are consumed by it. Actually, it's more than just teenage girls, it's their moms, too, who are throwing "Eclipse" parties and wearing t-shirts for Team Edward or Team Jacob. It's a captivating series full of excitement, danger, fantasy, romance, and passion all wrapped up in an epic love story.

Bella is easy to relate to. She's awkward and doesn't really fit in. She feels unloveable. Edward is mysterious and different. He's not only not only alluring, but he's vulnerable, noble, selfless, sacrificial, and he desires Bella almost beyond his control. But, their love is forbidden fruit. He is a vampire. Loving Edward means embracing death.



"Escaping the Vampire, Desperate for The Immortal Hero is for every girl and woman in love with Edward Cullen! It is NOT a finger-wagging chastisement about the Twilight series. It's not a condemnation if you happen to like vampire stories. Rather, it delves into the issues of our hearts and is an invitation to enter into a deep and meaningful romance with the One True Immortal Hero who wove the desire for passion and real love into the deepest part of your soul and who longs for your heart.

"Escaping the Vampire" is filled with life stories of other young women, some which will make you laugh and some which will make you cry. Some of the topics are: temptation (the lure of "forbidden fruit"), the entrapment of lies, our struggle with beauty, "perfection", self-worth, our need for forgivness, and the Dad Issue. One of my favorite sections is The "Yuck" List. The "Just Breathe" sections are fantastic, too, because they give you a chance to pause, think, and journal, and Kim brings up some great conversational questions, so I highly recommend reading it with a friend or a group! Throughout this study are great Bible verses and references, quotes, and places to pause and pray. You can't help but feel like you're sitting down for a cup of coffee with Kim and some great friends.



Kimberly Powers, author of Escaping the Vampire, is the executive director of Walk the Talk Youth Ministries. She is also my sweet cousin!



Kim has a fire in her heart for young women and a unique ability to inspire teen girls to find out who they are in Christ. We recently spoke on the phone and she shared with me her passion for introducing girls to God, leading them into security in the Father, showing them that they can be found in Him, and leading them towards intense healing and restoration. Just ask her about all the girls she's watched experience the fullness of Isaiah 61's "beauty for ashes" and you will be moved to tears.

If you're interested in having this sparkling, bubbly lady come speak at your church, or youth conference, or event, contact her at WTTYM. She regularly speaks on "Searching for Twilight" and does conferences for girls on topics such as "In Search of a Princess" and "Embrace" for college-aged women.

You can watch Kim's June 28th interview on the 700 Club Interactive or hear her March 18th Focus on the Family interview.

kimberly@wttym.org
Escaping the Vampire's Facebook Page

How YOU can get involved with WTTYM:
1. PRAY!
2. Pray for Escaping the Vampire
3. Financially support this awesome ministry!


Kimberly & her husband Tim live in Virginia with their two sons, Landon and Logan.