Why did God create women? What is true beauty? What's the point of purity? Modesty? Femininity? We've wondered too; but the answers we've received from our culture have been lacking.

Ask the world what womanhood is about and you'll get a blank stare in return. No one knows. Young women are devoid of vision beyond achieving fame, fortune and a dream career. From feminism to immodesty, apathy to confusion, our culture's idea of womanhood is distorted at best.

God had something greater in mind. From the start of creation, women were designed to live beautifully.

But God's idea of beauty is not about physical characteristics or the approval of others. It's about loving the God who created us for His glory and enjoying the unique design He has given each and every person.

Inner beauty, however, is distinct. It's not intrinsic. It doesn't come naturally or easily. This beauty slowly develops in the heart as a believer learns to love Christ more deeply. The more passionate for the Gospel we become, the more our hearts grow to reflect His image.

The goal of Beauty from the Heart is to nurture this growing beauty, and to counter the culture's ideal for womanhood with God's breathtaking vision.

About the Writers:

'Anne' is Lindsey Wagstaffe's middle name, and it must fit her well, because most of her friends compare her to Anne of Green Gables. Hannah says that Lindsey is accident prone, but she prefers to think of herself as 'adventure prone'. She delights to tell about the incredibly dramatic time that she broke her back, the time she accidentally burnt off some of her hair while daydreaming near a candle, and the time she got lost in a menacing forest after being stung by an enormous bee. If her life was ever dull, Lindsey can't remember it.

Her more sane hobbies include public speaking, writing, concocting interesting food in the kitchen, and taking long walks in the California sunshine. Lindsey loves to devour the writings of great dead men—Jonathan Edwards, John Owen, Charles Spurgeon, and C.S. Lewis, to name a very few. Some of her favorite living authors include J.I. Packer, R.C. Sproul, C.J. Mahaney, Jerry Bridges, and John Piper.

Lindsey lives with her family outside of San Francisco, California.

Hannah Farver is seventeen years old and hates trying to summarize her life in a few paragraphs. But she'll try anyway. While her middle name isn't Anne, her two favorite literary heroines are Elisabeth Elliot and Elizabeth Bennett. (Can you guess Hannah's middle name?) Another little known fact about her life is that she has a fear of escalators and chickens. Really.

As an extroverted introvert, she enjoys belting out songs from old musicals as well as hiding in her room with a good book. Most days, however, she can be found working on her two big loves--writing and public speaking. In her spare time, Hannah tries to keep Lindsey out of harm's way while discovering the recipe for the perfect cup of chai.