Experience the Fulfillment of your Feminine Dreams In a world that mocks our desire for a fairy tale, do we dare long for more? Leslie Ludy offers hope to every young woman who wonders if lasting love can ever be found. In this companion guide to Authentic Beauty, Leslie gives you the opportunity to talk, write, and think through what it means to find unshakable fulfillment in a daily romance with Christ. Whether you are reading on your own or with a group, this 12-part guide will point you to Jesus Christ - the heroic Prince you have always dreamed of — and enable you to fall in love with Him like never before. Discover what it means to become fully set-apart for Christ, and experience the only true answer to the deepest longings of your feminine heart. Leslie Ludy has a powerful message of hope for her generation. She and her husband, Eric, are internationally known speakers and the bestselling authors of ten books, including When God Writes Your Love Story and When Dreams Come True. Leslie and Eric’s passion is to challenge young adults to pursue a life completely devoted to God. The Ludys live in Windsor, Colorado with their son Hudson. IN OUR HOUSE, there is a cozy room with four Manhattan-style leather chairs positioned in a circle around a small coffee table. It’s our favorite place to go for writing, thinking, daydreaming, and visiting with friends. Grasping oversized mugs of hot chocolate or chai in our hands, we sit across from each other and enjoy glimpses of the majestic Rocky Mountains in the distance. It’s a peaceful room, one that invites intimate conversation. Eric and I have spent hours talking in those overstuffed chairs, exploring truth, recalling funny memories, and recounting life’s many adventures. We’ve also shared many wonderful moments with others around that circle of chairs, playing games, telling stories, and laughing, crying, and praying with our friends and family. But one of my favorite experiences in that cozy room happened last fall, when a group of four young women met there for a time of prayer, encouragement, and exploring the message of Authentic Beauty together. They were the first members of the Authentic Girl Ministry Team, four girls who had rearranged their lives in order to move to Colorado and join me in ministering to today’s young women. None of the girls knew one another before moving to Colorado to share a house, a life, and a ministry. They all had different backgrounds, different personalities, different interests, and different dreams and desires. But there was one thing that each one of those young women held at the center of her being: a passion for the set-apart life. Each one longed to build her existence fully and completely around Jesus Christ. And because of that mutual passion, there was an instant, eternal bond that was formed among them. Instead of feeling alone and isolated in their set-apart journeys, they now had the encouragement, support, companionship, and prayers of five other young women on the same path. The first time I sat across from these four young women in our circle of chairs, I could sense the significance of what was taking place. It was as if a “Fellowship of the Set-Apart” was being formed, a sacred circle of friendship, trust, accountability, and unity in Jesus Christ. As we began discussing the message of Authentic Beauty, the girls shared their own stories of how God had called each of them to a set-apart existence. They spoke of their struggles, doubts, fears, and victories along the way. And everyone in the room was uplifted, comforted, and strengthened as each girl spoke. We met together every week, and through those precious times of fellowship, each member was challenged and equipped to pursue Christ even further into His endless frontier. Each of the girls encouraged and motivated the others to remain rooted and strong in the set-apart existence. Today, when people look at the lives of these four young women, they see something that makes them sit back in wonder. They see radiance, mystique, and selflessness. They see a passion for Jesus Christ that far outweighs any other pursuit or desire. They see “the few” in this generation who have chosen to follow a completely different path than the rest of the culture. They see lilies among thorns. It is my hope and prayer that as you explore the message of Authentic Beauty –whether individually or with a group–you will not feel you are on this journey alone. I invite you to join our Fellowship of the Set-Apart; to hold your mug of hot chocolate and sit across from me and the other girls in those cozy leather chairs; to be encouraged, inspired, challenged, uplifted, and, most of all, equipped to live a set-apart existence for Jesus Christ. Becoming a set-apart young woman is not an easy path to walk. There will be doubts, loneliness, discouragement, and even ridicule from the world around you. But a life fully yielded to Christ is the only life truly worth