he exudes spiritual beauty, confidence and godly wisdom. She is courageous, forgiving and free. She is a woman of grace. According to author Kristin Armstrong (former wife of champion cyclist Lance Armstrong), a grace-filled woman possesses 12 distinct yet intertwined attributes, each explored in her book, “Work in Progress: An Unfinished Woman's Guide to Grace” (Faithwords, 2009). Are you a woman of grace?

When I first opened this book, I admit I was only vaguely interested in the subject of grace, finding the concept broad and hard to grasp. But I quickly became absorbed in Armstrong's down-to-earth, woman-to-woman style as she humbly examines the unveiling of grace in her own life and prompts the reader to do the same. Tackling issues such as beauty, confidence, forgiveness, trust and courage, Armstrong relates our weaknesses to God's strengths. The book provides real life examples of a grace that is sufficient and a power made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

The chapter on “Confidence,” for instance, shed light on some of my confidence issues. I am not a confident woman; on the ladder to success, I linger on the first rung. But Armstrong compares worldly success with spiritual growth, placing special emphasis and importance on the latter. “Work in Progress” brings to light a hidden gem of wisdom: we cannot rely solely on ourselves to succeed; our confidence must come from God, who makes us useful to his kingdom.

Another thought-provoking chapter is “Forgiveness.” Armstrong does an amazing job of describing the emotional and spiritual release of forgiveness. She lists some common (and convincing) reasons for holding grudges and then contrasts them with even better reasons to let go of them. As with the other chapters in “Work in Progress,” Armstrong liberally seasons her writing with doses of pertinent, life-changing Scripture verses and then follows with illuminating study questions.

“Work in Progress” shows readers that God's grace isn't some abstract idea. It is his very real presence and workings in our day-to-day lives. Armstrong shows that God's grace supplies women with an innate beauty, confidence, softness and other graceful attributes. Although, as the title suggests, we are a “work in progress,” we can follow Armstrong's example in professing her hope in becoming a more graceful woman, being “confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)