Walking It Out

Beauty of being an encourager. Want to know a really cool thing about God? When you go to him and ask to help you work out an issue you are having he will guide you toward healing if you let him.  It's not easy to admit but I've struggled with being critical.  Most around me wouldn't say it's an obvious issue but for me being critical at all or having negative things coming out of my mouth really affect my spirit and I wanted to do something about it. Boy did God respond.  I've been walking in that lesson for about 8-9 months now.  He brought it all full circle these past few days when he started putting it on heart how beautiful we are when we are lifting each other up.  More specifically, when us women are lifting up other women. 1 Thes 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that i...

Beauty When I think of the word, beauty, so many things come to mind. I'm going to narrow it down to two things God has revealed to me recently. #1-Being who I am on the outside. #2-Loving myself because of who I am in Him! Let me explain.  I have always been a "girlie girl" to say the least. I love to do my makeup, dress in clothes I feel good in, and change my hair often. Side note: I am a hair stylist and my love for these things played a huge role in my desire to pick this career. There have been many times over the years when I have heard women make comments like,  “When I was in my 20's and 30's I was vain, but I out grew it.” or  “Why does that girl need all that makeup?” Another comment often made is “She is all decked out because she wants attention!" Hearing these comments had me thinking, "I didn't want people to think that about me!" I thought to myself, “Am I vain? Am I doing this for attention?” Praying and listening to God...

Dear Hillary,      I thought of a phrase from Isaiah 61:3 which says "beauty for ashes". In the reference it is speaking about Israel but I was considering it in our situation of having to leave our home church of 32 years.  We had worked diligently for seven years hoping things would turn around but they did not.  We were horribly disappointed and let down.  We knew that God could do a work but it just was not happening.  It was the death of a vision for us.  Then we believe the Lord called us out of there. But it was still difficult.  Two things the Lord has revealed to me.      First He spoke to me one weekend at church that all the seed we had sown in the previous church we were reaping in this new place.  I told Him I didn't understand how that was possible since we hadn't planted anything here.  He made it clear to me that it was  all  His Kingdom and when we plant seed in His K...

YOU KNOW I am an irreplaceable treasure The only one of my kind No matter the number of emeralds in existence You always find me You see me You know my spirit You know my insides out I am not mass-produced I am couture An original artwork A unique heart An unheard song You study my every color You see my truth No lie could replace the eternal internal I could never be lost You would scour the earth to uncover and recover a love most true You honor my existence with your fight You never give up You never let go You value the rarity of my comet Never missing a showing I am not my body It fades It expires You are never jaded by the external, knowing my worth is incomparable. We are interconnected Intertwined You would know me anywhere You carry me as yourself We are one ‘Til the day I die You are my mirror Shining the reflection of my light I am a spectrum of possibilities’ Expansive as the universe I am ex...

Beauty ~ what is true beauty? As young people I believe we become familiar with beauty by finding things and or people that are pleasant to look at. A beautiful woman, a beautiful painting, a beautiful lake are often the first beauty we can recognize. We sit back and think how amazing the look is. As we grow beauty tends to expand into areas not associated with the eye. It’s the heart that is the most beautiful. The heart of a person who wears a smile despite their circumstances is beautiful. The courage to fight for what you believe in when the world around you gives you permission to quit is beautiful. The sacrifice that some make for the greater good of others is beautiful. The strongest kind of beauty is that of loving yourself. We are living in a culture that tries to convince you that you are not perfect and need something to be beautiful. That is a lie. The truest of all beauty is to look in the mirror and realize and accept and appreciate the person looki...

Beauty in forgiveness. Many of us are walking around with the weight of shame, regrets and guilt. We are succumbing to the lies that we need to walk around with this because of what has been done to us or things we ourselves have done. What good does that do anyone?  We can live in the freedom of forgiveness and grace that Jesus paid for us.  Don't waist that gift. Don't deny that gift.  If Jesus was literally sitting next to you, would you respond differently?  He gave his life so you could live without condemnation so why are you listening to the lies that says we need to be bigger than God and punish ourselves? Just like it is a beautiful gesture, position, action to forgive others; it is just that when you are able to forgive yourself.  You are so much lighter, free-er, and in a better position to love others when you walk in the forgiveness that was given to you, and you cannot earn it. Walk in the beauty that you were given. Walk in the pur...

Beauty in Perseverance Many times in relationships, all types of relationships, we are under a lot of stress and feeling a lot of hurt.  It would be so much easier to give up, walk away and cut off.  Most of us could agree that those situations are so incredibly sad and upsetting. A lot of the time you will hear older generations state that broken families or friendships are what they regret the most. In contrast, what a beautiful thing it is when we are able to not give up. When we work through the differences, work through the pain, staying focused on union and love it is such a beautiful thing.  Nothing is more beautiful than those older generations having anniversary celebrations and speaking about all of the good years, and some of the bad. Or those friendships that are decades long that endured all sorts of tests being such an inspiration. It doesn't always feel beautiful if you are the one that feels like they are being mistreated, neglected, or ignored. Howe...

You are drenched in beauty. From head to toe, everything about you is beautiful. You simply can't help it. You were created that way. People may get wrapped up in what's MORE beautiful but that doesn't matter. You are a thing a beauty. You cannot compare two flowers and ask which is beautiful. They are both beautiful. With human perspective and how we are trained to be critical throughout life we can probably say which one is MORE beautiful but we can agree they are both a wonderful thing of beauty! Stop comparing yourself to other beautiful women, stop allowing yourself to listen to the comparisons. You are beautiful. In all our uniqueness we are absolutely beautiful.  I think about my daughter and her love for rocks and gems. How boring would they be if they were all perfectly polished, without any facets, perfectly symmetrical and all the same. How ridiculously boring. We are not meant to be clones of one perspective of beauty. Enjoy your unique qualities a...

Walking in Vulnerability God's been speaking to me about how beautiful I am when the make-up, maskes, etc. all come off. We are most beautiful standing in our truth, which is ultimatly HIS truth.  When we have on our maskes of protection we are operating in fear.  We are incapable of operating in both fear and love simutaniously; therefore, we need to make a choice. I don't know about you, but I feel so much more light, bright and beautiful when I'm full of love and not at all when I'm filled with various forms of fear.  Fear is the root to most of our negative emotions if we allow ourself to be honest and let God expose those roots. Bitterness towards a spouse might be fear that they will never change, fear of not being loved, fear of them leaving, etc., etc... Luke 12:22-24 Then Jesus said to the disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more ...

As I lay in my bed this morning reflecting on the incredible class I get to be a part of on Wednesday nights, I realize it too is a thing of beauty.  It is such a beautiful thing when you find a church that is so filled with love and seems like home. But I'm not even talking about that.  What I'm talking about is even better and more sweet than I could imagine. The class I have been taking had it's final meeting last night and was purposeful in being a time of uplifting and just remaining in the presence of the Holy Spirit. True, pure beauty was ever so present in an hour and a half of everyone just purposefully listening to the Holy Spirit and encouraging, loving and lifting up each other. Some of the messages were focused on physical appearance but it all went back to the heart. When we allow ourselves to become vulnerable and come into relationship with other believers, that union is so strong God is able to heal places in our hearts that are difficult for us to let go...

Emotional Numbness I know this topic seems distant from the focus on beauty, yet this is what God placed on my heart. You are walking around in your emotionally protective bubble.  Perceived safety from potential incoming attacks on your heart.  With each painful experience the bubble's walls grew thicker and thicker making it less and less impenetrable.  As the walls grew thicker it became more and more difficult to feel or share any emotion.  The protective bubble isn't easy to put on and off and it just becomes a permeant fixture.  You become so accustomed to the numbness you don't realize you are not experiencing emotions.  Until you do realize that you feel like a robot among a group of emotion filled, real life people.  Then you're left wondering, how do I get those emotions back? Yet, simultaneously scared of what that might look like and how you will be able to control it. God wants us to walk out in faith towards him. Letting go of our f...

Today God has brought me to Ephesians 4.  There are so many verses within this chapter that speak so loudly to how we view, speak and live in our bodies. We are called to be humble and gentle (4:2). He wants us to be the light for others and we can't do so being wrapped up in the lies of the enemy about ourselves.  4:17-19 "So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.  They are separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more." This says so much to me. I don't read it with condemnation but with freedom and hope. I believe this applies to how we are living in the ignorance of the lies about our beauty and in doing so it, to a point, separates us from God and gives foothold...

Day 4 Through this process of needing to look to The Lord for guidance daily for the content that I write has made me so much more aware of how I have a tendency to "shelf" God when I'm super busy.  I don't intentionally do it but it does happen.  These past few days I found it so difficult to sit still for 15-30 minutes to wait to hear what God was going to speak to my heart about.  Luckily I have had a great few days but I wonder how many times when I become too busy for God does my world collapse and left in disarray?  All because I was doing my own will with my own strength.  Perhaps I was doing what God put on my heart but if I'm not seeking his guidance in my moment to moment then what is the value in only following his large requests?  Personally, I would love to grow better at ALWAYS dancing with him taking the lead.  When I take the lead it's not too pretty and lets face it, it's a lot more labor intensive. This seems as if this topic is d...

Day 3 Discerning God's voice. I think many of us would agree that our inner voice, the way we talk to ourselves about ourself, has a huge impact on how we perceive ourselves.  This inner voice is formed by the way our parents or peers spoke to us but also how we speak to ourself as well.  Many of us have a bad habit of indulging in self-bullying as a way to motivate ourselves.  Problem is, it doesn't work. Just like it doesn't work to persistently hammer someone else over the head with their flaws and deficiencies, we too do not respond positively with condemning discipline.  We need to speak in love.  Why? How does God speak to us? Does he typically speak such horrible things to us as we speak to each other or ourselves? No. He does gently correct us but it's just that, gently and full of grace. So how do we discern God's voice from our own or from what we have learned about us from others?  John 10:27 clearly states that that we, as believers, are ...

Day 2 As I sit here at the end of my day, I asked The Lord if he could share with me what I was to write today.  This is what he shared with me: "You are my daughter, whom I love and cherish. I have created you perfectly in every way; a reflection of my glory.  I have knitted you together. Each and every part of you for your good and my glory." After I typed it out, I realized all of what was typed can indeed be backed by scripture.  I however, am not great at my recall of where scriptures can be found.  So, I googled the keywords in the above text and found these verses: Zeph 3:17 For The Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. Interestingly enough this (Zeph 3:17) was given to me today as a blessing verse at women's bible study. Matthew 5:48 but you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect ...

Day 1 1 Peter 3:3-4 NIV Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes, instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. This scripture can seem so idealistic; sounds like a great concept but feels unrealistic when bombarded by our society with expectations to look a certain way.  However, think about it.  What really happens when you go on with your day with no make-up, comfortable clothing and a smile?  Personally, I have noticed that even when I feel like I look gross and unkept, people still tend to respond positively toward me.  If I am kind and act in a loving fashion typically people reciprocate.  Beyond high school and perhaps college, people usually don't really care if you have a high maintenance style or a laid back, care free style as long as you are comfortable in your own skin and are...

Forward: Standing here in my 35 year old body I am still not able to appreciate or even recognize anything attractive about myself.  I have struggled with this my whole life.  There are many different sources of this viewpoint but that honestly doesn't matter.  What matters is I have a problem with how I view myself and not being comfortable in my own body.  Due to this lack of confidence, comfort, and downright pain I am not able to fully stand in all that I am and meant to be.  I am not able to be fully present with people.  I am held back by my own view of myself.  I miss out on so many joys in life. I unintentionally choose suffering over joy.  Not that I haven't done so many things to try and heal myself of this. I just couldn't find anything to work. Lets just go ahead and put it on the table; I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor.  There I said it.  Now as far as I'm concerned that really is just a role, a career, a passion ...