You are Beautiful to Him

Yesterday i had the amazing privilege to spend the afternoon with some of my favorite people in the entire world...the teen/pre-teen girls from my church.  We had a lesson/discussion about self-esteem, and compared God's view of beauty to the world's.  We talked about how society's view of a beautiful woman is often super tall, blonde, fit (and photoshopped)...which makes us feel like we don't measure up. We had a lot of great discussion about how God feels when we look in the mirror and pick ourselves apart (one of the girls compared it to making a piece of art and then having the piece of art yell at you and tell you it hates itself...interesting take haha). We concluded by reading scriptures about how God cares about our 'inner self' SO much more than what we look like on the outside, and what it means to have genuine inner beauty.
 The most impacting part of the afternoon, though, was an activity we did to end the lesson where each girl said something they think is beautiful about the person to the right of them.  I was pleasantly surprised and EXTREMELY encouraged to see how much of an impact a kind word had on each one of them.  I got a little bit emotional at how much each of them lit up when they were told that they are beautiful, or that something about them inspires someone else. I feel like it's not very often that we actually let people know what we appreciate about them or how they impact us in a positive way.  My challenge for myself and everyone else this week is to let people know what stands out, what makes them beautiful to you...because if you don't say it, who will?


³ Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. ⁴ Rather, 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.
-1 Peter 3:3-4


⁷ You are altogether beautiful, my darling; 
   there is no flaw in you.
-Song of Songs 4:7

When your Town Gets a Bajillion Inches of Snow...

In liu of the GIANT snow storm in Missoula this past week, I decided it would probably be appropriate to create a set that can act as a "What to wear when you have to dig your car out of a pile of snow, but still want to look decent when you're finished" guide...complete with shovel ;-)

Extraterrestrial

My trip home for the holidays brought forth a lot of flaws in my character and questions in my mind.  Something I thought about more than anything was my conviction to unconditionally obey God's word over people or circumstances.  When tempted, it was so easy for me to wonder things like,
  "Is it really that bad if [insert temptation/sin here]" or
  "No one would even know if [insert temptation/sin here]"


Recalling the following scriptures helped me to resist temptation and overcome the sin that is SO easy to get tangled in when brothers and sisters aren't there to fight with you.

¹¹ For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
-Titus 2:11-12

¹⁰ Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
-Galatians 1:10

¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
-James 5:16


¹¹ Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 
-1 Peter 2:11


Luke 4:1-13...Jesus being tempted by Satan and fighting back with scriptures...an amazing example of 'putting on the armor of God'


After looking over/remembering these truths, I asked myself why it's important for me to hold to my convictions.  Is it because I want people to think I'm a "good" person? So when I get home I'm able to boast about how strong I am because I kept myself from falling into sin while I was away? Or is it because my love for God drives me to want to please him regardless of who's watching? My goal for 2012 is to ALWAYS live as an alien and stranger in the world and to be a light especially when no one is watching.  This is something I encourage all of you to think about, especially as we start the new year.

 Do you still do the right thing even when you feel like you're the only one who is concerned about pleasing God? 

Spotted: Trendy Travelers

The airport is the best place EVER to people watch, especially during a 2 and a half hour layover.  These looks are inspired by random fashionistas traveling through the Minneaoplis airport today.  I saw a lot of interesting things and people, but these looks seemed to be the most common and/or most eye catching, and happen to be my top 3:]]


1) Cutes and comfs...trying to create the illusion that you just rolled out of bed while wearing designer sweat pants and colors that 'coincidentally' look good together.


2) Diva flying Delta...you're not ACTUALLY a celebrity, just dressed like one.


3) Slightly over-doing it but it works...dressed like you should be boarding your own private jet but you're not even sitting in first class;-)

COZY CHRISTMAS

Best present I received this year...CAT SLIPPERS! The best gifts are the most comfortable ones ;-)

It's Time to Grow-Up

When I think about Jesus on a daily basis, I think of him as a grown man, someone who was extremely dynamic, strong, graceful, honest, and undoubtedly the most amazing person to ever live.  On the other hand, on Christmas when I think about Jesus as a baby, it feels like I'm reflecting on a completely different person. When you think about babies, they aren't really a threat to anyone, they're just cute and sweet and tiny.  It's super difficult for me to make the connection that the little baby that no one is really intimidated by or afraid to talk about at Christmas is the same person that challenges change in our lives and calls us to drop EVERYTHING to follow him.  It's interesting to me that the world loves and accepts baby Jesus, but seems to be hesitant to get to know 'grown up' Jesus.  Anyway, this was just kind of a random thought for the day, I don't know that I really even have a direct point or challenge to follow it, but it seems like today is a good day to reflect on why this is. Merry Christmas:]]

⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

-Luke 2:6-7

²³ Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.

-Luke 9:23-24

DIVINE ROMANCE

Last night, I walked into the house to find one of my roommates sitting on the floor with a blanket, an open bible, lit candles, and soft music playing in the background.  When I asked her what she was doing, her nonchalant reply was, "Having a date with God."  This is something I feel like I do occasionally, but my "God Dates" usually consist of a prayer walk and a few pages in my journal filled up with thoughts that just randomly pop into my head.  I felt super convicted and inspired by the thought and planning Suzie put into her time with God.  It got me thinking a lot about how seriously I take the romantic, loving aspect of my relationship with God.  I started reflecting on different attributes of God, the ways I have seen his love and pursuit of my heart, and how he really feels about me.  I came up with the following:


See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 
-1 John 3:1a


You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you. 
- Song of Songs 4:7


[God] is patient, [God] is kind. [He] does not envy, [He] does not boast, [He] is not proud. ⁵ [He] does not dishonor others, [He] is not self-seeking, [He] is not easily angered, [He] keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ [God] does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ [He] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
-1 Corinthians 13:4-7


Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. 
-Exodus 19:5a

It's so cool to me that God is so big, yet his relationship with us is still so precious and important to him.  These are just a few of the million reasons why personal time with God is so special and important;-)