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;-)