You Were Made For Beauty

If GOD Himself came to you and gave you a beautiful, ornate vase; JUST for you. But maybe it was not shaped the way you really like or decorated exactly how you'd like it.  Maybe it was too curvy, or too tall, too short, too round, too skinny, there was just SOMETHING you could find 'wrong' with it...... would you hide it away in a box in the closet somewhere? . . . NO- you would proudly and gratefully have it on a shelf or mantle to be displayed beautifully. You would keep it clean, and make sure it stayed beautiful, because it came from the hands of your Creator- someone special!

If we would treat a gift from God like that so wonderfully, then why don't we treat our bodies the same way? The Bible says we are fearfully and WONDERFULLY made.... made with great reverence and perfection. We are His workmanship, His CROWN of creation- we were MADE for BEAUTY . . . Why do we ALLOW other people, or the enemy to dictate our thoughts about the beautiful "vase" God has given us?

'Oh, that vase doesn't go well in your home'

' You'll never keep that vase clean'

'That vase is ODDLY shaped!'

'My vase is MUCH prettier than yours'

'WHY did He give you THAT vase?'

'Your vase isn't fancy enough for that mantle'

It goes on and on with comparison. "My legs are too short", "My feet are too big", "My shape isn't feminine enough" HOLD ON!

COMPARED TO WHAT???

God DIDN'T make you HER.

HE MADE YOU, YOU! BEAUTIFUL AND WONDERFUL YOU! EMBRACE AND BE GRATEFUL FOR THE FRAME YOU HAVE. EMBRACE THE BEAUTY AND UNIQUE QUALITIES THAT ONLY YOU POSSESS. BECAUSE GOD CELEBRATES YOUR BEAUTY AND SO SHOULD YOU.

If you've agreed with the enemy or another person who isn't in line with God's Word, then you are LYING to yourself. Whatever insecurities we face as women with our body or beauty- I can tell you this:

IT IS REALLY A SPIRITUAL PROBLEM. . .

Most of us are overfed physically (not with food only), and underfed spiritually.

When we struggle with our image, or our confidence, it is because we are NOT clinging to THE TRUTH of who GOD SAYS WE REALLY ARE!

FORGIVE YOURSELF, let go of past mistakes or failures. Christ forgave you.

Before we can truly physically lose weight, we must SPIRITUALLY and MENTALLY lose weight! What I mean is God must come in and BREAK off the chains that have bound you since you were a young child. You've got to break your thought patterns, break your habits. If you are an emotional eater... wait... maybe I should say, WHEN you emotionally eat (haha) you are trying to fill God sized void with FOOD! It will NEVER work!

A full surrender will give you the success you are desiring. When we ask God to be our running partner and surrender those desires or emotions, those labels that have been arbitrarily forced upon us, He WILL set us free!

Begin speaking God's TRUTH of WHO YOU ARE over yourself- change your thinking, and begin to see the transformation to be the beautiful vase you have been created to be!

MY CHALLENGE TO YOU: CHOOSE ONE THING ABOUT YOUR FRAME THAT YOU ARE GRATEFUL FOR! -- leave me comments if you'd like :)


God's Truth for you!
* Dont you realize your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price, so you must honor God with your body (1 Cor. 6:19-20)

*YOU (God) satisfy me more than the richest of foods. (Ps. 63:5)

*So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31)

*... If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone away, behold, the new has come! (2 Cor 5:17)

Skid Marks or Beauty Marks?

What kind of mark have you left? ... As I was driving in the car by myself the other day I was thinking of a terribly sad story I had read on the internet. I'm unsure if it's true, but it was about a man who wanted a divorce from his wife because he was in love with another woman... to sum the story up as quickly as I can, basically the wife made a condition for the son's sake (so he could finish school without their marriage as a burden). The condition was that each morning her husband would carry her out of their bedroom down to the car to start each day-- as he did on their wedding day, for one month. He did... at first it was awkward, and gradually intimacy grew. He began to remember who she really was to him, the things she did, how she gave 10 years of her life to their family and marriage and all that she put into it. By the end of the month, he realized he did not want the divorce, but that he still loved his wife after all; he had just lost sight of who she was... after running to tell his mistress goodbye, he ran to pick up flowers, on the card he wrote: "I'll carry you until death do us part"... when he arrived home, she was laying on their bed, she had passed away from cancer. This is why she made the condition. She didn't want to have any guilt on her husband or leave things badly before she was gone... Like I said, I'm not sure if its a true story, but all I know is this... while I was driving all I could think about is how valuable our time is here on this earth. And God has given us the people that are closes to us. The people in our lives in our circle of influence. It is our duty, responsibility, and privilege to serve these people and be the best we can be for their betterment. And the people closest to us are highest priority. Our spouses, children parents, siblings, family, our best friends... so I put myself in her shoes... What would make my husband stay? What would he remember? Would he find things to remember to love about me? What would I want him to love about me? What would I want him to remember about me? From here sprung my new inspiration. My new mission.... is to leave a lasting impression- a legacy- on my husband's heart. I think each of us should be committed to this (married or not) to be the kind of person that will be remembered for her honorable qualities. If I were gone tomorrow- what would I want my husband to remember and cherish about me for the rest of his life? ... Beyond that, what about my children, my siblings, my cousins, my parents, my best friends?... I want to leave a legacy. 

Locate Your Faith

 In the Bible Jesus said all we need is a MUSTARD SEED amount of faith to MOVE A MOUNTAIN... studying the original Greek, it wasn't a metaphor... He meant it. We can do more than we can POSSIBLY IMAGINE ... Jesus even said we WILL do GREATER things than HE DID! ... Woah... I want to be there...we have the POWER to do anything and everything we could DARE to DREAM ... HERE's the catch.... IF we would ONLY BELIEVE.... In Mark Jesus says, "FEAR NOT.... ONLY BELIEVE" ... We may at some times have that amazing little mustard seed of Faith.... but we might have a mustard seed of doubt as well... Or maybe even an orange sized seed of doubt!(or mountain sized!) But in order for FAITH to fully operate in its Divinely Ordained way... DOUBT cannot be occupying the mind. 

Where Faith must abound- doubt mustn't occupy! 

If we earnestly seek after something, we must build faith to receive this thing. 

We need faith. In Hebrews it says that without faith, it is IMPOSSIBLE to PLEASE GOD! ... We MUST operate in FAITH! Then EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE!... Including pleasing the Almighty God! 

You may be asking... Ok, but how do I even get faith? Or you may be thinking, I already have faith, but how do I get more? 

Well, in the Bible it says that Faith comes by HEARING, and HEARING the Word of God... Meaning, over and over again, saturating yourself with the Word of God, or the Bible (because it is God breathed!) Until it penetrates your very core, and produces FAITH! ... 

Others might think of faith as a cliche term for "something to believe in" ... but let me assure you. Faith is powerful. Yes, Faith is confidence, certainty, and belief. . . But the Bible says that, "Faith is the SUBSTANCE of things HOPED FOR ... the EVIDENCE of things unseen. . . " 

Substance: the actual matter of a thing, as opposed to the appearance or shadow.... its reality... tangible. 

Evidence: Proof. Proof of the unseen... In law, there are evidences- pieces of PROOF brought forth to help build FAITH of the verdict of the case... Just like this analogy, there is a courtroom of the mind, and we must tap into the FAITH that God has available to us in order to persuade our minds of the truth that is "unseen, yet hoped for" ... What we WANT to manifest, will manifest.... with whatever we put greater faith toward. 

I would even dare to say something as bold as this... DOUBT does not even exist... Doubt is only misguided faith... 

Let's use a couple of simple analogies. 

My "Faith" in gravity.... is based on my reality... what I see and experience every day... And as much as I might like to float or fly around on my own, and I may hope and wish for that, I may even try to put my faith in believing I could do that.... but my FAITH in GRAVITY is GREATER than my faith in believing I can fly...

Let's say Almost everyday I am late to work and I get the worst parking spot in the lot. I might even be praying that morning that God would help me get up earlier, get a better parking spot, etc etc.... but if today is like every other day, it is because my faith in my typical behavior or "luck" is GREATER than God's ability or willingness to actually help me in this situation.

So yes, of course doubt is real... but what I am saying is... is your expectation and faith the negative or the positive? Play the greater than less than game with faith and move your faith from one side of the balance to the other!

Like Peter, will you let fear and doubt overrun your emotions and sink into the sea? ...Or... Like Peter, will you reach for God's hand, KNOWING that the IMPOSSIBLE is REALLY POSSIBLE! And walk on the water!!! 

We are supposed to be hoping and believing for the things that are NOT YET SEEN!!!Things that may be invisible, or haven't ever been done yet on this earth! 

Now I want some of that! I want EARTH-SHATTERING FAITH! ... But we all start somewhere, and we all go through ups and downs. An encouragement to me is reading through the new testament and seeing the disciples ask Jesus to A. INCREASE MY FAITH LORD! ... and B. HELP MY UNBELIEF! 

If you want BIGGER FAITH... Or if you struggle with doubt... I challenge you to pray these two things every single day for 21 days STRAIGHT... at least... if not for the rest of your life... and SEE the UNSEEN.... 

You will see God move! 

How to locate your faith... start with something small... I've conversed with God before, and He challenged me to challenge him! ... "Ok Lord," I've said... "I'll just start asking you for stuff!" (by the way- God cares about the little things!) ... I made a list of things I wanted, and one by one I just started asking... IN FAITH.... I started with the easier things... 

A cup of coffee... $20 cash ... A call from a friend I had been thinking about... etc... 

I went a week just asking Him for these small things, believing in FAITH that I had received them already! One by one they appeared! In the same week!... Some of the bigger things maybe didn't appear, or took longer, and that's how I located where my faith was at... 

Once you locate your faith, then you can begin to stretch it little by little -- that alone will increase your level of faith! ... 

Just start casting out doubts! If ANY pop into your mind REJECT IT!... "cancel cancel" is what I like to say! 

And watch God WORK! 

Oh yeah... and Keep Smiling! 

What Have You Asked For Lately?

We have not because we ask not….  Couldn’t be said better. People wish and wish and wish in their inner thoughts and heart, and God does know the desires of our hearts and he longs to answer them…. But I have to ask...

Have you ASKED God with your mouth for what you truly desire? Have you spoken it to Him? How many times? I’d have to say most people would probably answer little to none. This is where people start to blame God, or people get discouraged. Another area is in the fact that Maybe  they have asked, but they either give up too soon, or they have let doubt creep into their hearts and ask full of fear instead of KNOWING the LOVE that God has for them, they ask in DOUBT instead of FAITH, KNOWING that God is a GOOD GOD, and He desires and longs to give us the things we desire!

So today my challenge is simple. Ask… Ask… Ask… and RESOLVE to continue to ask until your last breath…. While Asking- RESOLVE to BELIEVE that it WILL happen- because GOD LOVES YOU…

Try it for something small today… God even cares about  the small things- Ask Him for a cup of coffee, or a call from a friend. Just ask and see Him answer. 

Keep Smiling!