Putting Me First

After several nights of very little sleep, I am tired.  I'm dragging around and realized this morning how much physical effort it actually takes to shred cabbage for cole slaw!  During my prayer time I read a scripture in which David is challenge by yet another enemy, and before he does anything else, he makes sure his family is safe.  Then I read another scripture that says "Love your neighbor as yourself."  Well, from both of these I surmised two things:  We need to put family first, and we need to love ourselves.  What does that really mean?  Lately I've been volunteering a lot - giving and giving and giving.  As women we tend to do that, and put ourselves last.  But since I barely have the energy left to shred cabbage, I'm not much use to anybody else, am I?   :-)  So this afternoon I'm planning to take a nap.  Our discussion this month re; inner and outer beauty fits into this.  How beautiful can we be physically and in our attitudes if we are exhausted?  Another thing I've done all morning is take care of the house.  I've put the laundry away, washed dishes, and cleaned.  I want my family to come home to a haven, not a mess.  I hope that by putting my needs first, and taking care of my family, I can regain some sense of balance.  After all, you never see a beauty with dark circles under her eyes!  God bless you in your journey to become the woman God knows you can be!

Being Transformed

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. – 2 Corinthians 3:18

What reflection do you see when you look in the mirror?  According to this passage, we should see a likeness of Christ.  Beyond the hair and make-up, our faces should glow with the glory of God.  It’s not a physical transformation – it’s a spiritual one.

 I don’t always feel like I’m glowing, but the beauty of this passage is that we aren’t there yet.  We are being transformed – in present tense.   We’re a work on progress.  Isn’t it exciting?

God Made You and He Don't Make Junk

            You are uniquely you.  God created you the way He wanted you to be, and had plans for you long before your parents ever gave a thought to having children.

            Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;  Jeremiah 1:5

            Isn’t that exciting?  God likes you the way you were born.  Eye color, hair color, talents, personality -  He designed you that way.  It’s up to us what we do with what He gave us.

            Remember, you are fully equipped to be the woman God wants you to be.

In His Image

      A child was asking me the other day what God looks like.  I said He must look kind of like us.  After all, we were created in His image.  "Does He have arms and legs?" the child asked.   Well, I guess He probably does.  That made me think - if we are created in God's image, that makes us beautiful!  Otherwise, aren't we calling God ugly?  :-)  Just a thought...

     It was something else to remind me of how special we are to God.  He chose US to look like Him.  Not the alligators, or the birds, or the trees, but us.  Wow.  We are made in His likeness.

     When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.  He created them male and female; at the time they were created, he blessed them and called them "man." - Genesis 5:1-2

    

Uniquely You

When I was in middle school, I was given the assignment in health class to write a short essay about what I would want to change about myself.  I was quite happy with myself the way I was, and couldn't think of anything to write.  Even at that age, I realized the teacher's assignment was detrimental to our self-image.  I told her I was okay with my body the way it was and my friends should be too.
    "Really?"  she seemed shocked.  "You wouldn't make your  hips smaller, or change your hair color?  There has to be something you aren't happy with."
     She seemed angry.  And was she trying to tell me my hips were too big?
     I don't remember how I finished the assignment, but her words have stuck with me all these years.  Fortunately, I've realized that God created me the way He did for a reason.  He knew who I was before I was even in the womb.  I have had a fun time this year writing the chapter on beauty for the Princess book, and have discovered a lot of verses in the Bible about how awesome God thinks we are, just as He created us!  I wish I had been able to share these verses with my teacher back then!