God's Love

That picture is of my little Noelle who is coming home on November 22. These past few days have given me some thoughts about God's love for me. I have been excited about her since I found out she was going to be mine. Not only that, but for 2 months before she was purchased, I have looked at her pictures online and fell in love with her and prayed that somehow a long list of things would work out so that I could take her home (which by the way were a series of miracles) I haven't even met her yet, but already I know she is mine. She belongs to me and I love her. This made me think. I have been counting down the days till Noelle comes home and she is just a puppy. If I already love this puppy so much, how much more does God love me, His child. I wonder if God counted down the days leading up to my salvation. I wonder if he waited patiently and eagerly saying, "In 10 more days Samantha is going to give her life to me. I'm so excited to be able to finally spend time with her and share my love with her." I mean the Bible does say there is great rejoicing in heaven when 1 sinner repents. Then I wonder if he eagerly awaits spending time with me each day. I think he does. I know God is way more excited about me that I am about a puppy. (And trust me I am excited) and I know that God loves me way more than I could ever love a puppy (or my husband or a child for that matter). As dumb as it might sound, getting a puppy is teaching me alot. I mean, God tends to use things we can relate to in order to speak to our hearts. This is definately something that has spoken to mine. As I talked with Isaac today about how I was so excited for next Saturday, it just hit me that the excitement I am feeling right now is just a grain of sand compared to the excitement and love God has for me. I think its really awesome that God can use every little thing that happens in our lives as a teachable moment.

Truth

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" - John 8:32

I'm learning that the things I fear often tend to not be reality. I'm afriad of things that have not happened, may not happen, and probably will never happen. Most of the time, I am afraid because I don't have correct facts about things and sometimes I do have correct facts, but I fail to trust God and understand that he is bigger than my circumstances. I've decided that I need to start learning to check my facts before I start to fear as much as I do. For example, I was recentlty told about a letter that the president of Iran wrote to President Bush saying that we all needed to convert to Islam or else they would force us to. I was also told not to read the letter online because I scare too easily and there was no reason to upset myself. So I didn't read it, but continued to live in fear over this. Today I decided to read the letter, just out of curiousity and you know what? It doesn't say that. No where in the letter does it say "Convert to Islam or we will make you" and as a matter of fact, I don't think it implies that unless I missed something. My point? I was afraid of something that I didn't have the facts about and wasn't even true. I need to start getting facts before I run my mind. Usually my mind takes me to places I don't need to go. The world is scary enough these days so why am I making things worse for myself by worrying about things that arent reality. This has got to be one of the biggest things that consumes my mind. The other thing that consumes me is I also tend to worry about finances. I'm starting to realize that its a dumb thing to worry about for 2 reasons. 1. God is in control no matter what. 2. I'm learning that we have more than enough to live by. I tend to worry because our savings account isn't getting filled up fast enough. I want to have security in case something happens or have enough saved for a house. I always want everything right away, but then I need to stop and realize I'm doing what I need to do and eventually I will get there. As long as I'm following Biblical principals for finances then I'm doing what I should do. I've even started envelopes to set aside money for different activities that Isaac and I would like to be part of with church ex. conferences and camp. (If you ask me, I think I handle our savings very well) Then each month I tend to get overwhelmed when I see tons of bills come in and panic, thinking I will never be able to pay everything. But if I step back and look at reality, I have many bills, but they are small bills and we always have finances left over. I have been looking at my life and getting overwhelmed by things that aren't even there. I took time to evalute our finances and realized that I'm really not in bad shape at all. My bills are paid. I have a place to live. I have food on the table. I have money saved up. And we have extra left over for the little things we may want for enjoyment. If we want to do something that requires a good chunk of finances, then I need to save little by little for it. So with all of that laid out- where is my problem? Its in my perspective. When I sit down and look at where I am at, I realize that it is not bad AT ALL. I think I need to learn to sit down and think things out before I panic. This post has been written as I thought things out. This is what needs to be done in all areas of my life. I need to stop and think about whether my fears have any base in reality. And then if my fears do have a base in reality, I need to give them to the Lord and do what his word says:

"Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you"- 1 Peter 5:7

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things." - Philippians 4:8

Fear

It was pointed out to me a few days ago that I haven't blogged in a while. The reason for this? I simply haven't felt I've had anything good or of value to say. In short, if I couldn't say anything that sounded good, then I decided to say nothing. I mean I don't want people to actually know that I might be having a hard time. However, I've decided to write about whatever is on my mind on a certain day...simply because writing is therapeutic for me and I want to be a writer, therefore it may be good for me to write no matter the circumstance. So here it is..the mask is off and this is Samantha in the rarest form.

Did you ever absolutely hate something about yourself, yet you have no clue how to change it? That's how I feel right now. I am a person driven by fear. Everything I do in life stems from fear. I'm afraid of the future. I'm afraid of suffering. I'm afraid of destruction. I'm afraid of uncertainty. I'm afraid of the loss of family members. I am afraid of sickness. I'm afraid of rejection. I'm always afraid and with the way the election turned out I am more afraid than ever. The world we live in is progressively getting worse and at a rapid rate and it is terrifying to me. I don't know how to change it. I hate living in fear. I wish I could live in hope. I wish I could trust God in all situations, but it is difficult to trust God in difficult situations. No matter how much I pray or read my Bible, I am still afraid. I don't know how to fix it and I wish I could, but I can't seem to figure this thing out. This is a battle I've faced my entire life and I feel like no matter what I do or how much I try to move forward, I still remain in the exact same place I started. I know what the Bible says about trusting God. In my head I know that God can be trusted, but as I see this world getting worse and worse, I fear more and more. My heart sinks at the uncertainty of things. Yes, I know that I should be happy that things are getting worse. I mean that means we're closer to Jesus coming back right?. Yet I'm not happy. I'm terrified. This stuff is just plain scary and no matter what I do, I can't seem to stop being afraid. Seriously, I'm hoping some one has walked through this and can help me figure it out because I just can't seem to get this right. How do you have hope when everything within you is screaming to panic? I'm really not trying to complain or even feel sorry for myself. I fully understand that there are millions of people suffering way more than I am. I'm just trying to figure out how to overcome this fear so that I can live in freedom.

A Creative God

I saw these pictures on MSN in an article titled "Animal Fashion Disasters" It was basically an article pointing out some fashion "no no's" by using animals. I looked at these pictures and I was just really amazed. Some of these animals are so beauiful and intircate. And some of them are kinda funny looking. It made me think. We have such a creative God. How could anyone possibly say that this was all an accident.

Pressing on Toward the Goal

"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus"
- Philippians 3:13-14

This is one verse that I know I need to put into practice in my life. I have a tendancy to always bring up the past and that is a major hinderance in my life. God tells us to put the past behind us. I was thinking about it and the past is everything that is not happening right now or in the future. The past is a year ago, a month ago, a week ago, a day ago, even an hour ago. I'm not saying that I should ignore things from the past that are still going on right now, but there are some things that I just need to let go of. I had a little bit of a bad week and usually when that happens, I just dwell on it and let it effect me and replay everything in my head thinking, "Man I'm such a loser, I can't get things right." I really don't think I should be thinking like that. Every day that I wake up is a new day that God has given me to do things right, to seek after him, to eat healthy, to say no to using the credit card, to make wise choices. I'm tired of always dwelling on every little mistake I make or every time things don't go as I planned. I think I need to take each day and put my best foward and if things don't go right, then I need to just ask God to help me deal with that and keep moving foward. I'm really tired of being stuck in the past. It's kind of exhausting.

Ugly Betty

So recently I've started watching this show "Ugly Betty" and I'm actually really liking it. Ok so it does have some drama in it that I think is really pretty stupid, but for the most part they don't focus the show on it. The show is basically about this girl, Betty, who is considered to be ugly, and outcast, the underdog. She works in the fashion industry where she is completely out of her element. Everything stacked against her would lead you to believe that she would not be successful. You would think that she is no where near qualified to do the job that she does. However, Betty always overcomes. She always saves the day. I've really gotten into it because I see this girl, who seems to have everything stacked against her, yet it never keeps her from doing everything she can to overcome the obstacles. I really love to see the story of the underdog winning.
I think the reason I like this so much is because I often feel like Ugly Betty. I often feel that I have so much stacked against me, that the odds are not in my favor. I know that I am way underqualified to do what God has called me to do. I know that I have battles in my life that are constantly raging. I know that I often feel inadequate and not quite good enough. I often feel like I'm the underdog. I am the one that no one really expected to pull through. I am the one that people said would never make it. "Samantha will always be sick. Samantha will always have issues. Samantha is a whore and always will be" The last one sounds way harsh right? But the truth is that these are all things I've had said to me and about me over and over again. To many, it seems the odds are stacked against me. Sometimes to me it seems the odds are against me. But I have one things that out weighs any obstacles, and that is the fact that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that makes me an overcomer. In my life, the "underdog" wins because God has given me the stregnth and ability to do all he has called me to do. The way some people in my past may see me means absolutely nothing because Jesus sees me as white as snow and has made me an overcomer. I'm tired of allowing what others have said about me affect the way I live my life. I'm tired of dwelling on those things. In my story, despite the obstacles in my way, I always overcome.

Hope and Faith

"Against all hope Abraham in hope, believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-since he was about a hundred years old-and Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what he promised." - Romans 4:18-21

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. It starts by saying that "against all hope, in hope, Abraham believed." At a time where all hope could have and apart from God should have been lost, Abraham had hope and believed. Then it continues to say that "without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead"... I think this is really amazing. Abraham faced the facts about his situation, yet didn't weaken in his faith. I think sometimes we forget this. We usually do one of two things: We face the facts of our situation and allow ourselves to weaken in faith or we refuse to face the facts of our situation and masquerade it by calling it faith. For example, I have heard people announce, "I have cancer" and the next words out of the mouths of those around him are "Don't say that, keep speaking that you don't have cancer. If you say you don't have cancer, then you will be healed." Seriously? I think that's just dumb. The Bible doesn't tell us to be naive about our circumstances and pretend they don't exist. The Bible clearly tells us that we need to have faith despite our circumstances. The correct thing to do in a situation like the one above is not to pretend that the cancer doesn't exist, but to trust that God is in control and will do what he has promised to do. I use the cancer as an example because I hear people say stuff like this all the time, but I believe this is true of all of our circumstances. We can't pretend they don't exist. We need to face the facts of our circumstances but trust that God is powerful enough to see us through them. I think we sometimes try to pretend our problems don't exist because its difficult to have faith when we actually see our situation for what it is. However, when we can trust God just a little bit, our faith will be strengthened. I think that God wants us to see the impossibility of our situations and then watch Him make all things possible.

The Best Question Ever

I'm reading a new book called "The best Question Ever" It's really amazing. I'm only 4 chapters in and I love it. But, this book is ruining my life. Seriously. The best questions ever is "What is the wise thing to do?" I hate having to ask myself this question. When I ask this question, I have to face the fact that many things I want to do are just not wise and therefore I should not do them. For example. I like eating fast food, but when I ask myself if it is wise to eat fast food, the answer is no. It's not wise for my health and it's not wise for my finances. If I go ahead and eat fast food anyway, I have just made myself a fool. This book and the small group I am going to be a part of is going to require me to make some serious life changes and is also going to require me to really think through things that I want to do. Really, a lot of things that I want to do aren't classified as sin. But there are tons of things I want to do that wouldn't be very wise. Having to think about your actions is so not fun. For example, I saw a purse I like. I would love to buy it. It costs $100. Being that I have medical bills and credit card bills, it would probably not be wise to buy it, and therefore I should not. It's not fun to have to think twice about things. Somtimes its just more fun to be the fool.

But I don't want to be a fool. I have some changes that need to be made to my lifestyle and although they may not be fun now and although I may not get what I want, I know that it is what will be best for me. I'm young. I've got a great opportunity to do things right. I plan on taking that opportunity. I haven't started attending my small group yet and I haven't gotten that far into the book, but I've already made a few decisions that I need to stick by:

I am cutting up all my credit cards.
I will put as much as I can each paycheck towards paying off my credit cards
I will not eat fast food
I will change my diet and eat healthier
I will excercise
I will set up payment plans for my medical bills
I will add to my savings account each pay period


These are just a few things that came into my head as I was reading. I'm sure as I go deeper into this study there will be many more things that I can add to the list. One thing I know for sure, in order to keep from being a fool, I will always ask, "Is this the wise thing to do."

Frustrations

Its been a really frustrating couple of weeks. I feel like there is just one thing after another and its so discouraging. My health has not been so great lately. I had to have moles removed because they looked like skin cancer. Then I started throwing up. Then my mole wounds got infected. And just last night, my asthma flared up and I had to go to the ER. (And I haven't had problems with asthma in years). I'm feeling really discouraged. Through out my life I have had a lot of health problems. Random stuff too. I was always labeled as "that girl who's always sick." Even when I was engaged to Isaac, people would tell him, "Don't marry her. She will always be sick." I'm so glad that Isaac never listened to any of them and his response was always, "What kind of god to you serve? Because the God I serve isn't looking at these circumstances. And the God I serve is bigger than any of the sickness." Isaac's really been insturmental in helping me when I've felt sick. And honestly, its been a while since I've been really sick. I really thought that my days of always having something wrong were over. I thought I had beaten it. It had been about a year since I had really been sick. I mean everyone gets a headache here and there and lots of girls have some monthly pain and thats normal. But I didn't have anything wrong that really needed medical attention. Then this past semester I got a double ear infection that put me out of work and school for a few days. A few months later the skin cancer scare happened. A few days later my wounds got infected. A few days later I started throwing up and that leaves me here today- chest pains and trouble breathing. Seriously! This is so frustration. I mean I'm trying so hard to push through everything, but how do I get past this. And how in the world do I pay these medical bills? Should I not go to a hospital when I stop breathing? I don't know. I don't even really know what I'm trying to say. I'm just frustrated. I thought this was over. Now, I sit here in fear that once again I will be labeled as "That girl who's always sick." I hate that label. I just want to be normal

My Hero

Here is the video of my husband Isaac getting shot with a Taser. I think he's brave! Lots of people think he must be short some brain cells to let someone do this to him. Either way, I love him. He's my hero!! Enjoy!!

Feelings vs. Reality

So I haven't written in about a week and a half. Why? Because I didn't feel like it.
I haven't really read much of my Bible lately. Why? Because I didn't feel like it.
I haven't spent much time in prayer lately. Why? Because I didn't feel like it.
I haven't read my book in a while. Why? Because I didn't feel like it.
I haven't excercised in weeks. Why? Because I didn't feel like it.
I have't eaten heathly in days. Why? Because I didn't feel like it.

I often question my salvataion. Why? Because I don't feel saved.


I think that the world we live in conditions us to believe that we should be driven by our feelings. If I don't feel like doing something, I shouldn't do it. If I don't feel like something is true, then it isn't true. The Bible teaches us different. We are told to walk by faith, not by sight (and I think I can safely add, not by feelings) God wants us to trust in him, even when we don't feel Him. He wants us to trust that the sacrifice of Jesus is sufficient for our salvation even if we don't feel like we are saved. In reality, feelings have nothing to do with reality. The other thing is that we need to learn to discipline ourselves to do what we know is right, even if we don't feel like it. I know that I need to read my Bible and pray. I know I need to eat healthy and excercise. Most of the time, I don't feel like doing these things. My flesh is lazy. It would love to sit around and watch TV all day. I'd love to eat whatever I wanted. But this is not what is healthy for me. It's not good for my spiritual health and its not good for my physical health. Really, its not good for my mental health either. I need to be disciplined in doing what I need to do and not just what I feel like doing. I also need to remember that my salvation is secure no matter how I feel.

So its been a few days since I actually sat down to write. Its been quite an emotional rollercoaster. I went to the dermotologist last week for a routine checkup and they ended up removing 3 moles to test for skin cancer. That pretty much terrified me. The thing is that most likely everything is ok and I won't have skin cancer, but there is always that chance.. and that chance is scary. I've been pretty much up and down about it. Some days I am totally fine and confident that everything will come back ok and some days I am terrified that it will come back positive and that I will have a long battle ahead of me. I can't wait till the results come back. Not knowing is driving me insane.

My Unstill Still Waters

"He leads me beside still waters" -Psalms 23:2


In this verse is God's promise for peace for my life. He promises to lead me beside still waters, yet I feel like my life is a raging river. Why? I think I've come up with the answer for that.

I'm the one turning my still waters into a raging river. God has done his part. He's led me to the still waters, but I am the one refusing to be still. In reality, I should have peace. Everything I need for peace is in Jesus Christ, but instead, I get beside my still waters and I jump in and start panicing and splashing around. I let simple worries of everyday life get me all excited and then I get my still waters moving so much that they turn into a raging river. I'm making peace difficult when in reality I just need to be still and know that He is God. The still waters are there, but I will never experience them unless I can learn to be still.

Wants vs Needs

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want" - Psalm 23:1

Today I am reading about how God provides all my needs. It's kinda made me take a step back and think about what those things are that I actually need and what the things are that I simply want. God doesn't promises to provide all of our wants, but he does promise to provide all of our NEEDS. This is a quote from the book I am reading called "Powerful Promises for Every Woman"

"In His omniscience (His complete knowledge), God knows (or sees) our need; In His power, He can provide; and In His goodness, He must provide for what his knowledge and wisdom reveal to be the true need of His people"

At first when I read this, I almost felt uncomfortable by the word "must." It almost seemed like a demand- God MUST do this. But as a re-read it, I realized that because of God's character, because of His goodness, because of His love, he really must provide for my NEEDS.

Again, this causes me to ponder what things in my life are needs and what things are simply wants. I know that I NEED food and clothing, which God has provided. I WANT to be able to go out to eat whenever I feel like it and buy a new outfit whenever I see something cute, but that isn't always the case. I NEED shelter, but I WANT to refurnish some of our apartment. I NEED to have times of rest, but I really WANT to go to California this summer with Isaac. I NEED love and encouragement, but sometimes I WANT to find it in people rather than in Christ. I NEED purpose in my life, but sometimes I WANT to create my own purpose that may not neccisarily be what God desires for me. I think for a long time I have felt like God wasn't going to provide for me because I have been looking for God to provide my wants, rather than my needs. Honestly, as I look back on my life, I can't remember a time that God did not provide my needs. For a while, I worried that God was not providing my needs. In reality, God was just not always giving me what I wanted. BIG DIFFERENCE. I think if I really looked at needs and wants, I would realize that I serve a God that can be trusted to provide all my needs. As for my wants, the Bible says " Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4. I believe that as I draw near to God, he will begin to fufill the things that my heart desires. Now, am I saying that as I draw near to God, he will provide for me to get new clothes or eat out all the time, or have a refurnished apartment? No. I know that as I delight myself in God, His desires will become my desires, and those things he will provide!



Side note for today: Isaac and I are trying to plan a vacation around our anniversary. We never really got a honeymoon and anytime we have tried to have a vacation, we have had a major family crisis. Basically we have never been able to just get away and enjoy some time with each other. We are trying to see if we can spend a few days in Califonia in San Diego because we have family there and may have a place to stay, but it seems like a bit of a long shot. Please keep us in prayer. This is definately one of those Wants. I know that Isaac and I desperately NEED to be able to rest and enjoy some time with each other, but we very much WANT to do that in California. I guess we will see what happens!!

Quiet times and Recreation

Right now I am reading a book called "Powerful Promises for Every Woman" I read something today that stuck out to me and I'm not so sure what I think about it. It is an excerpt from a letter by Susanna Wesley to her famous son, John, the founder of Methodism.

"I will tell you what rule I observed...when I was young, and too much addicted to childish diversions, which was this-Never spend more time in mere recreation in one day than I spend in a private religious devotions"

I've been really thinking about this and I asked myself if this is possible- to spend more time in private devotion with God in a day than I do in recreations. Seriously, I think this would be hard to do. If I watch a movie, for example, that is 2 hours long, than should I make sure that I have spent more than 2 hours that day, alone with Jesus? What about on the days where I have softball games? Thats another hour of my time on Sundays and usually Sundays are days that my husband and I try to have some fun so there's a few more hours there. On the other hand, I do think that I need to invest more time in quiet, private devotion with the Lord. I know that this is an area I struggle with, but should I be calculating my time to make sure I spend more time with Jesus than I do in everyday recreations? Personally, I think I need to spend quiet devotional time with the Lord, but I also think that I just need to make sure that I am keeping Christ with me all day long, with everything I do.

Also, in context of where the author used this quote, she was talking about making sure I am not feeding on foolishness. She warned to beware of the inevitable stumbling blocks and to stay close to the safety and shelter of God's promise of care. I definatly think there are somethings that I could probably root out of my life. I definatly think there are some TV shows that I probably don't need to watch, maybe some movies I should avoid. I think I need to be aware of what it is that I feed myself. Sometimes without realizing it, some of the things I watch could be feeding my negative messages, and its not always that obvious. For example, I love watching the show King of Queens. I think its hilarious. But if I don't take a step back and think for a second, I might actually believe that this is a healthy way that a marriage should function. I think I need to draw more from Jesus and from his Word and make it more a part of my thought process. I need to stick close to the Lord who cares for me in everything I do.

Not sure where I am going with all of this today... just some thoughts

Little Lost Sheep

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." John 10:27-30

Sometimes I feel like I'm a little lost sheep. I know the voice that I need to follow. I know the voice of God, yet sometimes I have trouble listening to it. I tend to listen to every other voice that speaks to me; satan's voice, the voices of others, even my own voice. For a while now, I have been driven by just about every voice, but the voice of Jesus. I'm really trying to figure out why I have trouble trusting God. I tend to look at him like I look at my earthly dad. When I was a kid, my dad left. Now, my dad is a major influence in my life, yet I still can't shake the fact that he left when I was a child and today I am convinced that someday God will leave too. Even though God's word says he will never leave me, nor forsake me; even though it says that no one can snatch me from his hand, I am still convinced that at some point God will no longer be there. This really bugs me. This is the number one thing that holds me back from being everything God has called me to be. I can't ever be effective in ministry if I'm not connected to the Lord. I can't grow closer to God if I don't trust Him. This creates quite the dilema. Somehow, I have got to learn to trust the Lord. The Scripture above says that his sheep know his voice and follow Him. I believe that somewhere in me, I know his voice. But the voices that tell me that God can't be trusted seem to overpower it. I tend to listen to the louder voice and that creates a little problem being that the voice of the God is a small still voice. I've got to learn to quiet my own voice, set aside the voices of others who tear me down, and rebuke the voice of satan if I'm going to be able to hear God. I use to hear His voice all the time. It was comforting. When I can hear the voice of God, I believe with my whole heart that no one can snatch me from his hand. I really want to get to that place again. I don't know why I am so consumed with fear, but it really is destroying me. I really just need to get over this, but seriously, how do you do that? A lot of people say to me, "well just learn to trust God" GREAT! Does anyone have a step by step solution on how to trust God? Is there an easy 1, 2, 3 to growing in a deeper relationship with Him? Is there a quick fix on going from being afraid of God to having a healthy fear of Him? I'm really getting tired of where I am at in this battle. I want to be able to hear his voice and follow him. I want to trust that he will never leave me, nor forsake me. I want to be able to believe that no one can snatch me from his hands. I've rambled today, but I'm just so frustrated. I need answers.

The Beauty of a Woman

"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."
1 Peter 3:3-4


This verse seems to be completely contrary to everything that women are taught in this society. We have forgotten that true beauty comes from our inner selves, from the person that God created. Instead, we think that beauty is what a woman looks like. If you open any magazine you will see that the ideal for beauty is very tall, extremely thin, big eyes, big lips, a small nose. tan skin and big breasts. As women, we look at this and think "I must look like this if I am going to be beautiful. I don't measure up. I must not be beautiful" The truth, however, is that the people in the magazines have gone through hours of hair and makeup and the pictures have had extensive airbrushing. We're trying to measure up to something that isn't even real. The Dove Campaign for True Beauty did a survey of women around the world and of the woman that answered, only 2% of them considered themselves beautiful. Why? I believe it is because we have confused looks with beauty. We assume that because something looks good on the outside, that it must be beautiful. The realiy of it, however, is that it is just an illusion.
I believe what this verse said. True beauty comes from the inner self. Our beauty is our culture and where we have come from. Our beauty is our history and what God has brought us through that has made us who we are. Our beauty is our quirks. It is our goals and accomplishments. Our beauty is our realationships, those around us that we impact. Our beauty is in the fact that we are children of God, daughters of the King. Our beauty is in the love of Christ that radiates from within us. And none of those things can be judged by a photograph.
God has created each of us as beautiful, yet I think we sometimes cover up our true beauty for looks that fade. Don't get me wrong, I don't see anything wrong with doing our hair and makeup and wanting to lose weight (if its to be healthy). I don't see anything wrong with wanting to dress nice. I love to do my hair and makeup and I want to get into better shape. However, I don't believe that God wants us to obsess over these things thinking that they will make up beautiful. I believe that God wants our beauty to radiate from our relationship with Him, our inner beauty, which never fades.