Vote for a Cause, Make a Difference

Ok,

I'm just gonna come right out and say that I have a little fire burning under my bum today,

and I decided to set out and try to do something about it.

Here is the story.

Those of you who have been with me very long know that I have a heart

for India. Well, I try to put my money where my mouth is a support works

in that country, and one way that I do that is by giving to India Partners,

a Christ centered organization that aims at "partnering with the people of India in ministry by cultivating relationships, sharing resources, and encouraging self-sufficiency through the compassion and wisdom of Jesus Christ."

Today I read an email from India Partners and

learned that they have entered a photo contest hosted by Global Giving.

which will give $1,000 to the non-profit organization who's picture wins first place.

Such a great idea, and I was happy to cast my vote and support them.

And then I saw it.

 The organizations that are currently in top place

are not ones that are aimed at saving orphans,

providing a better education for children overseas, or funding urgent medical needs.

No.

The most championed causes in the lead right now are those that

aim to save abandoned birds, and street dogs.

This made me sad.

And then, very angry.

I love animals, y'all, and it does make me sad when they are mistreated.

But they are just that.

Animals.

I believe people are infinitely more valuable and important!

We are created in the image of God and have eternal destinies.

There should be no contest!

For me, this contest isn't so much about the actual photos,

but about the organization that the photo will support. 

This is the photo entered by India Partners.

By voting for India Partners, you help an orphan in India, like this girl, receive an education.

 If you feel the same as I,

please go VOTE for India Partners,

a reputable Christian based organization that is doing a good work,

and make your voice heard that people are more valuable than animals. 

All you have to do is go to the link above that says "go vote",

enter you email address, then wait for the confirmation email that will make your vote count.

The deadline for voting is August 29th!

And that is all.

Such a very little thing can make a big difference.

You could make a difference between $1,000 being thrown away on rescuing birds,

like the ones that sadly fly into our windshields every now and then, or by providing a better life

and education to a precious, orphaned child...a human being who has a calling and destiny.

Your vote stresses the importance of Christ's love to children.

Thank you for reading my little rant.

And thank you in advance on behalf of India Partners, for your vote!

Someone Always Mourns: On the Passing of Robin Williams and To Those Who Contemplate Suicide

 Someone always mourns.
You will always be missed.

You have robbed the world of your presence, and left a hole that cannot be filled.

No matter who you are. What you have done.

You cannot make the choice to exit this world 

and not open questions and sorrow in the hearts left behind.


I am deeply saddened. No. My heart aches over the lately departed Robin Williams. 

To be so appreciated, applauded, and respected, he left this world alone and hurting. 

I wish so earnestly that someone could have given him Hope. 

The Hope that could have saved his life here and eternally.

Hope and Peace...the Ultimate Hope and Peace that comes by no other name then that of Jesus. 

That name alone could have silenced Williams' demons.

I grew up with his voice, his kind and funny face. 

And though I never met him, never reached out to him...as a person that existed not to him, 

I feel a sad, gray emptiness that he has gone. 

I didn't always support every role and work that he committed himself to, but I recognized in him a genuine, compassionate person...a soul of deep waters. 

He refreshed a thirsty world, yet couldn't calm the stormy waves that raged inside. 
And I sorrow for him.

To anyone who considers ending their life, STOP.

Stop and see the ripples from Williams' death. 

The man had his demons, he had his legitimate issues...
but see the flood of well wishes, supporters, admirers and tear streaked faces he leaves in his wake. 

Those same people could have been his support system. 
You are never alone. 
Your absence will not go unnoticed. 
There is always someone who mourns. 

My children will grow up in a world without the talented, funny and kind hearted man found in Robin Williams that through the wonder of film, made himself at home in my childhood.
Now, when his name is mentioned they will say "Robin who?" and will grow up thinking of him as the dead guy who does the voice of Genie. 
There will be no personal connection...
a curtain has been drawn over time that they can never be seen through clearly. 

That is the same sort of hole you will leave if you take your life too, friend. 
You are not killing your demons, you are leaving them to haunt your loved ones.
You are not bringing to an end the loneliness you feel, you are only further and forever separating yourself further from those living and those you could have met in the future.

 
And if you have not made the choice to accept Jesus...you are not ending a life of torment and coming into peace, you are leaving the only world where an invitation of Peace has been offered to you and entering into an eternal world of torment.


And there is always someone who mourns.

When you leave this world without Christ as your Savior....God mourns. 
He mourns that you will be forever separated from Him in your eternal life because you didn't make the choice to be with Him in this present life. 
It is your choice. 
You can choose life...or you can choose death.


 "This day...I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life..."
~Deuteronomy 30:19~

These words were a challenge and an invitation issued by God Himself.
Daily, He invites us to choose life...
and the Bible says in John 14:6 that Jesus said of himself, " I am THE Life".

I pray you choose Him.

I pray you choose Peace. 

I pray you choose Hope.

I pray you take the Hand that can lift you from the stormy waves.

I pray you heed the Voice that can silence your demons.

I pray... 
you choose Life.

It's Not About You: Single on Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day.

I'm going to be honest and straightforward in this post.

This subject has been nagging at me for a few weeks now,

and I just can't keep quiet about it.

I want to address how single women are handling Valentine's Day.

Let me start by saying...

Valentine's Day is not about you.

Did you know that Valentine's Day was established in remembrance

of a man who was executed for his beliefs?

He wrote sweet notes to those he cared about because he knew he was going to die.

This man was willing to die for something he believed in,

but today this fact gets glazed over with chocolate and roses.

Something else different in the approach to modern Valentine's is that

single women everywhere use this day to bemoan their relationship status.

If we don't have that special someone,
we tend to congregate in groups and celebrate our friends instead.

Sure we have a good time.

But you know what? We all sit at the table as hypocrites.

 We try to pretend this is good enough, that we are happy to be with our friends,

when really, it is all a great big facade we use to drown out our woe-is-me pity party.

I've celebrated a few Valentine's with girlfriends, and genuinely had a good time!
But this year something shifted and I saw things differently.

Imagine your best friends are getting married,

but instead of letting them have their day, you and and your girlfriends

decide to have your own party because none of you are getting married.

Do you see how petty, childish and self centered that sounds?

"I just wish I had someone to give me flowers and take me out."

Let's be honest with each other, what we are really saying is,
"I wish I had someone to celebrate me."

Women have made Valentine's Day all about them!

It is all about your man celebrating you and showing you just how special you are.

Not only is that selfish, it sounds dangerously akin to idolatry.

Valentine's Day is not about you.

Did you know that you have chosen to be single?

Yes.

Your singleness is a choice.

You may look at is from the perspective that the right guy just hasn't come along.

 But pay attention to a set of words in that sentence...right guy.

This implies that there has been a wrong guy.

This implies at one point you made a choice...'I don't want him, he isn't right.'

At that moment you chose to be single.

Singleness is not something that is thrust upon you, it isn't a disease... it is a choice.

If you were given the chance to go with someone on a trip, but decided not to,
then spent the rest of your time bemoaning the fact that you weren't going on a trip somewhere,
wouldn't that seem a little foolish and fickle?

As silly as that may sound in the that context,
that is how many single women approach Valentine's Day.

There are plenty of fellas out there who would snatch you up,
you could probably pick one up at Wal-Mart!

While they may not be what you want, you are still making that choice to be single.

If you have a hard time with being single on Valentine's Day,

I would challenge you to scrutinize yourself.

Just because you are single doesn't mean you have no purpose...

it doesn't mean you can't live a life of joy and meaning now...

and it doesn't mean you are an incomplete person.

If you are an incomplete person without a relationship,

then that is your own shortcoming, and you need to work through

some issues because no relationship is ever going to complete you.

Another point I would like to make.

Stop for a moment and look around.
You live in a point of history that is truly amazing.

If one stops to listen to what the men of God and prophets are saying,
it doesn't take a theologian to know we are living in extraordinary times.

And those times are growing short.

Jesus is coming back...and it may be very soon.

The world has grown cold,

and we are in the winter seasons of the world's time.
Things are shifting, changes coming that may
forever alter the comfortable world we live in.

Yet we focus so much on temporal things.

Yes, we all long for companionship, myself included!
But I'm convinced God knows our needs (Matt. 6:8)
and He longs to meet them. (Is. 30:18; Phil. 4:19).
If we know this to be true, we can likewise be assured that
if we haven't been given a significant other,
it must be that God does not see that as our most pressing need.


~~~~
I'm linking up at Anchored in Love Divine
for the Blog Everyday in February Challenge!

Day #13: Favorite Quote(s)

Favorite quotes!
First one...

"I'd rather be a hammer than a nail."

Paul Simon

Meaning  it is better to be an active force than to let others (or something) drive you.

I heard this on a Christian radio show many years ago, and it has stuck with me.




Honestly, I didn't even know who Paul Simon was.
So just before posting this, I did some research and found out
it was Simon of Simon and Garfunkel and this quote is actually a song lyric!

Who knew?!

"What is an ambassador's responsibility?

Not to change the people to whom he is sent, but to represent the King whom he serves."

Lydia Prince


I was deeply moved reading about Lydia's early life in the book Appointment In Jerusalem,
where this quote comes from.

It is a great reminder for us as Christians,
that we aren't out to change people, because we can't,
rather we simply need represent God and the truths of His kingdom
through our lives, words and actions.

~~~~
I'm linking up at Anchored in Love Divine
for the Blog Everyday in February Challenge!

You're Going to Be Okay...{Coffee for Your Heart}

“No matter what happens, you’re going to be okay because..."

 

 Okay is a relative term.

 It could mean different things to different people.

Okay in America, means you will keep your nice house, your cars,

and be able to afford eating out once in a while.

Okay in a third world country

means you will have a hut roof over your head,

water for your needs and enough food to eat one ample meal a day.

Okay is a relative term.

When I think "it is going to be okay",

it might mean I can't make that car payment and my vehicle gets repossessed.

But God is on His throne.

I might have to turn down the heat to 58 degrees and wear Eskimo layers because I can't afford the bill.

BUT God is on His throne.

It might mean I eat mostly beans and rice,

But GOD is on His throne.
It might mean I live in a country that persecutes me for my faith,
But God IS on His throne. 

Okay to me means, God is still God, He is still there, no matter what happens on this earth.

And no matter what happens, which side of okay I end up on, He will always be there.

He gives me the grace for each day,

and even if worst comes to worst, God is still God, 

and I will get to see Him on that throne. 

 

Everything is going to be okay because God is on His throne.

~~~~
Linking up Wednesdays with Holley Gerth and many other wonderful ladies, with Coffee For Your Heart.

Day #7: Encouragement!

 Encouragement.

That comes in many different forms,

but for me personally, I have found that the right words (and a hug) can make all the difference.

So today I'll keep it simple and share with you a few of my favorite

encouraging words brought you by Pinterest.

You can view my entire board of encouraging and thought provoking words here.

 

 

 

 

 

 Oh, and that hug I mentioned?

Here it is.

You're welcome.

Even better, watch this video about the Free Hug Campaign,

it made me smile SO big!!

 Seriously, watch this heart warming video!

And finally....

 

Go forth into your day with vorfreude!

~~~~
I'm linking up at Anchored in Love Divine
for the Blog Everyday in February Challenge!

Day #5: Review of Star of Bethlehem DVD

Isn't it funny how your plans change?

I say that, because originally I wasn't going to do today's prompt
from the Blog Everyday in February Challenge- I had intended to share
a refashion with you.
Well, my last refashion was kind of a flop and my plans got changed
this past weekend so I didn't have the time I needed to get to the sewing machine.

But then on Sunday my family watched the movie I am about to share with you,
and it moved me so much that I decided to share it with you!

The movie I'm talking about is Star of Bethlehem and actually it is a documentary.
I am sometimes afraid to use the word documentary because,
while good, it often makes one think boring.
And that is far from the case with this one!
It is so well done that you never get bored,
it draws you in and keeps you interested the entire time.
Here is the general description of the film.


 "For centuries, skeptics and seekers alike have pondered the star of Bethlehem. 
The Bible describes unusual or even impossible astronomical events at Christ's birth. 
Was it a miracle or mere myth? 
This compelling DVD - from producer Stephen McEveety ("The Passion of the Christ") - examines Scripture, ancient writings, indisputable astronomical facts and more. 
Learn nine specific features of the star recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, 
how it established a date for Jesus' birth and death . . . and its significance for you today!"

We were first introduced to the Star of Bethlehem the Christmas season of 2012, I believe.

But just this week I viewed it for a second time and was again amazed.

I remember being shocked by the amazing presentation and in tears the first time I saw it.

This second time I was again amazed and in awe of the intricacy of the plans of God.

You can watch the film, in what I believe to be its entirety,
at this Youtube link. Or just watch the one I embedded below.

Even though you can watch the film online, I highly recommend owning your own copy,

especially since there is an interesting and significant clip in the bonus features that is not in the film.

You can purchase the DVD here.

You can also visit the official website http://www.bethlehemstar.net/ to learn more.

 It is mind boggling to me that God put all of these events into place before

He even created the heavens and the earth.

It made me stop and think about my life.

Why in the world should I worry about my life,

what I should be doing, where I should go?!

Who is man?

God orchestrated this great celestial poem and dance of the heavens

long before man even had the tools and where-with-all to be able to see it!

We think we are so great and important.

That our lives are of utmost importance and it would be terrible if we wasted it.

But we are so very small. And He is so very, very vast.

What is my life in the whole expanse of history?

If God can so perfectly execute the exact events, and details

prophesied about His son in scripture and cause situation

and circumstance to correlate, even including the variable of mankind in the mix,

and still accomplish it all to the precise minute, place and time;

why should I worry that I'm where I need to be?

It made me see how silly my worries are, and how in charge

and in control God really is!

I promise you, you will not be disappointed.

If you champion science over the Bible,

 you will see that both can coexist and indeed one supports the other;

If you don't believe that Jesus was the Son of God,

I challenge you to make that statement after having watched this piece.

And if you are a believer, your faith and the borders of your image of God
will explode and be greatly expanded!

~~~~
I'm linking up at Anchored in Love Divine
for the Blog Everyday in February Challenge!

Day #4: A Name With A Story

Have you ever wondered how this little blog got its name?
A name is an important thing.

So important that God even changed the names of several of His followers
in both the Old and New Testaments.
Apparently, it is something that requires some serious thought.

Truth be told,

there was no great lightbulb moment when I came up with 'Gladness of Heart',

but I do feel it was something the Lord inspired.

See, I'm a wanderer, a dreamer, a romantic.

If I had my way, I would travel the world sampling the cultures and hearts

of the people of many nations; see the beautiful handiwork of God and man displayed in nature and architect,
and soak in the music, colors, and rhythms of other nattionalities.

But, as life really is,

I live in a tiny Texas 'village', transplanted from my beautiful northern roots,
and far away from anything exciting and cultural.

Let's just say I often have to submit my adventurous heart to God and trust Him with the details of my life.

It was upon one such trusting lesson that I came across these verses...

"This is what I have observed to be good:

that it is appropriate for a person to eat, 

 to drink and to find satisfaction 

in their toilsome labor under the sun

during the few days of life God has given them

—for this is their lot.

Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions,

and the ability to enjoy them,

to accept their lot and be happy in their toil

—this is a gift of God.

They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because

God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart."

Ecclesiastes

5:18- 20

 The Lord really impressed upon me that last portion:

'God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.'

He gives us the occupation of our hands,

and He has given us what we need to have gladness in our hearts, 
but the choice remains ours to find joy in where we are.

So really, this blog became a way of submitting to where God has me right now.

In a little place, living a little life....choosing to find gladness in it all.

Since then, 

this blog really has become a source of gladness for me,

giving me a chance to travel through my thoughts and writings,
 even connecting me with people the world over, people like you, who come by to read!

They say we grow into our names...and I'm glad of that. 

~~~~
I'm linking up at Anchored in Love Divine
for the Blog Everyday in February Challenge!

Day 3#: What Scares Me

"What scares you most?"

Loaded question, no?

Of course there are the usual things that pop into your head...

big bugs,

snakes,

tornadoes,

big bugs and snakes swirling around inside tornadoes...no?...just me? M'kay.

But then there are other things...more serious things.

What scares me most is this.

God has placed great potential in me, as in all of us.

What if I don't realize that potential?

What if I don't accomplish all that I'm capable of?

 

What I fear most is a wasted life.

When it comes to video games,

I am one of those people who go for broke.

I collect all the coins, break all the blocks, squash all the bad guys (Mario World, anyone?),

gather up all the bonuses and achieve expert on every level.

If I miss even one item, I'll restart and do it over because I want it just perfect.

 

For a long time, I felt that way about my life.

I've made some mistakes in my life, done things good Christian girls ought not do.

And I desperately wished for a restart button.

There were dark moments even, when I wished I could just quit because I knew I had missed my mark.

 

That is when God taught me about His grace.

Grace is God's restart button.

His mercies are new every morning.

 

So while I have relaxed my perfectionistic grip on life,

I still beg God to make my life count.

I'm don't want to get to heaven and see a picture of what my life was meant to be 

only to realize I missed the mark because of fear or stubbornness.

 

In some ways, 

I'm most scared of myself.

I most afraid of the chances I won't take,

the people I'm too afraid to talk to,

the prayers I'm too busy to pray,

and the words I'm too afraid to speak. 

Even my fear of a wasted life,

as noble or good as it may seem,

is still fear...it is still not good.

 

I have to remind myself that

Jesus is the author and perfecter of my faith (Hebrews 12:2).

If He wrote my story, He'll finish it.

And He will make perfect what I cannot.

He will finish the work He started in me (Phil. 1:6), the work He started...not I, but He.

And He has a plan for my life (Jere. 29:11) and even before I was born He knew me

(Jere. 1:5) and knowing me, He knew what my strengths and weaknesses would be.

 

 And I guess the only way I know how to end this post

is by leaving you with this verse.

 

"What, then, shall we say in response to this? 

If God is for us, who can be against us?"

Romans 8:31 

~~~~
I'm linking up at Anchored in Love Divine
for the Blog Everyday in February Challenge!

Day #2: There's a Fire in My Soul!

Today is my first post in the Blog Everyday in February Challenge!
You can read about it here.

I'm supposed to share with you something that fires me up!

Something?!

 Sorry, that just isn't possible.

There are just too many things, I can't choose just one!

A post like this could be potentially very word heavy,

so I decided to express that which fires me up through the medium of images.

Worship and Music

There is nothing so amazing as a worship service where the Spirit
is moving! Worship is healing and freeing on such a deep level,
and I believe there is more power in worship than we give credit for.





Music originated in heaven, and sometimes, it can take us back.


Words

“A man with a scant vocabulary will almost certainly be a weak thinker.
The richer and more copious one's vocabulary and the greater one's awareness of fine distinctions
and subtle nuances of meaning, the more fertile and precise is likely to be one's thinking.
Knowledge of things and knowledge of the words for them grow together.
If you do not know the words, you can hardly know the thing.” 
-Henry Hazlitt 

Towards the end of this post, you can read more about how I feel on the subject and power of words.




Culture and World Peoples

Someday I'll meet these people and see these places with my own eyes.
I feel as if I have a worldwide family... I just haven't met them yet.


 
Spiritual Healing and Freedom

 
When Christ comes in and heals those wounded, bound up parts of your soul,
there is no greater feeling of newness and true freedom.

Read this book.
It will change your life.
Seriously.


Because I have experienced spiritual healing and freedom,
I long to be a guiding hand to others who need the same!
Especially young girls and women.

Truth

I decided long ago that I desired truth above all else...
above ease, pleasure, or blissful ignorance.
I look for the deepest truth in everything...I'm curious, always asking questions, always digging.
After all, you won't find diamonds and gold on the surface.

Creating

I come alive when my hands are working at creating...

in that way I love to copy my Creator and experience just
a touch of the joy He must have felt when He made this glorious world!
Whether I'm working with the medium of yarn, thread, food, or ink,
I love to create a thing of beauty!

Natural Health

Honestly,
I haven't been a traditional doctor in about 15 years.
I believe God gave us everything our bodies need for health
in the world around us through herbs.
It excited me that He is concerned for our health
and has provided a means to attain it through simple, inexpensive ways!
I believe in treating the problem and not the symptoms.
Through herbs and natural means, I've witnessed the iridication
of issues the modern medical movement claim to be untreatable.
Sure, if I break my arm or need surgery, I appreciate the hospital,
but on a whole I don't support their methods and treatment.


Life,
relationships,
dancing,
adventure,
new experiences...
these are the sort of things that ignite a flame of excitement inside me!


What sort of things are you passionate about?
Leave a comment below, I would love to hear from you!

~~~~
I'm linking up at Anchored in Love Divine
for the Blog Everyday in February Challenge!

Beauty Infusion

Last week I joined Coffee For Your Heart and wrote about beauty.

In my post I shared with you a word the Lord gave me about beauty which was...
"Beauty is an infusion of hope and desire."

I just quick wanted to share a thought with you about that.

After writing my post I decided to do a little research into the word infusion.
It was such a specific and slightly odd word choice, that I was intrigued to delve deeper into the matter.

I had to smile when I read the following description.

Infusion 
 "The process of extracting chemical compounds or flavors from plant material in a solvent 
such as water, oil or alcohol, by allowing the material to remain suspended in the solvent over time (a process often called steeping). The process of infusion is distinct from decoction, which involves boiling the plant material, or percolation, in which the water passes through the material (as in a coffeemaker)."
Wikipedia


Did you catch all that?
Infusion is the process of bringing out flavors, in a solvent, like water.
But infusion happens when the plant is steeped, or soaked, in the water over time.
Not boiled, and not just passed over once.
But soaked.

You can probably tell where I'm going with this, can't you?

Our natural 'flavors' and the strengths with which we were created
are extracted...brought forth, drawn out when we have been soaked and steeped in the Living Water.
Jesus brings out the best in us. Many think when we become more like Jesus we lose ourselves,
but the reality is we become more ourselves.

I like the picture of soaking up Christ and slowly being drawn out.
He is careful with us. He doesn't boil us, causing pain and a breakdown of our character.
And he doesn't just flow over us once, like hot water over coffee.
But He surrounds us, envelopes us and allows us to soak Him in.
Over time we release more and more of ourselves into His care.

So,
beauty is an infusion of hope and desire.
Are you dripping with hope?
Does that liquid hope spill over into the lives of those around you?
Do you have a river of desire for life coursing through you?
Can people smell the Living Water on you?
Then girl...you are beautiful!

A Beauty Unrecognized: Coffee For Your Heart

“You’re beautiful…just as you are.”

That was my writing prompt for this weeks Coffee for Your Heart post.

At first I was going to write an encouraging post
with excerpts from one of my favorite books on the subject of beauty.
It would have been a fine post; good feelings on steroids, with a verse or two.

But then I started thinking...
what if I could share something that wasn't just recycled fluff?


Beauty is something I'm passionate about--
I feel it is an important message that women need to be constantly reminded of.

 But to be honest, I have been struggling with my own beauty lately.
The size on my tags and the numbers on the scale aren't what I wish they were.
And my closet isn't full of all the beautiful clothes I wish I could wear to present my 'best' self.

How could I encourage you if I myself was feeling a little low?

Then one night, as I say in bed thinking about what I was going to write...I stopped.
And I asked a simple question.



"Lord...what IS beauty?
How do YOU see beauty?
What is it YOU want to say to these women about beauty?"



I stopped and waited...
...slowly, Holy Spirit started showing me...

"Just as the world did not accept Me...the world does not always accept your beauty.
The world did not know Me...and the world does not always know you as beautiful."

Now there is a thought to ponder.
It is no news to us that the world's view of beauty is skewed.
But to think...the most beautiful thing to grace this earth...
God, in human form, come down to be amongst man...our Savior...wasn't recognized for His beauty either.


"He was in the world, 
and though the world was made through Him, 
the world did not recognize Him." 
 John 1:10


As that thought began to sink in,
I returned to my other question....what is beauty?

Swift and strong, my mind heard the answer...


"Beauty is an infusion of hope and desire."


Something all beauty has in common...
be it a majestic mountain...
budding flower...
lush green valleys...
a beautiful smile... they offer hope.

Hope in goodness.
Hope for tomorrow.
Hope that love and peace are attainable.
 Beauty awakens a desire to embrace, to continue, to seek, to live.

Immediately, these two verses dropped into my mind...

"For You are my hope, O Lord God...."
Psalm 71:5 NKJV

 

"Delight yourself in the LORD 
and He will give you the desires of your heart."
Psalm 37:4

If beauty is hope and desire,

then you could read those verses...

"You are my beauty, O Lord..."

"...He will give you the beauty of your heart."

Our beauty, quite literally, comes from the Lord.
He is our beauty!


But just as the world did not recognize the beauty of Christ on earth,
often times they won't recognize ours either.


"...The world cannot accept Him, 
because it neither sees Him nor knows Him.... "
John 14:17
 

 

Beauty must been seen and known. Without seeing and knowing Christ,

people will not always recognize the source of our beauty.


We are vessels by which our beauty is a means of saying,
 "There is hope...
there is peace...
there is love,
and it can be found in the greatest and purest measure through Jesus."


We are the image bearers, a small mirror,
reflecting a tiny prism of the light of the Lord through our beauty.

And that is what the Lord showed me about beauty.
I think that is a much better message than what I had (somewhat) prepared before.

So when the world does not recognize your beauty,
just remember, it is because they don't recognize the source of your beauty.
Let your beauty help them see...and by seeing they may come to know that Source.

Remember...you are beautiful.


"The King is enthralled with your beauty.
Honor Him for he is your lord."
Psalms 45:11


~~~~
Linking up with Holley Gerth and many other wonderful ladies, with Coffee For Your Heart. 

Coffee For Your Heart: As You Begin...

You made it!

I'm so glad you could join me over a cup of coffee...for your heart.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then you probably missed this post.

Go ahead. Have a read.

All clear now?

Good.

Here is what I've got.

My assignment today...

share with you something I want you to hear as you step foot into a new year.

I'm sure your ears are already ringing, and mind racing

with various resolutions, goals and mantras for 2014.

But if I could throw you a line by which to secure your footing 

amidst an avalanche of encouragement for the new year, it would be this.

Glory, praise, thankfulness, recognition...

to God who is able...capable, equipped...

through His mighty power...the same power that created the stars, the earth...you...

at work within us, moving us, directing us, always active...

to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think....

sum up the entirety of your year's goals, resolutions, and dreams...He can accomplish
infinitely, exceedingly, abundantly more than that.


So whatever you accomplish this year, glory to God.
When you think you don't have the strength...remember His power within you.
Whatever you ask or think...allow Him to work...and accomplish more than you dreamed.
Give Him charge of your agenda, let Him direct you this year,
trusting that what needs to happen...will. 




I love this quote, it ministers to my heart and echos the message in Ephesians.

Accept where you are.
Let go of all that did and didn't happen.
Have faith that God is working...that He is good.


No matter the greatness you have planned for 2014,
He has more in store for you than you think...surrender to living His dream for you
...be open to His infinite possibilities and glorious accomplishments.
He's got this year handled!

{Linking up with holleygerth.com}