Many women don’t think that they are beautiful until they are wearing the perfect designer outfit, with matching shoes and a designer bag to compliment it.  Some don’t want to even be seen in public until their faces are perfectly done and every hair is in place.

Please hear me, there is nothing wrong with wanting to put your best foot forward when you are going out and will be seen by others.  I have been in the beauty business for almost twenty-seven years, so I know that these things are important to women, and I agree that our appearance should matter.  I also know that when we look good, we feel better about ourselves.

My point in writing this blog today is just to remind you, that real beauty is not based only on what is happening externally, but rather on what is going on internally.

You see, you can have on the most gorgeous clothes, with your hair, nails, and makeup perfectly done. But if your heart is not clothed with love, joy, and kindness, what have you accomplished?   Don’t buy into the world’s view of what’s beautiful, because you will miss the mark.  Go to God’s word and read about his standards for His children.

We are not called to just be pretty women, we are called to reveal God’s light, and to be His representatives in this dark world. Therefore, we must be clothed also in His righteousness.  We are to look like God inside, and in turn, we will start to have what I call God Glow because our character will start to resemble His.    No matter what outfit, makeup, or nail color you choose to wear, trust me, it won’t surpass that God Glow that you will have if you start to spend time with God consistently.

Just think, if everyone would spend as much time focusing on their inner beauty,  as they do their outer beauty, what a different world we would live in.

Today, as you are deciding what you are going to wear, make sure that you are clothed first, in the character that God is calling us to be clothed in.  Then you will know that you are looking beautiful, not only on the outside but on the inside too.

Proverbs 31:30
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Proverbs 31:25-26
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. 26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
1 Peter 3:3-5
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. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands,
Psalm 139:13-14
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Be Guided By His Light

One day last week I was talking with a lady who was telling me, that the night before our conversation,  there was a terrible storm in her city. The storm was so bad that they lost their power.  Although her children are approximately sixteen to over twenty years old, they came straight to her bedroom when the lights went out.  She told me, that she finally told them,” just go get your blankets and sleep in here tonight”.

My first thought was that we simply are not created to be comfortable living in the darkness of any kind.  Living in darkness should make us just as uncomfortable, as my friend’s children were when the lights went out due to the storm..   

There are times when Satan tries to lure us away from the Light,  and drag us into his sin-filled dark world.  Those are the times that we should turn, and run back to God, just as these young people ran to their mom and dad’s bedroom for comfort and safety.

The more time that we spend in God’s presence and in His word, the more we will realize the truth of Psalm 119:105 Your word is like a lamp that shows me the way.  It is like a light that guides me.  Psalm !!9:114 You are my place of safety.  You are like a shield that keeps me safe.  I have put my hope in your word.

We should never have a reason to worry or fret because, when our hope is in God, even the darkest moments in our lives will be guided by His light.  Praise God, that the God that we serve is the Light Of The World!

John 8:12
¹² When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Acts 26:17-18
¹⁷ I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them ¹⁸ to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
1 John 1:5
⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
John 12:35-36
³⁵ Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. ³⁶ Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.
John 12:44-46
⁴⁴ Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. ⁴⁵ The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
John 3:19-20
¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.
1 John 1:7
⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[a] sin.
Revelation 21:23
²³ The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

A Change In Perspective 

I am going to physical therapy treatments, for some issues dealing with my sciatic nerve.  My sessions are actually in an Oncology center, right across from where patients are receiving their chemotherapy treatments.

A few days ago, after I had finished one of my sessions, I was waiting for the doors to an elevator to open, when I saw an older gentleman approach to catch the elevator as well.  He looked like he was exhausted from his chemo treatments.  He walked with a cane, and it was clear that he was ready to go home to rest. We spoke briefly and he was quite kind.

Finally, the elevator doors opened, and we got on.  As the door to the elevator was about to close, a woman hurried to catch a ride down with us.  When she got on, I cheerfully spoke and said, “How are you doing today”?
Oh, my goodness why did I even ask?   Her response to me was “I can’t be doing too good if I am here, can I?”.   She did not smile, and there was quite a bit of bitterness in her tone.  When that was the response that I got, I noticed the older gentleman lift his head slightly, and looked at me in disbelief at her response.   

I responded to her by saying, “I think that we are all doing good.  We woke up this morning, and so many people didn’t”.   I also told her that we were blessed to be able to receive the healthcare that we needed.  Her response back to my comment actually surprised me.   She said, “ma’am you are right”.   I need to change my perspective.  I need to look at things differently”.

I am sharing this story because, we all have been guilty at one time or another of forgetting that even when we are going through challenging or difficult times, we still have so much to be thankful for.

I don’t know what you may be facing today but trust, that no matter how hard things may be, someone, somewhere, is dealing with something that will make your situation pale in comparison to theirs.

One way to combat the feeling of despair and hopelessness is to take a few minutes at the end of each day and write down the things that you are most grateful, for that day.  When your focus shifts to a place of gratitude, it is amazing how much better you will feel about your situation, even though nothing has really changed.

God is blessed when we are grateful and when we sincerely express our gratitude to Him no matter our circumstances.

Remember when our attitudes change our perspectives change, and the secret to all of this is gratitude.  

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Chronicles 16:34
³⁴ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Psalm 50:20
²⁰ You sit and testify against your brother and slander your own mother’s son.
Philippians 4:6
⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Psalm 107
¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.