Unfading Beauty

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"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 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."

--1 Peter 3:3-4

What is it that we're striving for, chasing after, and consuming our lives with? Often times it is something so trivial, that in actuality, it is really not worth our effort. Can I encourage you to do a heart check to see if your inner self is beautiful? Can you speak of your spirit as gentle & quiet? We live in a society that blasts information at a rapid pace, loudly screaming "you have to be this way", but do we? When all is said and done, is your life leading you to your purpose? Have we lost that sense of stillness, that peace that quiets our minds, refreshes our souls, and soothes the spirit? That is true beauty, true worth, and is important to God. The "outward adornment" spoken of in the first part of that verse can also be our strivings in life..our accomplishments, the things we want people to see about us, but we really never dare to be real with others. The fact of the matter is that we need to stop...tune out the noise of life, the chaos of society's demands and to begin to listen. God speaks and has a word for you, but have you stopped to hear him? Beauty is not found in the glitz & glamour, sure it entertains for a short while, but that soon fades. Unfading beauty is found in someone of depth, a gentle & quiet spirit that says "all is well". I encourage you to discover that within, for this is of great worth. 

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Greatness

I've been thinking a lot about this thought over the last week. So many conversations with others brings me to the conclusion that we spend a lot of time thinking about what others opinions of us are; we repeatedly do things in order to gain attention or acceptance from people, when in reality, their thoughts and opinions of you aren't worth the striving. 

“When you are living the best version of yourself, 

you inspire others to live the best versions of themselves.”

 --Steve Maraboli

Have you been around someone who is true to themselves, unafraid to be who they've been created to be? They seem to be so confident, courageous and beautiful. There's something so pure and intriguing about their spirit, and it's inviting and inspiring to be around. These are the kinds of people who make you want to become a better person, a better version of you. 

For too long many of us have tried to become a second-rate version of someone else, comparing and worrying about how we look, what we do, and if others will approve of us, when in reality, we should live the life God has for us, and not wait for the accolades of society. Like the quote at the beginning of this post, we should live with greatness, go forward and do things now, being truly you, and soon others will begin to take notice because it is counter-culture. For it is in discovering and living as individuals who are happy with who they are, that we allow others to begin becoming the people they've been meant to be. 

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." 
Ephesians 2:10

Let's live greatness, walk in the life we've been designed for, and inspire others to do so as well. Accomplishing this is truly living. 

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Forever Faithful

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Forever faithful. Hm, I thought about that concept for awhile...what does it mean to be faithful?

The dictionary defines Faithful as,

"being steadfast in affection or allegiance, loyal, firm in adherence to promises or in observance of duty, conscientious, given with strong assurance, binding, true to the facts, to a standard, or to an original"

Joyce Meyer, one of my favorite spiritual inspirations, says, “Faithfulness is not doing something right once but doing something right over and over and over and over.”

Faithfulness is a continual process, a reoccurrence of loyalty, and a repetition of promises. This got me thinking how am I being faithful in all areas of my life? Whether it's work, with family & friends, at school, in ministry...am I doing all that I can to continuously do the right thing, or to strive for excellence in all of those areas? To be honest, sometimes that can get really overwhelming. We might slip up in one area and the temptation to just give up can be strong, but faithfulness means standing strong, being steadfast and not giving up, even when things get tough or we make mistakes.

Even as we continually learn and grow through the process of defining faithfulness in our own lives, God has already defined what it means to be forever faithful. He won't pick a day or time and say, 'well, you've had your chances, you've messed up, so I'm done with you now'. He's is always there, always loves, always loyal and full of grace. Maybe you've had an unexpected situation come up in your life, or you're asking for wisdom and clarity and things just don't seem to be working the way you want, I implore you to be faithful. Don't give up now, for you can have hope because God is forever faithful, and he's at work in the midst of your life and the circumstances you find yourself in.

Psalm 33:4 says, "For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does."

While we may not be forever faithful because we are imperfect people, we can trust in a God who is forever faithful, follow his example, and grow to become more like him...being faithful in all that we do!

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Monday Musings: What Are You Afraid Of?

I'm blessed to work in youth ministry, and this past weekend, I got to speak for the weekend services about facing our fears. It's something that affects all of us, whether we are in middle school or are middle aged. Life can bring some tough things our way, but if we are prepared, we can overcome that fear and move ahead towards greatness. So, I thought I'd share a little of what we discussed this past weekend, here on the blog!

What are you afraid of? It can be something silly like a scary movie, or it can be something that paralyzes you enough to keep you from moving forward. Like an opponent we fight, fear is tricky and takes different forms to invade your life, so in order to overcome it effectively, let's recognize its work and then rid our lives of it.

Fear comes in the form of circumstances. Often we find ourselves faced with a situation that at the time seems very overwhelming, intrusive and almost like a blockade. Have you noticed that when you think about a challenging situation, focusing on how big and overwhelming it is, the bigger it seems to get? Fear finds strongholds in us one bit at a time, but if you realize this, you can begin to block that process.

Fear comes in the form of doubt. Have you ever been given an incredible opportunity, but you felt totally inadequate and unable to seize it? Doubt starts as those small, nagging questions in your mind but can easily shackle us, keeping you from your potential. No matter what people may say about you, or what you feel, know that you have been created to accomplish much in your life, and there's no room for doubts to keep you from that. When you begin to doubt yourself and your abilities, know that you can do all things through God who gives you strength!

Fear comes in the form of excuses. Alright, let's be honest here, we've all made excuses at one point or another, from the time we were little and argued with our siblings, it's easy to blame things on others or to give reasons why we did or didn't do something. Fear can cause us to make excuses so we stay away from the good things, or we continue heading towards the things we know we shouldn't be doing. When we are faced with a decision or confronted with the choice to evaluate ourselves, don't make excuses. Instead, find the areas in your life where you can grow, create an action plan for moving forward, and begin! This will eliminate fear in that area.

Now that we've uncovered fear's tactics, how do we defeat it? Well, I'm glad you asked.

1. Understand that fear is really False Evidence Appearing Real

Many times the things that we allow ourselves to worry and fret about are creations of our own mind. Here's a quick example: remember being afraid of monsters in your closet or under your bed when you were little? All you had to do was to flip on the light to see that there's nothing there; it was a creation of your imagination. While we may not fear monsters at this point in life, often the things we fear are really created in our minds; we allow them to seem far worse and more dominating than they are. Remember, the things we think about become a bigger presence in our lives, so watch your thought life, and think on the positive!

2. Know what God says about overcoming fear.
There are so many verses in God's word that talk about overcoming fear, and I just wanted to share a few.


I will go with you.

Deut 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Don’t tremble. Don’t be afraid of them! The Lord your God is the one who is going with you. He won’t abandon you or leave you.”

I will help you. 

Isaiah 41: 13 For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you.”

I have given you power.

2 Tim 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and of a sound mind.”

I am your light & stronghold.

Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light & my salvation--whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life--of who shall I be afraid?

Remember, perfect love casts out all fear. When we see fears for what they really are, and align our lives to God's purpose, we can live free of fear. We can become great and accomplish much. My prayer for you is that you take hold of the calling God has placed on your life, and you allow his power & love to work through you, casting out any shadow of fear. You can be victorious.

 Live life the way it was meant to be lived: fearlessly
So, can I ask you again, What are you so afraid of??

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Session 3: Shine On {Candice}

Surprise! It's me today! Yes, I'm guest posting on my own blog (well, I guess it's not really "guest" posting then...but you get what I mean) I know it's been said a couple of times here, but I so enjoy seeing your responses to the series, and hope that you've been enjoying it as much as I have! It's a blessing to have such a wonderful community of readers, and people such as yourself, to dream, connect and grow with. You guys are the best! :) 
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I suppose it's not totally necessary to introduce myself, but in case you've only just joined us here, Hi! I'm Candice, the girl behind the blog! It's so nice to meet you, and I hope you'll take some time to look around here, and find yourself inspired. Just a few things for you to get to know me better: I love hosting parties & celebrations, the ocean is my happy place (I'm a mermaid at heart), I love to write and plan on traveling the world. Oh, and if I had to choose, a white peppermint mocha is my favorite Starbucks drink.

Shine On. What does that mean to you? I had to sit there and stare at my computer screen for a little bit before putting some thoughts down...there's so many moments that came to mind when thinking on this subject.
I was lucky to grow up with the knowledge that I am loved, and that I had been created for a purpose, but for awhile, I wasn't really, truly happy with who I was. Confidence, sure I could have it when needed, but there were still insecurities that kept me from being totally comfortable with being me. I remember going through high school just wanting to be noticed by the "right guy" or having the perfect body, the perfect hair... it was all about how you looked or acted. Perfection was the standard and it always seemed just a little out of reach. I had good grades, was very involved in school activities, and had some close friends, but felt like most people really didn't know me for who I was, but rather what I did, it was very performance based. College continued on in a similar fashion, yet at this point, I started to see that it really didn't matter how you looked or which cute guy winked at you from across the hall. What really mattered was the confidence that comes from being totally you.

During my freshman year at college, I read the book, Captivating, by John & Staci Eldredge...I kid you not when I say that this book totally revolutionized the way I saw myself & my life purpose. (I happily hand this book out to any and all of my girlfriends now..and gentlemen, there's a version for you also called Wild At Heart) You see, what I was missing was the fact that beauty is my life purpose, and not in the physical sense, but in the sense that unveiling beauty and inviting and allowing others to discover & share beauty with the world is what matters. Beauty is what draws us in, it captivates us and demands our attention. What would a flower be without all its petals drenched in color, an ocean without its vast depths, or the sunset without its burning hues? Do you see? Our world is totally obsessed with beauty, yet so many of us miss the most important reservoire placed within ourselves. I missed it for so long, but can I tell you that when I found out how freeing it was to discover the purpose God had for my life, and to understand that his plan included the giftings and talents that he's given me, it changed something. No longer did I judge myself with an unreasonable standard that the world sets, one that is called "beauty", but is really a warped, counterfeit version. Instead, I decided to be ok with being me. I embraced the beauty within, and have been so blessed because of it. Oddly enough, God placed me in some seemingly superficial environments, yet allowed me to shine on in them, radiating the freedom and true beauty that comes from being loved by my creator, and loving who I am.

Can I just encourage you today to be you? Don't waste your time trying to be a copy of someone else..trust me, I've tried, and it's just not worth it. Who cares if you don't find your "Mr./Mrs. Right" right away, it doesn't de-value who you are as a person...there's such beauty in the process of becoming the "right" person for someone, and having time to discover who you are. Just because you want to take a different path than others expect from you, or your passions and talents lie somewhere other than where the rest of the crowd is going, don't let that sway you. Embrace who you have been created to be, and become a person that invites others to beauty. People who are truly comfortable with themselves allow others to begin discovering who they are. That's my goal, to be someone who inspires and invites others to be themselves, truly beautiful. Choose to shine today, leave comparisons and society standards behind, and I promise you..you'll love life, and you'll shine brightly.

So, shine on friend.
-Candice
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