Incomparable Beauty

What's the first thing you think about when you hear the word.... beauty?

When you google it tons of pictures of "beautiful" women pop up.  The image below caught my attention.  Does it make you feel good to know that all those models have on tons of make-up and are all airbrushed and stuff... or is it just me??

I am going through Beth Moore's Esther Bible study with the ladies at my church right now.  The scenario from week 2 is still on my mind, so I thought I would type it all out.... for myself, and anyone else that ever struggles with the same insecurities.

I have found, that it doesn't matter how beautiful a girl is, there is always something they want to change... there is always something more they want to fix.  The outside things we do to beautify ourselves are in no way bad, but who are we trying to impress?  Who's eyes do we want looking at us?  Beth Moore put it this way, and I love it...

There are women that.....

 ...want all the other women to think they're beautiful. And they are miserable.

...want all the men to think they're beautiful.  And they are dangerous.

...want nobody to think they're beautiful.  And they are depressed.

...want a select few to think they're beautiful.  (like your parents and/or husband...) And they are on the right track, but still need to remember these verses.

^"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority"

~Col. 2:9-10

"I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me." ~Songs 7:10

"And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us, confirming the work that we do."

~Psalms 90:17

I need to remember that there is a beauty that is not comparable!

And, that is the beauty we have because Christ is in our lives.  Esther was no doubt beautiful on the outside, but what made her different from the other girls... how she won the favor of all those around her... how she became the queen of Persia... is because of the beauty our God gave her on the inside.  She was humble, likable, endearing, obedient, wise, patient, and beautiful!

He has clothed us with salvation and righteousness (Isaiah 61:10), and He makes us holy & clean (Eph.5:25-27).

May we all strive for the incomparable beauty of The Father to shine through us.

Hi. I'm Whitney. It's been a while...

Wowser. It is now the end of September and I haven’t blogged at all. My sweet friend Kaylie keeps reminding me that it is time for an update… (Love you Kaylie!) So, basically here’s what’s up….

church. work. church. women’s ministry. youth. church. work. Bible study. Football. LOST. church. Running club. church. friends. church.

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Over Labor Day we went to see Nate’s grandparents. It was a great trip! We had never been just the two of us, so we were able to get in a lot of great one on one time with Mamaw and Papaw.

We spent a lot of time in the car in those three days. We drove down there and the next day we drove around Whitney, TX for a while. And then Nate’s aunt went into the hospital so we went to see her in Ft. Worth… got caught in traffic for, umm, ever. Basically we were in the car for like 20 hrs in a 3 day period. It was fun though.

Nate and I both wish that we lived closer to these precious people. It was hard to leave them and we are already looking forward to Thanksgiving…. won’t be too long!

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After our little mini vacation, we have been super busy at church. Since we are without a pastor right now, Nate has been doing a ton of extra stuff…. He has always had a heart for the entire church, and has always gone above and beyond for the church (as a whole and not just the youth). Lately, that has gone to the extreme and he is planning churchwide outreaches, events, bible studies and other things, on top of media and youth. And as for me, my right hand has been cut off here in the church office. Kerri had knee surgery and left me here for 6 weeks by myself. I’m doing fine, and everything is good… It just kinda seems like Nate and I are running the show.

I mean we basically live here because we work here all day from 8-5 and then we also have church on Sunday night, Bible study on Monday night, outreach on Tuesday night, and collide on Wednesday night. Then we have running club (at the church) on Saturday mornings. That’s right people… We only have Friday to ourselves…. And, even then we end up at a church function, or high school football game.

I thought that life would settle down and we would feel relaxed after summer stuff ended and school started…. that hasn’t happened yet. Dare I say… It’s. Even. Crazier. Nate and I live for the weekend…. But doesn’t everyone that works?

I did manage to find some time to get a good hair cut… Got like 6 inches cut off and two people noticed. That’s how it goes every time I think it's way dramatic… Oh well.