What is Beauty?

The photo above I edited in Photoshop, to show how false "beauty" can be these days. The left side is unedited, while on the right side, she was made up to be "pretty". The power of Photoshop. In today's culture, the definition of beauty is sadly maimed. The TV's shout to us that true beauty means getting men to lust after you. The billboards say that true beauty means not having a single blemish on your face. So...what is true beauty? "As a lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women." Song of Solomon 2:2 True beauty includes being willing to stand out as "different" from the culture...and in so doing, people will begin to see your beauty as it stands out against the gnarled and prickly brambles of this world, which are talked up to be ultimate beauty. Hmmm...perhaps - if you want to get stabbed. So, what can we ask God to do in us, so that we become a beautiful lily among brambles? We must fear the Lord. "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30 Fearing the Lord does not mean being afraid of him; coming into his presence like a dog with it's tail between its legs. To me, it means being in awe of who he is, loving him with all of our hearts, wanting to grow closer to him...to be in his presence, and being willing to do anything for him. In the last days, when God's fire burns away all that is worthless, beauty will be found as vain, and charm (as this world knows it) as deceitful. "For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; it's flower falls, and its beauty perishes." James 1:11a We are called to adorn our hearts with a gentle and quiet spirit - which is imperishable beauty. It will last through the fire, and come out as being worth more than gold. But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." 1 Peter 3:4 Ultimately it doesn't matter what humans think, as long as God is pleased. What is a gentle and quiet spirit? Well, what is the opposite of a gentle and quiet spirit? One that is rough, rude, unsettled, loud...one that is not willing to trust God, one that shouts for attention, one that does not respect parents, one that flirts or teases at others' expense etc. Therefore, a quiet spirit includes trusting fully in God, not needing to be the center of attention - but even working to promote others and lift them up higher than yourself, loving and respecting parents...even if it doesn't make sense at the time, being kind and careful of what comes out of your mouth etc. We must be willing and eager to spread the good news of the gospel. "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns.'" Isaiah 52:7 Think of it - you can have beautiful feet! Trust me, it is better to have beautiful feet in God's eyes, than a beautiful nose in the world's eyes. I know many who may read this are homeschooled, and you may think you don't have many opportunities to share the Good News...but keep your eyes open. Ask God for opportunities, and then embrace them when they come. There are so many people all around us who need to hear of God's saving grace. "People are like stained glass windows: they sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light within." - Elizabeth Kubler-Ross I'm not exactly sure who "Elizabeth" is, but her quote rings very true. When life is going well, and sun shines in a blue sky, anyone can seem to sparkle...but what about the night? When the light is gone, and things are cold and uncertain...perhaps even troubling, our true beauty will only be revealed if Jesus is a light within our hearts. If we are content in him, and willing to let him shine...then is the trues beauty revealed - in the night. It is a beautiful thing to see someone who is so trusting on God, and who has their mind on things above, more than earthly treasures, when they go through a tough season...it is like they radiate peace and joy and beauty. We can never have true beauty unless Jesus is the light in our hearts. We will only be superficial, until we have asked him to shine through us. Now, let me just mention here that there is an element of physical beauty that God has given to all women, to delight their husbands someday (not to delight every young man who walks past you on the street). We must guard this beauty for only our husbands. No, we aren't to dress in sackcloth and ashes, but modesty is a key: dressing with thoughtfulness and care for our brothers in Christ. And, yes, I did say that God has gifted all women with physical beauty of one sort or another....but not all of us are flowers. Some women are beautiful like a river, or a tree, or a sunrise, or a mountain. Perhaps you don't feel beautiful...but perhaps that is because you have been comparing yourself with a flower. Comparing...and envy are two things that we girls often struggle with, but would do well to put aside. God has made us all different, but he loves us all with the same, passionate love. A flower is pretty to look at, it has a beautiful fragrance, and it gives joy to the heart...but what if the entire world was made up of flowers? They would seem dull and ordinary then. But God has gifted us with rivers to refresh us, trees to stand firm and point us to Him...and also to shade us from the heat of the day, sunrises to remind us of His creativity and glory, and mountains to help us to see the bigger picture and all that God has done so far in our lives...and look forward to see the road ahead and all He will do. I think my mother is beautiful like a cavern; there's more to her than meets the eye, she goes deep into the strong mountain of God's Word, and if you explore the depths of her, you will come across refreshing pools, and veins of pure gold running here and there throughout. I love you mom!!! You are beautiful! ~Lady Tai

Ultimate Love

Alrighty, well...Mr. Snapp preached on Jesus being the Good Shepherd on Sunday...and one sentence he said just stuck with me, and I knew I had to write a song or poem around it somehow...so later that day - I did! The BOLD part of the chorus is a paraphrase of what he said - which was: "You would sooner fall out of the universe than you'd fall out of His love." It's not a polished song, and it doesn't even have a tune...I just wrote here what came to be on my piece of paper on Sunday afternoon (it seemed like something that should be a song more than a poem...but perhaps I shall write a poem around it too...since I am not so very well versed in song writing)...I even changed a few things when typing it up here, but I'm posting it because I feel it is a resounding truth. Jesus loves us with an infinite, indestructible love. His love is the ultimate love of all. All other loves are just reflections of his glory. I promise to have another "real" post up soon. VERSE 1 I know that, sometimes it seems Night lasts so much longer than the day With the restlessness and dark fears that fill your head But when you feel alone and scared There's a love that melts away the darkness and your fears And dries your tears CHORUS You would fall out of the universe Before you'd lose His love Dark skies will turn to rainbows When you take the time to look above And I stand convinced that, As a shepherd leads his sheep Jesus will lead you (And in His strong arms you can sleep.) VERSE 2 Looking out of the window You see the reflection of your face - A reminder of the echo in your empty heart. "What is the point of living If there's no one to love?" But there's someone who loves you Who makes all things new BRIDGE What would love be without sacrifice? When these tears stain my cheeks, In my weakness, Jesus, I'll remember The blood that stained yours - ultimate love.

Why Do I Cry?

I recently started going through the book of Job in my Bible times. Why? Something in it caught my attention while I was looking up verses on contentment. I think that "something" was God's display of power and knowledge and love laid out on paper; a finite glimpse into the never-ending, awe-inspiring depths of God's might. Something else caught my attention too, and is found in this verse: "...Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." Job 1:21b It made me think. Job had the right view of things - no wonder God was so "proud" of him! After houses falling on top of our children; and all of our servants, donkeys, sheep, and camels being killed...how many of us would have that trusting of a response? It seems to me that we have a tendency to make things seem way worse than they really are - once viewed in light of eternity. That probably comes naturally with the mindset that earthly possessions are our main source of happiness. That should not be so - and yet, it so often is. So many times we can be tempted to cling onto something that God is gently trying to pry away from us - for our good - or, our lives can suddenly be altered, and we feel helpless, out of control, and even angry at God. We can desire to yell up at God, "No! You can't take that!" "That's MY job - I need that!" "That's MY uncle!" "It's MY problem if I want to gape at that guy, or grin at that girl." "I need the security of being loved." "I need my own home." "That's MY dream of becoming a world-renowned psychologist!" "I need to be healthy." "Those are MY friends." "How can you be a loving God and let that lady suffer from cancer? You don't know what you're doing - do you?!" But the truth is: God is completely and totally in control of every circumstance...and, though we often can only see a very short distance, God sees all of the wonderful things he will bring out of this situation, and - if we bear it with dignity, joy, and confidence in Him - all of the lives it will touch. We may cry - he made us to be emotional people for a reason - but we must let Him dry our tears. Why does God allow bad things to happen? Well, for one thing, to grow us in character, to draw us closer to Him, and to move us on to a new season He has for our lives. But honestly, I don't know. Do you? Can anyone pretend to understand the depths of God's workings? We are just human...sinful by nature...and, honestly, whatever happens, we deserve worse, but for the grace God gives to us. "For you say, 'My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in God's eyes.' But oh, that God would speak and open his lips to you, and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom! For he is manifold in understanding. Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves." Job 11:4 God can test the hearts of humans with trials, and he can restore abundance like he did for Job. But, whatever he does, our response (easier to say than do, I may add) when trials come, or when our earthly treasures abound, should be: Blessed be the name of the Lord! He has us in his hands. We also should admit that we really don't know everything...or even CLOSE to everything...but God controls the very air that we breathe, the depths of the earth...and he created the ground we walk on. "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know." Job 42:2-3 Trust in God's plans when you are worried, lonely, or scared. I have learned (and am still learning), as I look back on my life, I see the fingerprints of God most clearly on those things which seemed, at the time, to be so "unbearable". Things which made no sense. Things which hurt people I love. Things which tore me away from friends...from everything I was familiar with. But now I can say that I am glad. With each tear falling on my pillow, I have grown closer to God, as he bends down to wipe them away. He looks into my eyes. I don't understand it, but I am loved...more deeply than any human can explain. Why do I cry? I don't know...but it is true that often, God seems closest when he lifts up my head and wipes my tears away. And gold is refined by the fire. (Matthew 10:29-31)