Beauty Day 8
For the Beauty of Love

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Read His Words Before Ours!

1 Corinthians 13
Galatians 5:13-14
Mark 12:30-31

attachment-1-5Hot, fresh tears stung my eyes as the four walls of the dressing room seemed to close in on me. As quickly as I put the shirt on, I ripped it off of my body, practically throwing it at my mom on the other side of the door. If the shirt wasn’t too tight, it was too short, too low, too sheer, or just plain ugly. I had been here a thousand times before, but the tears still came every time. Trying to dress my uniquely-shaped body left me overwhelmed and exhausted. My grandma always told me that “Pretty is as pretty does”, but I wanted to feel beautiful on the outside.

That was long ago, and while the desire to feel beautiful on the outside hasn’t left, I have learned so much about beauty flowing from the love in our hearts.

Love.

As passionate lovers of Jesus, we are called to love God and love others.
What does this love for others even look like?
This love…
It’s patient.
It’s kind.
It doesn’t envy.
It doesn’t boast.
It isn’t arrogant.
It’s not rude.
It isn’t easily angered.
It isn’t selfish.
It isn’t irritable.
It isn’t resentful.

When we learn to love as Jesus loved (because, after all, He is love), then we strive to be patient and kind, to not envy or boast, to knock out our arrogance and rudeness, we pray away anger and selfishness, and practice not being irritable or resentful.

But unlike the hottest new trend, the cutest skinny jeans, or latest graphic mom t-shirt, we can’t just wake up one morning, decide we want to look beautiful on the inside, and instantly love everyone.

That kind of beauty takes time.

And while we strive to be more like Christ, that inward beauty comes naturally. It shows in everything we do, from the way we approach situations, to the way we react to bad news; from the way we treat the slow cashier, to the way we dress.

Yes, even the way we dress.

Ponder that for a minute.

When we love others,
we become beautiful on the inside,
which flows to the outside,
and comes across even in the way we clothe ourselves.

Think of the ten attributes of love mentioned above.
How many of those attributes do we as women struggle with when we get dressed every morning?
When love fills us to overflowing, there is no room to be envious of the body our friend’s sister has.
With love, there is no room to boastfully dress for others by trying to show off our fleek style. Dressed in love, there is no room to arrogantly show off the features of our body that we love the most or feel the most proud of.

We will never perfectly “wear” these attributes of love.
But because of our love for Jesus,
and our desire to love others because of Jesus,
we should never be content with where we are.

Like finding pleasure in shopping for new threads, our passion to reflect Christ should take up closet space in our hearts. When we lean into His love, we reflect Him clearer, which makes our hearts more beautiful. The more beautiful our hearts become, the more that beauty will overflow into our outward appearance!

Our love for Jesus directly reflects our beauty!
Our love for Jesus directly reflects how we dress!
That is beautiful, and that…that is love.

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Safe Week One! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme? Here’s a link to all past studies in Beauty!

Beauty Day 7
Strong: Digging Deeper

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Curious as to why we Dig Deeper?
Here’s Why! 

The Passage

Looking for yesterday’s Journey Post? Check out Strong!

1 Peter 2:9-10 English Standard Version (ESV)

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

My Questions

1) What does the word “but” indicate in verse 9?

2) What does Peter mean by a “chosen race” and a “royal priesthood”?

3) What does this passage say is the reason we’ve been called out and set apart?

The Tools

A trip to www.studylight.org is in order here.
We will get super cozy with this site as we study Scripture together!
Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom!
It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse?
Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage?
Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

The Findings for Original Intent

1) The word “but” is a linking word that indicates a contrast between what comes before and what comes after. We need to look back to the previous verses to find out what is being contrasted. In verses 7 and 8, Peter describes those who do not believe (i.e. non-Christians) as a people who stumble because they rejected Christ and they disobey the word. Then we see the contrast between nonbelievers and us—a chosen race, a royal priesthood, holy, a people for his own possession.

2) When we hear the term “chosen race” we might assume Peter is talking about the Jews, since we know that they were God’s chosen people, and 1 Peter was written to Jewish people who had been scattered throughout the Roman world. However, in verse 7, Peter mentions that it was Jews who rejected Christ. So now, a chosen race has a new meaning—all believers, Jew and Gentile, who have put their faith in Christ. This new “race” isn’t based on bloodlines, but on a common faith. Likewise, the Jewish audience would have understood what it meant to be a priesthood (check out Exodus 19:6), but now this term applies not to Jews based on birth, but to believers based on faith. We are royal because our Father is the king, and we are priests because we have been granted direct access to His presence and are all called to a life of sacrifice and worship!

3) Verse 9 tells us who we are—a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession—and then it tells us our purpose. We are set apart from nonbelievers so that “we may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” The reason God saved us is to bring glory to Him by proclaiming all He has done for us! We were made to be God’s people, we have received mercy, therefore let us praise Him and proclaim Him!

Some Applications for Our Everyday Lives

1) There is a contrast between nonbelievers and believers. We are to be set apart! Does my life look different from the non-Christians around me? This is more than just legalistic dos and don’ts. Am I different in terms of my affections, my priorities, where my hope lies, my motivations, and as a result, my behavior?

2) The kingdom of God transcends race, family, and nation. Am I seeing all I have in common with other believers, regardless of their skin color, their socioeconomic status, their background, or what language they speak?

3) Lord, you have given me so much that I don’t deserve. You have called me out of darkness and into marvelous light. Please help me to be what I am—holy. And may I never neglect to proclaim your excellencies to the dark world around me!

We’d love to hear how God challenged you through today’s Journey Study!
Share your thoughts, comments, and questions with the GT Community!
Can we pray for you? 
Looking for faith stories?

Want To Try It For Yourself?!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read through it (always more than a verse or two).
3) Write down your questions as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers.
Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes
(click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and
embrace the fullness of God in your everyday!

Share Your Thoughts with the GT Community!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Beauty Week Two! Don’t miss out on the discussion – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme? See all past studies in Beauty!

Beauty Day 6
Strong

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Proverbs 31:10-31
1 Peter 2
Ephesians 6:10-18
2 Corinthians 10:3-5

strongA massacre.
Scores of people murdered.  Even more wounded.
Horror.  Anger.  Outrage.  Fear. Isolation.

Small words that do little justice to the ocean of virulent emotions gripping so many in the United States after a violent nightmare unfolded in Orlando in June. Regardless of differing perspectives, world-views, and political lines, a few truths stand alone in the wake of tragedies like the Orlando shooting, like September 11th, and other acts of violence across our nation.

Lives were taken.  Cut short.
Hearts left beating are now broken and bleeding.  Stuttering along, they will feel out their new, grief-colored cadence, as they attempt to reconcile with a new reality that does not include a loved one.
Regardless of location, color, creed or lifestyle, we are all affected by human tragedy.
As we should be. But does beauty play a role here?

In studying Proverbs 31 and the traits of a godly woman, I keep returning to this question:
What do strength and dignity look like in the face of violence and ugliness?

I know what they don’t look like.
They don’t look like judgment.
They definitely don’t look like apathy.
They don’t look like an advantage in a political chess game.  

But what do they look like? Tangibly, what do strength and dignity look like in the face of tragedy when values are also at play? How do we put on Christ’s beauty when we strongly disagree, when our prejudices rise up?

Strength and dignity look like love and respect.
They look like empathy.
They look like compassion for the hurting and broken.
They look like Jesus, Almighty with skin on, because that’s Who we follow.

Easy to say, but in practice, it’s not always so simple, especially when emotions run high and battle lines are drawn. Whether it’s between groups of people or individual relationships around us, we as Christ-followers, are called to love beautifully and genuinely as we are clothed in His dignity and strength.

I am struck by the psalmist’s wording, “…she dresses herself with strength…”, and am drawn to Ephesians 6, where I am reminded that our struggle is not against flesh and blood (other than perhaps our own), but against the spiritual forces of evil.  We aren’t required to be strong on our own because He is strong for us.  Instructions for clothing ourselves in His strength are clearly outlined:

Put on the full armor of God, that we might stand firm.
Pray at all times in the Spirit.

We don’t have to feel helpless to love others, to put on beauty, or to respect people we don’t agree with, when we remember these words and put His instructions into practice.  When we are wearing His armor of truth, righteousness, peace, salvation and His Word, we will act and speak as ambassadors for our Jesus.
His Word will be in us, and His love will be our language.
Now more than ever, we must press in, drinking His words and cultivating our relationships with Him
so we can wear His beauty with bold love!

As we begin to walk in His strength and acknowledge our identity as one of His chosen people, dignity becomes a natural byproduct of that obedience.  Often the idea of having dignity is mistaken for being prideful or arrogant of oneself, when in reality, dignity is acknowledging who we are and respecting that identity.  When we acknowledge who we are (a chosen people, a royal priesthood, charged with carrying the love and Word of our Father to all) and begin to walk in that identity, we begin to respect ourselves (and those around us) through our words, actions and lives.

As we’ve walked through tragedies and witnessed hate crimes and random shootings… we must remember that these are the opportunities for beauty and grace to be made known in us! Not in our power, but in the One who makes us Beautiful in His Strength!

Lord, help us to put on your full armor every day.  Help us to pray continually, and to remember that no matter the name or face man pins to the evil we see, our battle is not with flesh and blood.
Father, heal our land.
Heal our relationships.
Heal our hearts.
Make us live out Beauty in a world of Broken, as we rely on Your Strength!

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
Sign up to receive every Journey Study!

Join the GT Community and share your thoughts!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Beauty Week Two! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme? Here’s a link to all past studies in Beauty!

The GT Weekend – Beauty Week One

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The GT Weekend

At Gracefully Truthful, weekends aren’t for “checking out”.
Use this time to invite the Almighty’s fullness into you life in a deeper way!
Saturdays and Sundays are a chance to reflect, rest, and re-center our lives onto Christ. Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with other women in prayer, rest your soul in reflective journaling, and spend time worshiping the Creator who longs for intimacy with each of us!

Journal With Us!

Journal Prompts

1) This week we looked at 3 Enemies of our Beauty: Comparison, Pursuit of Flawless, and Ourselves. Which area do you struggle with the most? What specific things make you feel threatened the most?

2) Name some ways you struggle with being secure in Christ. Pray over these things and ask Christ to renew your mind and ground you in His truths!

3) Where have you seen His grace cover your imperfections? Be specific, then praise Him for that!

Worship In Song

Music Video: Jason Gray’s “Who I Am to You”

Pour Out Your Heart

Jesus, the list of places I feel not enough could stretch for miles or encircle the sun! Not enough to my kids, not enough as a woman, not enough as neighbor and friend, not enough in my marriage. How I need Your constant reminder of truth that You are *my* enough! When I am weak, then You have a stage to display Your strength through me! Make my heart humble to give my weakness over to Your greatness that I may find rest instead of working so hard trying to be more.

Thank you for the ways You have already covered my weaknesses! I see you showing up and helping me give grace to myself when my “to do” list doesn’t get done. Thank you for helping me re-adjust my priorities to focus on what’s really important instead of my own insecurities. Keep shaping me to be more like You, my Savior!

Pray With Us!

In everything, with praise and thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God!
Click here to comment and pray with the GT Community!
Want to connect with a GT Partner?
Send your prayer request to prayer@gracefullytruthful.com
We are committed to praying over and walking with you!

Journey With Us

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What were your thoughts from the GT Weekend?
How were you drawn near to the Father and encouraged in your faith?
Share with the community and encourage other women!

Beauty Day 5
Never Enough

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Ephesians 2:1-10
Isaiah 64:5-7
Ephesians 1:3-14

img_4450“Your smile isn’t right”
“Your hands are shaped wrong”
“How are you so stupid”
Pencils thrown in my direction.
Fury on his face.
Household items hurled angrily.
I was an un-ending disappointment to my father.

The verbal and emotional abuse that poured from my earthly dad as a child and teenager, rang in my ears into adulthood, tightening its grip on me. Those words were the only soundtrack I could hear. The chorus to every song sank its chords deep into my soul,
“You are not enough. You are not enough. You are not enough.”

The song is much quieter now, even silent the majority of the time, praise Jesus! I’ve walked through a lot of rebuilding and practiced listening to God’s truth over my dad’s lies, but even as I type these phrases, my hands shake, my heart-rate speeds up, and my body literally trembles with old fear.
I am not enough…. The haunting rhythm beats again.

For the vast majority of my life, I fell prey to this deadly song and I ran from it as intensely as I could. I became an over-achiever. I hated leaving things undone. I was forever looking over my shoulder, waiting for punishment. I berated myself incessantly. Everyone was against me (in my skewed perception). I had become my own worst enemy and I couldn’t look in the mirror without seeing flaws, both big and small.
I lived in constant fear knowing that I would never be enough.

Never pretty .
Never wearing the right clothes.
Never confident.
Never smart.
Never attracting the right kind of people or having the “fun friends”.
Never truly good, outside or inside.

But then, oh gloriously, like the first rays of dawn spilling into a darkened sky, I began to understand the gospel.

“As for you, you were dead in your trespasses and sins.”
I had been right. I was not enough.
“And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

I never had been enough.
None of my strivings to reach “good enough” would ever get me anywhere. I was the hamster spinning on his wheel.
But the gospel doesn’t end there; that’s just the beginning because….
Jesus is enough!

Paul goes on to say in Ephesians, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our sins, made us ALIVE together with CHRIST, for it is by grace you have been saved.”

Oh the bliss, the sweet joy that began to sing satisfaction into my heart!
I was not enough, nor never would be, but Jesus was and always will be.
I could stop beating myself up to be more!

I talk to my daughters about the three enemies of their beauty because I face them all the time. Whether it’s battling the image of being flawless, fighting the urge to always compare ourselves to peers, or combating our own criticisms, the enemies of beauty are relentlessly pursuing a treasure we are too quick to relinquish.
Sisters, we must stop allowing the enemy of ourselves to defeat our beauty!

It took time, it took grace, it took intentionally listening to the voice of truth, but
when Jesus became my sufficiency, He transformed my beauty.

I could look confidently in the mirror again.
I could enjoy myself, my body, my abilities, my thoughts, my smile, my face, and my hands.
I was beautiful,
not because I was enough,
but because my Heavenly Father was all-sufficient

And more than just the physical, my inner woman grew in graceful beauty as well.
I became friendlier, less judgmental of myself and others, I stood on the truth of who I was in Christ and I wanted others to have that foundation too. Eventually, ministries flourished, my marriage was renewed, and the Lord even grew this GT Community from the strength that was mine in Him.

Restoring our beauty can start by shifting the focus from us onto the only One who could ever be enough.

You Are Beautiful Because Jesus Is Enough!

Ready for more? Dig Deeper!
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Don’t miss today’s Digging Deeper!     And we’d love to hear your thoughts from today’s Journey!    Comment Here!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Beauty Week One! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Click the above image for today’s Digging Deeper!

Looking for other journeys from this theme? Here’s a link to all past studies in Beauty!

Beauty Day 4
Flawless: Digging Deeper

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Curious as to why we Dig Deeper?
Here’s Why! 

The Passage

Looking for yesterday’s Journey Post? Check out Flawless!

Matthew 11:28-30 English Standard Version (ESV)

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

My Questions

1) What is the word “yoke” referring to?

2) What is causing Christ’s original audience to be heavy laden?

3) How does Jesus’s yoke give our souls rest?

The Tools

A trip to www.studylight.org is in order here.
We will get super cozy with this site as we study Scripture together!
Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom!
It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse?
Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage?
Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

The Findings for Original Intent

1) The Greek word translated “yoke” is zygós. A Bible dictionary tells us that it can either mean a literal yoke, like one a pair of oxen would wear, or it can figuratively represent a heavy burden. Obviously, the figurative meaning is the one used here. Further study of the word “yoke” tells us that it was a common Jewish metaphor for the obligation to the service of the law.
2) The Old Testament law was a good thing—given to the people to show God’s character and point out the seriousness of sin. But over the years, the Pharisees had become legalistic, requiring not only adherence to the OT law, but adding on their own made-up rules and traditions, and completely missing God’s heart in the process. Check out a cross-reference, Matthew 23:4: “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,[a] and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.” The Pharisees were Israel’s teachers, and they were teaching the people only that they could never measure up. What a heavy burden!
3) Christ tells us to come to Him, to take His yoke, and to learn from Him. The phrase “come to me” is used multiple times in the gospels, and is a call to faith in Christ. By trusting Christ for salvation, we take on Christ’s yoke—we begin to follow His commands. Cross-references bring us to 1 John 5:3: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” We can cease our striving, we can let go of the burden of perfection; we can find rest for our souls, when we realize that the work of salvation has been done for us! It’s not up to us to be “good enough” in Christ!

Some Applications for Our Everyday Lives

1) The yoke of the Pharisees was one of obligation. Christ’s yoke is one of joyful relief. Feeling heavy guilt with no way to overcome it? Those are lies from the Enemy! The Holy Spirit convicts our hearts while drawing us in to His embrace of love, fueling us with the power we need to honor Him! Praise God for providing a way for us to be saved and have our burden lifted! Identify some guilty lies you’ve been believing and run to the Father of Grace and Truth.

2) Even after we have trusted Christ for salvation, we can fall into the trap of adding to the gospel. We pile extra requirements on ourselves (sometimes due to others’ expectations) that rob us of the rest and joy of knowing we are saved through faith, apart from works. Or it can even look like judging other believers / non-believers according to a personal standard or ideal. This is legalism. Lord, help me rid myself of anything in my life that I am adding to the gospel both for myself and others.

3) Although these verses don’t promise that Jesus will make all of my problems go away, they do promise that I can find rest for my soul when I look to Him. Am I spending more time looking at my problems, my shortcomings, my flaws, my “have-to’s” than I am looking to Jesus and learning from Him? If so, what steps can I take to remedy that? Choose one area and pray over it, deciding to give it wholly to Christ!

We’d love to hear how God challenged you through today’s Journey Study! Share your thoughts, comments, and questions with the GT Community!
Can we pray for you? 
Looking for faith stories?

Want To Try It For Yourself?!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read through it (always more than a verse or two).
3) Write down your questions as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers.
Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes
(click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and
embrace the fullness of God in your everyday!

Share Your Thoughts with the GT Community!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Beauty Week One! Don’t miss out on the discussion – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme? See all past studies in Beauty!

Beauty Day 3
Flawless

3 Comments

Read His Words Before Ours!

Matthew 11:28-30
Psalms 23:1-6
Isaiah 40:6-8
Isaiah 40:21-31
Psalms 139:13-18

flawlessFlawless. 
I don’t know about you, but when I hear that word, my thoughts are instantly drawn to my physical attributes.  Maybe it’s because I’m a photographer, and so much of my job is portraying others in the best possible light.

Maybe it’s the selfie-stick culture that we live in.

Or maybe it is because I’m human.

Whatever the reason, rather than being drawn to character traits, admirable choices, honesty, selflessness, joy, or any other intangible attribute, my mind instead turns to the physical.

My skin tone.  Blemishes.  My weight.  The tiny laugh lines that have begun to form around my eyes.  My too-big nose.  The chin I wish was more slim.  The few gray hairs that I find from time to time.  The way one of my eyes looks bigger than the other.  I am currently in my third trimester, so I can’t even see my feet right now, but I know they are rough and not very pretty.
I have recently realized that the less quality time I spend with God, the more I begin to focus on my physical attributes.
I don’t generally consider myself to be an insecure person, but lately I am so easily convinced that I’m not (thin enough, young enough, outgoing enough, pretty enough…)  And I know that directly coincides with the pace our lives have set lately and that I have not been making as much time for God lately.

I’m not (and never will be) flawless.
Yet so easily I forget that I’m not called to be flawless.
I’m called to be humble.
Broken.
Loving.
Kind.
Patient.
Obedient.
Faithful.
Not flawless.

Battling the three enemies of our beauty is a challenge best accomplished when we turn our gaze to Christ, His word, and how He views us instead of our own perspective.

We are each fearfully and wonderfully made.
God doesn’t make us haphazardly.
He takes great care when designing each of us, and He makes no mistakes.
The little wrinkles and gray hairs that trouble me?  He placed them there as He bestowed wisdom and discernment upon me.
My eyes? He gave them to me so I could see others with His vision and heart.

And the more time I spend with Him, the more He shares His heart with me.
How He sees me.  
His heart for others.
And He shapes my heart to mirror His.
I would much rather reflect Him than my own intentions!

As I write this, tomorrow is the seventh anniversary of my wedding to my husband.  This past weekend, we were blessed to go on a date night, and I dressed up and wore full makeup for the first time in…  I honestly couldn’t tell you how long!  With two toddlers and a new Tiny that will arrive soon, I do not always get the chance to style my hair or apply full makeup.  (Let’s be honest.  If I make it out of the house with children fed, all our belongings in tow and without some form of bodily excrement on me I feel like it’s a win.)  I was so excited to spend some alone time with my husband – it was ridiculous!  It took us a while to figure out what to do, and we spent the entire drive there talking – without interruptions!  It’s amazing to me how much having one’s undivided attention will do for a relationship.  Even if it’s just one date night every few months.

I can’t help but recognize that the same is true in my relationship with God.  When I fail to plan and make time to spend in prayer and listening to Him, my spirit hungers for that fulfillment.  Peace.  Joy.
I miss basking in His fullness.
Of course, He is always there, but when I am not making the commitment to just be present, my spirit is affected.  I hunger for those things, and when I am not spiritually fed I unintentionally find myself searching for validation and fulfillment elsewhere.
And this world does not have the things that will satisfy me.  

No matter how busy, hectic and overwhelming life can be, I need to focus on spending time resting in Him.  He is the only One that can restore my soul and satisfy my spirit, and His thoughts about me are far more precious than I can even comprehend.

Regardless of what the world may tell me, He is the only One that is flawless.

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Beauty Week One! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme? Here’s a link to all past studies in Beauty!

Beauty Day 2
Battling for Beauty: Digging Deeper

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Curious as to why we Dig Deeper?
Here’s Why! 

The Passage

Looking for yesterday’s Journey Post? Check out Battling for Beauty!

Ephesians 4:17-24 English Standard Version (ESV)

17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

My Questions

1) Who is Paul referring to when he says “Gentiles” in verse 17?

2) What are the characteristics of the way the Gentiles walk and what is the cause?

3) What does it mean to be “renewed in the spirit of your minds”?

4) According to these verses, how do we go about putting on the new self?

The Tools

A trip to www.studylight.org is in order here.
We will get super cozy with this site as we study Scripture together!
Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom!
It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse?
Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage?
Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

The Findings for Original Intent

1) Although “Gentiles” often refers simply to non-Jews, here we know that this letter was written to the church in Ephesus—a church made up of non-Jews. So “Gentiles” here is not a term referring to race or ethnicity; it is a spiritual term. It refers to non-believers.

2) Non-believers minds are futile, their understanding is darkened, they are alienated from God, they are ignorant and callous, greedy, impure, and given over to sensuality. To sum it up, they can’t think correctly and they act selfishly. Verse 18 tells us that this is because of their hardness of heart. This is exactly where everyone is without the power of God in their hearts. None of the “good” is possible without Jesus!

3) This phrase deals with how we think—after all, that is what the mind is for! It also mentions the “spirit” of our minds, which goes beyond simply our human capacity to think and brings in the spiritual element. A renewed mind is one that thinks spiritually, rather than in the futility of thinking that belongs to those who don’t know Christ. Cross-references take us to Romans 12:2, which says “be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern the will of God.” In Psalm 51:10, the Psalmist asks God to renew a right spirit within him. It seems that by seeking after God, yearning to know Him better through His Word, and by asking Him, He will renew our minds through the Holy Spirit within us.

4) There are three commands here: 1) put off the old self, 2) be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and 3) put on the new self. The old self is characterized by corrupt, sinful desires. The new self is characterized by righteousness and holiness. Renewing our minds is how we get from the old self to the new self. But verse 21 contains the key: “you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus.” Study Jesus! He is the truth! And the truth leads to a renewed mind, which leads to putting on the new self.

Some Applications for Our Everyday Lives

1) This passage tells us the way Christians live in contrast to the way non-believers live. There is a big difference! Does my life reflect this difference? Could a non-believer notice a difference between the way I live and the way they live?

2) We see that the non-believer’s behavior is a result of their messed-up thinking, which is a result of their hard hearts. Christians’ behavior also follows our thoughts, which also follows our hearts. Lord, please give me a soft heart, and help me to quickly repent when I harden my heart toward you!

3) Although we have been given the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), it is easy to slip back into our old way of thinking, and sometimes, we don’t even recognize it. Pray this week that you will be able to discern when your thoughts are futile, rather than spiritually renewed. (Hint—those thoughts of comparison that we read about yesterday are pretty futile!)

4) If truth is what renews my mind, is there something untrue that I need to quit listening to? What am I doing to saturate my mind with the truth?

We’d love to hear how God challenged you through today’s Journey Study! Share your thoughts, comments, and questions with the GT Community!
Can we pray for you? 
Looking for faith stories?

Want To Try It For Yourself?!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read through it (always more than a verse or two).
3) Write down your questions as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers.
Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes
(click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and
embrace the fullness of God in your everyday!

Share Your Thoughts with the GT Community!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Beauty Week One! Don’t miss out on the discussion – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme? See all past studies in Beauty!

Beauty Day 1
Battling for Beauty

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Genesis 1:26-31
Genesis 3
Ephesians 4

typorama (10)My daughter held up her phone at arm’s length and snapped the picture of us then turned it around to inspect her work. She commented on our hair and smiles and how happy we looked, but all I could see were extra baby pounds, wide arms, and my round face next to her sweet countenance. I cringed inside.

I sat on the pool steps splashing with my 1 year old and encouraging my 4 year old to go all the way under the water when I saw her. Basketball-baby-belly with skinny arms and fluid legs, sporting a cute two-piece that showed off her glowing baby look while she played with her young daughter. Adorable.

A random Wednesday found me quickly running into the grocery to grab something, anything, for a family dinner. With children in tow, my hair in a sloppy ponytail, and no makeup, I could only imagine how I looked when I ran into one of my sweet friends. We swapped dinner ideas and bantered about kids’ activities, but I walked away feeling one thing: pressure. My friend has a busy life too, kids in all directions,
but she looked cute.

I tell my daughters as they get older and walk into their pre-teen years that there are
three prowling enemies to their beauty both outward and inward.

First, our peers and the pressure that comes from comparison.
Second, our culture that demands flawlessness.
Finally, ourselves and own insatiable need to be enough.
We’ll look at all three this week together, but first we must see the fight for what it is, deadly lies vs. solid truth.

Like an enormous chasm draped in darkness, we fall headlong into the trap of comparison. We surrender the true perspective of our beauty while holding ourselves up to someone else in the process.
Comparison snares us with tempting thoughts like,
“Why her? Why not me?” and then plunges the deadly dagger into our Beauty by making us believe that somehow we are less than she.
We become so deceived into thinking that by comparing our weakest moments to another’s strongest points, we have become accurate judges of reality. We forget that the person we are comparing our self to is also a real person with a real past, a real present, and struggles all along the way just like us.

Comparison doesn’t always attack our hearts with the same strategy, of course. Sometimes it’s clothing, sometimes it’s body shape, or career, or children, or friendships, spouses, skills, or influence. Regardless of the battleground or our stage in life, the outcome will always be the same if we do not fight against it, leaving our hearts shipwrecked with emptiness, barren longing, and a gnawing dissatisfaction.
Because the Enemy of our hearts comes only to steal, kill, and destroy!

When sin first entered the wholesome beauty of creation, the result was death. Death to beauty, death to relationship, death to unity, death to perfect, and ever since that moment when Eve asked herself that tantalizing question, “Why not me?”, we’ve been drug into a war we weren’t intended to fight.

But, girl, we do not fight alone!
In that instant when death pervaded the perfect, the Creator set in motion His plan to win back our hearts and restore our beauty.

We let Christ fight for us when we grip the truth of who He says we are instead of grasping at lies and expecting them to satisfy us. We fight for our beauty when we look, as my daughter did, for similarities instead of differences; when we connect instead of compare.

Next time we wage war against comparison, my sisters, let’s hold unswervingly to the Father’s truth and dance confidently in the victory we hold through Christ!

I have adorned you with my image. (Genesis 1:27)
I clothe you with dignity and strength. (Proverbs 31:25)
I have bedecked you as a Bride with my salvation and righteousness. (Isaiah 61:10)
I have given you the gift of God inside you. (2 timothy 1:6)
I have given you a spirit of power, of love, and self-control. (2 timothy 1:7)
I have made you a new garment, fitted with purity and truth. (Ephesians 4:24)
I dress you with gladness and praise, planting you firmly in my strength. (Isaiah 61:3)
You are my bride, adorned in fine linen. (Revelation 19:7-8)
I Love You. (Isaiah 43:4)

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
Sign up to receive every Journey Study!

Join the GT Community and share your thoughts!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Beauty Week One! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme? Here’s a link to all past studies in Beauty!