I'm often asked when I'm going to write my next book. In reality I've been in the process of writing a book on the life of Paul as encouragement for living with chronic pain and illness for probably close to 5 years now. Since Hannah's Hope: Seeking God's Heart in the Midst of Infertility, Miscarriage & Adoption Loss took me about 10 years to write, that may not be such exciting news because it tells you I still have a very long way to go!

What I hope is more exciting, what I would like to ask you to partner with me in prayer about as God continues to unfold His plan, is that two of my other blogs, both this one here on beauty and (now that I've gained more focus for what I want to do with this project) specifically Harvesting Hope from Heartache™, have becoming a launching pads for what I feel God is turning into my "next" book.

Yes, I'm continuing to work on the Given Me a Thorn too, but over the past year God has me focusing more on an exploration of the Fruit of the Spirit (a passage written by none other than Paul himself) through a series of articles I've been writing for Glory and Strength and my InnerBeautyGirlz blog. I've been working on a Bible study related to what He's teaching me and I've written much more than could be presented only in my articles, so I think God's growing a book out of all of this! :)

How does the Fruit of the Spirit tie in with Harvesting Hope from Heartache? I'm glad you asked. ;) It all has to do with sowing seeds, gathering fruit, and ultimately what Source my hope springs from. What better time to look to the Lord for help than in the midst of trials? I'm very excited to see how God is tying so many themes together in my life as He's teaching me through Galatians 5 this year! I pray that this book will be as much of a blessing to you as the journey has been to me.

It is my current goal to have enough of this study written and ready to present to publishers that I can begin the query process around the end of the year or in the very early part of 2012. Will you join me in specific prayer that God will give me His words to write and that this project will unfold according to His will and in His perfect timing?

If you would like to stay updated about my progress, I've just opened a new Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/HarvestingHope and would love to have you "like" me over there. :) If you don't do Facebook or would rather get updates via feeds, please follow my long-standing Harvesting Hope from Heartache blog directly. Feel free to pass these link along to your friends as well.

How Do You Feel?

You may know from my other blogs that chronic illness has been a part of my life for my entire adult life, and part of my childhood too. Given my interest in both beauty and in pain and illness support, I wanted to share this article National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week with you:

“You Look So Good!” To Wear Make Up or Not?

It's a thought-provoking look at why we wear makeup and how it makes us feel about ourselves when we do. Yes, it is written to an audience of women living with chronic illness, but it makes me wonder about all of us, our motives, and the emotions tied to the beauty choices we make. What about you? Please share!

Beautiful Faith

I've been guest-blogging over at Glory and Strength this year, exploring the characteristics that set apart my life if I'm striving to live for God. This month I tackled "faithfulness" and wanted to share a sliver of the article here...

“Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

If faith is about pleasing God, that's one intimidating order. At least the first step isn't too hard, simply believing that He is! The next step is not merely to believe there is a God, but to follow up on that belief by actively seeking after Him. A good test to see if I am pursuing God with right motives is to consider if my life is regularly demonstrating the nine character traits listed in Galatians 5:22-23 often referred to as the fruit of the Spirit. These qualities such as love, joy, patience and kindness signal to the world that God matters in my life.

Where I trip is in trying to live out a good life for God on my own strength. Have you ever felt the more you try to do things right, the more you kept blowing it, sometimes in bigger and bigger ways? If I am striving to follow God, shouldn't making right choices come easier with time?

To read more, please join me this month in Growing in Glory! :)

Intentional Kindness

I'm guest blogging on the topic of Inner Beauty as a monthly columnist over at Glory and Strength. This year we are looking together at characteristics that set a woman apart as a Christian, as found in Galatians 5:22-23.

Drop by Glory and Strength and click on "Growing in Glory" to find my latest reflections. This month we are talking about Not-so-Random acts of Kindness. Here's a little taste to get you started. (And don't forget to keep reading to the bottom of this post to grab a great discount and free gifts code for Affordable Mineral Makeup too!)

We all love a feel good story, like the one from Bloomington, Illinois, where 142 Starbucks coffee patrons paid for the customer behind them in the drive-thru line... This must be what it means to exhibit kindness through the power of God’s Spirit, right?

Perhaps random acts of kindness capture a small picture of God’s mission for His people, but really such actions only begin to scratch the surface of God-driven kindness. Obviously, there’s nothing wrong or unkind with blessing others in these random ways, but is that what it’s all about?

There are lots of good people out there who could easily offer random kindnesses for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with God. If I’m looking to grow deeper in my relationship with Jesus, what sets my actions and attitudes apart from any other philanthropist?

Please come read more about kindness here. In July I'll be tackling "goodness." :) I would love to hear what you think "goodness" means as I'm putting together my next article. Won't you please leave my your thoughts in the comment section here?

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Loveliness

I'm guest blogging on the topic of Inner Beauty as a monthly columnist over at Glory and Strength. For the next nine months we will be looking together at characteristics that set a woman apart as a Christian, as found in Galatians 5:22-23.

Drop by Glory and Strength and click on "Growing in Glory" to find my latest reflections. This month we are talking about love - not the roll-your-eyes mushy, romantic kind, but the real down-to-earth, loving-in-the-midst-of-life's-messes kind. Here's a little taste to get you started. (And don't forget to keep reading to the bottom of this post to grab a great discount code for Affordable Mineral Makeup too!)

Love goes beyond “live and let live,” but takes the next step. When I’ve been wronged (I’m not talking about abuse here, but the daily messes of living life with imperfect people), I can show my friend God’s love by not waiting for her to make the first move. I can offer forgiveness even before she apologizes... Laying down my life for someone means I am actively on the lookout for my friend’s best interest.

Galatians 5:22-23 calls these times when I allow God to lead my decisions, attitudes and actions, the fruit or evidence of God’s Spirit in me... I’m not going to do a perfect job at showing God’s love each time I have the chance. The goal is to keep practicing, keep striving to bloom with time and practice... I can ask God to help me see opportunities to offer love to others because of Him, and then lean on Him for the strength to love even when it’s hard.

Please come read more about love at Love Fruit then tune in again next month to reflect with me on how we can find true joy. :)

For more thoughts on love by By Ida Mundell of "Eat Drink and Be Jesus," check out Love is a Sacrifice on (In)Courage. :)

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My heart is in sharing beauty with women, first heart beauty, but also affordable, healthy ways to care for our physical bodies that God calls the "temple" of His Holy Spirit when we allow Him to live within us through grace. To this end I am happy to represent Affordable Mineral Makeup™ as a beauty adviser and to offer this high quality line of pure mineral products to my readers.

For a limited time [this offer expired 2/5/2010 - please visit "discount codes" to look for current promotions], take 20% off every Affordable Mineral Makeup™ purchase of $19.95 or greater, placed from www.InnerBeautyGirls.com when you use check out using coupon code:
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Please visit http://www.InnerBeautyGirls.com and click on the "shop" link to get started by viewing our catalog. (I greatly appreciate when my return customers remember to always come back and start at my consultant link so that the computer knows to credit me for your purchases.) Thank you for your business and support!

New You

Yup, it's that time of year again, the time when everyone starts saying goodbye to the past year and preparing for a "fresh start," piling up New Years' resolutions that will mostly be shattered before February even gets here. We hope to wipe away past failures and replace them with victories, but my friend, in our own strength, we can never find lasting change.

I know this blog has gotten a little soft in content the past year or so, mostly being a collection of advertising and sales links. I've been rather "burned out" on beauty blogging the past year, focusing on many health issues. Recently I've gotten excited about this blog again and want to breath new life into my posts here. I'm not promising anything spectacular or earth shattering, but I am hoping to refresh my efforts at deeper content this next year. I'm starting by taking this moment to really bring us back to the original heart purpose of this blog, my desire to bring glory to God as we celebrate the beauty He sees in us as His handwork.

As we revel in the joys of womanhood, what real change can we seek in the new year? If anyone reading does not know with certainty where you would spend eternity if you were to die today, let's start right there. This week we have celebrated Christmas, the coming of God to earth as a fragile Baby. If that were the whole story, it would be a sweet tradition and nothing more. Thankfully that Baby came with a purpose. "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10). Do you ever feel lost? He came to bring purpose to your life, and to mine!

Over 2,000 years since His birth, there is still more factual, historical evidence for the person of Jesus Christ than even remains many United States presidents. There is no question that He was (and is!) a real person, the question is what you believe about who He is? If you say He was a "good man" or a "good teacher" then I must challenge your beliefs. He claimed to be God! With this claim there are only three options:
- He either is who He claims to be (and thus, so much more than just a prophet or another good teacher)
- or He was delusional, truly believing Himself to be God and so deceiving not only His followers but Himself (and thus certainly not a "good teacher" I would choose to follow)
- or He was intentionally lying about Himself (and absolutely knocked out of the "good man" category).

Who do you say Jesus is? I say He is my Lord and Savior. The one and only Living God, who was tempted in every way as I am, yet lived a sinless life, being crucified to pay the death penalty for my own sins. Again, if that's the end of the story, it's a sad one indeed, but as promised from the beginning of time when Adam and Eve first made a choice for sin, He has power over life and death and the grave could not hold Him! It is in His resurrection that I find true hope and peace.

Still questioning? Then here's a realistic New Year's resolution for you. Challenge God to make Himself real to you in 2011! He promises, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13).

If you are looking for real, lasting change for 2011 and beyond, here's your answer. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here" (2 Corinthians 5:17)!

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what to wear

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV)

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.

Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God.

You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Romans 12:1-2 The Message

Beautiful Servanthood

In reading the story of the last supper this week, something jumped out at me. On the night that Jesus would be betrayed, tried and sentenced to crucifixion, right there in the midst of the culmination of the greatest mission He had been sent to fulfill, then and there He stopped everything to wash the feet of His apostles.

I often serve others in the name of Christ. I often try to accomplish big things for God. But how often am I willing to set my important agenda to the side to simply be a servant right then and there in the middle of my big plans?

Too often I brush aside requests to "play a game with me Mommy" as I'm busy rushing around to get out the door to my "important" meetings. When was the last time I pulled over to help someone with a flat tire even though it would make me late to church?

I am more likely to serve when it's convenient, when it fits in my time frame and well-laid plans without squeezing me uncomfortably. But in looking at Christ's example as he wrapped a towel around His waist just hours before He headed to the cross, I saw with fresh eyes this week that beautiful servanthood is the uncomfortable kind that I "don't have time for" and doesn't fit in my neat little schedule.

I'm praying that God continues showing me such truths, to "makeover" my heart as He helps me put them into practice in my life, blossoming me into a woman of beauty, inside and out.

Lace

It's the start of a new year. Many are making resolutions and plans for a fresh start. I must admit to doing my own soul-searching and reflecting, but in looking forward, I'm also looking back. 2009 was a hard year in many ways, but I'm thankful for the struggles God carried us through and rejoicing in the victories He has had in and through my life over the past year. If you want to more about these beautiful lessons, I would love to encourage you to visit God-Sized Dreams and Choosing Joy on my InfertilityMom blog.

Looking even further back, beyond this past year, even the past decade, I'm thankful for the beautiful gift of loving family and a heritage of faith. A tangible reminder of these gifts is the hand-crocheted lace I find around my home; a fragile framed doily crafted by my great, great grandmother, now hanging on my wall, a doily lovingly made by Rick's grandmother gracing a side table, a dresser scarf that belong to my grandmother to put a smile on my face as I stand before my mirror each morning...

Lace is a lot like life, fragile and complex and in need of a skillful Hand to craft it into full beauty. Sometimes stains come along that seem to mar what was beautiful, but when cared for with love, these scars become a beautiful part of the legacy.

So, beyond the turn of a calendar page, what's prompted these reflections today? Please allow me to introduce you to the new Affordable Mineral Makeup™ shade named Lace! This light, pearlescent shade of pink is a dainty color that's great on eyes. To make it brighter, it can be applied wet. A 5g jar can be yours for $7.79 at www.affordablemineralmakeup.com/innerbeauty.html

Lace