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!
Showing posts with label hope. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hope. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
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!)
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. :)
------- Sponsorship Message and Coupon Code -------
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:
shadow211
With this code, qualified orders (over $19.95 and properly following instruction for submitting freebie requests) will also receive three free gifts with your purchase! Your gifts are one 5-gram sifter jar with your choice of product (up to a $7.79 value) AND two mineral samples of your choice (valued at $2.49 each). To redeem the free gift offer, please list your requested free product selections in your order comments (not added to your cart!) when you place your order. Promotion items cannot be shipped separately.
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!
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. :)
------- Sponsorship Message and Coupon Code -------
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:
shadow211
With this code, qualified orders (over $19.95 and properly following instruction for submitting freebie requests) will also receive three free gifts with your purchase! Your gifts are one 5-gram sifter jar with your choice of product (up to a $7.79 value) AND two mineral samples of your choice (valued at $2.49 each). To redeem the free gift offer, please list your requested free product selections in your order comments (not added to your cart!) when you place your order. Promotion items cannot be shipped separately.
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!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
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)!
-------------------------------
That's the heart of what this blog is all about ladies, the kind of content I want to bring you more of in the coming year! To keep this blog live, I do have to pay the bills too. So, here's a "word from our sponsor". ;)
This is a great one you won't want to miss. In a nutshell, you spend $16, take 25% off that total AND receive an additional $14 in free gifts! Keep reading for details. :)
Place any Affordable Mineral Makeup™ order of $15.95 or greater from www.InnerBeautyGirls.com from now through December 31, 2010 and receive 25% OFF your entire order AND Get *TWO FREE GIFTS* when you use COUPON CODE:
newyou1210
Free Gifts (while supplies last):
*New sleek black Mini Kabuki brush ($6.49 value) AND
*5g Sifter Jar with YOUR CHOICE** OF PRODUCT (Up to a $7.49 value)
(**Indicate your choice of product in your order comments.)
Use the coupon as many times as you like! Share the coupon with your friends and family on Facebook and email! Simply place your order through my website at www.InnerBeautyGirls.com and enter newyou1210 in the coupon code field when you checkout. Offer valid through 12/31/2010. Enjoy! :)
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)!
-------------------------------
That's the heart of what this blog is all about ladies, the kind of content I want to bring you more of in the coming year! To keep this blog live, I do have to pay the bills too. So, here's a "word from our sponsor". ;)
This is a great one you won't want to miss. In a nutshell, you spend $16, take 25% off that total AND receive an additional $14 in free gifts! Keep reading for details. :)
Place any Affordable Mineral Makeup™ order of $15.95 or greater from www.InnerBeautyGirls.com from now through December 31, 2010 and receive 25% OFF your entire order AND Get *TWO FREE GIFTS* when you use COUPON CODE:
newyou1210
Free Gifts (while supplies last):
*New sleek black Mini Kabuki brush ($6.49 value) AND
*5g Sifter Jar with YOUR CHOICE** OF PRODUCT (Up to a $7.49 value)
(**Indicate your choice of product in your order comments.)
Use the coupon as many times as you like! Share the coupon with your friends and family on Facebook and email! Simply place your order through my website at www.InnerBeautyGirls.com and enter newyou1210 in the coupon code field when you checkout. Offer valid through 12/31/2010. Enjoy! :)
Thursday, July 8, 2010
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
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Resurrection
I can think of nothing more beautiful than the Resurrection. From the horror of the cross, and the silence or the grave, to Victory and New Life.
May God meet you in the joy of Easter.
May God meet you in the joy of Easter.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Help Haiti, Win Makeup
Haiti. It's all over the headlines. It feels overwhelming, a world away and yet too-close for comfort. And we feel helpless. What can one person do in the face of so much anguish?
Jenny from Simply Delightful Designs knows that while just one person may not be able to do a lot, when we band together we can become a strong force. On her Hope for Haiti blog, many wonderful women and companies are donating items and services to this online raffle for proceeds to go to Red Cross and Compassion International. Raffle tickets are only $1 per entry and some of the prizes are valued at several hundred dollars! Along with my offer of $30 dollars worth of your choice of Affordable Mineral Makeup™ products the raffle items include everything from blogging conference tickets to photography sessions, books, jewelry and art. Such a great selection of prizes, and all going to a wonderful cause!
Together we can make a difference! Please visit Hope-For-Haiti.blogspot.com and share what you can. Every dollar helps, and you might win a great prize too! Thank you for helping bring a sliver of beauty to a part of our world filled with such pain today.
Jenny from Simply Delightful Designs knows that while just one person may not be able to do a lot, when we band together we can become a strong force. On her Hope for Haiti blog, many wonderful women and companies are donating items and services to this online raffle for proceeds to go to Red Cross and Compassion International. Raffle tickets are only $1 per entry and some of the prizes are valued at several hundred dollars! Along with my offer of $30 dollars worth of your choice of Affordable Mineral Makeup™ products the raffle items include everything from blogging conference tickets to photography sessions, books, jewelry and art. Such a great selection of prizes, and all going to a wonderful cause!
Together we can make a difference! Please visit Hope-For-Haiti.blogspot.com and share what you can. Every dollar helps, and you might win a great prize too! Thank you for helping bring a sliver of beauty to a part of our world filled with such pain today.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Columbus Day Mineral Makeup Discount!
Save 10% off your entire Affordable Mineral Makeup™ order through Monday at midnight (EST) 10/12/09 w/ code:
columbusday
http://www.InnerBeautyGirls.com
I haven't been posting to this blog as frequently as I would like. I've been pretty wrapped up with some personal health issues and in posting to my other blogs lately, especially this week with the news of the XMRV retrovirus and it's link to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Thank you for allowing me the time and space to process all of this news. The research is bringing me much hope, but there are a lot of emotions to work through as well!
columbusday
http://www.InnerBeautyGirls.com
I haven't been posting to this blog as frequently as I would like. I've been pretty wrapped up with some personal health issues and in posting to my other blogs lately, especially this week with the news of the XMRV retrovirus and it's link to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Thank you for allowing me the time and space to process all of this news. The research is bringing me much hope, but there are a lot of emotions to work through as well!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Beauty in the Shadows
Have you ever heard someone describe a time of trial as, “living under the shadow of [xyz]”? My shadows have included infertility, grief, depression, chronic illness and more. I'm sure you can plug in your own "xyz"s; maybe cancer, abuse, loneliness…
Job and the Psalmist talk of “the valley of the shadow of death.” Shadows impress a dark picture of gloom and heaviness in my mind.
Hope demands I give shadows another look... [To read the remainder of this article, please visit (In)Courage where you can also enter to win a copy of my book, Hannah's Hope.]
Keep scrolling here for a great list of verses that reflect God's sheltering shadows in my life.
-----------------
One way God seems to work in my life is through “theme word seasons,” specific life lessons He wants to drive home with me and situations that bring those themes to light over and over until I finally begin to grasp a small portion of what He longs to teach me. Wait resounded in our hearts through the loss of our business and the struggle for my husband to find a new career that truly fit, all in the midst of infertility's endless cycles of hoping and hurting, wanting and worrying, coping and crying.
Waiting has given way to new horizons, a series of theme seasons too numerous to list here, but with one of the most recent being Hope. And then to Hope, God’s spent this year adding the active pursuit of Joy to my life as well. Here are some of my favorite resources from these three themes:
Wait:
- Hannah’s Prayer Ministries offers support through fertility challenges, including infertility or the death of a baby at any time from conception through early infancy.
- A Graceful Waiting by Jan Frank
- The Wait Poem by Russell Kelfer (Truly beautiful book, with a written message even more powerful than the photos! This poem was life-changing for me and has been impactful in many lives.)
Hope:
- Out of the Valley Ministries, Inc. Postpartum Depression Support
- Grieving the Child I Never Knew by Kathe Wunnenberg
- Hannah's Hope: Seeking God's Heart in the Midst of Infertility, Miscarriage, and Adoption Loss by me, Jennifer Saake :)
Joy:
- Rest Ministries provides support in the face of chronic pain and illness, including National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week each Sept.
- Rain on Me: Devotions of Hope and Encouragement for Difficult Times by Holley Gerth
- The book of Philippians, written by the apostle Paul.
-----------------------------
Verses that reflect God's sheltering shadows in my life:
“I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.” Isaiah 45:3. (NIV)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
"But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me" Micah 7:7. (NIV)
"I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God..." Psalm 40:1-2, (NIV)
Job and the Psalmist talk of “the valley of the shadow of death.” Shadows impress a dark picture of gloom and heaviness in my mind.
Hope demands I give shadows another look... [To read the remainder of this article, please visit (In)Courage where you can also enter to win a copy of my book, Hannah's Hope.]
Keep scrolling here for a great list of verses that reflect God's sheltering shadows in my life.
-----------------
One way God seems to work in my life is through “theme word seasons,” specific life lessons He wants to drive home with me and situations that bring those themes to light over and over until I finally begin to grasp a small portion of what He longs to teach me. Wait resounded in our hearts through the loss of our business and the struggle for my husband to find a new career that truly fit, all in the midst of infertility's endless cycles of hoping and hurting, wanting and worrying, coping and crying.
Waiting has given way to new horizons, a series of theme seasons too numerous to list here, but with one of the most recent being Hope. And then to Hope, God’s spent this year adding the active pursuit of Joy to my life as well. Here are some of my favorite resources from these three themes:
Wait:
- Hannah’s Prayer Ministries offers support through fertility challenges, including infertility or the death of a baby at any time from conception through early infancy.
- A Graceful Waiting by Jan Frank
- The Wait Poem by Russell Kelfer (Truly beautiful book, with a written message even more powerful than the photos! This poem was life-changing for me and has been impactful in many lives.)
Hope:
- Out of the Valley Ministries, Inc. Postpartum Depression Support
- Grieving the Child I Never Knew by Kathe Wunnenberg
- Hannah's Hope: Seeking God's Heart in the Midst of Infertility, Miscarriage, and Adoption Loss by me, Jennifer Saake :)
Joy:
- Rest Ministries provides support in the face of chronic pain and illness, including National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week each Sept.
- Rain on Me: Devotions of Hope and Encouragement for Difficult Times by Holley Gerth
- The book of Philippians, written by the apostle Paul.
"Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies” Philippians 4:8-9. (MSG)
-----------------------------
Verses that reflect God's sheltering shadows in my life:
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” James 1:17. (NIV)
“I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.” Isaiah 45:3. (NIV)
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” Isaiah 9:2. (NIV)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
"but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" Isaiah 40:31. (NIV)
"But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me" Micah 7:7. (NIV)
"We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield" Psalm 33:20. (NIV)
"I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God..." Psalm 40:1-2, (NIV)
“I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.
He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light…
“He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead…
“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness…
“For men are not cast off by the Lord forever.
Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love…
“You came near when I called you, and you said, ‘Do not fear.’
O Lord, you took up my case; you redeemed my life…”
- from Lamentations 3 (NIV)
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Healthy Passion
It took getting really sick for me to stop and think about making healthier choices for my body. My chronic illness has taken a lot away from me, but it has given me new things as well, including different perspectives on life and even new passions. I would love to have you visit my Harvesting Hope from Heartache™ blog to listen to a radio interview I did yesterday. One of the things I talked about there was how chronic illness lead me to investigate natural beauty alternatives and ultimately to create this Inner Beauty Girlz blog. :)
http://HarvestingHope.blogspot.com/2009/09/crisis-chronic-2.html
http://HarvestingHope.blogspot.com/2009/09/crisis-chronic-2.html
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Beauty for Ashes
We all carry "baggage" in our lives. Maybe some childhood hurts or abuse, maybe an unhappy marriage or the longing for marriage at all when relationship just never seem to work out. For many Virtual Spa Weekend visiters it's infertility or the death of your baby. Whatever heartache you are facing, there's only one place to take your pain to have that trash transformed to treasure. Watch this powerful video...
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."- the words of Jesus, from The Message, Matthew 11:28-30
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Virtual Spa Weekend!
The first weekend in May, Hannah's Prayer Ministires (Christian infertility and pregnancy loss support ministry I helped launch nearly 15 years ago) will be holding a retreat in OH. There will be about 40 ladies gathered to encourage and support one another. The theme of the weekend will be "Beautiful In His Sight" and the guest speaker is Ginger Garrett, author of Beauty Secrets of the Bible (as well as a devotional book on infertility and several award-winning Christian fiction titles). I know it will be a wonderful, blessed weekend for all who attend!
Unfortunately, there are hundreds of women who are regular participants on the Hannah's Prayer Community Forums who are unable to attend for a variety of reasons (mostly, the prohibitive cost of travel) but would really love to be there. As the excitement builds on our Forums for the ladies who will be attending, the disappointment for those who cannot is growing as well. And so I'm going to be hosting a Virtual Spa Weekend here on my InnerBeautyGirlz blog from May 1-3.
This event will be open to everyone, but especially geared toward the ladies of Hannah's Prayer. I am looking for home-spa ideas, beauty treats and suggestions, guest blogger articles on beauty (with fun tips for our bodies, but also a focus on inner beauty), and product donations for drawings and give-aways throughout the weekend. Since my target readers that weekend will all be dealing with infertility or the death of a baby, I need to specifically avoid child-related posts and products (like using examples from motherhood in your stories).
Please share your suggestions for this event! Have a beauty topic you would like to write a guest blog about? Have a product you would like to donate as a give-away (and get your business featured in the process)? Have any creative ideas and suggestions for creating an at-home-spa experience? I would love to hear from you!
For instructions about how to participate in Virtual Spa Weekend and earn contest entries, check out the Early Bird entries post. :)
Unfortunately, there are hundreds of women who are regular participants on the Hannah's Prayer Community Forums who are unable to attend for a variety of reasons (mostly, the prohibitive cost of travel) but would really love to be there. As the excitement builds on our Forums for the ladies who will be attending, the disappointment for those who cannot is growing as well. And so I'm going to be hosting a Virtual Spa Weekend here on my InnerBeautyGirlz blog from May 1-3.
This event will be open to everyone, but especially geared toward the ladies of Hannah's Prayer. I am looking for home-spa ideas, beauty treats and suggestions, guest blogger articles on beauty (with fun tips for our bodies, but also a focus on inner beauty), and product donations for drawings and give-aways throughout the weekend. Since my target readers that weekend will all be dealing with infertility or the death of a baby, I need to specifically avoid child-related posts and products (like using examples from motherhood in your stories).
Please share your suggestions for this event! Have a beauty topic you would like to write a guest blog about? Have a product you would like to donate as a give-away (and get your business featured in the process)? Have any creative ideas and suggestions for creating an at-home-spa experience? I would love to hear from you!
For instructions about how to participate in Virtual Spa Weekend and earn contest entries, check out the Early Bird entries post. :)
Saturday, February 14, 2009
What's Eating You Up Inside?
Last night, the evening before Valentine's Day, I had the joy of sharing a bit of my story with some new friends. It was a mixed group of women including those who were single, divorced, married, with and without children, those who had lost children and probably more stories than I can imagine.
I wore my favorite red high- necked sweater. Over the sweater I wore a beautiful, large crystal-cut heart necklace. Under my sweater, unseen by anyone, I wore a second heart necklace, one of solid metal and inscribed with the words of John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
We started by talking about thoughts that came to mind when hearing the words “consume” or “consumed". Answers varied from eating and drinking to living in a “consumer-driven” society where we practices "consumerism" of material goods. I then asked for input about what kinds of things we can be consumed by or that consumes us. The first answer was “fire,” followed by more of an understanding of what I was getting at: all-consuming goals, passions, ideas, anger, fear, etc.
I then pointed to my crystal necklace and talked about the ways we can strive to look beautiful on the outside and reflect a good image to the world around us, just like the facets on this necklace reflect beautiful colors and light. To look at most of us you might think that we “have it all together.” But if I take off my necklace (as I did while saying these words) and hold it off by itself, we can see that all that beauty is just outward and that inside there is nothing there but plain glass. Sometime what we portray to the world is simply a disguise for the fragile emptiness we are feeling inside.
We all have different heartaches. Yours may be longing for someone to love or be loved by. It may be seeking fulfillment in an unfulfilling job. It might be trying to make your body look differently than it does in order to fill that void in you heart. For me it was a combination of infertility and losses, along with chronic health issues, that lead me to the point of desperation and even contemplating suicide. No one could see that lonely emptiness inside, but I knew it was there. I was consumed by the pursuit of motherhood and my feelings of failure as a woman because I couldn't get there. The heartache and grief consumed me every day and I felt abandoned by God because it seemed that He didn't even care.
But thankfully how I may "feel" about God doesn't dictate reality. Lamentations chapter 3 is a long book of heartache about all the things this author suffered. But hidden right in the midst of his complaints, he dramatically shifts gears for a few verses and boldly proclaims, "Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail." While I was busy feeling overlooked by Him, He had already been going out of His way to prove the opposite to me.
What is the value of something? It isn't really the cost of an item as much as it is what someone is really willing to pay. There are many things I don't buy because the price tag is higher than I feel the value to be. But God placed the ultimate value on me when He choose to pay the price of His son's life to prove His love for me! Many of us know the verse John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." God made this verse very personal to me in the midst of infertility when I realized that "God so long to call me His daughter that He allowed the death of His only biological son to pay the price of my adoption."
If you are feeling empty and fragile and wondering about God's love for you, He has proved it better than any knight in shining armor ever could. John 15:13 is engraved on this necklace (as I pull the second necklace out of its hiding place and let it rest outside my sweater) and states that "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." Just like this necklace is strong and solid and full of meaning, when I put my hope in God and trust Him at His word even when I don't "feel" Him there, He fills that empty place in my heart with hope.
” Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness…
For men are not cast off
by the Lord forever.
Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.“
-Lamentations3:21-23, 3:31-32 (NIV)
I wore my favorite red high- necked sweater. Over the sweater I wore a beautiful, large crystal-cut heart necklace. Under my sweater, unseen by anyone, I wore a second heart necklace, one of solid metal and inscribed with the words of John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
We started by talking about thoughts that came to mind when hearing the words “consume” or “consumed". Answers varied from eating and drinking to living in a “consumer-driven” society where we practices "consumerism" of material goods. I then asked for input about what kinds of things we can be consumed by or that consumes us. The first answer was “fire,” followed by more of an understanding of what I was getting at: all-consuming goals, passions, ideas, anger, fear, etc.
I then pointed to my crystal necklace and talked about the ways we can strive to look beautiful on the outside and reflect a good image to the world around us, just like the facets on this necklace reflect beautiful colors and light. To look at most of us you might think that we “have it all together.” But if I take off my necklace (as I did while saying these words) and hold it off by itself, we can see that all that beauty is just outward and that inside there is nothing there but plain glass. Sometime what we portray to the world is simply a disguise for the fragile emptiness we are feeling inside.
We all have different heartaches. Yours may be longing for someone to love or be loved by. It may be seeking fulfillment in an unfulfilling job. It might be trying to make your body look differently than it does in order to fill that void in you heart. For me it was a combination of infertility and losses, along with chronic health issues, that lead me to the point of desperation and even contemplating suicide. No one could see that lonely emptiness inside, but I knew it was there. I was consumed by the pursuit of motherhood and my feelings of failure as a woman because I couldn't get there. The heartache and grief consumed me every day and I felt abandoned by God because it seemed that He didn't even care.
But thankfully how I may "feel" about God doesn't dictate reality. Lamentations chapter 3 is a long book of heartache about all the things this author suffered. But hidden right in the midst of his complaints, he dramatically shifts gears for a few verses and boldly proclaims, "Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail." While I was busy feeling overlooked by Him, He had already been going out of His way to prove the opposite to me.
What is the value of something? It isn't really the cost of an item as much as it is what someone is really willing to pay. There are many things I don't buy because the price tag is higher than I feel the value to be. But God placed the ultimate value on me when He choose to pay the price of His son's life to prove His love for me! Many of us know the verse John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." God made this verse very personal to me in the midst of infertility when I realized that "God so long to call me His daughter that He allowed the death of His only biological son to pay the price of my adoption."
If you are feeling empty and fragile and wondering about God's love for you, He has proved it better than any knight in shining armor ever could. John 15:13 is engraved on this necklace (as I pull the second necklace out of its hiding place and let it rest outside my sweater) and states that "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." Just like this necklace is strong and solid and full of meaning, when I put my hope in God and trust Him at His word even when I don't "feel" Him there, He fills that empty place in my heart with hope.
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness…
For men are not cast off
by the Lord forever.
Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.“
-Lamentations3:21-23, 3:31-32 (NIV)
Thursday, August 21, 2008
My Two Newest Ventures
I've stared two new ventues this week. The first is a new blog called Harvesting Hope from Heartache™ at http://www.HarvestingHope.blogspot.com
My desire with this site is to offer encouragement and build a library of support/resource links for life's most painful seasons such as chronic illness, losses (job, friendships, plans/dreams, marriage, deaths), financial struggles, depression and so forth. The first two (oldest two) links share the story of why I feel led to start this page and the reason behind the theme of Hope Harvesters™.
My second announcement is that I have finally (after more than a year of consideration) decided to become a Consultant with Gurrlie Girl™, a line of Christian jewelry and fashion items. I love their many beautiful designs that let me share my faith in a quiet and confident way. They have an extensive offering of Scripture Bracelets with Bible verses incorporated into the designes, along with pendants, necklaces and other pieces offering cross, fish and other classic Christian signs. They also have many lovely pieces that are not obviously Christian, yet still beautiful. The prices are quite reasonable, with many pieces well under $20.
To view the catalog online or learn more, please visit me at http://www.gurrliegirl.com/consultants/find/info/?id=1136 - I'm currently looking for some catalog show hostesses and offer great hostess gifts!
My desire with this site is to offer encouragement and build a library of support/resource links for life's most painful seasons such as chronic illness, losses (job, friendships, plans/dreams, marriage, deaths), financial struggles, depression and so forth. The first two (oldest two) links share the story of why I feel led to start this page and the reason behind the theme of Hope Harvesters™.
My second announcement is that I have finally (after more than a year of consideration) decided to become a Consultant with Gurrlie Girl™, a line of Christian jewelry and fashion items. I love their many beautiful designs that let me share my faith in a quiet and confident way. They have an extensive offering of Scripture Bracelets with Bible verses incorporated into the designes, along with pendants, necklaces and other pieces offering cross, fish and other classic Christian signs. They also have many lovely pieces that are not obviously Christian, yet still beautiful. The prices are quite reasonable, with many pieces well under $20.
To view the catalog online or learn more, please visit me at http://www.gurrliegirl.com/consultants/find/info/?id=1136 - I'm currently looking for some catalog show hostesses and offer great hostess gifts!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
