FW 20: A True Beauty
Here’s the transcript of today’s video.
Imagine for a minute the most beautiful woman you can think of on the big screen. When I was little I thought it was Zsa Zsa Gabor (even though I hadn’t seen any of her movies!), and Gene Tierney.
Now, imagine being her daughter. But instead of being a smaller, beautiful version of her, you’ve inherited all of your dad’s features and seemingly none of your mother’s. Can you imagine living in that beauty’s shadow, and being a clumsy, unattractive adolescent, all long legs and arms? You might think, “Why bother? I am never going to measure up!”
Many of us feel this way in life today. We only see our flaws, not our own unique beauty points. We all know that beauty attracts men. But it isn’t what KEEPS them! This year we’ll be talking about both. And I want you to remember that how you ACT trumps beauty every single time. Personality and thoughtfulness of others matters so much more. A beautiful woman who treats people badly will ultimately end up alone.
Please stop watching television, and only choose worthy movies. Stop the magazine subscriptions that are filled to the brim with lies from the father of lies. The beauty industry preys on our fear of aging. Our obsessing on beauty and aging will not help, because it is a losing battle. Our hands and neck will belie any chemically-peeled or botoxed faces. In fact, many older actresses today now look like caricatures of themselves.
I want you to picture instead your grandmother when she was in her 70s or 80s. Why was she beautiful to you?
I can guarantee it wasn’t her beauty treatments. It was the Bible verse from 1 Peter 3:3-4 coming to life,“Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.”
How your grandmother treated people is what made her beautiful.
Right this minute, write down five things that you like about yourself. Stop speaking badly about yourself and your body parts and replace that negative self-talk with what you would tell a friend if she was disparaging herself.
My goal this year has been to neither neglect, nor obsess about, how I dress, my make-up, my hair color, and my weight.
Instead, I’m spending more time learning what looks best on me. My best colors. The best types of clothes for my body shape. My best hair color. The shades of foundation, blush, etc. that look best with my skin tone.
I’m also taking the time to cull my closet and dress nicely every single day for my family. Just because I’m at home is no reason to stay in my morning walking clothes (unless, of course they are cute as well as comfy).
Many days I get dressed in waves. We walk before breakfast, around 8:30 most mornings. My hair is brushed and I have on sunscreen and blush. When we come back home we have breakfast and the Bible. Then I change my clothes and put on the rest of my makeup and do my hair and put on my jewelry.
If we look a mess, people will treat us according to what they see. That is why we need to do our best to look lovely every single day, even if you think you won’t be seeing anyone that day. Inevitably, that will be the day you get surprise visitors. It’s also nice to catch a glimpse of yourself and not shake your head at your hair, face, and attire, but instead smile because your clothes and make-up compliment your skin tone. Wearing cheerful colors that look good on you can actually make you feel more cheerful!
On the flip side, if you are gorgeous on the outside but are sarcastic, complaining, and bitter on the inside, then your ultimate attractiveness to other people will be undermined. Your attractiveness is sustained by your character and how you act – not just what you look like.
Our facades crumble under our actions. I Samuel 16:7 reminds us, “For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Our hearts are always open and naked to the eye of God (Hebrews 4:13).
In fact, God sees all of our flaws and imperfections no matter how beautiful we are on the outside. We all need an inner transformation in our heart. The Holy Spirit can completely transform your life from within simply by giving Him permission. When you truly repent of your sins and accept Christ as the Lord of your life and your savior, a miracle happens as you are born again. He gives you a new heart and you are then worthy of being called God’s own daughter. As you surrender your life to His control, the Holy Spirit transforms you from within.
The Bible says that “the joy of the Lord is our strength.” When we find peace with God we become softer on the outside, with harsh tension lines relaxing, and on the inside, the peace results in a new gentleness in our interactions with others.
Your new look will include a lovely new radiance and ready smile. These are all feminine, fascinating ways that are quashed out of many women, but men will immediately resonate with your soft and quiet ways and your new inner glow.
Allow God to enter your heart by spending time worshipping Him every day through song, talking to Him in prayer, and being convicted of right and wrong actions in your life when you read the Holy Bible.
You can tell if you’ve kicked Jesus off the throne of your heart by what comes out of your mouth and if you feel bitter, versus if you have peace and quiet in your heart. Your words will reflect what is in your heart, as is mentioned in Luke 6:45b.
To be truly attractive you must acquire an inner, as well as an outer, transformation.
A new look within could be:
- not reacting so quickly in anger
- holding your tongue instead of having to give your opinion
- being more positive and uplifting in your talk to others
- ignoring, or not commenting on, ugliness around you (dead lawns, trash, old cars, etc.) Notice and comment on the roses instead!
- Compliment people more
- Cultivate a joyful attitude
- Desire to know Jesus better. Do you feel spiritually alive?
- Ask God to open your eyes to your faults, and how to change them.
- Don’t focus on your beloved’s faults. Instead, take your irks to God in prayer and ask Him how you can work around the things that bother you.
- Embrace a quiet prayer life throughout the day, as well as set times for prayers said out loud, especially useful if your thoughts tend to wander during quiet prayers or if you fall asleep. Kneel if possible while praying.
- Keep a prayer journal or list. Are your prayers according to God’s will? Or yours? Examine your motives. Expect answers to your prayers!
- Are you reading a Bible that is easy to understand, such as the New Living Translation (NLT)? Begin with the New Testament. Be sure to underline verses that speak to you!
- Tape a small one-page calendar to the back page of your Bible. Circle each day that you read it to see your pattern.
- Know your Bible-reading goal. Do you want to do a chapter each morning and evening? Or at lunch? Or 4 chapters a day?
- Sing praises to God each day!
A new look without could be:
- Discover the colors you look best in
- Practice good posture
- Define your eyebrows
- Incorporate purposeful loving movement each day to feel and look better. Do you feel strong? Do 2 to 20 minutes of morning stretches. Try doing it outside!
- Practice eating better to improve your health. Are you well nourished?
- Track your calories for one week or learn about Intermittent Fasting and “clean” fasts.
- Think of ways to cut down on snack food calories. You don’t have to give it up! Your goal is to slow down and enjoy the snack:
- Buy smaller soda cans, even if it costs more. You are saving your health and tummy size!
- Look at the serving size. Pre-bag cookies, pretzels, wheat thins, nuts, etc.
- Cut all the ice-cream sandwiches in half. You can still have the whole thing, but you must eat at the table, and then go back to the freezer to retrieve the second half. Slow your eating down.
- Use smaller sized dinner plates, like they did in the 1950s.
- Hide snacks from others in a box labeled “tofu.”
- Hide snacks from yourself out of sight, in a closet, or in a box that also contains a picture of your goals and encouragements.
- Good health comes from:
- Sunshine,
- fruits,
- nuts,
- grains,
- vegetables,
- water,
- gratitude,
- prayer,
- rest,
- exercise,
- and time for yourself.
- Try to take a 30 min walk twice a day, or 30 + stretching or 45 + 15 minutes of loving movement.
- Are your make-up colors still the best colors and type for your stage in life?
- Do you have an ailment you need to research to see if God has provided a cure in nature for?
- Are you getting enough sunshine?
Choose to take more time dressing:
- Are your clothes in good condition?
- Did you know that jewelry helps you look more feminine?
- Do your shoes look nice and go well with your outfit?
- What about your purse?
- Shari Braendel says you will always look more put together if the color of your shoes and your purse match your hair. Not matchy matchy, but complimentary.
- Sometimes our shoes need to be the color of our legs (or nylons) so that we aren’t being cut off in height at the ankle.
- Go through your clothes and evaluate:
- How well do they look on you ?
- How do they feel?
- Does anything stick out oddly?
- Do they itch?
- Are there any buttons missing or not aligned down the middle?
- Do shiny buttons on your tummy draw attention to your tummy?
- Is the cut of your sweater or where it hits your body wrong?
- Are your clothes too big, or too small, or just right?
- Remember that “your clothes say it for you.” What do your clothes say about you?
Reflect Jesus and others will be drawn to you!
May God bless you!
Janine
If you haven’t yet found the colors that look fantastic on you, try this resource: ColorEnalysis.com
I also wanted to mention this new resource I found: Sara at The Holy Mess talking about calorie density. She’s doing a series on it, so if you want to know more, go to her playlist. You can also find her at TheHolyMess.com. Here’s the link to her page on calorie density (transcript of the video).
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