The Mirror Lies

This picture is of my mirror in my room.

I'm sure you know all about mirrors.

They're the things that lie to us, telling us we're less than what we should be. Telling us we're fat. Telling us we are imperfect. Telling us we don't deserve love.

But the truth is... the mirror lies.

As much as I try to remember this... I forget. My mirror is right across from my bed, so every morning, I'm faced with... well, me. And I'll be honest: a lot of times, I don't like what I see. Sometimes, I downright hate it.

Part of the reason I haven't posted on this blog in forever is because it's so hard to believe that I really am beautiful. I've been struggling in this area a lot. I didn't feel like I should be talking about believing that we're beautiful when I don't even believe it myself.

I remember a particularly dark time a few months ago when I was listening to Satan's voice, not God's. When I'm listening to the loud voices of Satan and his lies, it's so hard to hear the still small voice of Jesus.

I felt worthless. Fat. And the biggest lie that Satan shoved down my throat was this: No one could ever love you. You'll never get married. You are not worthy.


That is totally and utterly crap. I know that now. But it's hard to see Satan's lies for what they are when he's got such a strong grip.

It was after this time that I put up those two post-it notes.

You are beautiful.
-God


No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. -Eleanor Roosevelt

And now, when I wake up every morning, I am faced with the truth - not lies.

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." 

John 8:32

Girls, deep inside you, you know the truth. The truth is:

you are sacred,
you are treasured,
you are loved,
you are His.

Hold onto that truth with everything in you. Proclaim it. Shout it from the roof tops. Embed it into every fiber of your being.

The mirror lies, but the Maker of the stars never will.

Don't be afraid to believe that you're beautiful.

Beautiful Art

“I grew up hearing everyone tell me 'God loves you'. I would say 'big deal, God loves everybody. That don't make me special! That just proves that God ain't got no taste.' And, I don't think He does. Thank God! Because He takes the junk of our lives and makes the most beautiful art.”

—Rich Mullins

A post that needs no introduction....

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL! 

Have you heard that yet today? Chances are, probably not, but if so, great! I'm glad that someone told you! You deserve to be told, every day!

And if you listen closely, you'll hear it coming from inside you. That's God speaking. Telling you that he cherishes and loves you more than anything in the world. How awesome is that?

Sometimes I think we don't realize. We know that Jesus died on the cross to save our sins, but we don't think about that in depth. He loved us. You. And me. He cherished and loved us enough to be brutally killed and hung on the cross and rise again three day later. 

Wow. 

John 3:16 tells us that God sent his only son to die for us. Come on, girls. How amazing is that? I think that we hear this verse, memorize it and don't really listen to the intensity of it. But it's so amazing. 

I'm going to post it here, and I want you to read over it and realize exactly how amazing it is. Read it more than once.

And know today that Jesus loves you.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." 

I AM Beautiful

I am going to be completely honest...I am constantly comparing myself to other girls. 'Not pretty enough', 'not smart enough', 'not tall enough', 'not skinny enough', etc. 


I was doing this just the other day while talking to Kylie. She - being the best friend that she is - yelled at me. 
"Ashley! I hate when you do that! You should never compare yourself to other girls! Stop doing it!" 
So I did.


I've grown to realize that every person is made just the way they're supposed to be. God made us all different so that we'd all be unique. It's not a curse, it's a blessing. 


If we all looked the same, we'd wonder why God made us the same. So my best advice for you is...look at yourself like you're a treasure, which is exactly what you are.


"For I am fearfully and wonderfully made." 

~Ashley

Why "Beautiful in Christ"?

Beautiful in Christ (BIC) is founded on the idea that everyone is beautiful. It sounds cliche, but it's true. You are beautiful.

I've had many days where I don't believe that I'm beautiful. It's hard to feel that way in our culture today, where everywhere we're bombarded by "fake" beauty. So what's a girl to do?

We have to listen to what God says. That's the foundation of everything else. Once we listen to God's voice and hear what He says, our thoughts will begin to follow. We have to believe we're beautiful.

Why?

Because Jesus says so.

We may not be perfect. But Jesus is, so we don't have to be. I once came across a blog. The URL was misspelled as "inperfection" rather than "imperfection." Upon further inspection, I noticed that someone had left a comment. This person commented and said, "I know you probably meant to type 'imperfection' in your blog URL. But I think the way you typed it is really cool, because we're in Jesus, and that means we're in perfection."

Jesus is beautiful. His love, his grace, and his mercy are beautiful. Christ has made us new creations, and therefore, we are beautiful.


That's the point of this blog. You are beautiful. Why? Because Jesus says so.

A Makeover

Hang tight - BIC is getting re-vamped! Ashley and I want this to be a place we can connect with girls who love Jesus and need to know that He is their source of identity. We want to share our thoughts here, vent about the lies the Enemy tells us, and encourage you with what God says.

So, hold on for the ride and sit tight - we'll be back really soon! :D

-Kylie

Have you ever....

....felt like you weren't beautiful? Felt like you weren't good enough? Felt like you're going through such a rough time you're sure you're never going to get through? Felt like hurting yourself would be WAY better than hurting someone else? Physically, mentally and emotionally?

There have been many times in my life when I felt the ways that I listed above. And if you are being truthful with yourself, I know that you have too. Sometimes it's hard to admit that we're angry, we don't want to tell anyone what's been going on in our lives, don't want to even think about what we're doing to ourselves.

I found a verse in 1 Corinthians that has really helped me through the times when I didn't feel good enough. Didn't feel like I was doing what was right; felt like the outside of myself wasn't good enough. God tells us that our body is His temple. One that we should respect, for Him. He bought us with a price and we should be able to learn to live with the outside of ourselves as we do the inside. I know that at times that can be hard, we all struggle with the fact that we think we're not pretty. Don't all girls go through that....like every day of their lives?
This is not the thing that we should be dwelling on. We should be dwelling on making our insides better and eventually that will go through to the outside, making us even more beautiful than we were before.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body."

~Ashley

How Beautiful is the Body of Christ

Romans 10:15
"How shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written,
How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace,
and bring glad tidings of good things." 

How beautiful, the hands that served the wine and the bread, and the sons of the earth.

  How beautiful, the feet that walked the long dusty roads, and the hill to the cross. How beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful, is the body of Christ. How beautiful, the heart that bled, that took all my sin and bore it instead.

  How beautiful, the tender eyes that choose to forgive and never despise. How beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful, is the body of Christ. And as He laid down His life.  We offer this sacrifice, that we will live, just as He died. Willing to pay, to pay the price, willing to pay the price. How beautiful, the radiant bride, who waits for her Groom with His light in her eyes.

  How beautiful, when humble hearts give the fruit of pure lives so that others may live. How beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful, is the body of Christ. How beautiful, the feet that bring the sound of good news, and the love of the King. How beautiful, the hands that serve the wine and the bread, and the sons of the earth. How beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful, is the body of Christ. 

                                                                       "How Beautiful" 

                                                                                 ~written by Twila Paris 


~Natalie

                                            

True Beauty Follow-Up

Kylie's post about True Beauty was something great to read. I loved to read through it, and see what everyone's different opinion of true beauty really is.

I have some Bible verses to go along with what Kylie said, so that you can get more insite on what we're actually talking about! 

Let your beauty not be external – the braiding of hair and wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes – but the inner person of the heart, the lasting beauty of a gentle and tranquil spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.
1Peter 3:3-4

I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.

1 Timothy 2:9-10

But the wicked will perish: The Lord's enemies will be like the beauty of the fields, they will vanish—vanish like smoke.

Psalm 27:30

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
       but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Proverbs 31:30

I hope you are encouraged by these verses, and think about where your beauty comes from. 

~Ashley

True Beauty

From Zion, perfect in beauty,
       God shines forth. ~Psalm 50:2

One thing I ask of the LORD,
       this is what I seek:
       that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
       all the days of my life,
       to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
       and to seek him in his temple. ~Psalm 27:4

 Out of the north he comes in golden splendor;
       God comes in awesome majesty. ~Job 37:22

It's the question that every girl has wondered at some point in their life -- what is true beauty? In the glamourous portrayal of  'beauty' that we get from movie stars and popular culture today, there isn't really a clear answer. As a Christian, I've heard numerous times that true beauty comes from the inside, and that it's your heart that counts. That's a very true concept, but as I thought about this, I wanted to approach this topic from another perspective.

I was fascinated when I read the above verses. I had never really thought about God's beauty before! But as I contemplated it, the more I realized how true it was.

Now, I know this may sound a little odd -- the idea of God being beautiful. But I don't think David, the writer of the Psalms, was referring to God's physical beauty. Rather, God is beautiful in His very nature. He's so perfect, so majestic, so infinite, that beautiful doesn't even begin to describe Him adaquately. He's beautiful not only because of His love, His mercy, and His compassion toward us, but just because He is God.

Here's something else for you to think about. Because we're created in God's image, we have His beauty too. We definitely can't have it on the infinite scale of His beauty, but because we are in Christ, we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). That means that we're beautiful too. God's beauty is amazing, majestic, and glorious. It's beauty beyond compare, and beauty that will never pass away. That's something I definitely want to have. What about you?

~Kylie

Rescue

 When Ashley posted her devotional earlier this week about Jesus coming to our rescue, this song immediately came to mind.

You are the source of life

I can't be left behind

No one else will do

I will take hold of You

I need You Jesus, I need You Jesus

My heart is Yours for life

I need Your hand in mine

No one else will do

Lord I put my trust in You

I need You Jesus to come to my rescue

Where else can I go?

There's no other Name by which I am saved

Capture me with grace

I will follow You

My heart is Yours for life

I need Your hand in mine

No one else will do

Lord I put my trust in You

This world has nothing for me (I will follow You)

-- Rescue, by Newsong

My favorite part of this song is the chorus. The part that really stands out to me is the verse where we're asking God to "capture us with grace". As girls, we have an inner desire to be rescued... swept off our feet... captured with grace. Jesus wants to steal our attention completely. He wants us to be totally focused on Him, as our Savior, our Father... and our Hero. Ask God to sweep you off your feet with His beautiful love. You won't be disappointed.


~Kylie

Jesus is my superhero

When I was a little girl, I wanted a superhero, to save me and take me to some faraway land, where he'd keep me safe, and I'd never have to worry about anything.
Now that I'm a little older, and a bit more mature, I know that will never happen. But I do have a superhero. 
"Who?" You ask.

Jesus.

It's as easy as that. Jesus, who lived a sinless life, died on the cross, for all sinner who walk this earth. He loves you enough to be beaten and hung on a cross.
Dying for our sins in something that I find, that's hard to comprehend. Why would Jesus do that for us? Why? Why? Why? 

Because he loves us. 

Jesus saved us from our sins, when we asked him into our lives. And him saving me from my sins, is way better than having a superman. 

Jesus is the only true superhero, because he saved us from eternal life in hell. 

And someday, we'll go to Heaven, and spend eternity with him there. And that's way better than a faraway land. 
John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him, will not perish, but have eternal life."

Jesus is my superhero. Is He yours? 


~Ashley


Oh, and soon, we'll have another writer joining us. We'll be adding Natalie to our group of writers ASAP! :)

The Beginning

Welcome to Beautiful in Christ! Our names are Ashley and Kylie, friends living on opposite sides of the United States. We have a heart for encouraging other girls in their walk with Christ and this blog was started for just that purpose. We also want to remind you, our readers, of what true beauty is, and how we are made beautiful -- through Christ.

On this blog we hope to post meaningful articles that make you think and bring you enlightenment, along with some fun stuff along the way. This blog is fully committed to God and we pray that He would speak to you through it. If you come away from this blog with anything, we hope it is this: Jesus loves us so much, and thinks we have value beyond compare.

We'll be getting this site up and running over the next few weeks, so bear with us, but in the meantime you can visit our blogs (Ashley's blog, and Kylie's blog). Or you can shoot us an email at daughtersoftruth [at] gmail [dot] com.

In Christ,
Ashley and Kylie