She Walks in Beauty

She is elegant and graceful and her beauty is like the rarest of pearls. Her beauty is rare only because the deepest part of it lies in the depth of her character. It is rare because it is not flaunted for the attraction of men, for that beauty is shallow and self-serving and for that beauty it is not beauty at all. Her beauty is so awesome she doesn't even have to be physically endowed to be wonderfully attractive. She does not try to seduce or beguile because true beauty needs no help in honest attraction.

Grace leaps from her tongue like clear water from a beautiful waterfall. Her words are used to heal, to build up, and to edify. Her words are used to serve and cheer on and she is too important for games of gossip. She is confident on the days when her hair is not fixed to look its best and her make-up doesn't cover all of her flaws. Her humble confidence doesn't lie simply in what she looks like, for even on her worse days she knows who she is.

She is elegant and proud to be the entire woman she can be because she understands that genuine femininity has its own fragrance. She does not compare or compete with anyone because any truly confident woman does not need to. She does not have to be like anyone else, she celebrates her own individuality understanding that every beautifully created woman, like the different flowers, has their own aroma. She has her own spice and personality offers it's own flavor and she loves herself because she loves her God.

Her worship is true and flows from the vulnerability, sensitivity, and weakness that only the feminine heart has to offer. She does not flaunt her spirituality or her God given gifts or talents because she knows that she has them only to serve. She does not hide in her spirituality because she feels rejected, fearful, or unattractive. She simply worships because she loves her God.

This darling of a princess realizes that she is being raised to be a queen. She does not invest or spend herself just anywhere. A queen only gives herself to a king, so if any man wants a chance at having her at his side, he will have to hold the standard of a king. She will not allow her loneliness as a woman to cause her to jump into any man's embrace. A woman who does this has yet to know who she is, nor does she truly know of her inheritance from her loving heavenly father. She should not regret the emotional essence given to her by her bountiful creator. There is a compassionate sparkle in her eye and she gleams with potential. Her smile is as sincere felt as her pain. She can express her hurt just as well as she can express her joy.

Because she is truly beautiful she inspires respect without demanding it. She is clothed in humillity and attempts to clothe herself morning by morning in purity of heart. The heart of a godly man is being prepared to receive her as an invaluable gift. The tender hands of your heavenly father are delicately stroking the inner fibers of your being. He is changing your character and countenance because you are his glorious and beautiful inheritance.

--author unknown

This, to me, is an extremely elaborate version of all the Bible has to say about a woman of God. YOU are a woman of God! A very BEAUTIFUL woman of God. :) May you walk in this truth! And let it be known that I stumbled upon this on another blog a long time ago and found it saved on my computer. I regretfully do not know what blog it came from anymore, but please know these are not my words. However, this poem came from somewhere else before the blog, and the author is sadly unknown. Just had to make the disclaimer :)

"She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future."

-Proverbs 31:25, NIV :)

Process of a Pearl: A Glimpse Inside

In honor of completing the first two chapters and moving on to the third, I thought I would give you a taste of what the book entails. I understand the whole basis of a pearl may be a little cheesy, but the truth of God's Word makes this so valid and totally kills the cheesiness. There are not any Bible verses in this particular piece I chose to share, but it really is just a sum of what the book in its entirety entails. So let me know your thoughts and if you got anything out of this! I love feedback! :)

Pearls are the result of a process known as pearl cultivation. Though they look beautiful, it takes a long time to develop a genuine pearl. The beauty was not always a gorgeous piece of jewelry, but rather a simple bother inside the mouth of a clam or other shelled creature. Once the sand, laceration, or other bother is discovered, the clam begins the process of healing. This, dear reader, is how a pearl is created. Genuine pearls are rare and come from locations all over the world. They aren't even all round or white. The largest pearl in the world takes the shape of the inside of its clam! Some pearls are even brown, blue, or black. The whole rainbow can be displayed via pearls if you search long enough.

That brings us to the next truth about a genuine pearl—you have to go searching for it. Why? Because they are rare! However, people search for them nonetheless, because they know that a genuine pearl is worth searching for.

How does this relate to us as women in such a contaminated, or sin-immersed, world? Sin is an inevitable part of our world, life, and thoughts. However, it’s how you react to it that creates that pearl. There are three aspects being portrayed here:

1. Pearls are created via a process. We as women go through a process called life, meaning overwhelming joy—and inevitable hardship. How you react is what will either create a pearl, or create a deeper cut that can even lead to infection. How you react in response to life determines the true outcome of every situation you face.
2. Pearls are worth searching for. Though facing problems can be extremely hard or very emotional, facing the process and fixing it will only shape and form you more. Yes, you must acknowledge you have a problem and know how to deal with it, which we will discuss later in this book, but acknowledgement is the beginning of the healing process. You cannot finish something, or further develop into a pearl, if you have not even started the process. Therefore, when you finally see the mess clear up and the pearl forming, you will realize that you are indeed worth searching for. You already are in God’s eyes before your problems are faced and fixed, but even though God loves you the way you are, He loves you too much to leave you that way. Why? Because He sees potential. He sees the end result, because He ultimately is the one who finishes—He’s just waiting on you to start! God sees the pearl. He sees you as worth searching for.
3. Pearls are created when hardship abounds, and healthy action is taken in response to the situation. The pearl is formed only once the clam acknowledges the presence of the problem and identifies exactly where it is. The pearl is then created over time by the clam in place of the problem. I’ve heard it said that life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it. Basically, attitude is everything. Your reaction to a given situation will make or break you.

I encourage you to keep reading to discover what God has for you, whether that be triumph through healing for you or a friend, empowerment and newfound confidence in who God made you to be, or to understand your role as a woman in this world today. My goal is to refresh women with the story of their value and bring hope to the set of circumstances life has harshly handed them. You can walk through the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil. You are God’s daughter—a daughter of Love Himself. This, daughter, is a book of how healing from hurt creates beauty and unique, feminine strength. 

The Little Black Dress

I stumbled upon this rough draft that I never posted from late 2012. I thought I would share it with you all :) Be blessed!

In 2 Peter, it says that we are equipped for a life of godliness. We have everything we need to be women and men of Christ. Godliness is like the little black dress every girl has--an all purpose sort of garment. From godliness, many other character traits sprout. Those are the accessories. There is such a thing as being spiritually fashionable. And though I am certain this can apply to men as well, my call in this post is to young women everywhere. Are you "spiritually fashionable?" Are you taking hold of the equipment God has freely and already handed you?

You have been equipped, so walk in it! Walk in your feminism, walk in your calling, and most of all walk in the love of Christ! It is fun to be fashionable and wear cute scarves and fun jewelry, but altogether (and almost without saying) what makes the outfit is truly the "little black dress." Don't ever be without it! You are already equipped with godliness, so go for the gold because it is already yours! You are dressed to be blessed, and so are those around you--treat them that way!

How many times do we shed our "little black dress" of godliness and put on the raggedy clothes God wants us to throw away completely? So often I forget that I have been equipped with everything I need to live a kingdom-minded life to the full already. Other times I simply don't want to have it, because that means more responsibility. It comes down to realizing how much better your life will be, and how much better others' lives will be, as a result of you choosing to wear out your little black dress instead of your jeggings and V-neck or sweat pants and T-shirt (as comfortable as these items are...).

All in all, between the reminder of what God has already given us and God's tugging at my heart to continue in my passion (that He gave me), I thought I would share a little piece of it with you, dear reader. My prayer for you is that your understanding of what God has equipped you with would grow, your character would be purified, and that your little black dress would come back out of the wardrobe to be of use to you in the incredible amount of ways which it can be. :)

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire." 
          - 2 Peter 1:3-4

The "You've Got Mail" Principle

My favorite movie of all time is You've Got Mail. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan act so well together (hence, they have more than one movie of acting together!). This movie has heavily influenced my life. It is a movie that makes me think about my mom, as it is one of her favorite movies, and we have spent many hours together watching Kathleen Kelly and Joe Fox fall in love over a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils and a plethora of quirky remarks. I think my favorite part of You've Got Mail has changed over time, however. Originally, I just loved the dog, Brinkley. Eventually, I realized what a good reasoning for having daisies as a favorite flower (it's the "friendliest" flower!). I later truly appreciated the ending when I realized how romantic (and cheesy) it was. Now I watch the movie and see so much more than characters and a story line, though. I see concepts and symbolism and so much more than just a movie with a job well done in character creation and plot twisting.

In You've Got Mail, Joe Fox is the co-owner, along with his father, of a newly opening bookstore equivalent to a Barnes and Noble in New York City. A small, locally owned bookstore, the Shop Around the Corner, has been around for many years, its business passed down to Kathleen Kelly from her mother. Kathleen and Joe meet on a chat room, which they both claim they wandered into only as a joke (coincidentally at the same time). Never having met in person, they begin a cyber romance that causes them to want to meet. However, unknowingly each other's chat-life love, they are enemies in the business world and refuse to talk to each other outside of AOL. The two online lovers decide to meet, and when Joe finds out the girl of his dreams is Kathleen, he decides to play a "no-show" and comes in as her run-her-out-of-business foe. From this point on in the movie, Joe falls for Kathleen not only online, but in person, too. He does not reveal who he really is to her until the end of the movie, but I have come to see it as something so deep and so beautiful. It is a romantic comedy that accurately reflects so much of life aside from the perfect love and the living happily ever after scenario that every typical romantic comedy envelopes.

Anywho, I love the story and its irony. However, the bigger spark that has recently caught my attention in the film is this: there is a man and there is a woman. The man pursues the woman. He does not reveal his identity as her true love until the end, when the time is right and he was proved himself to her. He has waited for her to come to terms with who she is, what her purpose in life is, and how strong of a woman she is on her own. He has allowed her space to grow before he ever showed himself to be her prince charming.

So, to all my single ladies out there, be encouraged. There is a man who is waiting for the perfect time to show himself to you and to sweep you off your feet. In the mean time, you just work on being you and becoming the strong, capable woman God has called you to be. How can one be swept off their feet if they are not first employed by something worthwhile? If we were always on the prowl, paying attention and sitting, waiting...We wouldn't be doing. We wouldn't be on our feet to even be swept off of them.

Yes, I did just make a silly devotional out of a cheesy chick flick. However, I think it is important that single women waiting for their Mr. Right to come not forget that they have so much more purpose than to be someone's wife, girlfriend, or fiance. Each of us is called to change the world beyond "behind every great man is a great woman." We can be the great woman that just is a great woman. Singleness is a gift, and it is something special that we won't all have forever. In the mean time, for those who do hope and dream of being swept off their feet, remember to continue doing whatever you are called to right now. Otherwise....How can you be pursued and swept off your feet if you are sitting and waiting?



"Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for You."
-Psalm 25:21


Further recommended reading:


I encourage you to read Matthew 25- please understand that I don't want to take this passage out of context, as it is referring to the end times and the preparedness we must have for Jesus' coming back. However, the literal meaning still stands. Those who were working and prepared were the ones who reaped the benefits and joys of the wedding.

Galatians 6:9
I Peter 5:6-7
Psalm 130:5-6