The Quiet Place

Founders Note: Today on the blog we have our dear friend Katrina. She sent us her post via email and we instantly responded that we were definitely going to use it! Today she is sharing her heart on this months theme beauty, so we hope you are encouraged by her post as much as we were!  So be sure to check out her designs and blog, cause she's awesome!  "You look beautiful!" Cue the eye roll, an excuse or a denial, and if you're lucky, there's a quiet "thank you" slipped in there to keep from being rude. Sound familiar? I've had too many of these encounters, and have even found myself delivering the eye roll to a well-meaning friend.  Why is it so hard to take a compliment like this? " Tell Me I'm Pretty " I find it interesting how Satan will turn the most beautiful things ( I'm talking about  you  here, by the way ) into a twisted, backwards appearance of the truth in our minds?  We no longer see the ...

Recently I've been reading the she reads truth bible study on women in the bible and I've loved hearing about the lives of the women who even though they weren't perfect, still seeks God with all their heart. To me that's beauty. One women in particular named Joanna, In Luke 8:1-3 it talks a little bit about her and her husband Chuza. Then Luke 23:44-24:12 talks about Joanna's love for the Lord despite what her husband was doing, she defined herself in Christ and not in her husband that she loved but didn't let him define her. To me that's beauty, to not define yourself by your husband, boyfriend or fiance, but to define yourself in God and be fulfilled in him first and foremost. Sisters, That's just what Joanna did and she did it with grace. We can also do that in our relationships with our friends, we can serve them but not be defined by them. Because, people can't define us they are flawed, but God calls us to find our inner beauty in him by see...

But it's a beautiful ride.  This song is one of my favorites because it expresses the emotion of life's difficulties so well. When I've been having a tough time this song helps me release my emotions somehow. It's kind of weird, I know. If there are any true country music fans out there at all, you will love this song.  "Life Ain't Always Beautiful" sung by Gary Allen For the lyrics click  Here Anyways, this song was  my sneaky way of incorporating this month's beauty theme into my post for today. I feel like my life has had me all over the place lately. I've found myself getting discouraged, feeling lonely, being confused, and plain apathetic about some things. The answer to all of this? Gary Allen of course! Just kidding. Let's try that again. The answer to all of this? Overwhelmingly, God. Maybe I've been feeling/being all of these things because I haven't been following God's lead. I haven't been letting him...

Founders note: Today on the blog we have one of our sponsors Charity from her blog Word of a Nerd. We connected when we found her blog and immediately loved it! So i asked her to guest post! Today she is sharing her thoughts on this months theme beauty, we hope you are encouraged as much as we were by her wonderful post! Be sure to check out her blog at the links below! I don't know about you but I just love to be told that I am beautiful. I also love to feel beautiful - beautiful from my head down to my toes. However I don't always hit the mark on feeling beautiful externally and for some reason those are the days when I get the most compliments. Sometimes a stranger in Starbucks will walk up to me and say you are beautiful or an old lady in the subway will tell me you are lovely. These compliments always rock me because on those days I am feeling the opposite of what they see.  So what are they seeing? Perhaps the Lord has allowed them to see something that isn't...

Isaiah 61:3 says:  "And provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty   instead of ashes, the oil of joy , instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor." Last week I talked about how beauty is found in dwelling with God, and how beauty can be found in making him our dwelling place. So today I am going to talk about how God gives each and every one of us a "crown of beauty" and with that crown he makes us into "oaks of righteousness" just as Isaiah 61:3 says. He equips us with the crown so that we can stand firm in knowing that despite the things that the world tells us we should do, or the comments from others, or the things we are going through, he is preparing us for the beauty that is to come in his plans for us.   So this past June, my uncle died of a ALS which is a terminal disease and it...

Founders Note: Today on the blog we have Kiki our monthly contributor sharing her heart on this months topic beauty. So we hope you are encouraged by her words today! And Be sure to check out her blog here-- In it's time . There are mornings when things just don't go my way. I wake up with terrible bedhead, the outfit I picked the night before doesn't look as great on me as it did on the hangers, and to top it off, there's a zit front and center on my forehead. It's those moments that can sometimes lead me to the "what if's." And as women, I think we all know what those include. What if I had a clear complexion? What if I had long, thin legs? What if I had hair that curled for days, or clothes that hugged me at all the right places? What if I had a never ending closet? What if I had make up that matched my skin tone perfectly? What if? Those what if's are poisonous, aren't they? They turn us green with envy and always leave us wanting...

Once again we are joining are wonderful blogger friend and monthly contributor Kiki at her blog In it's Time for her linkup the circle. Be sure to link up with Kiki on her blog too! This month's theme is creativity, and she has asked us to answer three questions make a collage which is below-- Just some pictures from my summer/ one from my trip to South Africa in January of 2011 (all photos were taken by me, do not copy)  1.What does creativity mean to you? To me creativity is, taking something that God is teaching me and putting it into words here on the blog or in my quiet time with him.  2. How do you stay creative? Who do you draw inspiration from? I stay creative by looking at other blogs and drawing inspiration from what they write about and making it my own. Like I said in the first question, i draw inspiration from what God is teaching me and the little things that he brings to me each day.  3. What is a creative part of you that you don't share muc...

Psalm 27:4 says, "One thing I ask from the Lord , this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple."  As we have talked about beauty the past few weeks. We have talked about, what beauty is, God's beauty, and we had a guest post on being made in God's image. So today I want to talk about how God is a dwelling place and how Psalm 27:4 relates that to beauty.  Many times it is said throughout the bible that God is our dwelling place, when I think of a "dwelling place" i think of a home or safe place to find rest and comfort when we need it most. At the end of a long day at work sometimes we just want to go home because that is one place where we find rest and comfort, it is our dwelling place.  When we curl up under our favorite blanket with our bible, journal, and devotional book- that is where we dwell with God and mediate on the beauty that his w...

Founders Note: Today on the blog we have Megan, she sent us her post via email and we loved it so much that we quickly responded  back and told her we were definitely going to use it!  So today, she is sharing her thoughts on beauty and being made in God's image. Be sure to find her on twitter at the link below. 1 Peter 3:4 ESV -" But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious."  Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Romans 9:20 ESV - But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Your sin is not beautiful but you are. Letting the Holy Spirit lead you w...

Psalm 50:2 says, "From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth." Yesterday I talked about how God is enthralled by our beauty, and that beauty is found in seeking God. So today I want to talk about God's beauty and love for each of us. The verse above reminds us that God's beauty shines even in the darkest places, even when we think there is no hope at all  his beauty is present even if it's just for a day or a moment.  When I went to South Africa in January of 2011, God's beauty was evident in the beautiful scenery that was around me, but it was also evident that day when we worked in the soup kitchen that was in a guys garage that runs a ministry in Capetown called  Help Ministries . We went to a poor community a few blocks away and we served soup there, as the pot was getting empty the last guy comes up and fills his plastic container then a few minutes later another guy comes along and we tell him that we don't have anymore left. But just as we...

Psalm 45:11 says, "Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord"  When I thought of the theme for this month I immediately thought of the verse above. This verse reminds us that God is enthralled by our beauty, not just our physical beauty but our inward beauty as well. God tells us throughout the bible that beauty is not found in our appearance but in our heart, as we as women strive to seek him daily.  To the world beauty is found in our appearance and how we look, but God tells us something different in Proverbs 31:30, "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised", this verse reminds us that beauty is found in a women who seeks God  and not the ways of this world.  To me beauty is found in the bright colors of the sun when it sets at the end of a long summer day and in the pages of scripture that i read every night before I go to bed. Beauty is also found in that place of re...

I once heard it said that beauty is God's special gift to humans. Unlike animals who rely on instincts to go about the day, humans are able to appreciate the depth of God's creation. We are able to see things for more than just their function. We can see beauty. I see beauty as a gift from God. A little add-on to life, that may have been unnecessary, yet God choose to share it with us anyways. How amazing is that? I don't even think I could imagine a world without beauty in it. Even my wildest imagination is limited to seeing the beauty in things. Sometimes people disagree about what is beautiful. It seems funny to me really. I guess it's because even when things aren't pleasing to the eye, I appreciate what that thing is. For its simplicity or complexity, depth or shallowness, rough or smoothness... Who's to say that any of these elements in our  perception are not beautiful for simply what they are? Is a rock ugly because it's rough? or a flower hideou...

Have you ever felt discouraged? I certainly have. Sometimes it is because an obstacle or a challenge has parked itself dead center in the road. You thought you were almost there but then BAM! You have to slam on the breaks and figure out how to get through. All of the sudden you have to reassess the entire journey, just to see if you can get past this one section. Other times its because you don't know if you have what it takes to go on. You lack confidence in your ability to push through the difficult parts and wonder if you'll ever reach the destination. When I feel discouraged, the best thing to bring me back is always scripture.  These are some of my favorite passages that help me to remember that though I am weak, God is strong enough to help me through the obstacles and challenges I face. Psalm 23:3-5 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of th...

Founders Note: Today we have Kiki again on the blog. She is now going to be guest posting monthly for us! Today she is sharing more thoughts on singleness. Be sure to check out her blog here-- In It's Time I opened up my instagram feed the other night before bed. In natural habit, I let my finger swipe through the feed full of puppies, spring flowers, and cute kids. I liked a few photos here and there and continued through my feed like normal. But then I came across an instagram of a line from a church song I recognized. My finger stopped the feed from scrolling and slowly slid the image to fit the view of my little screen. I read it, liked the photo, and that's when the words sunk in. Here's my heart, Lord. Take and seal it. That one line from David Crowder Band's song suddenly hit home and it hit hard. You see, my heart has never been taken by or given to a man. I've never been on a date, never received a bouquet of flowers, never held hands and had my foo...

One of our readers asked us to talk about how the christian culture affects us as single women. You know, that feeling after you get out of college, you feel like everyone is getting married/engaged. Or there are those well meaning people in your life that constantly bug you about finding the one. You may feel this way when going to all of the weddings that you keep getting invited to, at times this can make you feel alone. In those times when you feel as though everyone around you is pressuring you to get married or find the one, remember that God always meets you right where you are at. No matter what season of life you are in. Let God take the pen, and focus on what God's plans and not your own. As we move into July, we are exploring  beauty with the  goal  to dig through our bibles and seek what God has to say about this particular topic. Beauty lies in the pages of God's word, and we as women are called to seek all that he has for us, even when we are in a season of...