The CROSSing Guard

Every morning when I drop my son off at school I see the same gentleman dressed in a bright yellow coat or vest standing in the middle of the intersection. He maintains a watch in all directions for anyone that may need to cross the street. And when he sees them he stops all the traffic and helps the pedestrian to safely reach their destination. (He sometimes even waves me onto make my left hand turn before letting all the traffic resume! )

The crossing guard’s job is to protect pedestrians. However, for him to be able to do his job effectively a few things need to happen. First, the oncoming traffic needs to recognize the crossing guard, trust his signals and then obey them. The pedestrian also needs to recognize,  trust and obey. If either the pedestrians or the drivers of the vehicles are not alert or do not respond appropriately there can easily be a disaster. BUT if the pedestrian keeps a watchful eye on the crossing guard he/she will remain out of harm’s way. As long as there is a connection between hte crossing guard and the pedestrian everything will go smoothly.

Actually just last week I heard a story of a crossing guard that held the hand of a little girl and was walking her across the street when a car neglected to stop. The crossing guard put himself in front of the girl, held onto her and took the hit sending them both over the hood of the car onto the ground. The guard shielded the girl and protected her from any injury!

Jesus is our Crossing Guard in this life. He died upon a cross taking on our sin so that we may have eternal life with Him and fellowship with the Father now and forevermore. If we place our hand in HIS and trust in HIM walking through the streets of our life with HIM , RECOGNIZING, TRUSTING and OBEYING,we will remain in HIS eternal protection.

“Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.”

Isaiah 58:8 NIV

Just as the children in front of the schoolyard learn to stop or walk according to the direction of their crossing guard we must also learn, trust and obey the direction of our Heavenly crossing guard. The Scriptures have been given to us so that we may have life. 

The verses that precede Isaiah 58:8 lay out the direction for us to “then” have our righteousness go before us and the glory of the Lord as our rear guard. It says that we must go beyond fasting for our own personal growth, that spiritual discipline without kindness and service to others is of no value in our walk with Him. God calls us to recognize the signs of needs and respond to them. 

We are called to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to provide shelter for the homeless and to speak out against injustice and set free those held in bondage. I want the glory of the Lord as my rear guard.  I want HIM leading me, beside ME too!

So how’s your walk going? Are you following the directions that God has laid out for you? Spend some time meditating on Isaiah 58. Read it and read it again. Remember HE has a watchful eye out for you but you need to keep your gaze fixed on HIM,  and recognize, trust and obey HIS directions. Study the Word daily and listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.  If you walk in the way of “true fasting” as God has directed you will be radiant and full of HIS beauty, HIS glory will splash all over you!!!

Joyfully,

ruthann

Living by the Spirit

Galations 5:22-25- “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

So often I find myself praying for God to help develop in me one or more of the above traits. I might one day be convicted that I need more gentleness, and another pray for circumstances that would grow my faithfulness. I believe it was during a Beth Moore bible study where I learned one of the most important things about the above verses.

Paul calls it the FRUIT of the Spirit. Not the fruitS of the Spirit. The traits combine to make one giant, mega-fruit of the Spirit. If we’re lacking in one area, chances are we aren’t living completely in the Spirit.

Romans 8:9-11 says, “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.”

If we have accepted Christ and chosen life over death, we are called to live in the Spirit! And honestly, who wouldn’t want to. We have the opportunity to let the Spirit control us if we would just relinquish the control we hold onto so dearly. The Word says that the same Spirit that raised Christ lives in us! How much more effective would we be if we let a death-defeating Spirit lead our every step?....

When we chose to die to self and live by traits that are completely unnatural to us, we look more like Christ. We look more like the women that God created us to be. We are more beauty-full that way.

In Him,

Jill

white as snow

We didn't get a ton of snow yesterday, but when I looked out my window in the morning, it was enough to make my yard look pretty.  If you've seen my "yard", you know this is quite a feat!

As I walked around while the dog frolicked in the snow (yea, my dog frolicks), I noticed a pile of snow behind my house.  I noticed it because it's actually a pile of trash.  A pile of trash and building materials that has been back there for longer than I care to admit.  Don't judge me- there's worms under there, and spiders, and probably a whole colony of killer mutant bugs that are just waiting for me to move something in that pile so they can get me. 

What struck me about the pile is that it looked pretty.  It was white, clean, fresh.  All glimmery in the early morning light.

Just like us, as Isaiah 1:18 tells us. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow." When we come to the Lord, our sins are forgiven, and we are no longer stained.  The blood of Christ covers us- we are white as snow.  Just like my trash pile. 

Then, as the day wore on, it rained a bit, the snow was washed away, melted into slush.  More and more of the trash pile was uncovered.  It was less and less pretty.

Unfortunately, this is also like us sometimes.

The little pieces of trash sticking out from my pile are similar to the unforgiveness I hold in my heart.  The accidental sins I can't let go of.  The on-purpose sins I won't let go of. The worry. The guilt.  The past relationships. The hurt I've caused. The hurt I've felt. The judgements I pass. The judgement I feel. All this stuff starts sticking out of my snow-white-ness, and I'm not so pretty anymore.

That trash pile and I are so alike in so many ways.  We are pretty when we're covered by snow.  Covered by Christ.  Sometimes the ugly sticks out.  And sometimes it's easier to hold on to the trash than face the spiders (for those of you who don't know me that well, I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY afraid of spiders.  As in, I should seek professional help).

If I want that trash gone, I'm going to have to suck it up, put on some spider-proof gloves, and move it out of there. I can't just sit around and hope the snow won't melt. 

Fortunately, there are no spiders hiding in my heart... but I find that I don't want to deal with what is in there any more than I want to deal with the spiders.

Sometimes it's easier to bury hurt than deal with it.  Feels better to hold on to anger than to forgive. Passing judgement on others quickly means it won't hurt as much when they judge me. Sin is easier than righteousness. 

 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells me I am a new creation

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come."

Romans 8:1 Tells me that God does not condemn me for my past.  

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus; because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."

Why am I so eager to hang on to the old, when I've been made new?  Why do I continue to clothe myself in scarlet, when He's bleached me white as snow? Why do I choose to condemn myself for my past sins, when He chooses to forget them?
 
 He tries to make it easy for us- He already willingly bore our sins (1 Peter 2:24). He asks for our burdens (Matt 11:28).

My sins? He paid the price.
My hurt? He feels it too.
My guilt? He chose condemnation so I wouldn't have to face it.

Sometimes I feel like I'm saying "Thanks but no thanks".  Thanks for bearing my sin, but I'll just hold on to this piece of it for a little bit longer.  Thanks for offering to carry my burdens, but well, I really need to work out anyways. Thanks for dying so that I could live life to the fullest, but I'm just not quite ready for "the fullest" yet.  Maybe tomorrow.


How bout you?  Feeling all snowy white today? If not, what are you holding onto that He's already paid the price for?

We'll be a whole lot more Beauty-Full when we stop uncovering what He's already forgotten. 


Be blessed,


Brooke

A Mark of Beauty

This past weekend I attended the opening night of the movie “The Artist”, a new silent film, and it was FABULOUS. I must admit that it took a few minutes to adjust to the actors not talking but once the adjustment was made it was really fun. At the beginning of the movie the seasoned silent film actor meets the new girl on the set and to set her apart from the other girls he takes a make-up pencil and adds a beauty mark to her face.  A delicate little black dot sat above her lip and became one of her trademarks, a distinguishing feature, throughout her acting career.  

In the Old Testament the Israelites, were set apart by God. As they wandered in the wilderness God led them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. In Exodus 33:12- 17, Moses is speaking to the Lord about not wanting to go anywhere without God leading him. Moses desired to be with God, to be taught God’s ways and to please God. In verse 16, Moses says ”How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and your people unless you go with us?" What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” (emphasis mine) the pillar of cloud or fire would be a visible distinguishing mark that they pleased God.

This got me thinking about   my distinguishing mark?  Do I even have it?  As I go through my life DO people see anything different about me that sets me apart as being pleasing to God? What do people see when they look at me? Do I look like everyone else in the crowd or do i look like someone that is glorifying God?   

Now don’t get me wrong here I am not suggesting that we need to make our outward appearance be so different that we stand out as being odd or anything like that.  However, we are instructed to dress modestly, and with the way people dress today, THAT alone would set us apart enough!  I am talking about  a beauty that is more than skin deep. If we are being led by the Presence of God in our lives then we should look different. We should have a distinguishing feature.

Radiance!!!! Radiance is what should be our distinguishing feature. If we spend time in an intimate relationship with God, we will glow. The Message says in Exodus 34:29 “the skin of his face glowed because he had been speaking with God”. Our faces should glow as a young bride in love with her groom. We shouldn’t need some sparkling gpowder to give our skin the radiance that we are different from all the people on the face of the earth, we just need MORE of God in our lives!!!

So let's  get our glow on ladies!!!

1 Spend time every day in the Presence of God, worship HIM with abandon in your cars, in your kitchens, in your churches and everywhere you go. Think about your facial and body expressions and evaluate if  they display love or boredom? We wouldn’t think of telling someone special in our lives that we love them with an expressionless face. So when you worship SHOW Him along with the words you use! “you will fill me with joy in your presence” (Psalm 16:11b) The JOY of spending time with God will be evident to all.

2 Spend time in His Word, read it, ponder it, recite it, write it, talk about it, pray it. Saturate your life with the Word of God like a moisturizer for your soul.  You will glow from the inside out.

3. Cultivate Praise in your life. It is difficult to frown when you are praising God for even the smallest of blessings or simply for who He is. Praising will turn that frown upside down.  Scripture tell us that “A cheerful look brings joy to the heart and good news gives health to the bones.” (Proverbs 15:30).Tthere are health benefits to living a life of praise!

Let the glow of God be your distinguishing mark of a beauty­ full life. Start today. Start right this very minute. What better way to start off the week!!!

Take this beauty­­-full life challenge to put your glow on!   Send me a comment and let me know how it goes this week as you CHOOSE to glow for God. 

And while you are at it share with me and our friends here at Living  Beauty- Full  about the women in your life that wear their beauty mark from God. Go ahead and give them a shout out because if they are at all like Moses they have no idea that they are a radiant beauty.

Joyfully,

ruthann

Attitude Adjustment

There’s nothing more unbecoming in a beautiful woman that a not-so-beautiful attitude. I’m constantly checking and rethinking my attitude because I’ve learned that I’m so prone to having a bad one. I’m an emotional person and have to constantly ask myself if my attitude is based on truth, or my feelings. When our attitude is based on truth, we’re so much nicer to be around. It doesn’t take long for one bad attitude to clear a room. Ephesians 2: 1-2 and 5 say,

“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose…your attitude should be the same as that of Christ."

When we find ourselves with a bad attitude, we should think of God’s unfailing love, of the fellowship with the Spirit that we are so graciously permitted. We should remember the tenderness and compassion that Christ’s love should instill in us. We’re called to have the same attitude as Christ’s. That’s the standard. That’s the goal. Of course we will fail at times, but we have been “given everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). Hebrews 4:12 says,

“For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper that any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

The best tool we have to keep our attitudes in check is the infallible Word of God. It one of the tools God has given us “for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). When we read it, there’s opportunity for conviction and growth and change. Conviction is not a bad thing. In fact, we should be looking out for it and recognizing it as the merciful and loving way that God tells us every day, “I’m with you and you don’t have to figure it all out on your own.” When we choose to read the Word of God, it’s lets God know that we want to be closer to Him, that we love His guidance, and submit to His Words. When we neglect the Word of God, we shut the door on an opportunity to keep our attitude in check. The Word of God “judges thoughts and attitudes of the heart”. At any given moment during the day is your attitude the same as Christ’s would be in your situation? If not, it’s time to pray it out and re-boot with a portion of the Word. When we spend time in the Word, we have the opportunity to let God make us more beauty-full. That is just what I need.

In His love,

Jill

PS. If you haven’t had the opportunity yet, donate your $24 to free a woman in Thailand from sexual slavery for 24 hours though Freedom 4/24. We still need several people in order to reach the goal of freeing one woman for each day in January, National Human Trafficking Awareness Month!

a daily reminder

When Ruthann first spoke to me about this blog, I had images of "everyday" beauty- ya know, finding the beauty in the clouds, laundry, or the dishes and dog... food. :) I'm not sure how that's actually gonna go, but I'm going to start by introducing you to part of my 'everyday'.  A beauty-full part.  A challenging part. The best part. She's been with me since she was 10, and she just turned 17.  Many of you know Heather, but in case you don't, here's the short version.  In 2005 I welcomed the first of a few special needs foster children into my house, not really having any idea what to expect.  We haven't looked back since, except to remember where she was, and how far she's come.  She is many things... loving, clingy, funny- so funny, giving, indecipherable to most, needy, affectionate (unless she's mad), social, friendly- overly so at times.. and so much more. 

I've been thinking a lot about her since the Beauty-Full Life workshop at Ruthann's house in October.  I think of her everyday, of course, but not always past her immediate needs.  I don't always focus on her character, her personality, her heart.  When Ruthann and I were tossing around ideas about some sort of media representation of being "Beauty-Full", her sweet voice popped into my head, and I heard all the times she looked in the mirror and said 'beautiful', all the times she looked at me and said "beautiful."  The times we went bathing suit shopping and she thought every single one was "cute cute", no matter that some of them, in fact, were not at all attractive. I saw the two of us getting ready in my room, and her asking for make up, and loving the sight of herself after a little translucent powder.

She really is the perfect woman- she has no clue what our culture expects of her- she just knows she's beautiful.  She doesn't care what our culture expects from me, she just thinks I'm beautiful.  She laughs in the face of bathing-suit-shopping, and how many of us can say that??   She's the example of the women we could be if we didn't allow the media and the culture and the men to decide if we're beautiful or not. She is lacking is so many things, but self esteem is not one of them. 

I'm a thinker, so this image of her beauty-full-ness has stuck with me.  And then it merged into another image of her that kinda surprised me.

Instead of thinking of her reactions to herself, I thought of my reactions to her.  I thought of the times I've yelled at her, just because I'm having a bad day.  I thought of the times I've been frustrated with her, because I can't figure out what she's trying to say.  I thought about the times I've been annoyed with her, because she needs me.

And yet, she thinks I'm beautiful.

When I leave the house, she waits for me to get home.  When she knows she won't see me again until she wakes up, she spends hours trying to go to bed early, just so that it will be morning. She makes me tell her I love her over and over (I think she's just making sure I don't forget). She'd sit on my lap for hours if my legs didn't fall asleep.

Despite my sometimes ugly reactions to her, she thinks I'm beautiful, and wants to be with me, spend time with me, hear my voice. Sound familiar?

The girl who doesn't have the cognitive skills to understand grace and mercy, heaven and hell, Jesus and God, is a living, breathing example of how God loves us- He thinks we're beautiful.  He wants to be near us. Hear our voice. Love us. Be loved by us.

He thinks I'm beautiful.  She thinks I'm beautiful. 

2006

2010

She IS Beauty-Full.

I am so thankful that He sent me a beautiful reminder of just how much He loves me. 

Be blessed,

Brooke

In case you missed the post over the weekend, check it out, and help us give at least 1 beautiful girl in Thailand freedom from sexual slavery for every day in January.  We only need 2 more days covered, but why stop there?

A Fine Mix Up

Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the LORD: And He will give you the desires of your heart."

This past New Year's I received an e-mail from Troy Bourne of JirehScope Ministries ( the worship ministry that I work with) and he wrote about this verse and the Hebrew meaning for the word we translate as "Delight" in Psalm 37:4. The Hebrew word is anag and it means to be pliable, feminine, delicate.Since that e-mail I have been pondering the verse (which is one of my favorites) and seeking some new revelation. So this morning I pulled out my concordance and decided to look up the original meaning of some of the other key words of course this took me to searching for the word "desires". I found the number for the corresponding word an flipped through the back of my Strong's Concordance excited to see what it had new for me to learn. I was elated when I saw that the word meant. Now I must divulge that I had not even had my first cup of tea yet.Much to my surprise it said that the word mean "union with or together". In my early morning fuzzy headed state I had a light bulb moment, a new revelation. I concluded that if we are to make ourselves pliable to the Lord, we will be in a closer union with Him, our hearts would be "together, after all, THAT is the desire of my heart, to know HIM in an ever closer union!! I was so excited I didn't even need tea now. I went about my morning of delivering bags of clothing from JirehScope Ministries clothing ministry.

I returned home and was quite satisfied but still ready to go deeper in Psalm 37:4 so I reopened my bible and concordance to discover my blunder. HA, I had looked up the definition of a word with the same assigned number on the Greek portion of the dictionary not in the Hebrew section!!! The word "desires' in Hebrew means just what my bible translates it as; a request, desire or petition NOT a closer union.

Discovering my fine mix up brought a smile to my lips as I contemplated once again my original thoughts of the morning. I really was not all that far off, although I did not have an accurate direct translation of the verse. When we are pliable in the hands of God, letting HIM mold us and shape us for HIS purposes, our thoughts and the longings of our hearts change to reflect HIS longings and desires. it is then that HE answers these petitions of a heart that beats in "union with" HIS. When all of that has transpired we are truly "together" with the LORD.

The desire of my heart is to know HIM MORE and to encourage other women to be daily filled with the beauty of the LORD, that is the reason for this new blog. Although I have been the sole writer of this blog since it began a few weeks ago, I do not consider this "my blog". This blog site is the result of a vision laid on my heart and the hearts of some of my precious sisters in Christ, Brooke Walker and Jillian Castellano. The three of us will be posting blogs through the week to share our stories and lessons from our daily walk in this beauty-full life with Jesus. We hope you will come along for the journey with us.

Today, in the midst of the clothing delivery, I received a phone call from Jillian with a request, petition (hehe), a desire of her heart in response to President Obama's declaration of January as human trafficking awareness month. I will now let her share this desire with you dear friends. SO read on...

In His beauty,

Ruthann

Hello all!

I'm honored to be a part of this movement with my dear sisters. I pray you all feel the passion stirring in my heart as I write this first post...

It sounds cliche to say that freedom is something that we take for granted every day. But we do.

Do you worry that if you walk down the street alone you may be abducted and forced into sexual slavery? Do you worry about hiding the gender of your daughter to lessen the risk that she'll be kidnapped and forced into the sex slave trade? Do you worry that if you lose your job you will be manipulated and forced into the only job your society will allow you to have-sexual slavery?

I am confident that none of us can answer "yes" to any of those things.

As you may or may not have heard, President Obama has declared January to be National Human Trafficking Awareness Month. This is an issue that has been close to my heart since my husband and I got connected with a ministry during college a few years ago.

This morning, God laid action on my heart. My goal is to raise awareness through action and provide freedom for at least one girl or woman every day for the month of January.

It could be us in bondage, but it's not. It could be our sons or daughters, but it's not. I'm grateful every day for that, which is why I feel so strongly that we should help provide freedom for those who are in a literal slavery.

A life of freedom begins with one day. Visit www.freedom424.org today to give your gift of $24 that will buy a woman or girl in Thailand out of slavery for one whole day. During that day of freedom, woman and girls are offered food, medical care, education, transportation, housing, and counseling.

Help reach the goal of providing freedom for at least one girl or woman each day this month!

If you would like to participate,leave a comment below with the number of days that you would like to cover in January and make your donation by clicking "donate" in the upper right hand corner of the homepage at Freedom 4/24

The Bible instructs us to give to and care for those who are in need. Christ died to give freedom to all who call on Him. When people like you and I give our $24 donation, the people who partner with this ministry make sure that each woman saved from sexual slavery that day has an opportunity to hear the message of Christ and experience the freedom that He has to offer. There's no doubt that we have an amazing opportunity here to help women find freedom and realize their beauty and worth. And I so strongly believe that with opportunity, comes responsibility. I pray the Lord stirs the hearts of many throughout this month. I pray that many who are in bondage, experience freedom. And I pray that those of us who have the means, will move and do our part.

May God bless you in your giving!

Jill