I'm sorry. I can't help it. I've been putting this post aside, telling myself that because it's not based on a book, I shouldn't have it on here, but this idea has been bugging me for a few days now. I can't stay silent. I must speak loudly!
On Facebook the other day, I began to see posts, which said, "Post this on the walls of the 12 prettiest girls you know ... if you get 5 back you're beautiful! ♥ ♥ ♥" Right away, I felt the bile rise up in the back of my throat. I wanted to puke and scream and cry all at the same time. If you've ever seen me cry, you know it's not pretty! I would definitely not get that post on my wall on any day that I've cried. So, for a day or so, I said nothing. But it kept hounding me so badly, I posted this to my wall:
"To all the girls posting this, "You're pretty if you get 5 returns of this 'You're pretty' post," I certainly hope you know that beauty does not come from a FB post, or even what anyone else thinks of you. Beauty, true beauty comes from within. How about instead of desiring to get those 5 posts back, you show the kindness to someone else ? That's what makes a person beautiful."
Obviously, I couldn't say all I thought in a few lines on FB, so I'm saying it here.
How is it that we as a society have stooped so low that now our children have to find their beauty and self esteem by how many times random people paste a "you're pretty" post on their Facebook wall? We have FAILED with a big, fat F if our girls are seeking to discover what true beauty is on Facebook. Look, I love Facebook. I can now keep in contact with friends I haven't seen in years and keep up with family who live far away. It's great, but when we as parents allow Facebook to teach our kids about beauty, we've gone horribly wrong.
I'm reading a book by Joyce Meyer for my Bible study. It's called the Love Revolution. In it she focuses on the theme of happiness. How many people aren't happy because they think that getting more stuff or wearing certain clothes is going to bring happiness? Now, the book is written from a Christian perspective, but even with that aside, its message says the only way to be happy is to serve others. I'd take this message one step further for our young people. It's that servant's attitude, that willingness to put self aside and do something kind for someone else without need or want of anything in return that makes someone beautiful.
When I was a little girl, my mother told me all the time, "Jessie, It's better to be pretty on the inside." I now tell my daughter the same thing, to which she replies, "Yes, and it's cold on the outside." (We still have a little work before she fully understands the meaning of this phrase.)The point is that beauty comes from within. A person can be the perfect model with long flowing locks and porcelain skin and still be ugly.
Admit it, you know these type of people, people who are "beautiful" but are mean or stuck up. You also know people who may not look perfect. Maybe they have a few more pounds than the average person, or scars that cover their face, but their inner beauty masks what the world considers ugliness.
I hope that as I raise my daughter, I can teach her that she will be beautiful because she loves people, because she loves the Lord, because she is kind and gentle, because she helps those around her and sacrifices herself for others, because she speaks words of encouragement and not harsh words. If I can teach her how to do that, I will have a beautiful daughter. Better yet, if I can show her how to do those things by doing them myself, I can be a beautiful mom.
Maybe I should start a new Facebook post. One that says, "Post this to the wall of 12 girls who are beautiful because they are kind and gentle, because they sacrifice for those around them, and because they speak kind words of encouragement instead of harsh ones, for their beauty comes from within." Do so with nothing expected in return, just for the sheer joy of encouraging someone else for the good qualities they possess. Join me, won't you?
Showing posts with label life in general. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life in general. Show all posts
Friday, November 12, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
A Change of Plans
Have you ever had a change of plans? You know, you get one thing all scheduled, planned to the T. You know what time you need to leave and how fast you have to drive in order to arrive at your destination with four minutes to spare. Those four minutes will be eaten up by your walk to the building and you'll show up right on time.
But what about those times that you've had to throw those plans out the window? All the hard work put into preparation and something steps in the way and it's all for naught.
Recently, my Mother planned a 40 year anniversary trip to Maine for my Dad. As Dad puts it, "This was a labor of love." For anyone who knows my mom, she hates to travel. I mean hates it! She'd rather have lemon juice poured on paper cuts than travel more than 30 minutes in the car. So, this was a huge deal for her. She planned the whole thing herself; the B&B's, the stops along the way. It was her love for my Dad that spurred this trip. So, it must have been hard when unforeseen circumstances caused them to cancel the trip. So, she painstakingly called the B&Bs to cancel. Some refunded her money, some did not. But she did it because life got in the way and because she loves my Dad. They got to go eventually, but only after she rearranged her plans.
But how about those times when we choose to change our plans? We plan to do _____ and our kids want to do _____ (Fill in the blanks.) Sometimes we put our own plans aside because we want to see the joy on our children's faces. We want to show them how much we love them by giving them things that will make them happy. We want to show them that they are the most important thing in the world to us and do so by putting our own wants behind theirs.
This is how God is with us. He changes his plans for us!
Isaiah 38 tells the story of Hezekiah. "In those days, Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah went to him and said, "This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order because you are going to die; you will not recover." Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord. "Remember O Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes." And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: "Go and tell Hezekiah,'This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life."
It was the prayer of the faithful that caused God to change his plans. He had things all set. Hezekiah was supposed to die of his illness, but his prayers made God change his plans. Isn't that amazing. GOD CHANGED HIS PLANS!
Yesterday in Sunday school, we were discussing the miracles of Christ. My favorite is his first miracle at the wedding in Cana. You know the story. Jesus is hanging out with his buddies at a wedding. The bride and groom run out of wine, which was about the most disgraceful thing to have happen in that time period. So his mother comes over and says, "They don't have any more wine." He responds by saying, "Why do you involve me? My time has not yet come."
You see, it wasn't in his plans to turn the water to wine that day. But those of you who've read the story know how it ends. He does it. He performs a miracle. He changed his plans that day. Who knows, maybe his first miracle was supposed to be something huge like a group healing. Maybe it would have been accompanied by lightning bolts and earthquakes just to make sure everyone noticed. But whatever his plans were, (the Bible doesn't tell us when 'his time' really was.) he changed them for that couple.
Are you beginning to see? God loves us so much he changes his plans for us. So don't give up or give in. Don't resign yourself to the fact that nothing will ever make God change his mind. It doesn't matter if you think God has a certain plan and everything is set and unchangeable. God is the only unchangeable being in this universe. His love is unchanging. His grace is unending. However, with a little prayer, sometimes with a lot of prayer, his plans can change. Why? Because he loves you.
So what ideas have you given up on today? What have you stopped praying for because you still don't see the answer? Have you decided that you'll never have a baby because the doctors have told you so? Have you given up on that relationship because it seems too impossible to fix? Are you absolutely sure there is no more hope? God wants to be merciful to us. He wants to extend his grace to us. The real question is, are we willing to reach out and accept it?
I was once told that God answers prayers in three ways: "Yes", "No", and "Not right now." But I'm beginning to believe that there are now four answers: "Yes", "No", "Not right now" and, "Sure, just let me rearrange some things first."
But what about those times that you've had to throw those plans out the window? All the hard work put into preparation and something steps in the way and it's all for naught.
Recently, my Mother planned a 40 year anniversary trip to Maine for my Dad. As Dad puts it, "This was a labor of love." For anyone who knows my mom, she hates to travel. I mean hates it! She'd rather have lemon juice poured on paper cuts than travel more than 30 minutes in the car. So, this was a huge deal for her. She planned the whole thing herself; the B&B's, the stops along the way. It was her love for my Dad that spurred this trip. So, it must have been hard when unforeseen circumstances caused them to cancel the trip. So, she painstakingly called the B&Bs to cancel. Some refunded her money, some did not. But she did it because life got in the way and because she loves my Dad. They got to go eventually, but only after she rearranged her plans.
But how about those times when we choose to change our plans? We plan to do _____ and our kids want to do _____ (Fill in the blanks.) Sometimes we put our own plans aside because we want to see the joy on our children's faces. We want to show them how much we love them by giving them things that will make them happy. We want to show them that they are the most important thing in the world to us and do so by putting our own wants behind theirs.
This is how God is with us. He changes his plans for us!
Isaiah 38 tells the story of Hezekiah. "In those days, Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah went to him and said, "This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order because you are going to die; you will not recover." Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord. "Remember O Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes." And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: "Go and tell Hezekiah,'This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life."
It was the prayer of the faithful that caused God to change his plans. He had things all set. Hezekiah was supposed to die of his illness, but his prayers made God change his plans. Isn't that amazing. GOD CHANGED HIS PLANS!
Yesterday in Sunday school, we were discussing the miracles of Christ. My favorite is his first miracle at the wedding in Cana. You know the story. Jesus is hanging out with his buddies at a wedding. The bride and groom run out of wine, which was about the most disgraceful thing to have happen in that time period. So his mother comes over and says, "They don't have any more wine." He responds by saying, "Why do you involve me? My time has not yet come."
You see, it wasn't in his plans to turn the water to wine that day. But those of you who've read the story know how it ends. He does it. He performs a miracle. He changed his plans that day. Who knows, maybe his first miracle was supposed to be something huge like a group healing. Maybe it would have been accompanied by lightning bolts and earthquakes just to make sure everyone noticed. But whatever his plans were, (the Bible doesn't tell us when 'his time' really was.) he changed them for that couple.
Are you beginning to see? God loves us so much he changes his plans for us. So don't give up or give in. Don't resign yourself to the fact that nothing will ever make God change his mind. It doesn't matter if you think God has a certain plan and everything is set and unchangeable. God is the only unchangeable being in this universe. His love is unchanging. His grace is unending. However, with a little prayer, sometimes with a lot of prayer, his plans can change. Why? Because he loves you.
So what ideas have you given up on today? What have you stopped praying for because you still don't see the answer? Have you decided that you'll never have a baby because the doctors have told you so? Have you given up on that relationship because it seems too impossible to fix? Are you absolutely sure there is no more hope? God wants to be merciful to us. He wants to extend his grace to us. The real question is, are we willing to reach out and accept it?
I was once told that God answers prayers in three ways: "Yes", "No", and "Not right now." But I'm beginning to believe that there are now four answers: "Yes", "No", "Not right now" and, "Sure, just let me rearrange some things first."
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