beautiful:  a brilliant, extreme, or distinguished example; loveliness; a particularly graceful or excellent quality.

Never have I seen beauty more brilliantly displayed than in a woman who  truly seeks the LORD. His character taken on by her is more beautiful than any other form of excellence she could hope to possess. A personal relationship with God, through His Son Jesus Christ is just what every woman needs in order that she can become all that she has been created to be. I want to encourage you to come into sweet fellowship with Holy God today. It's simple, pray the following prayer from your heart and watch what the Lord will do. 

God in heaven, I believe that Jesus Christ is your Son; the one who died for me. Lord, come into my heart and life today, forgive me of my sin and be my Savior. I also want you to be my LORD. I surrender my life to You. I want to live fully for You. Would You grow me in Your likeness, making me the beautiful woman you created me to be. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

If you prayed that pray please leave us a comment below and go to the "What's Next" page for further help in your new walk with Christ. 

What is your daily a.m. beauty regimen?

Mine starts with...well, sometimes it depends on what's happening in the lives of the rest of my family. I would love to be able to tell you that I start every day with a lite workout, shower, personal readiness for the day and then time spent in Bible study and prayer. But...that is not my consistantly normal day, it is only my desired norm.

As you all know, we women have to be more flexible than our counterparts. This usually means hitting the early morning floor -- taking care of everyone but ourselves. Now in my late 40s, I have more time to myself than ever before, but still, it is difficult to make every morning go the way that I want it to.

One thing I try to do is that which I find most important to my over-all well being: spending time in prayer and meditation; reading the word of God with little interruption. Feeding my soul fuels my day for whatever it might have in store. Drawing near to God enables me to draw near to others; especially when I might not really feel like it. Focusing my undivided attention on Him enables me to focus on the things at hand and not become overwhelmed by what tries to dominate my thoughts, purpose and deepest desires.       

I don't know what your daily morning beauty regimen consists of, but making it what you want it to be rather than what it is, is a goal worth pursuing.

Your family is and should be your top prioroty. I am not telling you to neglect, reject or ignore them. They need you, a lot of you! In fact it sometimes feels as if they snarf you up like a big gnarly dog -- devouring every bit of you: energy, dreams, daily schedule and even your identity as a person. Indeed, much of your identity is in loving your husband and children and helping to meet both their daily needs and long-term goals. Yet, I want to encourage you to find some way to incorporate into your morning routine that which you want to do and really need to do -- for your personal health: spiritual, mental/emotional and physical. If not each day, perhaps two to three mornings each week. Take a morning bath, do an energizing work out, and always spend time with the LORD. You will be a better woman, wife and mommy if you will take a little time each week to do that which is best for your over-all wellness.

So, don't put off doing those things you need to do for you, instead plan. Plan your daily schedule to include things just for you. You and the Lord, that is.