Beauty is from Within

 

   Hey y'all!
   Who's excited for spring? I know I am!
   I'm so excited for the beautiful scenery that will out of the blue pop out and surprise me with their beautiful colors. It's a wonderful way to display God's idea of true beauty.
   Beauty itself is a precious thing. Not outward beauty, but beauty from within. The kind of beauty that is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control. (Galatians 5: 22-23)
    That is another one of my favorite Bible verses, for it helps me remember what my true self should be, and I try every day to have that character. A heart that is overflowing with the Fruit of the Spirit.
    A few days ago, I was talking with a few friends of mine about beauty. I had showed them a picture of myself with an amazing DERAIL sign by an old abandoned train track. They had commented that I looked very pretty. But, after a while, it started to tumble into how much more beautiful I was then them. For a long time, and even still, I stumble with vanity, and I keep telling myself that that is not what is important. I keep telling myself to be humble. And I told myself that right there with that conversation. I began to tell the girls that they are just as beautiful and not one of us is for prettier then the other. I told them that they are beautiful in God's eyes, if you have a good heart.
     I remember my Mom telling me a long time ago about true beauty. That even if you weren't as beautiful on the outside to the world if you had a Fruits of the Spirit kind of heart, that is true beauty in God's eyes. But if vanity and selfishness gets in the way, then there is no beauty, and you have an ugly heart. Like the Step Sisters from Cinderella.
     I told them that, and dearly hope that they will accept themselves for who they are, and not what they should be.
     Beauty is a hard thing to accomplish, and even I don't have it all together. I can be very vain at times, and it makes me stumble. I can't be the prettiest girl out there. But I can be a beautiful girl with a God-like heart. That's what truly matters, and what makes you beautiful on the outside too. Having the best clothes, the best hair, the perfect skin or smile doesn't make you beautiful. Having a loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful and self controlled makes you beautiful.
      What's ironic is is that I hardly listen to my own advice. I need to work on my heart as well. We can work on it together.
       Let us have a spring like heart, to have one day, where we suddenly pop out of the selfishness, vain ground, and blossom into Fruits of the Spirit.
        Happy Spring!

Favorite Bible Verse Joshua 1:9

 
""Have I not commanded you?
      Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.""
      About a year ago, when I was in ballet, I struggled with a certain dance move that I could not achieve...the pirouette. And I still have a hard time getting it down, just for fun.
       I got to the point where I was almost to the point of giving up, because the move was so hard.
       I came home one night after practice, and decided that I should look up a Bible verse, just a random one. I always loved the idea of when God would bring out a special Bible verse for the person in trouble. And I really needed encouragement. I was getting encouragement from my teacher, but I wanted something that would last. I flipped open my Bible, and sure enough, Joshua 1:9 was the first verse that I saw.
       I was so excited, that I told everyone I knew about this verse, because it wasn't just for me, it was for those struggling in the time of need in their lives.
       A few months ago, I had a heartbroken friend, who even without telling me, I knew she was in pain. I quickly flipped open my notebook, and wrote down that verse, the first verse that popped into my head, the verse that I always will remember. It blessed her so much.  
       Even to this day, whenever there is struggling, pain, or fear, that verse pops into my head, and I feel a wave of peace wash over me from God's Holy Spirit.
        I have many friends and family who are struggling, everyone does. It's no fun to be in a rut of pain and fear. I was in a deep rut with those two for a long time, and recently am healing from it, remembering that verse every time.
        I wanted to share this verse, because no matter where you are, whatever situation you're in, relationship, or rut, "do not be afraid, nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

STOP!!!!!

Mae govannon, mellon!!! Man, it's been a while since I have been on here, writing for ya'll! :)
Today, I felt like I needed to write this post, knowing that God is telling me to. AWESOMENESS, right?
I am going to do my best not to flip out, (because when I do, I'm not very nice), but I'm am going to be honest. :D
Okay, so this post is about how this guy,

gets mistreated on the Internet! Yep.

Okay, so, I posted on Pintrest a few minutes ago about how lately, since the Hobbit movie trilogy came out, people have been posting some NASTY, JUNKY stuff on the Internet, and it involves Thranduil, played by the amazing actor, Mr. Lee Pace.
This is what I said...exactly:
 "I know that there are a LOT of nasty things, and pictures of Thranduil out on the Internet, and it makes me wonder, "Do people really know who Thranduil really is, and what PJ has created with this character?" It's embarrassing for both me, and for the actor who plays Thranduil. Would you, and I'm asking all of you, do this in real life to Thranduil? I posted this video as a reminder to those that Thranduil is a living Elf, NOT a play toy."

(Here's the video. youtu.be/d5dTRAUmOX8)

Does this guy look like someone to be tampered with?

It makes sense, doesn't it? I mean, what if Thranduil really was real? How would he feel? He's a father of a GROWN son, lost his wife by death, and now, you're going to do this to him? If I was Thranduil, I would be very upset, and possibly get a little mean. I see a lot of girls writing how handsome he is, how beautiful his eyes are, how they wish that he was in their lives. And then, they create NASTY pictures of him! WOW!! Okay...weird.

I understand that he is a handsome Elf. I agree, he has a charming look to him but is he an Elf that Peter Jackson created to be nasty? And I don't mean Angry-nasty, I mean (this is very hard for me to write) 'sexy'? As in, BAD sexy? Uh...NOPE!!!!! I don't think so.
(Here is a pin that I found a while back, and this is what inspired me to make the pin description, and this post:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/58124651419409924/)

Why would people do this? It takes the fun out of a character that actually isn't mentioned that much in Tolkien's writings. How would Tolkien feel if he saw all this if he was alive, right now, today?
It makes me lose respect for those who post these things on the Internet.
I like the Hobbit movies, and the Lord of the Rings. But when I accidentally see these things, it makes me sick to my stomach, and I have to put those things aside, and keep on going in the right way. It's losing respect to those characters. It takes the fun out of an AMAZING Christian book series that God inspired for Tolkien to create.

The Bible even talks about sexual immorality:
1 Corinthians 6:13-20
“Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. ..."
Proverbs 6:32
"He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself."

Leviticus 20:13
"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them."

1 Thessalonians 4:7
"For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness"

(This is one reason why I do not have crushes on actors)

1 John 2:15-16

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world."

Romans 13:9

"For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

These are what keep us from doing wrong, whether in public, OR on the Internet.

Thranduil is not the sexy, mess with any girl, type of Elf. NO SIREE!!! Tolkien did not create Thranduil for that, NOR did Mr. Jackson.
This is the Elf that Mr. Jackson created:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1589qbXUGo&feature=share

An Elf who loves his WIFE, not anyone else
I begging all of you, PLEASE don't get hooked on Thranduil, OR Lee Pace. You're never going to get what you want, and besides, God has a different plan for you, and a different man, not an adult, married, and possibly a father, guy.
I agree that there are many men out there that have good looks. But, what if they secretly smoke, or have married many times. Or aren't even a Christian? Lee Pace might not be a Christian. I don't know, but please stop with the sexy stuff.
K?
I'm a 16 year old girl, who doesn't have a boyfriend yet, and I don't want a boyfriend right now. I don't even want to get married at 19. I know that out there, there is a guy who is more handsome, more kind and charming then Thranduil.
I always tell myself something like, "He's just an average human being. There isn't any man in the whole world that is inhuman. Justian Beiber is a human, Lee Pace is a human, Orlando Bloom is a human, Johnny Depp is a human, and I don't have a single crush on any of them. There's no reason too! God already had a life for them. They are His, not ours."

Okay, so, now that I got all my stuff out, (sign's meant for me) here's a goof picture. :P

*I know that is isn't normally what I would post, but, sometimes, God tells us to tell others about the things that are not okay in life. I hope that ya'll understand what I was trying to get to ya'll.
Have a great rest of ya'll's afternoon!
Namariea!!!!

Fruits of the Spirit: Fruit for Life

    So, I was scrolling through old posts from my blog, and came across this one about the Fruits of the Spirit. It's an old post from years ago, so I decided to update it and share it with y'all.
    In Galatians, the Bible tells us that we should have a character full of the Fruits of the Spirit. Fruits that makes a true heart that truly shows God to those who desperately need Him.
   Galatians 5:22 ""But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.""

   Love:

   Love is so important in relationships, and is sometimes even hard to give to those whom you dislike. But, by remembering that Jesus loved His enemies, it can help us love ours as well. In       Matthew 5:44, Jesus says "“But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”"

   Joy:
   Joy brings light and Jesus right to the very tips of your toes. It brightens people's day and gives them the hope that they need. One of my favorite scenes in the Bible was when David in 2 Samuel 6 was dancing for joy to music. Even reading that makes you smile. And sometimes, we must be joyful in times of trial, for that as well will give us hope and know that God is always there.

   James 1: 2-3 says ""My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.""

   Peace:

   Peace at times can be a trial, even in the most darkest days of life. But, having the presence of God in you is true peace, that even the darkness cannot penetrate it. 

   Matthew 16: 33, ""These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.""
   Patience:

   Patience. "Patience is a virtue" as I grew up with. It is hard to have patience, but Jesus Himself was a patient man. To walk in His footsteps with patience is hard, I know, but with His guidance, we all can. 

   James 1:3 says, ""But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

   Kindness:

   Kindness, another one that I sometimes lack. Kindness makes a heart beautiful, along with the other Fruits of the Spirit. 

   Isaiah 54: 10, ""For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, no shall My covenant of peace be removed." Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.""

   Goodness:

   What makes a person truly good? Christ, who was good in all things.

    1 Peter 2:12 says, "“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.”'

   Faithfulness:

   A faithful heart is a jewel, a jewel that will never lose its beauty nor shine. My favorite Bible verse states this, and it always helps us to remember to have faith. Joshua 1:9, ""Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.""

   Gentleness:

   Gentleness, like the gentle hand of a mother or father, Jesus had a gentle heart for His people. We too, must replicate His gentle heart. Ephesians 4:2-3, '''-With all lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

   And Self-control:

   Self-control, the tool and shield for us to guard our hearts from sin, is a power that God has given us. Jesus Himself used self control and knowledge to fight against Satan when He was being tempted in the desert. We too must keep a guarded, self controlled heart.

   James 1:12 says, ""Blessed is the man who endured temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.""
   It is hard for all of us to remember to use the Fruits of the Spirit in our lives, and often we get into trouble. But, with faith in Christ, He can help us remember.
  Happy Spring y'all!
  This post was featured in Issue #135 of The Christian Home Magazine.

A Letter From Jesus

A few years ago, my grandmother, Christy Virgil, gave me this piece of paper from a magazine, that my great-great grandmother had.

Dear Friend,
I just had to send a note to tell you how much I love and care for you. I saw you yesterday as you were walking with your friend. I waited all day hoping you would want to talk to me. As evening came, I gave you a sunset to close your day and a breeze to rest you - And I waited. You never came. Sure, it hurts me - But I still love you because you are my Friend. I saw you fall asleep last night and longed to touch you, so I spilled moonlight on your face. Again I waited to rush down so we could talk. I have so many gifts for you! You got up late and rushed off to work. My tears were in the rain. Today you looked so sad - so all alone. It made my heart ache because I understand. My friends let me down and hurt me many times too, but I loved them. If you would only listen to me! I LOVE YOU! I try to tell you in the blue sky and in the quiet green grass. I whisper in the leaves in the trees and breathe it in the flowers. I shout to you in the mountain streams and give the birds love songs to sing. I clothe you in the warm sunshine and sweeten the air with nature scents. My LOVE for you is deeper than the ocean and bigger than the biggest want or need in your head. If you only knew how much I want to talk and walk with you. I know how hard it is on earth. I really know! And I want to help you. I want you to meet my Father. He wants to help you too. My Father is that way, you know. Just call me - ask me - talk with me! Please don't forget me! I have so much to share with you! All right, okay. I won't bother you any more, YOU are free to choose ME. It's your decision: I have chosen you, and because of this, I will wait, and wait, because...I LOVE YOU.
Your friend,JESUS.

I love this. And I hope you do too.