BARE NECESSITIES

Sometimes we aren't as bare as we think we are...

Have you ever felt like you don't have much left to give or offer? Or you WANT to give, but you don't know WHAT to offer... Welcome to my life. I always feel like there's so much more that i could be doing in life, like my life just isn't enough yet. There's always something around the corner that hasn't been experienced or discovered yet. I always here of worlds of opportunity, and the life well lived... WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!?! All I know is... in everything I do, I want to do it in love. And I am the biggest failure in my story when it comes to that. What have I done TODAY to make someone feel loved? What HAVE I done TODAY so far.... 

wow.... that intro was TOTALLY not what i was thinking of before.... but i guess it'll do... guess my thoughts got a little carried away. I think it's so relevant in many of our daily lives though. Do we ever think of that? what HAVE we done today... and what were our intentions/motivations behind it? Life is always so full of questions and confusing distractions and diversions. Sometimes is good to just sit still and refocus yourself in what's REALLY important in you life. What's important to me is.... I live each moment of everyday loving my God the best way I can. Luckily he forgives my ignorance and selfishness.... cause to tell the truth... everyday i have to wake up in the morning and remind myself that I'm not the main character in my story.. God is. 

If God is the main character.... then why do we live and act as if everything revolves around us? If this life is for his purposes... then why do i whine and complain every time he asks me to do something for him? If he IS the reason we live... then WHY are we so focused on what WE can do and accomplish in life... 

Why is it so hard for us to surrender the one thing we love the most.... ourselves. Jesus gave up EVERYTHING. Yet we cower when made fun of or publicly humiliated... Jesus was stripped, flogged, teased and hung... IN PUBLIC! how embarrassing is that. I used to think that i would never be able to understand the death of God's son... i didn't have anything to relate it to in my own life. But then i started to think of all the young women around the world who stand up for their faith and are persecuted for it. They're stripped, raped, beaten, showcased for the hungry and perverted persecutors, and humiliated. YET... they stand strong in their love and devotion of christ. WHAT THE HECK! they surrendered their dignity, pride, and for some... their purity, and I can't get myself out of bed in the morning... what does that say for me and my life. I'm starting to think that too much freedom results in apathy and an unwilling heart. We have the privilege and freedom to stand in the middle of downtown and yell at the top of our lung how much we love Jesus, while others are running and hiding in fear that they're underground church will be discovered. They worship sooooooo freely and openly... we cant get past lifting our hands. I'm tired of living in a cultural curse of Apathy... SCREW IT! If people want to judge me for deciding to live a dedicated and on fire life for my Father and king... then i must be doing something right :)

All this is to say... sometimes we aren't as bare as we think we are. We don't see what we REALLY have to offer God. We think we're empty useless vessels.... God says. "YIPPY!" Start living out Gods dreams and passions in your life. You'll be AMAZED at how excited about life you'll get. That alone is a blessing and reward. Be filled and encouraged. And lets break of our Cultures apathetic curse :)

The Mirror Lies

Searching for something to see, something to believe and something to hold onto is what we all do. How can we believe something if we cannot see it, or see something if we cannot hold it. Can we really hold onto anything if we do not believe it is there? 

Life goes around in these confusing little circles that we insist on putting ourselves into. Nothing comes without strings attached, or so we insist on thinking. Beauty is the biggest puppet of the modern world. There are so many strings attached that they get lost and confused amongst each other. There's commercial after commercial about different makeup brands and beauty products competing with one another. "After just one use you will start to see your wrinkles fade." ... "In just 10 minutes you will get the hair color you've been dying to have." I understand a woman's need to look modest and presentable, I do not disagree with it. However, I think our culture spends far too much time in front of the looking glass, perfecting a road to destruction. 

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? What part of the reflection can you look at with awe and wonder? Do you see beauty or a working progress? Do you see wrinkles or perfection? Do you see simple or complex? Do you see grey or even tones?Do you see Silver or Gold? What do YOU see when you look in the mirror?

"Don't be concerned about the OUTWARD beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourself instead with the beauty that comes from WITHIN, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God."       (1 PETER 3:3-4)

To me beauty is a life lived well, not a life spent clipping coupons for the cosmetic isle. When I grow older and i look in the mirror this is what i want to be able to say:

I see awe and wonder radiating. I see beauty. I see laugh lines and wrinkles from the perfect and exciting days in my life. I see simplicity, a good companion for humility. I see a full head of grey hair, showing the trials and good times i gained wisdom from. I see Gold, because no one else could ever be better at being me. When i look in the mirror and see the wrinkles, grey hair and outward imperfections, i see a life lived well with the unfading beauty of a quiet and gentle spirit.

What you see isn't always what you get. There's and old saying that says,"There's more than meets the eye." You are not defined by the physical features displayed in the mirror reflection. You are who you choose to let yourself become. If you want to let cosmetics and materialistic qualities become your life, no one is stopping you. But when will it ever be enough? At what point will the mascara or cellulite creme take away the broken desire to be loved? Looks and outward beauty can only get you so far in life for a limited time. What happens when you starve yourself to loose those extra few pounds? You deprive your body of the nutrients it really needs to maintain the natural beauty that is already there. What happens when you starve yourself of a gentle and quiet spirit? You deprive your character of unfading beauty and the nutrients it needs to keep growing into a rosebush. 

Is your mirror lying to you? Is it telling you to look like the cover model on the Cosmo magazine, or is it telling you your beautiful, blemishes and all. Take some time and seriously consider this... are you perfecting the road to destruction.... or are you paving the road to unfading beauty. The choice is, and always will be, yours.

** Lana Michelle**