Captivating Beauty Revisited

Something I've had as a draft for a really really long time. :

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Recently I celebrated on facebook how I've come a long way from my post in March 2013 when I had a breakthrough.

FB post celebrating a year plus since this breakthrough :)

What I didn't realise was that as I shared the link again to what I wrote a year back, God was still working through it. Many people commented on how grateful they were that I shared this piece but there were these handful ladies that messaged me personally to say that my writing helped them.

Hearing that encouraged me a lot and made me realise that what I choose to say and talk about will impact people around me, and the potential of this is endless! (I'm getting exciting just thinking of what it can be). Anyway, one of the ladies who is my friend Lindley sent me her journal reflection that is related to my post..

I was sincerely touched by what she wrote and would like to share it here on my blog. Lindley has given me her permission so here it is! Enjoy!!:


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(Shared with permission) :

There is such beauty all around. Flowers, trees, majestic birds; to flourescent-coloured fishes, intricately-designed butterfly wings. I look at the sun every morning and marvel at its gloriousness. I'm thankful for the heat and warmth that it brings to my heart. I see the stars and my gaze is lost in its sparkle.

God made this. He made the Earth, and called into being all the beautiful things in it. Every detail was designed and crafted by the Maker. And they speak of beauty.

Including you. God made everything on Earth, including you. For through Him, all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:3, NIV) I imagine that all of creation came under His scrutiny before actually having been created (laughs).

God is an intentional and a purposeful God. It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had design on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. (Ephesians 1:11-12, MSG)

So every part of you was designed and crafted by the Maker, and they speak of beauty. 

Let that sink in for awhile.

You may not feel beautiful; people may not view you as beautiful, but He does. You are flawless to Him. Even if you have a gap in between your teeth; even if you have an illness; even if you were born deformed - He still thinks you're flawlessly beautiful. That is how deep His love is for you.

(At this point, I struggled with how God thinks of deformity as beautiful. A lot. But I realised that I had been following the world's standard for beauty. And that God doesn't look at outward appearances, but at your heart.)

He thinks you're beautiful, not by looking at your appearance. He looks at your heart and sees beauty there. You may have gone through horrible experiences; made terrible mistakes. But He's got it all covered. He has redeemed you - made your sins as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). So let Him define your beauty by His royal standard. Don't let anyone else define that. Because our standards change over time. Our own standards don't even measure up! Our standards of beauty have become so impossible that we need to resort to surgery and Photoshop to fulfil that kind of beauty standard. Beauty has become nothing more than a trend; and new trends replace the old.

This isn't just a recent phenomenon. In his wisdom, CS Lewis has written:

In a rough and ready way, of course, this question is decided for us by spirits far deeper down in the Lowerarchy than you and I. It is the business of these great masters to produce in every age a general misdirection of what may be called sexual “taste”. This they do by working through the small circle of popular artists, dressmakers, actresses and advertisers who determine the fashionable type….

Thus we have now for many centuries…. As regards the male taste we have varied a good deal. At one time we have directed it to the statuesque and aristocratic type of beauty, mixing men’s vanity with their desires and encouraging the race to breed chiefly from the most arrogant and prodigal women. At another, we have selected an exaggeratedly feminine type, faint and languishing, so that folly and cowardice, and all the general falseness and littleness of mind which go with them, shall be at a premium.

At present we are on the opposite tack. The age of jazz has succeeded the age of the waltz, and we now teach men to like women whose bodies are scarcely distinguishable from those of boys. Since this is a kind of beauty even more transitory than most, we thus aggravate the female’s chronic horror of growing old (with many excellent results) and render her less willing and less able to bear children. And that is not all. We have engineered a great increase in the licence which society allows to the representation of the apparent nude (not the real nude) in art, and its exhibition on the stage or the bathing beach.

It is all a fake, of course; the figures in the popular art are falsely drawn; the real women in bathing suits or tights are actually pinched in and propped up to make them appear firmer and more slender and more boyish than nature allows a full-grown woman to be…. As a result we are more and more directing the desires of men to something which does not exist—making the rôle of the eye in sexuality more and more important and at the same time making its demands more and more impossible. What follows you can easily forecast! 

(CS Lewis, Screwtape Letters, 1941)

Let He who is constant define your beauty. Your unfading beauty comes from a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of greath worth, and is so precious to Him (1 Peter 3:4).

I'm sorry if no one has told you that you're beautiful. I know it hurts, because you long to be beautiful to others. So ask Him, "Am I beautiful?" Hear His heart for you, and let that drown out everything else. Because I'm certain that He will tell you how beautiful you are.

"You're beautiful from head to toe, my dear love, beautiful beyond compare, absolutely flawless." (Song of Solomon 4:7, MSG)

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Here's to all the broken hearted and to many who feel they are never enough. Let it be known that you are beautiful. Really. You are.

Ciao.

Sufficient Grace

"My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever." - Psalm 73:26 -

One event after another these past few days, have triggered so much sadness within me. Because of all these triggers, unresolved issues from the past are also arising and right now I'm just overwhelmed with such a heavy heart. I allowed myself to dwell in those emotions for a bit and I remember. I remember all the pain that I have gone through from before and it is very humbling.

All the anger.

All the bitterness.

All the sorrow.

All the pain.

All the sadness.

All the disappointments.

All the fear.

I allowed it.. Just for a moment.. And just for a moment, I hated myself again.

Going down this road was so familiar and I realise I had to snap out of this. Snap out of it and STEP out of it.

And in the ugliness of the moment God reminded me of a long forgotten song.

"Hold, me close let Your love surround me,
Bring me near draw me to Your side,
And as I wait, I'll rise up like the eagle,
And I will soar with you, your Spirit leads me on,
In the power of Your love."

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Heavenly Father,

Forgive me. My flesh is weak but in my weakness, Your strength is made perfect. Lord, help me learn to keep relying on Your Grace for it is sufficient for me. Even as I continue on this journey to know you more, in moments like this, don't let me go. Remind me Lord, of the Love that you gave on that cross.

Your Grace is sufficient for me.

Amen.

Ciao.

p.s.: To all, God Grace is sufficient for us. As much as I still have to comprehend about this, slowly but surely God is revealing His unending mercy in my life.

How Great Thou Art...

Saw this from Yahoo! News...



Heavenly Father,


         How Great Thou Art, How Great Thou Art...


Amen.

There. nuff' said.

Ciao.

p.s.: Here's to everyone. How Great indeed is the Lord Almighty..

Good Friday: The bleeding hands and feet...

Passage Taken from Matthew 27:


Jesus Before Pilate


 ¹¹ Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

   “You have said so,” Jesus replied.

 ¹² When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. ¹³ Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” ¹⁴ But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

 ¹⁵ Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. ¹⁶At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus^[b] Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” ¹⁸ For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.

 ¹⁹ While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”

 ²⁰ But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.

 ²¹ “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.

   “Barabbas,” they answered.

 ²² “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.

   They all answered, “Crucify him!”

 ²³ “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.

   But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

 ²⁴ When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”

 ²⁵ All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”

 ²⁶ Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

 ²⁷ Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. ²⁸They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. ³⁰ They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. ³¹ After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

 ³² As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. ³³ They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). ³⁴ There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. ³⁵ When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. ³⁶ And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. ³⁷ Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

 ³⁸ Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹ Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” ⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ⁴² “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

The Death of Jesus

 ⁴⁵ From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. ⁴⁶ About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,^[c] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).^[d]

 ⁴⁷ When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

 ⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ⁴⁹ The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

 ⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

 ⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and^[e] went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

 ⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

 ⁵⁵ Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. ⁵⁶ Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph,^[f] and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

THANK YOU, JESUS for your love for me.

Gentle Reminder.....

Today is church day!! Yay!!

The sermon was wonderfully shared and focused on Nehemiah Chapter 6 where my church pastor preached about guarding our personal walls. One of the phrases mentioned really struck me which goes:

We must NEVER take our eyes off God and think that we can do it on our own. Then our walls will begin to crack (referring to the walls of Jerusalem that were taken over by the Babylonians)

Pastor went on to remind us that we should always REMEMBER GOD for he has been our help which immediately reminded me of my previous post where I mentioned that if we remember God is bigger than our problem, we are comforted.

Lord Jesus,
          Forgive me for my lack of faith in you lately. Thank you for your faithfulness in carrying me through each day. Lord I want to continue to learn to put my faith in you, to trust you. Teach me, mold me. Make me more like you.

Amen.

The youth sang a song that speaks of the same message too.. I guess I really need to be reminded of the awesomeness of God.. Here its is..

THROUGH IT ALL

You are forever in my life

You see me through the seasons

Cover me with Your hands

And lead me in Your righteousness

And I look to You

And I wait on You

Chorus:

I sing to You, Lord

A hymn of love

For your faithfulness to me

I'm carried in everlasting arms

You'll never let me go

Through it all

Bridge:

Hallelujah (4x)

Ciao.

p.s.: Here's to those of you who needs a little EXTRA reminder like me.. God Bless!!!

A new leaf?

Regarding the title.. Why do we always say "turn over a new leaf"?? I mean when you turn over a leaf.. it just DOESN'T become new.. hmmm..

Right. To post proper...

In light of my post before this, I need to address a few matters..

I know my post was very impulsive and reactive BUT, I do not regret it for I am but only human and no one was harmed (except probably for my ego..). Anyway, I had Bible Study for homegroup and we covered Nehemiah Chapter 4. From that chapter, the verse that popped up to me was

After I look things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes." (Neh 4:14)

 Upon reaching this section of the passage for discussion, the Bible study leader commented something that struck me hard. And it sobered me from my anger over the previous post. This was he commented.

"When you see that God is bigger than your problems, you are comforted."

Immediately my brain went "Wow.. Okay God, I get it.. I'm sorry... I should be better than this.. I'll power through the storm because you indeed are greater than my problem" It was a lesson learnt and I promise myself to be a little more accepting although personally I still think that the job distribution is a little unfair on my part.

But hey, I guess if it doesn't break you, it MAKES you... and I have much to be thankful for that. Hence my title.

Ciao.

p.s.: Here's to all who have  experienced God knocking ever so gently on the door to remind us of HOW GREAT HE IS...

Fear God

My church just finished our Church camp on Sunday. It was an incredible experience. There were many who personally encountered God and others who were challenged to rise up to the occasion. I personally was one of those who were challenged but at the same time received affirmation of the decisions that I'm making. As for the details, I would rather keep them to myself for now as I continue to seek God with my direction in life. But one thing that I want to share on is the theme of the camp which is "Fear God".

I was reading my daily devotion book and (yes, I'm still in the book of Job) came upon the passage that amazingly talks about the greatness of God and how he is to be revered! Many times we the human race forgets that God is Almighty and Powerful. That He is the Supreme God that created us and can destroy nations if need be (Think about earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc.). Yes, don't get me wrong. God IS our friend, our Father, and loves us dearly but many forget that God is also the ALL Powerful God that reigns from the heavens above.

Here is the passage from Job that is so appropriately fitted into the theme of the camp.

"Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice,

to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.

He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven

and sends it to the ends of the earth.

After that comes the sound of his roar;

he thunders with his majestic voice.

When his voice resounds,

he holds nothing back.

God's voice thunders in marvelous ways;

he does great things beyond out understanding.

He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,'

and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.'

So that all men he has made may know his work,

he stops every man from his labor.

The animal take cover;

they remain in their dens.

The tempest comes out from its chamber,

the cold from the driving winds.

The breath of God produces ice,

and the broad waters become frozen.

He loads the clouds with moisture;

he scatters his lightning through them.

At his direction they swirl around

over the face of the whole wrath

to do whatever he commands them.

He brings the clouds to punish men,

or to water his earth and show his love.

Great indeed is the Lord. Amen.

Ciao.

p.s.: Here's to all who attended the church camp with me.. Cheers!!

My Redeemer Lives

Am doing a devotion series that currently covers the book of Job and was struck by this passage:

"Oh, that my words were recorded,

that they were written on a scroll,

that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead,

or engraved in rock forever!

I know that my Redeemer lives,

and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.

And after my skin has been destroyed,

yet in my flesh I will see God;

I myself will see him

with my own eyes - I, and not another.

How my heart yearns within me!"

Job 19 : 23 - 27

How amazing to read the poetic scriptures as said aloud by Job! That thousands of years before the coming of Jesus as the Messiah, Job already foresaw it and declared of the Redeemer that lives, who is also our witness and advocate in heaven, and who is our intercessor where "on behalf of a man he pleads with God as a man pleads for his friend.(Job 16 : 21)" Amazing.....

Reading this passage reminded me of a song by Eugene Greco (made famous by Marty Nystrom):

My Redeemer lives,
and I will see his glory
as he works all things together for my good -
whatever things occur, of this I can be sure:
I know my Redeemer lives.

Even though I walk through the valley,
I will fear no evil,
he is with me;
and on the battlefield, although the pain is real,
my struggles soon will fade
as his glory is revealed.

Eugene Greco
(C) 1995 His Banner Publishing

Here's a video of the song (not original). Its not the best version of it but its the only one I could find in Youtube.

And while we're on the topic of My Redeemer Lives, here's another song with the same title sung by Nicole C. Mullen. The song is "attached" to an inspirational video of the famous father son team called Team Hoyt. Very inspiring indeed...

That's all from me for now.

Ciao.

p.s.: Here's to those who are reading the book of Job (and have read it before...) Cheers!