Over the years I’ve had a love hate relationship with a “polished piece of metal”. . . yep, the mirror! It started out as my childhood friend. We were great pals -bosom buddies some might say. Like every little girl, I used it to admire myself when I dressed up as a princess, dreaming of the beautiful woman that I wanted to be one day. But around the time I turned 14, I started struggling with acne and the “loving dreamy” aspect of the mirror left.  Now, looking into it, the object that once helped me to dream, only seemed to criticize me, point out my every flaw, and scream at me with reasons of why I would never be the beautiful woman I dreamed of becoming.

Can you relate at all?!  Maybe your struggle isn’t keeping a clear complexion, maybe it’s your weight, your teeth, your height. Whatever it is, I think it’s safe to say we have all struggled, to some degree, with Self Image. We live in a world that’s obsessed with it!  Every day we are bombarded with images from the media of airbrushed flawless girls.  Magazines tell us the top 10 beauty tips, the fastest way to get “fabulous abs” and a great beach body. In a world where we are encouraged -almost expected- to look perfect, it’s no wonder we often become so consumed with the picture of who we ’should be.’  We end up despising the girl we see in the mirror.

I don’t know about you, but the idea of living up to a standard of flawless perfection overwhelms me!!!  So, I decided to GIVE UP… don’t worry, I still practise personal hygiene and put effort into getting myself ready for the day!  But I no longer let the mirror define who I am. In the middle of my struggle, the Lord showed me His heart. A heart that said “I value your life and what’s inside of you, more then what you see in the mirror.” (1Pet. 3:4)  A heart that told me He created me with precision and purpose (Ps. 139:13). A heart that said I was beautiful in His sight. (Ps. 45:11) This became my focus. It gave me a new standard to live up to. Believe me, I still have days when I’m not completely satisfied with the girl I see in the mirror..as we all will. Despite how we fail to measure up to the standard of beauty the world -and we ourselves- set for us, God still considers us His masterpiece.

Inside every woman is a desire to be beautiful. I think we can all agree on that.  But what really defines beauty?  It’s time for us as daughter’s of God to let go of the lies the world has spoken over us. My prayer is that we will come to a place where we are so saturated with the truth of who God says we are.  That we can look at the mirror and say “You don’t define me” and know what really does.

Love,  Jess

“Flirty girls are the worst.”

As a member of the male species, I can totally say this- no upstanding dude trusts a flirty girl. Maybe you know one, or maybe you are one:

You smile and/or wink and/or cuddle with pretty much every decent-looking boy.  Hugs are a little long.  You chat online and text constantly.  You’re always going out for coffee or dinner or a movie, with different guys, and you’re ‘just friends.’  Late night chats.  Heart-to-hearts.  Phone calls.  Flirting.  Whether you know it or not, there’s a very good chance that you are leading that poor guy on.

Can I give you a little piece of knowledge that’s worth it’s weight in gold?

If you flirt with every guy in the room, you’ll end up doing two things:

1. You will turn off every guy smart enough to realize that you’re just flirting with everyone.

2. You will attract every bonehead who is dumb enough to think that you’d actually settle down with him.

Here’s what it comes down to:

While you’d think that flirting with a lot of guys would increase your chances of getting a boyfriend, it actually decreases your chances of getting a GOOD one!!!

Dang.  There’s something to re-think about.

So what should you do instead?

Jay

“Money is a great servant but a cruel master.”

A wise friend quoted this to me a while back, and I distinctly remember adding it to my ever-growing collection of catchy one-liners.  A couple of years later however, I discovered that money was the number one competitor for my heart and had become a master in my life.

Ladies, the love of money is not always obvious- you might assume you are immune.  But let’s change the word money to “stuff” and answer a few questions:

Do you get jealous when others have more than you?
Do you envy your friends whose parents buy them whatever they want?
Do you tithe regularly (give a portion of God’s gifts back to Him)?
Are you content with what you have?

Jesus said that your heart is wherever your treasure is.  Where we choose to spend our money is a clear indicator to God where your priorities lie.  What is it for you? Clothes? Furniture? Haircare? Shoes? Decorating your home? Movies?

None of these are bad in themselves, but if you find yourself being discontent without feeding your fetish, it might be time to check your motives and identify who you are trying to impress.  Do not let money become your master. If you let Jesus be your master and money be your servant, you will discover a life of freedom AND fulfillment.  Let’s make that our goal this week!

Michelle

Hi Girls!  I’m new to this whole blogging communications thing, so here’s what I need you to do:

Pretend that we are all curled up on the couch with mounds of blankets with steaming cups of tea. Cozied in for a deep sisterly heart-to-heart.

Identity…it’s something we all struggle with. We all want to know that we are loved and of high value. In my own life, I have found that often on that quest for identity, this comes from men in my life. Regardless of whether that was my Dad or the latest boy. Value from men has always been very important.

Here’s what God’s been hitting me with over and over again throughout this week:

It’s not about who I am…it’s about whose I am.

If people ask us who we are, it’s a mad dash for an answer…I’m a sister, friend, nanny, photographer, tea drinker, and the list goes on. We need to find answers that will qualify our value in the minds of those around us.

As soon as my identity quest becomes about WHOSE I am, then the answer becomes an overwhelmingly meaningful and simple answer of JESUS’. In this one simple answer I find value because there is nothing of more value than Jesus. My life is not my own, it was never meant to find its value in the words or actions of men. We have been bought with the death of a perfect savior. The maker of the entire Universe calls me his. He treasures and values every intricate detail of who he has created me to be. Only through him are we able to grasp this truth.

God has bought us, forgiven us, and furthermore He holds every road block of life in his hands. He is the beginning and the end. (Revelation 22:13) So what do you think girls? Where do we find our identity? What point of the journey are you at? I know that this truth isn’t yet my reality at every moment of every day. It’s a journey…a place I’m striving to reach. What about you?

Andrea

Well girls, here’s a thought:  how far is too far?  Most people don’t draw a line anywhere, and most Christians draw the line at intercourse.  The hardcore Christ-followers might back it up even further, but let’s be totally honest- many will toss it out the window if a boy sticks around long enough.  Many live with regrets.  Many wish they that still had their virginity.

In Christian circles, people make a HUGE deal out of staying a virgin until marriage.  It’s understandable… impurity is sin.  AND- as someone who, by God’s grace, was a virgin AND married a virgin, I can say that it was TOTALLY worth it!  But it’s not a dealbreaker.

Preachers do this thing when they talk about virginity- they say “and if you’re in this room tonight and you’ve already given away your virginity, you can become a virgin again.  It’s called recycled virginity or second chance virginity.”  They then go on to explain that if you stay pure, in God’s eyes, you’re good.  That seems to make most people happy.

So let’s throw a monkey wrench in the plans…

Get Your Virginity Back

Yes, you read that right- for a couple grand, a hymenoplasty will give you your physical virginity back.  Doesn’t matter if you lost it years ago, you can now become a technical virgin again.  Great news!  So now you can sleep around all you want, then tell God you’re sorry, get the opp, and marry a virgin right?!

Of course not.  Obviously not.  All this operation does is add to the truth:  that purity is SO MUCH MORE THAN PHYSICAL.  Girls, please listen- God desires your holiness.  He craves your righteousness.  He desires your purity.  He created you for ONE husband.  He created your sexuality for ONE loving marriage relationship.  Don’t mess around with one of his most creative gifts.  Realize that sexuality is HIGHLY spiritual, and that it has implications far beyond your physical body.  You need to find out what those are okay?

This might help you start: You can check out Sex God by Rob Bell.  I’ve also just added a new book to the Sex Shop.  It’s called “Technical Virgin” by Hayley DiMarco.  How far is too far?  Hayley might just blow your mind.

Be pure this weekend.