It’s almost July, so let’s celebrate with a Christmas in July frozen hot chocolate bar! My hot chocolate bar is always a family favorite during Christmas time, but why wait? Let’s make one together for a Summer family movie night! Crank up your air conditioning, grab your frozen hot chocolate and put on your favorite Christmas movie for a fun Christmas in July movie night with your family and friends.
Frozen Hot Chocolate Recipe: 1 cup of your favorite hot chocolate mix (I make my own with just 2 ingredients. 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder to 3/4 cups of sugar.)
2 cups of chocolate milk (because we want this extra chocolatey!)
3 cups of ice
In a blender add milk, cocoa mix and ice. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses. Top with whipped cream, marshmallows (freeze marshmallows for some extra fun!) sprinkles and shaved chocolate.
At Christmas time I make a hot chocolate bar and it’s so fun for the kids (and adults too!) So for the frozen hot chocolate bar, here are a few ideas. Frozen marshamallows. (make sure to bring them out, just before you are serving so they stay frozen.) Your favorite candy toppings. Chopped up peppermints, White Chocolate chips, Sprinkles, and Whipped Cream. (make your whipped cream instead of buying it and add in a fun flavor like caramel or hazelnut.)
Let everyone make their own frozen hot chocolate creation and then put on a Christmas movie and have a fun Christmas in July movie night! Have fun!!
As Christian parents, it is imperative to teach our children at a young age, that prayer is our greatest strength and weapon against sin and the evil in this world. It not only strengthens us as Christians living in a fallen world, but it turns our focus from ourselves, to God and His will for our life. Praying should be like breathing. It should be something that naturally happens each day.
For parents of small children. If you’re trying to explain prayer to a younger child, try this: “You know how daddy asks you how your day was when he gets home from work? He likes to know what you did. And you tell him all about it.” –“It’s the same with God. He is our Heavenly father, and He wants to know all about our day. He wants to hear if you’re happy or sad or excited, because He loves you so deeply.” Then you can say. “What if daddy came home from work and you didn’t talk to him. Do you think he would be sad? Yes, of course he would. Now think about God. He created you. He loves you so much! Don’t you think He wants to hear from you?” We can’t hear God speaking in a big voice like daddy’s, but when we pray, we can talk to Him and He can hear us. And when we read our Bible, we can “hear” Him.
My son is fourteen and he has known since he was old enough to speak, that God is ALWAYS there listening to us. (even when we don’t want Him to be. ;) He knows that when he is mad or sad or frustrated or even happy, that he can pray and talk to God. It is his first instinct to pray in trying times and that truly warms my heart as a mom when he says he is praying for me.
We’re all busy. But never let yourself get too busy to pray. That’s when life really will start falling apart. I hope that over the next month you are dedicated to setting aside some quiet time to pray intentionally for your children. Depending on your personal situation, you may not get a block of uninterrupted time for more than a few minutes. And that’s ok. Shoot for ten-fifteen minutes in the morning before the kids are up. If that doesn’t work, pray while you’re in the shower, or while you’re brushing your teeth. Whatever you do, just stick to it. I hope and pray that it will not only bring you closer to your children, but closer to God as well.
Day 1: Pray for the dedication and focus to follow through with a month of praying for your child/ren. You may get distracted, or frustrated and want to give up. Scratch that. You will. That’s a fact, but I hope and pray that you will continue on with this for the whole month. I pray that whatever you are dealing with, with your child, that there will be progress and breakthrough. I pray in Jesus name that you will be blessed for seeking God’s will for your children and I ask that God will strengthen not only your relationship with Him, but your child’s.
Day 2: Pray that your child would have a strong prayer life. Prayer. That’s literally what this is all about. It’s our weapon against the wages of war. I spent every single night as soon as my son was born, praying over him. Praying out loud with him day and night. Praying was something I did so often in front of him, that by the time he was 3 or 4 his response to a problem was to pray. (such a beautiful sight and sound!) If you aren’t already praying with your child, start! It’s never too late. And if they are very young, just start praying out loud with them and it will soon become something they recognize. Let them know that prayer truly changes things and more importantly, it changes us!
Day 3: Pray for your child to share the gospel with others. It’s one thing for someone to say they are a Christian. But it’s another thing to actually share what being a follower of Christ is. To share the gospel with someone may very well change their life forever! And how amazing would it be to know that your child helped save another child’s life. “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”
Day 4: Pray for your child’s eyes and heart to be protected from the enemy’s lies. Let’s be honest. Any chance he gets, the enemy will try to trick you with a lie. To a child, that may be a whispered lie that says, you’ll have fun if you do _________. Don’t listen to your parents, they don’t want you to have fun. He lies to us any chance he can get. So as parents, we need to first, let our children know about the devil and how he will work HARD at getting you to second guess God. He wants to steal your joy, cause you to stumble and get caught up in sin. Pray boldly that your child will not only be protected from the enemy’s lies, but that they will be able to discern when something is from him and not of God. The truth is, that the devil isn’t some scary, ugly person. He is sometimes wrapped up with a pretty bow. He is tricky like that. So I encourage you to let your child know that we have power over the enemy in Jesus Christ. Encourage them to pray and ask Jesus when they aren’t sure about a thought or feeling or situation.
Day 5: Pray that your child will speak the truth in love. This does not mean having a weak demeanor. It is about the way the truth and love go hand in hand. Because as Christ followers, we know THE truth and we are called to share it, even when it is not popular. We as Christians are to train others in the truth. The gospel truth. Sharing these from a selfless love (agape love. Truth about who God is and what He has called us to do. Truth about correction and what is right and wrong in God’s eyes. For a young child, this may seem unnecessary to pray for, but I encourage you to pray that your child (and you) will grow confidently into a person who always speaks THE truth in love, even when you are silenced, censored and hated.
Day 6: Pray that your child doesn’t have jealousy in their heart. Jealousy will eat you alive. It may not be something you think about as your child is young, but as they start to get older jealousy will most likely creep in. So I encourage you to be praying about this before it happens. “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”Proverbs 14:30
Day 7: Pray for your child to have Godly friendships. Pray that they not only would have Godly friends, but that they would be a Godly friend to others. Pray for people to come into their life that would encourage your child to draw closer to God, especially when things get tough. Ask God to help them be able to discern who they should and should not be friends with. “A perverse man stirs up disssension and a gossip separates close friends/ A violent man entices his neighbor and leads him down a path that is not good. Proverbs 16:28-29 –“He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffer harm.” Proverbs 13:20
Day 8: Pray for your child to have self control. With self control, we are able to control our thoughts, words and actions. Because our fallen nature is to sin, when we have the Holy Spirit we are able to die to our sin and live in Christ. Pray that your child would die to their earthly desires, and always seek God and His will over their own. “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” Titus 2:11-12
Day 9: Pray for your child’s faith. Our faith will always be tested, mocked and tried in this world. But we must hold strong to the promises we have in Christ. Pray that they always have “faith like a child.” –“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12
Day 10: Pray for your children’s future spouse. Pray that your child will find someone who loves the Lord and who keeps His commandments. Someone who is loyal and trustworthy and respectful to their parents and to their future spouse (your child.) Pray that their parents are God fearing parents who are praying the same thing for their child. –“But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” Mark 10:6-9
Day 11: Pray for their relationship with YOU! Pray for your child to always keep the lines of communication open with you whether they are a young child or a grown adult. And to trust you as a safe person to talk to, no matter what the situation is. There will be many outside voices in your child’s life; God’s should be first and then yours. –“Honor your father and mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Deuteronomy 5:16 –“Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.” Proverbs 23:22
Day 12: Pray that your child uses their gifts and abilities for the glory of God. It’s easy to get caught up in the approval of peers. Your child may think that their gift of singing would be amazing for a TikTok career. (though I hope your child does not have a TikTok.) Yes, it’s fun to have people cheering us on. But when we use our gifts for the glory of God, we are richly rewarded. Ask God to help your children know that their gifts are from Him and that they desire to use them for His glory, not their own. Pray that they know it’s a blessing to let God work through us to reach other people for His glory. –“As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the multifaceted grace of God. Whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking actual words of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:11
Day 13: Pray that your child will not be fearful. This may seem irrelevant if your child is older, but fear creeps in at all stages of life and it keeps us from fully trusting God and His plan for our life. Pray that your children are not afraid of any situation or person. Let them know they are safe in God’s arms. Pray that they know Jesus has overcome death and is bigger than any scary situation or person. Pray that God helps them be strong and courageous, because truthfully we know that at some point, they will be scared of something or someone. Pray that they know that in their weakness, God’s power is made perfect. –“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.” Psalm 23
Day 14: Pray that your child knows they were created by God, with a purpose, for a purpose. It is important to not only pray about this, but to also tell your child that their worth and purpose is ONLY found in Jesus. Pray that they do not fall into the trap of trying to fill a void that only Christ can fill. “For we are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
Day 15:Pray that your child would be compassionate towards others. Ask God to help your child have compassion towards others and to love as Christ loves us. “…encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.” 1 Thessalonians 5:14-15
Day 16:Pray that your child would grow in maturity. Ask God to help their minds and hearts grow in maturity and wisdom from Christ. “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching…instead, speaking the truth in love, will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is Christ.” Ephesians 4:14-15
Day 17: Pray for your child’s health. Not just for their physical health. But their mental and spiritual health as well. Pray that they will take care of their body and honor it as a temple. That they will fill their minds and bodies with healthy thoughts and food. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own. For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Day 18: Pray for your child to always hears God’s voice above the noise of the world. There are so many loud “worldly” voices all around us. This world is not going to think like we do, so pray that your child always goes to God’s Word to find answers, hope and strength. This also starts with us as parent’s giving our children a strong foundation in the Bible and what God says. The more we know what God says is right, the less we will listen to the things the world says are “right.”
Day 19: Pray that your child takes every thought and makes it obedient to God. “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Day 20: Pray for your child’s safety. If you have a wild child, you may already be praying this. :) My son was one of those kids, that had no fear. I can remember when he was about 4 and I bought him a shirt with a cape. He thought he was Superman and jumped off the brick planter in our backyard and ended up breaking his arm. :( I am no stranger to praying for his safety and protection and do every day. I actually probably do more as he has gotten older and is now a teenager. And though, yes your child will get hurt from time to time, that’s just life. I still always pray for extra protection over him. Pray that God will hold your child securely in His arms. Ask God to watch over and protect them every day.
Day 21: Pray for your child’s attitude towards you (their parent.) Pray that they are respectful and seek to always keep God’s commandments. (honor your father and mother.) Pray that they would not be rude, angry or disrespectful. Yes, there will be plenty of times they will, especially as they get older, but again, as their parent, set them up for success. Pray for them. Teach them God’s ways. Guide them to be respectful to you, to God and to others. Teach them to pray that their words and actions reflect God. Pray that they will not be bitter or resentful towards you as you make decisions they may not like.
Day 22:Pray that your children will have a good work ethic. Ask God to instill perseverance in your child. That they would keep going strong even when things get tough. And that they would be humble to do whatever they do for the Lord. Not for glory, riches or fame. That is especially hard in this world where people have zero drive to work hard and just expect to get rich and famous from being a “youtuber.” “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58
Day 23: Pray that your child puts their trust in God. Ask God to grow your child’s trust in Him. You want your child to trust God so that He is the one they seek out in times of trouble, pain or sorrow. “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.” Jeremiah 17:7
Day 24: Pray for your child’s mind. Pray that God would protect and guide their mind and thoughts. Pray that they get sucked into thoughts of depression, or anxiety. Pray their minds and thoughts stay pure and on things of Christ, not things of this world. “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
Day 25: Pray for your child’s integrity. Ask God to fill them with integrity and have a desire to do what is good and pleasing to the Lord. That they would not lie or try to hide or cover up their wrong doings. “May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you.” Psalm 25:21
Day 26: Pray for your child to grow in wisdom from the Lord. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever..” Psalm 111:10
Day 27: Pray for your child to listen to Godly instruction and obey. “My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck.” Proverbs 1:8-9
Day 28: Pray for your child’s heart. Pray that Christ rules their heart, mind and body. For them to honor and glorify God above themselves. And to repent and be saved. “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23
Day 29: Pray that your child’s words reflect a follower of Christ. This goes with praying for their heart. “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:34 As a follower of Christ, not only should our lives reflect Him, but also our words.
Day 30: Pray for your child and the choices they make. Kids are going to mess up from time to time and that’s ok. But as a Christian parent, we want our children, especially as they are a teenager and an adult, to make decisions based on their life and future as a Christ follower. Pray that your children will always make good choices and not be pressured by the world to make choices that are not good or Godly. “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future. Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
Day 31: Today is the last day of the month. I encourage you to pray for your children to grow and mature daily in their Christian walk. For them to have a strong faith in God and who He is and who He says they are in Him. Pray that they will pray and seek God’s will for their life, each and every day.
As Christians, we are to be praying about everything. (Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7) and the beautiful thing about being a follower of Christ is that we don’t have to walk through life alone. This means marriage as well. Too many couples give up on their marriage because they think there is no way to fix it. But there is. Husbands and wives, surrender your relationship to Christ and watch things change. Marriage is a gift from God and we are to always work at glorifying Him through our marriage. Both husbands and wives should be praying for their spouse daily. But what is even more wonderful than taking time each day to pray for your spouse, is to be praying with them.
After creating “A Month of Intentional Prayers for Your Husband” several years ago and having great feedback and praise on it, I wanted to get even deeper with it and came up with, “A Month of Praying Together; for husbands and wives.” My hope is to get husbands and wives to set aside some intentional time each day to pray together. Whether it’s first thing in the morning or the last thing you do before bed. All that matters, is that you are consistent and dedicated to this month together with you and God. I want to provide you with a prayer prompt each day to get your conversation going. Some days the prayer prompts will be harder and more intense, and my hope is that this will help you be open and honest in areas that you might not already be communicating about.
Each day as you do these prayer prompts, take at least 15 minutes together in a quiet place without interruptions, meaning no cell phones, no tv, no emailing work clients….just you and your spouse and God. Read the prayer prompt and then pray together. Ask each other questions or share your thoughts or anything on your heart that the prayer prompt may have brought up.
“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.” Ephesians 5:22-24
“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27
Day 1: Take today, the first day of your month of praying together to thank God for each other. You may not be feeling all “lovey dovey” and thankful for your spouse today but set aside those feelings and take time to pray out loud together today, uninterrupted. Each of you should think of at least one thing that you are thankful for about your spouse and thank God out loud for that. Bonus points if it’s something that you don’t often say to them. Take a minute to talk together and decide out loud to dedicate a month of giving your relationship to God.
Day 2: Pray and ask God to guard you and your husband’s hearts, mind and eyes from the lies of the enemy. Let me tell you. He is going to try every thing possible to attack your relationship during this month. The enemy hates when we trust God and he will be working hard at convincing you that God isn’t to be trusted with your relationship. Pray hard against this. God has the power to conquer all. The devil only has the power YOU give him. Don’t forget that!
Day 3: Pray to see your spouse through God’s eyes. Each of you hold hands and pray together and ask God to help you see each other through His eyes. Ask Him to help you see the good and Godly things your spouse brings to your relationship, rather than the bad things that are often so easy to get focused on.
Day 4: Pray for your relationship with Jesus. Both of you should be praying to deepen your relationship with Christ each day. Today, be praying for each other’s relationship with Him. No pointing fingers or thinking you have a stronger prayer life or relationship with God. Pray that you would both would be able to fully trust not only your relationship to God but your life and your expectations for your marriage.
Day 5: Husbands, pray that you have a strong desire to walk with God daily and to be a Godly head of the house. Wives, submit yourselves to your husband’s lead. I know this is hard to submit, but it is imperative to let your husband know you fully trust and support him to lead your family in Christ. Pray together today that you are both thankful for and ready to fully embrace the individual roles that God has given each of you for your marriage.
Day 6: Pray together for your roles as husband and wife. This goes along with yesterday’s prayer. Pray today that you as the husband are always looking to God for His will in your life and marriage and not to your own desires. Pray as the wife that you will submit to your husband’s lead and not try to control things that you are not meant to. Remember that God designed these roles as His perfect design for family and these roles as Godly husband and wife which compliment each other when put into practice.
Day 7: Today’s prompt might be a little harder. Pray together for your husband’s family. (your in-laws) You may all get along wonderfully, or things might be hard between you guys. Maybe your husband isn’t talking to his side of the family. Either way, pray together for whatever your situation is and pray for them, selflessly. If they aren’t Christians, pray that they would soften their hearts to hear the Lord and become Christ followers. If your husband isn’t speaking to them. Pray that God mends their broken relationship. It may be hard, but whatever you do, don’t let yourselves get angry or frustrated today with this prayer prompt.
Day 8: Today we are praying for your (the wive’s) family. Same as yesterday. Regardless of your relationship with them or your husband’s feelings about them, pray selflessly for them. For broken relationships to be mended. For them to become Christians if they aren’t. For whatever you know you need to be praying about for them.
Day 9: Pray today for your husband’s job. Whether he is a CEO, a farmer or a construction worker, pray that he always works as though he is working for the Lord. Thank God for providing a job for him and for income for your family. Husbands, if you want to pray about something specifically about your job with your wife today, do it. Don’t keep secrets! If there is something wrong at your job or perhaps there is a chance you may lose your job, don’t sit quietly. Pray about it together!
Day 10: Pray about your friendships. That you both would choose Godly friendships that help you draw closer to the Lord. And that you both would never make decisions while out with friends that would jeopardize your marriage. Also pray that you both are a good friend to others.
Day 11: Today is another hard one. This might be hard to do if you two are newly married, or maybe you guys haven’t opened up about past hurt. Anything from something small to a big, traumatic event. Today is the day to pray together for healing. Ask God to help you both heal from any hurt in your past and that you would be able to forgive the person who hurt you. If it is your spouse who hurt you, try not to bring up the issue in detail and let it cause more pain. That is what the enemy would want. But instead, openly speak about the hurt and pray together that God would heal your hurt and to heal whatever caused your spouse to hurt you. If this is something from your past and not about each other and it is too hard to talk about, you don’t have to get into detail. But don’t skip over today. Just pray in general for God to heal you both from your past hurt; physically, emotionally or spiritually and that you both would be able to live in the freedom we have in Christ as a new creation.
Day 12: Pray for each other’s confidence. Maybe one of you are reading this thinking, my husband or my wife is extremely confident. We don’t need to pray about this. But I’m not talking about someone who is sure of themselves because on the outside they are attractive. ;) I am talking about truly knowing your worth is found ONLY in Christ and who HE says you are. Today pray together that you both would know your worth is from Christ. Ask God to help you both look to Him, not looks, money or status or any things of this world to give you confidence.
Day 13: Pray together for your relationship. That you would both desire to fall deeper in love with each other each day. Doesn’t matter if you’ve been married 5 years or 50 years. We are about two weeks into praying through the month and maybe you feel like things are going well, but maybe you’re feeling hopeless, or angry or frustrated with the lack of results. I encourage you two to keep Christ at the center of your marriage. I know that is something you have probably heard a thousand times, but truly you need Him to be at the center holding things together. Pray that you both would see each other through God’s eyes and that you would love each other with an unconditional love, as He first loved us.
Day 14: Pray for you both to be bold in your faith. If you know somewhere you need to be more bold in your faith, share it and ask your spouse to pray for you. Perhaps you need to be more bold in your faith at work or in your group of friends. Wherever it is, pray about it together.
Day 15: Pray to be quick to forgive. Today’s prompt shouldn’t cause you guys to bring up past arguments and dwell on that. But instead it should help you guys resolve any resentment and help you to forgive each other and move forward. Holding on to resentment only eats away at us and causes us to be bitter. It doesn’t solve anything. Ask God to help you both be able to forgive and forget in your marriage and not to hold a grudge towards one another.
Day 16: Pray for your physical intimacy together. That you both would honor your commitment to your marriage and the marriage bed and that you both would grow stronger in love each day. Ask God to help you both keep your eyes on each other and not to let them wander. This should be a daily prayer, because the enemy is always trying to turn our eyes from God and from our spouse in a Christ centered marriage.
Day 17: Pray about your honesty today. If one of you feels like the other lied (or maybe it was confirmed and you have lost trust in your spouse.) Don’t let today’s prayer prompt bring up your hurt and anger, and cause you to get mad and not pray together. Instead, pray that you are able to fully trust your spouse again. And the spouse who lied should pray that God helps them always stay faithful and honest to their spouse. Ask that God helps you both have a desire to always be truthful and honest in your marriage and that you wouldn’t lie or keep things from each other. Ask God to help you both be virtuous and a man/woman of their word.
Day 18: Ask God to help you both lean on God’s strength and not your own. Pray that you both choose to seek God’s strength in trying times, rather than thinking you can do it all on your own. Pray that you both are able to put aside your pride and ask each other for help when you need it. You are together for a reason. You don’t need to carry the burdens of life on your own. Asking for help or prayer isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of strength.
Day 19: Today is going to be a hard one. It might be the hardest one yet. So I am already praying for you, anyone who is doing this month of prayer that today is a day you are able to be set free from the chains of addiction. Today’s prayer prompt is, pray that you are able to break free from any addiction you may have. Maybe you’re drinking too much and you know it but your spouse hasn’t said anything in awhile so you think you’re fine. Or maybe you are really caught up pornography and it is tearing your relationship apart. Whatever the addiction is, whether your spouse knows about it or not, you need to fully surrender it to God today before it’s too late.
Day 20: If you are still doing these prayer prompts together, I am so proud of you both! Marriage is a beautiful thing designed by God and there are going to be good days and bad days. That is a guarantee. But you both should be fully committed to both God and each other so that you never give up. Today ask God to help you both find peace and joy in Jesus. If you both are dedicated to Christ and finding your peace and joy in Him first, you won’t be as easily tempted to get upset with your spouse when they “let you down.” When we look to others to make us happy, we will almost always be disappointed. Look to Christ for your joy and peace and not to your husband or wife to make you “happy.”
Day 21: Pray that you both would be Godly parents to your children. Ask God to help you live out your life as a man and woman of God, so that your children see that daily and desire to walk with Christ as well. If you don’t have children you can take today to pray for the children in your lives and that you would be a Godly example to them.
Day 22: Pray to have humility. Ask God to help you be humble in all things and know that anything good in your life is from Him. Being prideful causes problems because you think you have it all together. You think that you are the reason you have money, nice things or success in your career. But humility is knowing that you only have anything because of the grace of God. Pray that you both have a humble spirit and know every good and perfect gift is from God.
Day 23: Pray for your health. Both physically and emotionally. Now husbands and wives, this isn’t a time to point fingers at each other if one of you is physically more in shape or if one of you is more emotionally immature. (this can mean anything from being angry, to anxious or depressed.) Pray for each other and for yourself to be healthy in all aspects of life. Pray that you are eating like you love yourself and exercising and taking care of the body you were given. And ask God to help you not be controlled by your emotions, so that you are emotionally mature and able to address things in life and your marriage maturely, not in an emotional fit.
Day 24: Pray about your finances. That you both are good stewards of your money. This may be hard and bring up a fight, money has a funny way about causing arguments. But don’t let it. Instead work together through prayer and communication on how to be wise with the money God has blessed you with. Whether that is a lot or a little. Our money is God’s and we should be using it to glorify him.
Day 25: Today I want you guys to open the lines of communication and pray together about anything you are personally dealing with. Pray about your situation together and ask God to help you get through your trial victoriously. It will strengthen your relationship the more you put your trust in each other and the more you let down your walls and open the lines of communication with each other.
Day 26: Pray that you both would be protected from the lies of the enemy. It isn’t a matter of “if it will happen.” It’s a matter of when. Because we know the enemy is looking to destroy anything and everything of God. And our marriage as Christ followers is definitely a target. Pray that you are able to see the lies and temptations clearly as they come that they are from satan, and not from God. Pray that God gives you the strength to walk away and not to be tempted. Not all temptation will look the same. Unfortunately satan knows your weakness and will prey on that. So be alert, stay in prayer and don’t try to go at it alone.
Day 27: Pray that you two have a strong desire to spend time together and make each other feel loved and desired. Ask God to help you selflessly love your spouse and learn how to show them love in the way they desire. If your spouse wants to spend time together, spend time together. Do something they enjoy doing. If your spouse needs to hear verbally that they are loved, tell them. Treat your spouse as you want to be treated. Let them know daily how loved and appreciated they are.
Day 28: Pray for your future together. Pray that you two would always make decisions that will bless not harm your future together. Take time to talk about your future together. If you are newly married, that might be about buying a house or starting a family. If you’ve been together for many years, that might be what you want to do when the kids are out of the house and you retire. Dream together and pray that you love and honor your marriage until the day you die.
I hope this month has been a blessing. I am praying for every husband and wife who has decided to take a month and give it to God. For everyone who has prayed together and not given up. I hope you see God’s hand in your marriage and I hope that you both fell deeper in love with each other and with God.
I have several variations of these cookies that I bake, but this one is probably my favorite. Many years ago I was looking for a new cookie recipe and came across one that looked so pretty with pink frosting, so I clicked it. I baked them, tweaking the recipe here and there as I always do. (I love putting my own spin on things.) Friends and family loved them, so I kept baking them. Year after year. Changing up the flavors for different occasions. To this day they’re a family favorite, so I thought I’d share them with you. :)
For this Christmas version, I combined an old family recipe with this recipe and came up with almond candy cane. It may sound weird, but it’s a perfect combination. Unlike most cookies, you serve these cookies frozen. Which was weird when I first read about frozen cookies. But there is just something about the frozen cookie and buttercream that really makes these unforgettable. Ok enough chatting. Let’s get baking! :)
Almond Candy Cane Cookies
Ingredients: 1 cup butter (2 sticks) 3/4 cup avocado oil (or whatever oil you prefer. Canola, Vegetable….) 1 1/2 cups white sugar 3/4 cups powdered sugar 2 Tablespoons water 2 eggs 5 1/2 cups flour 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking soda
Directions: Cream butter & sugars (white & powdered) once creamed (about 3 minutes) add in your oil, eggs and water. Mix well.
In a large bowl whisk together; flour, salt and baking soda.
Add dry to wet and mix until combined.
Roll into balls and put on parchment lined baking sheet.
On a plate put about 1/4 cup of white sugar & get a drinking glass and wet the bottom with water and press down firmly on the cookies (You’ll need to dip the glass in sugar before pressing each cookie otherwise it will stick to the cookies.)
Bake at 350 degrees for 9 minutes. Take cookies out of oven, just as the bottoms are starting to brown. You do not want to overcook them. Remove from hot cookie sheet and put cookies in the freezer for about 10 minutes until cold to the touch. Frost with almond buttercream (recipe below) and sprinkle crushed candy canes (put candy canes in a bag and crush them up) then put cookies back in the freezer for at least an hour. Once they’re frozen you can put them in freezer bags and store for up to a month. When you want one, just take it out and eat. You can let them sit for a few minutes, but I don’t recommend more than 5-10, because they are truly best eaten frozen.
Buttercream frosting recipe
Ingredients: 1 cup—2 sticks of butter 1 bag of powdered sugar 2 tsp vanilla extract 2 tsp almond extract 1+ Tablespoon of milk (if you need to thin frosting out add a splash more. You want this to be pretty thick.) 2 drops of gel food coloring if using. Typically I don’t like adding it because of the artificial dyes. But you can either omit it which I typically do or get dye free gel food coloring.
Beat butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes. With the mixer on low, slowly add in the powdered sugar, and continue beating until the sugar is fully incorporated. Then add vanilla and almond extract and milk and beat on low until incorporated. Turn mixer back up to medium-high speed and beat the buttercream for another 5-7 minutes. It should be light and fluffy. If the buttercream is too thick, add in a splash of milk until it’s your desired consistency.
To me, there is no better way to start the day, than with a homemade muffin and cup of coffee. That is truly the best thing about the cooler weather. Slow mornings spent baking are my favorite. It’s also the only time of year when I drink hot coffee. (If you know me, you know that I drink iced lattes 99% of the time, but when eggnog hits the shelves, I am there!–let me clarify, I am not into eggnog lattes. Warm eggnog is vulgar. I use a splash of eggnog in my coffee as creamer. It’s honestly something I look forward to all year!) These muffins are (dare I say the “M” word?) so moist and delicious. They will be your family’s new favorite morning treat! So grab a cup of coffee and let’s get baking!
Ingredients:
3/4 of a can of pumpkin puree
1/2 cup avocado oil
1+1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs (at room temp)
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup water
1+1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
For the crumb topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 stick melted butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon and a sprinkle each of; nutmeg and ginger
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin tins.
In a large bowl whisk together; oil, sugar, eggs, water, vanilla and pumpkin puree.
In another bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together. Flour, salt, baking soda and spices.
Add dry to wet and combine. (I recommend a Danish whisk. They are awesome!)
In another bowl, add the dry ingredients for your crumb topping. Pour in melted butter and with a fork combine so that it comes together in a crumbly topping.
Pour batter into muffin tins and top with crumb topping.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15-17 minutes depending on your oven.
The end times are a heavy subject to breakdown and digest and so I think because of that, a lot of people would rather just avoid it. Reading the book of Revelation can be hard to understand (or maybe even a little scary to some people) but I don’t think we should avoid any book in the Bible just because we don’t understand it. My hope in writing this post is to break down the key points of the end times in chronological order to help make learning about this a little less daunting.
There are many passages throughout the Bible that link to the end times, not just in Revelation. But when you start studying the Bible as a whole you will understand Revelation a lot better. I absolutely LOVE digging deeper in the word because there is ALWAYS something new to learn. I have been reading and taking notes for awhile now for this post and I don’t know about you, but when I read one scripture it leads me to another and another and well, I can probably write a book on The End times. It’s fascinating to me. But I tried my best to stay in simple terms and focus on a few key points to make it easier to understand the overall message of what is to come. (I also will say, I don’t think we are currently in “the end times” but I do think it is getting closer.) I encourage you to read this post once through and then reread it with your Bible in hand.
Like anything in life, there are different views on the end times and I think that is mostly because there is confusion when reading the passages about it. Like Post-Tribulation vs Pre-Tribulation. In the words of Chuck Missler, “If the rapture happened after the tribulation, it would be like the Bridegroom saying: come let’s get married, then I will beat the living daylights out of you and then we’ll go have dinner.” —-Jesus says to us in the Word, that we as believers will be spared from the wrath. “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.” Revelation 3:10 We also know that it says in 1 Thessalonians, “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” People argue that this is speaking about sparing us from Hell, but notice how the promise is not preservation through the trial, but from the time period of the trial. It isn’t saying we will be spared from hell, because we already know that as Christians we are spared from that because Jesus died on the cross.
Something I think people confuse often is, The Rapture vs. The Second Coming. These are two separate events. The rapture will be without warning and can happen at any time. Which is why it is important to know your salvation. Not just believing that you’re “a Christian” and thinking you are all set for Heaven. But truly living your life for Jesus Christ and obeying God’s commandments for us. We are told to “be watchful and ready.” Meaning, to stay focused on Jesus and living a Godly life. Truly following His commandments and being Christ-like. When it’s all said and done. There is only one way to Heaven and that is through Jesus Christ. (John 14:6) The Rapture is when “the Church” (true believers) will be takenup in the air with Jesus. It’s worth mentioning why I say, true believers. Because the term “Christian” is so casually thrown around. Jesus despises wishy-washy Christians. “So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:16 It is easy to think you have all the time in the world to “get right with God.” But like I said, the rapture can come at any moment and your salvation is not something you want to be unsure about.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” Matthew 7:21-23
“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-52
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 –The Greek translation of the words “caught up.” mean “harpazõ” meaning “to seize upon with force, or snatch up.”
The word “church” appears 19 times in the first three chapters of Revelation, but significantly, the word is not used again until chapter 22. In the entire description of the tribulation in Revelation, the word church is absent. The Bible never uses the word “church” in a passage relating to the tribulation. (I assume you know that the word “church” refers to Christians, not a building. :)
The second comingwill be after the tribulation period. Unlike the rapture, it will be known and seen by everyone. The Second coming is after 7 years of tribulation, when Jesus returns to Earth and defeats the Antichrist to overthrow evil. He throws the devil into the Abyss (a bottomless pit) to keep him bound and locked up so that he can not deceive the nations until the thousand years are over. (The Millennial Reign of Christ.) During the second coming, the Lord will return to Earth. (As opposed to the Rapture where he comes in the air.) “The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.” Revelation 19:14 He will set up His Kingdom on Earth for a thousand year reign.
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” Daniel 7:13-14
During the Tribulation, the Antichrist will be revealed. He will rise to power during this period. (hence it being hell on earth basically.) During the tribulation period, God will pour out His wrath on the Earth. It will be a horrible time of pain and suffering like you’ve never experienced (and don’t want to.) During this time, many people will still deny God and want nothing to do with Him. (These people will spend eternity in Hell.) But there will also be many people who wholeheartedly repent and become Christians during this time. These people will repopulate the Earth during the Millennial Reign. When Christ followers are taken up with Jesus during the Rapture, we will all be given “Heavenly bodies.” Which means we will not be able to reproduce. But those who were not taken up originally in the Rapture and become Christians during the Tribulation period will still be in their Earthly bodies and they will repopulate the Earth. “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.” Matthew 22:30 So only people in their natural, Earthly bodies will be able to have children. “So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Matthew 19:28 The word “regeneration” means, “repopulation.”
The Millennial Reign of Christ. This is seven years after the rapture, Jesus will return. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” Matthew 25:31-32 He will divide the people into two groups. Those who believe and those who do not. Those who put their faith in Him, will enter into the millennial kingdom where Christ Himself rules over the Nations. During this time, Satan is bound and thrown into the abyss for 1,000 years. It will be a thousand years of peaceful, glorious living without Satan. It says in the Word that everything and everyone will get along. “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, Says the Lord.” Isaiah 65:25 The Millennial Kingdom will be filled with Christians from all throughout history as well as those who came to know Christ after the rapture.
The Millennial Reign of Christ will be on a new Earth and nothing like we can even fathom. “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; They shall not plant and another eat; For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” Isaiah 65:20-22
When the thousand years are over, Satan will be let back out of the bottomless pit for a short time. “Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.” Notice how it says, “he will go out to deceive the nations….” So he was locked up for 1,000 years and gets let out and the FIRST thing he does is, deceive again! Why was he put in the abyss in the first place? So that he would not deceive the nations any longer. But Satan is the great deceiver. Period. There is no changing him. And that is one reason he will be released, to show that Satan is and always will be evil. I know it may be hard to imagine but when he comes back you see from that verse, that he gathers an army together to go against God, which is the final rebellion of man. It’s impossible to wrap my head around how these people who lived 1,000 years in a utopian environment where everything is perfect. Blessed and in abundance can turn against God. But it just goes to show you that apart from grace, man is a rebel. Now go back to how the Millennial will be populated…by the newly saved people who were saved during the tribulation. So those people are saved, but their children will not be saved and they will need salvation found through Jesus Christ. And not all of them will seek Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Pretty crazy to think about, but that is just human nature…..But then digging a little deeper, you will see that the sinful nature of man is not because of his environment, but because of his heart. Following the final rebellion of man, Satan is thrown into a lake of fire to be tormented forever and ever. “They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.” Revelation 20:9 “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelation 20:10 I know some people and religions like to believe that there is no hell. But there is. Hell is VERY real and is the exact opposite of where you want to be. It is eternal pain and suffering apart from God. The Bible tells us that the reason Hell exists is for the devil and his angels. “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:41
God creates a new Heaven and a new Earth. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14:1-4
I know this is a lot of info to take in so let’s wrap it up with this. The New Jerusalem. “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Revelation 21:1-2 “The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.” Revelation 21:21 And the scripture that makes me tear up just imagining it is this. “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
Friends! Heaven will be a pain-free, joy filled eternity with our Lord and creator, God. Wow! Just typing those words makes my heart sing! I hope this post helped give you a little more understanding about the end times. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at: elizabeth@graceinhisbeauty
It’s pretty crazy to think that in America in 2020 we are being censored. Well, let me rephrase that. We being conservatives. We are not even able to post on our “own” social media about (the truth) and our views on the world. If you’ve been here awhile, you may know, I started my ministry Grace in His Beauty four years ago on here and Instagram as a place where I invited women to be a part of a community to find freedom in Christ. I took great pride that I never once settled for anything less than the truth on my posts. I shared Jesus boldly and unashamed day after day and though many loved what I was sharing, many did not. Now sure, I could have became very “popular” if I would have been promoting something other than Jesus and the Bible. But I always said, I am not everyone’s cup of tea. Which if you know me, is just fine with me. –I like coffee not tea. ;) haha. No but seriously, I am here to point you to Jesus, not myself.
Over the years, I was approached by many different people, companies and brands that did not align with what I was doing so I turned down many collaborations and the opportunity to grow my following. My point in telling you this is because I am proud that I stayed true to what I felt God was calling me to do. And that never changed. Even when it got really uncomfortable with all that came about with C0vid this year. I needed to continue to share what God wanted me to, not what felt comfortable to “keep my following.”
A few months into this “PLANdemic” I decided to speak out about what was happening in the world and with the media. I started sharing about “political” stuff, something I NEVER talked about. It just wasn’t me. But the way things had quickly shifted in the world from bad to worse I knew this was no longer about Democrat vs. Republican. This was a full on a spiritual battle of GOOD vs. EVIL.
One day I went to post something on Instagram and felt like “today is the day” to post something I had been holding inside. I was so nervous as I pressed send and posted something “political.” I think it was “Legalize Liberty.” As the weeks went on, I continued to share my posts boldly as I felt God nudging me. Each time I posted my “political” posts, I’d lose 20+ people. I put political in quotes because it wasn’t as much about politics as it was sharing about what this whole C0viD lockdown and censorship really was. People didn’t want to admit that they had been lied to. They didn’t want to acknowledge that they had been fooled into believing this was “for their health and safety.” Not realizing it was ALL FOR NOTHING!
Hundreds of people “Christians” who had been in this community with me for years decided they didn’t want to hear what I had to say anymore. (You know someone is being convicted when this happens.) I didn’t let that discourage me though and I continued posted what I knew I was supposed to. Several hundred down but in just a short month, they were all replaced and multiplied ten fold with people who like me, loved God and America and wanted to protect our constitution!
Fast forward to the beginning of this month (October) when I went to log on to my account to post something and it was gone. My entire Instagram account deleted. I was upset that I was being censored and that they could delete “my” page without warning, but I didn’t let it get me down. I prayed and then that evening I started fresh. From scratch. A new account, same purpose.
Every year when Halloween is over, I start decorating for Christmas. Too soon you say. Not for me. :) I know there are strong opinions on decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving, but I just can’t help myself. (Especially when the weather gets cooler and they’re playing Christmas movies on tv!) No matter what season it is, I love all things cozy and I try to make every space in our home just that. Cozy. And what says “cozy” more than a cup of hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows?
The first thing I do each year before any decorations go up, is make up a batch of hot chocolate mix. I know you can just go to the store and buy already made hot chocolate powder, but I love knowing exactly what is in the foods we eat and drink. You could search “homemade hot chocolate mix” and get a ton of recipes that I am sure are delicious, but this recipe is SO simple you won’t even need to write it down. So here it is. Ready?!
SUPER SIMPLE HOT CHOCOLATE MIX RECIPE:
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, White Sugar and Cinnamon. Is your mind blown? haha. No seriously though. Trust me. It is really good. I typically do about 1/2 cup of Cocoa powder (I love Droste Cocoa. It’s imported from Holland.) to 3/4 cup of sugar. In a bowl, mix the cocoa powder & sugar together and then add a few dashes of cinnamon and whisk together. That’s all. Simple and yummy. Store it in a mason jar. It will stay fresh all season long! When you are ready to make your hot chocolate, just warm up some milk (if you want it more creamy, I highly recommend using half and half) on the stove and when it starts to heat up, whisk in your hot chocolate mix.
Now for the fun part! All the extra goodies. Front and center you see my favorite Santa Mugs filled with cute holiday straws and candy canes. If you’ve been around Grace in His Beauty for awhile, perhaps you already know that I am obsessed with mason jars and use them for literally everything. And you can’t have hot chocolate without marshmallows. (*edited 11/2022, this was originally written a few years ago) This picture is from last year and I got festive tree marshmallows and peppermint ones. They aren’t the best for you, but they are super cute. (The ones we typically use in our hot chocolate are the ones from Trader Joe’s. There is something magical about them.) I also always have sprinkles because sprinkles make everything better. Next is my favorite white chocolate peppermint chunks. (see the picture below.) –(*edited 11/2022 they have since stopped making the white chocolate peppermint chunks. They were so good! But you can make your own with white chocolate and crushed up peppermint pieces.) You can also add little bottles of flavored syrups like; peppermint and hazelnut to add another fun twist. Get creative and have fun!
The fun of this set up is not only does it double as a cute display, but also that it can be easily switched up to accommodate your family’s favorite things. You can make it into a self serve station for parties with a carafe of hot milk ready to go. Or you can make it for a fun family movie night and then let the kids top with their own mix-ins.
I hope this inspires you to add a little magic to your next cup of Christmas hot chocolate!
Sadly, for most people, reading the Bible isn’t on their top list of “fun things to do.” Sometimes it may seem easier to listen to a Christian podcast or put on your favorite Christian music than to open your Bible and start reading. But as Christians we know that time in the word is crucial. The Bible is the LIVING WORD of God. So the more we read the Bible, the more we understand the heart of God and His will for our lives.
Spending time in the Bible doesn’t have to be a chore. Honestly it can actually be exciting if you let it be. I love reading the Bible because each time I read a chapter or a book, I fall more in love with Jesus, my Lord and Savior!
Here are a few things to help get you started on how to go about actually reading and understanding the Bible.
First and most importantly is to start with prayer. Pray! Don’t just open your Bible and flip through until you find a familiar verse to read and then call it a day. (though on a side note; there are many “popular” Bible verses that are taken completely out of context. So it is always good to look them up and read the verse in context and find out what the verse truly means. :)
Second: Reading the passage in context. I suggest reading at least the entire chapter in one sitting. If you can, read a few chapters to better understand what is going on in what you are reading. Ask yourself: how does this apply to my life and my relationship with Christ. Re-read the chapter(s) to better understand the words and what they mean in the context of the chapter. Sometimes we might read a verse and think we know what it means. But we have to remember that the Bible wasn’t originally written in English so words have different meanings. Find a translation you best understandand enjoy. I love the ESV & NASB & also the King James version which may be a little tricky to understand sometimes. If you’re not ready to jump into the KJV I recommend the NKJV. I have the John MacArthur Study Bible and it is amazing! Please know that the Bible translations matter. There are many watered down translations that completely change what the Bible is saying. Stay away from those. Especially the Passion translation!
To anyone who might be completely new to reading the Bible; I thought I’d get you started below with a few topics and some coordinating Bible verses for you to look up so you don’t feel overwhelmed when opening the Bible and wondering where to start and what it all means. To EVERYONE reading the Bible, new or old, something to remember: You aren’t expected to understand every single thing you read. There will be plenty of the Bible you won’t understand, especially when you first read through a book. That is why we are supposed to be in the word daily. There is also amazing things to help like the Blue Letter Bible. It helps breakdown the history and origin of words in their original languages. & remember, just like anything else. The more time we spend in the word, the more we will understand what God is saying to us.
The Bible is God’s love letter to us. His instructions for life. Let the words come alive on the pages and in your heart.
Another tip: Read the New Testament before the Old Testament.
Did you know that the Bible is not in chronological order. If you are a new Christian opening the Bible for the first time, you may wonder if the Bible is like any other book where you read the first page to the last page in order. For example. The book of Job was during the days of Genesis. So reading Genesis and Job together would make more sense. But also don’t get tricked into thinking that the Old Testament doesn’t apply to today. Every word in the Bible is for a reason. And it all points to Jesus the Messiah.
Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. Because that is the most powerful tool the enemy has over us. Overwhelming us with things to distract us from God. Just pray, open up your Bible and start. You won’t regret any time spent in the Word, I promise you that!
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 16-17
Topical Bible Verse Lookup
Fear/Anxiety- 2 Timothy 1:7, Colossians 1:13, John 16:33, Psalm 23:4
Worship/Obey the Lord- Hebrews 12:28-29, 1 Samuel 15:22, Isaiah 29:13
REMEMBER:
Read the passage in context (read the entire chapter) to better understand what God meant the words and message to mean. The Bible is the Word of God. It is not up to us to decide what it means.
Look up words you don’t understand.
Each time you read your Bible, ask yourself what you learned from what what you read. Then pray & ask God to help you apply it to your life.
Start small. Don’t let yourself become overwhelmed thinking you need to read the entire Bible in a certain amount of time. Go at your own pace. As long as you are reading the Bible each day, you are growing in the word.
If you are new to the Bible, I personally recommend starting in the Book of John. It covers the life and ministry of Jesus.
Reading the Bible should not be a chore. It’s a blessing. You should read the Bible to grow deeper in your knowledge and understanding of God, as well as to know His will. Remember what a blessing it is that you are able to read the Bible. There are many countries that people are killed just for having a Bible.
Most important reminder. Let your heart be transformed. The more you read your Bible, the more you will fall in love with the Lord.
Lastly, are you confused? Let me know if you have any questions! Elizabeth@graceinhisbeauty.com
I’m praying for you ALL and am rooting for you to dig deeper in the Word, TODAY!
There is so much darkness in the world right now. Yes, I know it’s always been here but right now it just seems heavier than usual and if you’re like me, perhaps you are being more diligent about praying for our Nation. I decided to write this post for two reasons. One is to encourage you who are already praying, to keep praying. Your prayers matter and they are doing something, so don’t let the enemy make you believe otherwise. James 5:16 says: “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” And two, is to get you to startpraying if you aren’t already. Now more than ever prayer is needed. There is a huge spiritual war going on but thankfully we as Christians already know that GOD WINS.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28
If you’re not sure what to say or where to start, just sit quietly and talk to God. Prayer doesn’t have to be anything fancy. You don’t need to “wait for the right time to pray.” You just need to open your heart and start talking to God. ANYWHERE at ANY TIME is the RIGHT time to pray!
Timothy 2:1-5 says: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.”
PRAY for the leaders of our Nation. For our President and for all those who are in authorityto do what is good and pleasing to the Lord.
PRAY for God’s light to shine BRIGHTLY through believers over the darkness of the world.
PRAY that we as Christians draw our strength and wisdom from what the Bible and the Lord says is good and true, rather than what the world saysis “the right thing to do.”
PRAY for non-believers. For God to soften their hearts to hear His voice above the noise of the world and to ask Jesus into their hearts.
PRAY for wisdom, discernment and protection over our President.
PRAY for unity in the body of Christ. The enemy wants to divide and start a war between us. But God wants us as Christians to be of one mind joining together as believers of Christ Jesus to work together for the good of our Country.
PRAY for protection from the evil the enemy wants to bringupon believers.
PRAY that ALL GLORY BE GIVEN TO GOD, when things go back to “normal” in theworld.
PRAY that the darkness that is going on in secret is EXPOSED for what it is and pray that the TRUTH comes out and the evilunmasked.
1 Corinthians 1:10 says: “I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.”
Isaiah 60:2-3 says: “See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and His glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 says “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
Psalm 33:12 says: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He chose for His inheritance.”
Daniel 2:20-21 says: “Praise be to the name of God forever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons; He deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.”
Dear friends, God is sovereign over us and wants to bless us. We are His precious children created in His image. He loves us dearly and regardless of the craziness going on in the world, He is SO good, ALWAYS. I encourage you to listen to this song as you pray and read this blog post.
Rest in knowing that NOTHING going on right now is a surprise to God. The enemy thinks he is so smart, but he is not. There are people who will fall for the lies and play into his plan, but that too is not a surprise to God either. 1 Peter 5:7 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Keep praying friends! It’s dark now….but it WILL BE LIGHT because Jesus is the way, the TRUTH and the LIGHT. John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
I’ll leave you with Job. Job chapter 12 is great and I really feel that when praying about it and digging deeper into it, you will see some very relevant things to what is going on today. I encourage you to pray and read it and let it speak to you.
“To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; those he imprisons cannot be released. If he holds back the waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose, they devastate the land. To him belong strength and insight; both deceived and deceiver are his. He leads rulers away stripped and makes fools of judges. He takes off the shackles put on by kings and ties a loincloth around their waist. He leads priests away stripped and overthrows officials long established. He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders. He pours contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty. He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light. He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them. He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason; he makes them wander in a trackless waste. They grope in darkness with no light; he makes them stagger like drunkards.
I hope this post encourages you. If so, please let me know and feel free to share this with anyone you think would enjoy it!
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
I started to get a little teary as I was typing that out. Psalm 139 is one of my favorite Psalms, maybe even a little more so with everything we are going through currently. I know times feel uncertain. We feel confused, alone and maybe even afraid. But like the verse above says; “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” And the answer is: NOWHERE. There is absolutely nowhere we can go where God is not with us. Even when we feel all alone at home during this Shelter in Place. Even when we feel like the world is divided and there is a spiritual war going on, God is with us.
Even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
Things feel dark. They feel heavy. But I want to remind you that there is no darkness in Christ. He is LIGHT and He has overcome death and more specifically right now, “the Coronavirus” and all this craziness going on in the world right now. Now don’t get me wrong, there is 100% no doubt darkness in the world because there is evil. There is most definitely a spiritual battle going on and we have to arm ourselves with God’s word which is TRUTH. Truth is not what we hear on TV or read on social media. Truth is given to us through the Bible which is the Word of God. And through the gift of discernment through the Holy Spirit. Ask God to open your eyes to the TRUTH. To see what is going on in the world, through His eyes.
Ephesisans 6:12 says: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
I want to encourage you NOT to put your life on hold until things “go back to normal.” Because here is what I think. I think that God is using this as a time for us to lean on Him and share with others the VICTORY found in Christ! We can draw on His strength that is made perfect in our weakness. Be alert, because the enemy knows exactly what he is doing when he makes you believe the lie that you aren’t enough. Or that it’s not your time to do the things you know that God has put on your heart. He makes us keep quiet instead of STANDING UP for what we believe.
Do you ever feel like you want to share something either on social media or to a friend/family member that you think God is putting on your heart. Only to shy away from speaking the truth because you feel maybe that your words don’t mean enough. Or maybe that you’re not “big enough” of a name in the world or on social media to reach people, so “why bother.” The enemy whispers these lies to us all the time and in times like now, heck he is shouting them to you because He knows full well that NOW is the time to press into your purpose. Now is the time to draw on God’s strength. Now is the time for us to spread the Gospel. And the enemy knows that if enough people turn to God and keep fighting and winning souls for the Kingdom, he will lose and God will win. (spoiler alert, devil. God has already WON!)
Dear friends, I urge you to open your Bible. (Yes, the book up on the shelf collecting dust.) And read Psalm 139 today and ask God what He wants you to be doing right now for His Kingdom. There is so much knowledge in the Bible. Read it and draw strength from His words. I know it’s easier to just pull up an app on our phones but how often do you do that and get distracted? Trust me. It’s not a coincidence. The enemy knows exactly what he is doing. You will think of a show you watched and “need” to google the character and see where you know her from. Or you’ll check Instagram “really quick.” I have made it a point to always put my phone away and sit with my physical Bible in my hand and let myself get taken away by the beauty and truth in God’s love letter to me! So just try it ok? Put your phone down and pick up your Bible. I PROMISE you, that it will be a blessing to you.
Breaking free, living in true FREEDOM found in Christ is what I desire and if you do too, I encourage you to keep reading. What if I told you that taking captive your thoughts to make them obedient to Christ, was not as hard as it sounds? Yes, taking every thought might seem overwhelming, but what if I told you that you can break free from the lies you believe each day. Now I’m not saying it’s easy, it takes time and a lot of patience with yourself. It also more importantly, takes a lot of prayer and dedication to following God’s will for our lives, not our own desires and hopes of what could be. And it takes intentional time in the Word, because the more you fill your mind with God’s truths, the less likely you will be to believe the enemy’s lies.
Take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5
You might be thinking, “Oh, that’s a great verse. But I can’tchange the way I think. I have always been like this.” —I get it. I thought that for a very long time too. I thought I was just more pessimistic by nature. BUT, the good news my friends, is that you absolutely can change your thought patterns. Because the way you think shapes your life, your actions and decisions. And the scary thing is, the enemy knows that and wants to keep you in a negative mindset because his goal is to keep your mind off of God. Changing your thought patterns isn’t easy, and it will take time but you CAN take captive all your thoughts and make them obedient to Christ. Perhaps you find yourself crippled by fear and anxiety. Your mind goes a mile a minute thinking of every “what if” situation that could arise in each day. Or maybe you’ve bought into the lie that you aren’t enough. Whether that be; strong enough, pretty enough, thin enough, or smart enough. The answer is the same. With Christ you are 100% enough.
So how do we take captive our thoughts? –Let’s get into that now.
First we must acknowledge our negative thoughts are from the enemy meant to break us down and tear us away from God. That is his main goal. So realizing this will help when those thoughts creep in. Acknowledge them as lies and then kick them to the curb! Because when we are aware that these thoughts we are letting dictate our daily decisions are lies from the enemy, it makes it a lot easier to say, not today Satan! Think about a subject that you know a lot about. –Now if I started telling you “facts” about a subject that you knew weren’t true, because they didn’t line up with the research you’ve done on the subject, you wouldn’t believe me, right? So then why are you going to let yourself believe something that you know is a lie?! — If you’re thinking, well how do I know it’s a lie? Truth is, it’s actually pretty simple to know what thoughts are lies from the enemy. Anything that goes against God and His word are from the enemy. God is NEVER going to steer you in the direction of fear or anxiety.
The enemy is tricky and can sneak his little lies into our heads without us even realizing. Something will pop into our head and make us feel weak, unworthy or unloved. We won’t at the time realize it, but our actions will then reflect the way we are feeling and all of a sudden it’s a downward spiral into fear and negativity. Putting us exactly where the enemy wants us to be. Feeling far from God. Away from the truth. BUT the good news is, when we start taking our thoughts captive and making them obedient to Christ, then we are turning our worry into worship. Our fear into praise. Our sadness into joy.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8
Challenge time!
I want you to visualize yourself physically taking the thoughts of fear, negativity or anxiety into your hands and throwing them away. Every time a thought pops into your head that isn’t from God, I want you to do this and see how you feel at the end of the day. Spoiler alert. You will feel AMAZING. You will feel strong and worthy and loved by God when your thoughts are filled with His truths and promises and not those ugly lies that try to sneak in! Get into the Bible daily. Fill your mind and heart with God’s truths so that you can stand strong against the enemy’s lies! Let me know how this goes for you. I’m rooting for you all to find FREEDOM in Christ!
Hi! I’m so glad you’re here and desiring to be more intentional with your prayer life. Perhaps you’re back after joining me in praying through the month of February for your husband. If so, yay! How did it go? –Or maybe you are new here. WELCOME! :) I received so many positive messages about my recent post, that I thought we should spend this month (March) praying for ourselves.
I think sometimes we let prayer become a routine, rather than a relationship with Jesus. And like any relationship, our relationship with Jesus needs effort made. Imagine if you only called your best friend when there was a problem. Do you ever do that with Jesus? Our relationship with Him needs to be our MOST important relationship, which means we need to build that relationship through prayer and reading the Word. Prayer is a beautiful way to draw closer to the Lord. Let’s spend the next month together, praying intentional prayers that will not only bring you closer to God, but will help you love and cherish the person He made you to be. I’m so excited to see how God moves in your life this month! Let’s start with a quick prayer and then jump in!
Dear Lord, I ask that you open the eyes and hearts of everyone reading this. I pray that they know their worth and beauty is found in you, Lord. Help each and everyone reading this stay on track and keep praying through this month, no matter how hard or hectic life gets. Don’t let the enemy’s lies distract us. Let us see your goodness and mercy and love each day as we pray to become the person you called us to be. Help keep our hearts hopeful in you as we pray and believe that you are doing big things in our lives. Let us stay positive even if we can’t see them just yet. I ask that you reveal yourself to us when we seek you Lord. Protect our hearts and minds every day. Reveal your purpose for us and let us be bold and live it each and every day. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.
Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Ephesians 6:10-11
Day 1: Thank God for making you, YOU! —I know that sounds silly, but get in the habit of loving yourself. NOT the edited, filtered social media version of you. The REAL you! ;) If there is something specific that bothers you about yourself physically; maybe you think your nose is too big or that you are too tall. Pray about that and ask God to see yourself through HIS eyes. I encourage you to work on your heart rather than your looks, since looks fade. :)
Day 2: Pray for your heart and eyes to be protected from the enemy’s lies. —The enemy wants to trick you into believing there is something out there better than what you have. And that God is holding out on you. Not true. The enemy knows your weaknesses and you better believe he will attack you: physically, mentally and spiritually. Don’t be fooled. He has NO power over you if you are in Christ. So don’t buy into his lies.
Day 3: Ask God to remove anything that hinders you from fully surrendering to Him. I encourage you to pray and ask God to take away anything in your life that keeps you from walking your talk as a Christian woman (not just saying you are a Christian, but truly following His commandments and will for your life.) Ask Him to take away what is causing you to sin. Maybe it’s something you’re doing, something you are watching or something you’re caught up in. You know and God knows. Fully surrender to Him today.
Day 4: Pray about strengthingyour relationship with Christ. — Whether you have been a Christian your entire life and think you have a strong relationship with Jesus, or if you are a new Christian, I encourage you to spend more time reading the Bible and praying. The more you read the Bible, (the actual Bible, not a devotion book.) the more you will understand God’s will for life. If you feel far from Him, draw near to Him and He will draw near to you!
Day 5: Pray for God to give you peace and comfort. —I struggle with anxiety sometimes because of my chronic pain. Maybe you struggle too, or maybe you don’t. Maybe you’re a busy mom who feels overwhelmed by the end of the day and struggle to find peace. (because we will never find it in the things of this world.) Either way, I encourage you to pray for peace that only comes through the Holy Spirit.
Day 6: Pray forhealing from your past. —We all have things in our past that we need healing from. Some of us have bigger, more traumatic things that may take years to fully process and heal from, and some may have small things. Either way, I pray that you find healing from your past and can move on to be the strong, Godly woman you are called to be. (and remember that God uses our brokenness for His glory if we let Him.)
Day 7: Pray that you can forgive those who have hurt you. —There is always someone in our past that we *think* we have forgiven, but if we’re really being honest, we haven’t. Ask God to help you forgive those who have hurt you; whether that be, physically, mentally or emotionally and be able to move on.
Day 8: Ask God to help you seek His will (not your own) for your life. —It’s easy to go through life thinking we are in control of things and we can make good decisions on our own. But truth be told, we aren’t, and we can’t without Christ. I pray that you seek God’s will for your life each and every day.
Day 9: Pray for your jobas wife and mother. —Ask God to help you be the wife and mother that He has called you to be. Thank Him for your husband and children. Ask Him to tame your tongue when you are angry so that you don’t say things you will regret. Ask God to give you strength when you’re tired and worn out so that you can keep going and take care of your family that He has blessed you with.
Day 10: Pray for Godly friendships. — Pray about not only having Godly friends, but also that you would be a Godly friend to others. Ask Him to help you find friends that will pray for you and help you grow closer to Him. True friends that will rejoice when you rejoice and weep when you weep.
Day 11: Ask God to take away any jealousy in your heart. —-It’s really easy to fool ourselves into thinking we are not envious of other people. But if we are honest with ourselves, at one point or another we have all wished we had something that someone else has. (especially in this fake social media world.) Maybe you have wished to be taller, prettier, skinnier, the list goes on. But remember that “Envy rots the bones.” Proverbs 14:30 so keep your eyes on God and all the blessings you have!
Day 12: Pray to have a BOLD faith. —Ask God to help you have a faith that is unwavering and founding on God’s promises, not on your own emotions. Ask for the courage to always speak the truth, even when no one wants to hear it.
Day 13: Ask God to help you be quick to forgive. — The enemy likes to put a wedge between us and God and I think holding on to anger and resentment is one of the ways he does this. Pray and ask God to help you always forgive those who have hurt you, just as He has forgiven you.
Day 14: Ask God to help you work on strengthening your prayer life.—The Bible says to “pray continually.” Jesus taught us how to pray, saying, “Thy will be done.” Prayer isn’t about asking for things you want. It’s about seeking God’s will above our own. Our relationship with Jesus grows stronger when we pray. I encourage you to spend more time in prayer, talking to God about anything and everything.
Day 15: Ask God to help you be a Godly wife. (if you aren’t married, pray that He helps you be one when you are.) — Pray for God’s will for your marriage and for you to always make decisions that will be a blessing to both you and your spouse and your future together. And to keep Christ at the center of your marriage.
Day 16: Pray to live out the fruit of the Spirit. — Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. We as believers already have these through the Holy Spirit, but the flesh keeps us from living them out. We are told in Galatians, that those who participate in the works of the flesh will not inherit the kingdom of God. But those who belong in Jesus Christ have been crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Day 17: Pray that you are a Godly mother. (if you don’t have children, pray for your future children or for you to be a Godly mother like figure to the children around you.) — Ask God to help you raise your children to grow stronger each day in their faith in Jesus. And to help you live out as an example for your children, what a follower of Christ truly is.
Day 18: Pray for Joy (not happiness) from Christ. — Being happy is great, but it typically only happens when things are going the way we want them to. But being joyful despite our circumstances is even better. Ask God to fill you with Joy so that you are able to rejoice in the trials of life, knowing they strengthen your faith.
Day 19: Pray that your love and respect for God grows stronger each day. —The closer you draw to God through reading the Bible and praying, the more you will understand His will for your life. You also will grow deeper in your love and respect for Him. Pray that your reverence will grow stronger each day for God and that you will live in a way that shows it.
Day 20: Ask God to help you love yourself. —You might read this and say, “I do love myself.” But do you really? Do you live like you love yourself? Do you look in the mirror and see the beautiful child of God that you are? Even if you think you 100% love yourself, I encourage you to pray this and see what happens when you surrender to Him.
Day 21: Pray that you are humble and gracious. — Ephesians 4:2 says; “Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love.” I know this is not easy and impossible to accomplish on our, so ask God to help you not only work on this, but to want to work on it.
Day 22: Pray that the Lord heals you from _________________. Fill in the blank with anything you are dealing with physically or emotionally. —I’m sure something instantly came to your mind when you read this. I encourage you to pray about that. Let go and let God heal you from that.
Day 23: Pray that Christ shines through you. — Pray and ask God to shine through your life. I encourage you to ask God to let your inner beauty be what draws people to you. If you’re a Christian than your inner beauty is the most beautiful thing about you. And if you’re not sure about your inner beauty, then I encourage you to pray and work on your heart and letting Him shine through your life.
Day 24: Ask God to take away your worry, fear and doubt and fill you with a strong faith. — The thought of living without worry, fear or anxiety may seem impossible, but with peace through the Holy Spirit and faith in God who is bigger than anything that worries you, it is absolutely possible!
Day 25: Pray to always have pure intentions. — Ask God to help you not do things for love or the approval of others. Pray that you would always have pure intentions in both your personal and business relationships and that you would be compassionate and considerate towards others and their feelings. Philippians 2:3 says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather in humility value others above yourself.”
Day 26: Pray that God would fill you with self control. — Ask Him to give you self control so that you live a life pleasing to Him. That you would die to yourself (and human desires) and live in accordance to His rules.
Day 27: Pray that your life reflects a woman who loves the Lord. — Ask God to help you truly love and respect Him and His word. Ask that He helps your words and actions reflect the heart of a dedicated follower of Christ. Pray that you always make decisions both in public and private that will please God rather than yourself.
Day 28: Pray that God breaks the chains of any addictions you have. — Ask God to expose and heal any and all addictions you have. This could be something really big like a drug or alcohol addiction, or something small. Either way, ask God to help you break those chains and to come out victorious.
Day 29: Ask God to tame your tongue. — Pray that your words build others up and that you always speak the truth, no matter how unpopular it may be. Ask God to help you go to Him first in prayer when you are angry, so that you don’t say things that you will regret. Pray that you always think before you speak and that your words be seasoned with grace.
Day 30: Ask God to help you develop a heart of worship and gratitude. — Pray that your heart’s desire is to worship and thank God in all circumstances because He is good and worthy of praise! Ask Him to put a song in your heart and that you will seek to glorify Him and give Him the glory in all things.
Day 31: Ask God to put a strong desire in your heart to seek Him and His will in prayer and reading the Word, each and every day from this day forward!
I’m praying for each and every one of you who reads this. That God reveals His heart for you and that you are bold enough in your faith to live out His will for your life. xo, Elizabeth
I wanted to share with you a really fun latte recipe that my sister and I have been making for years. Our original drink was made iced, one hot Summer afternoon on a whim because I had a jar of marshmallow fluff in my cabinet. I actually prefer this drink iced, because I think it brings out the flavors more. I encourage you to try it both ways and see which you prefer. I have done this with actual marshmallows (the bigger the better! haha) and marshmallow fluff, but I have to say, marshmallow fluff is where it’s at!
Ok enough chit-chat, let’s jump right into the recipe, because that is what you’re here for. :)
To make an iced toasted marshmallow latte you’ll need:
2 shots of espresso (or 3, or 4…who am I to judge! ;) hehe)
about 6 oz of milk (I like less milk and more ice.)
Vanilla Syrup or Toasted Marshmallow syrup. –The Torani’s Toasted Marshmallow syrup is more nutty and I think is actually less sweet than vanilla syrup and perfect for this drink. I love it. *This is not a sponsored post, I just really love Torani syrups and lately am on a BIG toasted marshmallow syrup kick! I definitely recommend trying it.
Marshmallow fluff. (or Marshmallows)
Kitchen Torch (or one of those long candle lighters)
Glass (I use a mason jar.) You’ll want something that you can torch in and evenly put your marshmallow fluff on top to torch.
ice
time to make the drink!
Add your choice of syrup to your glass. (note: I use about 1 TBSP of syrup.)
pull your shots of espresso. swirl to combine.
add your milk. (fun fact: you want to add your milk within about 10 seconds of pulling your shot for best taste results. so make sure to have your milk all ready to go.)
add ice.
top with marshmallow fluff. *I recommend spraying a spoon with cooking spray so it doesn’t stick. –if you’re using actual marshmallows, I’d say a handful of small ones, or one large marshmallow.
using a kitchen torch (or to be honest I have also done this with a candle lighter.) the torch is better though, but the lighter works if you are reading this and want to make it now.) torch the top of the marshmallow fluff. (or marshmallows.) BUT only until it starts to toast. You can brown it, but you don’t want it getting too hot and melting the ice…..
***Don’t over torch the fluff or you will melt all the ice. If you just lightly toast it, it will be perfect because the fluff kind of creates a seal on top of the coffee.
Drink & ENJOY If you make this, please let me know. Send me a message or tag me on Instagram!
Each day when we wake up, we have two choices. We can choose JOY or we can choose to be miserable. Unlike happiness, which is based on our circumstances. Joy is internal and is based on God’s goodness, REGARDLESS of how good or bad things are.
For some people (I hate to admit this, but ME!) being positive during trying times doesn’t come naturally. And you know what, that’s ok! We CAN be positive, we just have to work a little bit harder to SEE the good. But one thing I can tell you is, that if you look for the good, you will find it!
There are a few things that will help you be more positive and joyful that I want to share with you. I pray they will help your days go better.
You can not live a positive life with a negative mind.
If you follow me on Instagram, I’m sure you’ve heard me say many times, if you have a negative mindset, you’ll live a negative life. The worst part is, that we don’t even realize sometimes what we are thinking is dictating our lives. Each day we feed ourselves so many negative thoughts without even realizing it, and then we wonder why we are so unhappy.
Simple things can help shift your mindset to focusing on the positives rather than the negatives. Things like; smiling at yourself when you look in the mirror and taking notice of things you like, rather than picking apart the things you don’t like. Below are some more ideas. I hope this will inspire you to be more conscious of your thought patterns. Because if you change your perspective, you will change your life!
1. Wake up and thank God for your day. Thank Him regardless of your feelings, because God’s promises are NOT based on our feelings. They are based on His truth!
2. Get up and get moving. If nothing else, just walk. Walk around your house, around the block, whatever you can do. Do it.
3. Look in the mirror and ask God to let you see yourself through HIS eyes. Speak words of truth over yourself. Read a Bible verse or just say something out loud that you like about yourself.
4. Read the Bible. Depending on your morning schedule, you might need to get up earlier to get your Bible reading in, but if you only have a few minutes, download a Bible app and just get into the Word for a few minutes. Something is better than nothing. Don’t tell yourself you don’t have time. I promise you, time spent in the Word is NEVER a waste!
5. Put on some worship music. And sing, or dance, journal, or cry out to the Lord. However you worship is between you and God. And again, time worshiping the Lord, is NEVER a waste!
6. Drink a BIG glass of water. Cold, hot, with lemon. Doesn’t matter. Drink it however you like it. But water just makes you feel good and is so good for you!
7. Smile! Smile at yourself. Smile at strangers. Smile at no one. It doesn’t matter. Just smile. Smiling will train your mind to be happy. And personally, I love smiling at strangers, because you never know how a simple smile might impact their day!
SEE THE GOOD.
Don’t just “look” for the good. SEE the good. Train your mind to see the good. The positive in all things and I promise you, after awhile you will start noticing yourself being more positive.
I encourage you to start this list TODAY. It is a new day. A fresh start. Doesn’t matter if it is the Monday of all Mondays, or the weekend. His mercies are new every single day. So MAKE it a great day!
Whether you are newly married or have been married for forty years, I encourage you to take time each day to be intentional with praying for your husband. It’s so easy to take our relationships for granted, but a true Christ-centered marriage is a blessing. If you don’t know where to start. I encourage you to start with this prayer and then join with me in, “Praying for your husband through the month of February.”
“Lord, I desire to strengthen not only my relationship with my husband, but also with you. Help me go to You first, before I go to others to talk about my marriage and it’s let downs. I desire this not only to help me be a better person, but to help me be a better wife to my husband. Search my heart and take away anything that takes me away from you. Let my eyes see you first and always, in every aspect of life. Thank you for all the blessings you have given me and thank you for the pain and trials, that have lead me to call upon you. Please help my husband see me through you Lord. Help my words always be words that speak truth and life and build my husband up. Give me the words to speak when I am angry, or hurt and the words I want to speak are not your will. Please bless my husband and help him look to you for your truth and will for not only his life but also for what is best for our family. Protect us both from the enemy’s lies. In Jesus name. Amen.”
Ephesians 6:11 says, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand against the devil’s schemes.”
Day 1: Thank God for your husband. Even if you aren’t feeling exactly “thankful” for him at that very moment. Especially if you aren’t! ;)
Day 2: Pray for his heart and eyes to be protected by God. The enemy wants to deceive and destroy us. That isn’t a mystery. I mean, it is his job. But guess what? He also wants to tear apart our marriages, especially those of us who are Christian and have a Christ-centered marriage.
Day 3: Pray for him to see you, through God’s eyes. I pray this often, because I will be honest…I am not always the easiest person to love. I pray that God will help my husband see me through God’s eyes. He is not only the creator of the Universe, but also of me! He knows my heart and how deeply I love my husband, even though my words or actions might not show it.
Day 4: Pray for his relationship with Christ. His relationship with Jesus, should be his FIRST and most important relationship. Yep. More important than his relationship with you. But, it should be ours too. The stronger our love grows for the Lord, the stronger it will grow for your spouse as well!
Day 5: Pray that he has a strong desire to walk with God daily and be a Godly head of the household. Pray that he seeks God’s will as you two make your decisions.
Day 6: Pray for his protection. Not just physically from harm, but also from temptations of the world.
Day 7: Pray for your husband as a father to your children. To be a good, shinning example of what a man who walks with the Lord looks like. Don’t have children yet? Pray for your future children or for the way your husband interacts with the children in your family.
Day 8: Pray for him to be a good steward of your finances.
Day 9: Pray for his family. (Your in-laws.) For their health and their lives and relationships with Christ and their relationships they have with you and your husband.
Day 10: Pray for his relationship with your family. (His in-laws.)
Day 11: Pray for his job. That he always works as though he is working for the Lord. Thank God for providing your husband with a job and pray that He is blessed through your husband.
Day 12: Pray for his friendships. Pray that he has good, Godly friends and that those relationships are strengthened.
Day 13: Pray for healing from his past. We all have a past. Some worse than others. Regardless of what lies in his past or what you know, or don’t know, I encourage you to pray that God would heal your husband from past hurt and disappointments. And that he would forgive those who have hurt him in any way.
Day 14: Pray for his confidence. Pray that he knows how deeply loved and worthy he is as a child of God. Pray that he looks to God for his worth and not the things of this world.
Day 15: Pray for your relationship with him. Pray that you both keep God at the center of your marriage. Pray that you both always make decisions based on God’s will for your marriage. Pray that you both choose words that will lift each other up.
Day 16: Pray for him to be bold in his faith. With his daily decisions, at his job and just in his every day life.
Day 17: Pray for him to be quick to forgive. Don’t just pray that he forgives you quickly, but that he is quick to forgive anyone and doesn’t hold onto resentment.
Day 18: Pray for him to have a strong prayer life and to be praying for you and your family. When praying through the Holy Spirit there is so much power. If your husband is praying for your lives together daily, that is a true blessing.
Day 19: Pray for your physical intimacy as a couple. Pray that you two grow stronger in your love and desire for each other more each day.
Day 20: Pray for your husband’s honesty. Pray for him to be honest, not only with you. But also at work and in his every day life. Let his yes be yes, and his no be no. Pray that God would help him not lie and be a man of virtue and truth.
Day 21: Pray that he leans on the strength of God and not on his own strength. Pray for him to always seek God’s strength first to get through tough times. Ask God to give him the strength both physically and mentally to get through each day victoriously.
Day 22: Pray that God breaks the chains of any addiction your husband may have. This may not seem relevant to everyone, but you don’t know, what you don’t know. Meaning, there may be something hidden in your husband’s life that he struggles with that he hasn’t told you about. Whether he struggles with something big or small, I encourage you to be praying that God breaks the chains of any addiction that may have a hold on your husband.
Day 23: Pray for your husband’s future. Ask God to go before him each day and guide him in the ways he should go. Pray that your husband leans on God to make good decisions daily not only for himself, but you as a couple for your future.
Day 24: Pray for him to repent and turn from his sins. Ask God to convict your husband’s heart of any sin and that he repents humbly before God. Ask Him to help your husband see his sins clearly as sins, and not only repent from them, but turn from them.
Day 25: Pray that your husband’s mind stays focused on God. Ask God to help your husband keep his eyes on God and not get caught up in the things of this world. Ask that God would help him stay focused when things get hard and he’s exhausted both mentally and physically. Ask Him to give your husband peace and comfort to stay in God’s will, not his own.
Day 26: Pray that he is quick to listen. Like it says in James, ask God to help your husband be quick to listen and slow to speak and slow to anger. Pray that God helps him truly hear what you and your children are saying and to be present. Ask God to help him not quickly react in anger or defensively to what you say when you two are talking. Pray that the lines of communication between you are strong and open.
Day 27: Pray for your husband’s life to reflect a man who loves God. Pray and ask God to help your husband’s heart truly love and respect God. Ask that He helps your husband’s words and actions display a true follower of Christ. Pray that he makes decisions both in public and in private that would please God above himself.
Day 28: Pray for his faithfulness to you in your marriage. Ask God to keep him faithful both physically and emotionally to you and your marriage. Pray that he has the desire to love and honor your commitment to each other and God, each and every day.
Day 29: Pray for him to find joy and peace in Jesus. Ask God to help your husband find his joy and peace in the Lord and not feel empty and searching for “happiness” in the things of this world. Pray that God would help your husband be filled with joy and comfort and peace that can only be found in Jesus Christ.
Day 30: Pray for continued strength and renewal from God in your marriage each day, forever. Pray that your husband’s relationship with God and you is strengthened and renewed after this month of prayer. Pray that you both live each day from this point on, even more dedicated and in love with each other and with God. And pray that you both always keep Christ as the foundation in your marriage and family.
I hope that you are excited about the upcoming month and all that God can and will do in your marriage. I will be praying for you, that not only will your husband be blessed by these prayers, but that you are as well. I know that your heart will be changed by the end of the month and pray that your husband’s heart is as well. I look forward to hearing how this went for you!
It’s almost a new year, which means that most people are making a list of their resolutions. If we’re being honest, I bet that your list (whether you wrote one out or you were just thinking of things you want to work on in the new year) includes either something about losing weight, making more money or eating better. Am I right? Go ahead. Be honest. I can’t hear your answer, so no worries. ;)
Why, do we year after year make the same lists for the upcoming year? Why are they always something like, “This year I will lose 10lbs. I will work out more. I will hustle harder and make more money.” I can’t help but wonder why aren’t our lists more like, “This year I will stop hating my body. I will look at my life, my body and my belongings as beautiful, gifts from God. This year I pray that my heart is aligned with God’s heart for me. That His will is my will.“ That is what I am praying for this year. I want to SEE THE GOOD. Yes, I know life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows! Heck, for me sometimes it feels like anything but that. But throughout the storms, throughout the pain, the trials, the ups and downs, I want to SEE THE GOOD. Because when your heart is aligned with God’s, and your eyes are on Him, there is ALWAYS something good to be seen.
I know a lot of people pick a word for the new year, and I too have done that the last several years. But this year, I feel like more than just picking “a word,” I want to focus on a lifestyle. A life so filled with hope in Christ that I overflow with joy and grace to myself and others. A life that each day is glorifying to God. I want to keep my eyes on Him and give Him my day, each and EVERY day.
I encourage you to take some time over the next few days to pray and seek God’s will for your life in this upcoming year. If you need help getting your prayer started, here is a short prayer to pray.
Dear Lord, I ask that you align my heart with yours. I pray that you give me the desire to do your will and not my own. Help me keep my eyes on you Lord each and every day, and not on myself or my problems. Lord, help me do everything I do for your glory. I thank you for this new year and praise you for all that you have already done and are going to do. In Jesus name, Amen.
I am praying for you all. Each and every one of you who are reading this now. I pray that you are able to keep your eyes on the Lord and His will for your life. I pray that you are blessed with health and are full of joy through Christ.
*EDITED 11/2022 This was written in 2019 and I don’t think Hallmark movies, especially Christmas movies are as good anymore. But these are all great oldie but goodies ;)* I get asked often, what my favorite Hallmark movies are. So I thought I’d share some of my favorite Christmas movies from the last few years, for you to keep your eye out for them on your TV this Christmas season.
There are several things I look for in a Hallmark movie for it to be on this list. Most importantly is, “Would I watch this again?” and every movie on this list I would and have watched several times. In fact, a few of them I have probably watched at least 10 times. Yes, haha seriously!
I not only look for a movie that is cute and romantic, but a fun story line. I love when the story takes a different twist. Also, humorous. I love to laugh, so when a movie has me laughing that is even better! But, of course there are times you just want a more heart felt movie and I have a few of those on this list too.
All of the movies I picked for this list are ones I watch year after year (with the exception of Christmas under the Stars, which is from this year 2019.) Several of them are on my DVR all year long and I watch them when I’m longing for the Holidays. I broke the movies down into two categories but no category outweighs the other. They are all cute and funny and heartfelt movies.
Top 5 in no particular order:
Window Wonderland. –Super cute and funny! Paul Campbell is in this one and he is one of my favorites! He is such an authentic character. You really find yourself feeling like he genuinely cares about the people he is acting with. He and Chyler Leigh are store employees, both going after the window dressing job at a big department store during Christmastime. You are taken along with them during the holidays and family time all while watching them both create their window displays leading up to the big Christmas window display. I highly recommend this movie.
A Very Merry Mix-Up. –I don’t want to spoil this for you. Even though if you look up this movie, it will tell you what happens. Haha. :) But if you don’t know, don’t spoil it by reading what happens. Just watch it. You won’t be disappointed. It is different from other Christmas movies because of the “mix-up” and that mix up reminds you that, timing is everything! It is a super sweet story and I watch this every year. I actually just watched this the other day.
Christmas Getaway. –The actors are both from the show, The Last Ship which my husband and I used to watch. Travis Van Winkle and Bridget Regan. They are both great actors which helps make this a great movie. A travel writer and a widower and his daughter end up at the same Christmas lodge due to being double booked and the travel writer finds herself living out a good old fashioned Christmas for the first time since she was a child, thanks to a Christmas check-list the widower’s daughter is working on. Super cute movie.
Debbie Macomber’s Trading Christmas. –This one is an oldie, but a goodie. It’s from 2011 and the actors are a little older, but they are all really funny and great established actors outside of Hallmark. I watch this movie like clockwork at the start of every Christmas season. The story line is super cute with a widowed mom (Faith Ford) who tries to surprise her daughter in college by flying across the country to visit her for Christmas but when she gets there her daughter is out of town with her friends. She does a house swap and she meets a new love interest (her house swap guy’s brother.) Simultaneously Faith Ford’s friend travels across the country to visit her, but finds out she is doing a house swap and meets the house swap tenant and love unfolds…..Super cute!
The Christmas Ornament. This is a heartfelt and sweet movie. It stars Kellie Martin which I love and Cameron Mathison. Kathy (Kellie Martin) plans to avoid any holiday traditions that bring back memories of her late husband until she receives an ornament from a handsome shop owner. She keeps looking for signs from her late husband on what to do, as its her first Christmas without him and through a very sweet friend and a new budding romance, she finds that you can open your heart to love after loss. It has cookie baking and Christmas trees and ice skating and love. Everything you could ask for in a Christmas movie. Just watched this one. So sweet!
CUTE. These movies are all plain old sweet. Classically cute, and funny Hallmark Christmas movies.
Crown for Christmas. -Danica McKeller is one of my favorites so naturally this is on my list. A maid (Danica) in a fancy hotel gets fired right before Christmas. One of the King’s servants who was staying there at the time, overheard what happened and offers her a job as a governess to the King’s daughter. The girl is opposed to her being her governess at first, but then starts warming up to her and decides that she would be a better match for her father than the Countess who he is supposed to marry.
Christmas Getaway.
Coming Home for Christmas. -Danica McKeller stars in this sweet movie as well and is about a family coming together for Christmas, thanks to Danica’s character who reminds them of some of their favorite Christmas memories and traditions. There is also a little love triangle going on. Two brothers fighting for her affection.
Help for the Holidays – This is one we all watch together as a family every year. It is about one of Santa’s elves that goes to a family disguised as a nanny at Christmastime and helps them remember the meaning of Christmas and the importance of family. Grab a cup of hot chocolate and your family and cozy up to watch this one!
One Starry Christmas -An older one, but a favorite for sure. Reminding you to take a chance and not be afraid. And my favorite story line of all, timing is everything!
A Very Merry Mix-Up.
A Christmas Melody. -Lacy Chabert is a single mother who moves back to her hometown and reconnects with her past. Mariah Carey is one of the (not so friendly) mom’s at the new school her daughter goes to. There is music, love, Christmas magic and Santa. Really cute!
Love you like Christmas. – Timing is everything! Let’s just leave it at that. Love this one!
Holiday Engagement. -Another oldie but goodie! 2011, Bonnie Somerville gets dumped just before Christmas and she is going home for the holidays so she hires an actor to stand in as her boyfriend….little does she know, he is actually falling in love with her.
Debbie Macomber’s Dashing through the Snow. -Totally different story line. Really cute with two great actors. My favorite, Andrew Walker and Meghan Ory. She gets stranded at the airport at Christmastime and accepts a ride from Andrew Walker who isn’t honest about who he is…..
Debbie Macomber’s Trading Christmas.
Christmas Next Door.
A Christmas Detour. -Candace Cameron Bure and Paul Greene are traveling during the holidays and become stranded. They don’t like each other much because she is stressed about getting to her fiance’s home for Christmas in time to meet his family before their upcoming wedding and Paul Greene is trying to do anything but get home for Christmas because he is hurt about something in the past….
Window Wonderland.
HEARTFELT. These are all a little more sentimental and tug at your heart strings.
Christmas in Evergreen (there is also a Christmas in Evergreen, Letters to Santa. Both are cute.)
Christmas in Angel Falls.
Miss Christmas.
A Christmas to Remember
A Bramble House Christmas.
Christmas under the Stars.
The Christmas Ornament.
I hope this list helps you get your Christmas movie watching off too a great start. There are more movies I could probably add to this list, but these are my all time favorites, that never disappoint! If you watch any of these, I’d love to hear what you think.
Make sure you are subscribed to my blog to be in the know for my next Hallmark movie list.
In Spring of 2016 I started Grace in His Beauty as an online women’s ministry after I felt a nudge from Jesus to “be BOLD” and share my faith with other women. Each day I would pray and then post on Instagram whatever the Lord had put on my heart to share that day. It was so rewarding hearing, “This is exactly what I needed to hear today.” Almost 4 years later, and I still get excited when I hear those words!
I started noticing in the last year or so, that Instagram has become, (I don’t think this is a surprise to anyone so I’ll just say it point blank.) FAKE. Yep. I said what we all are thinking. So I started watering down what I was saying on my captions because I wanted people to *actually read* what I was sharing, before scrolling on to the next photo. I would pour my heart into a caption that I knew God wanted me to share, but then I would delete it and rewrite it in as few words as possible. The final straw was at the beginning of this year after a drunk driver drove through our house before Christmas and turned our world upside down. After not being online for a month, I posted a long caption sharing a very personal message about what happened. And on that post I got several AUTOMATED comments saying things like, “This is so cool. Great shot.” or “Love this so much.”
I have never shared this on here before, but I felt so angry and frustrated because I knew that more people were FAKE and robots were responding to my post that was so real and raw and vulnerable. I then started feeling like, what is even the point in pouring out my heart if no one cares? Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. “Elizabeth, you are listening to the enemy. He wants you to feel defeated because he knows what you are saying is from God. Stop watering down your messages and letthem seeGod through you.”
So here I am, pouring out my heart once again. Sharing what God has put on my heart to share. I am rededicating Grace in His Beauty to the Lord. I pray that in 2020 (wow! how is it almost 2020?!) I can continue to share all that the Lord has put on my heart to encourage and inspire other women around the world through this blog and Instagram. I pray that my words will lovingly reach the hearts of those who need to hear them and change their lives forever.
Life is not a competition. It’s not a board game, where the person who collects the most money and property wins. It’s not about who is the prettiest, the smartest or who has the most followers on social media. Your looks don’t determine your worth and neither does your career, your relationship status or how many upcoming coffee dates are on your calendar. Your worth and beauty are found in Christ. You will find that you are most satisfied in life, and will feel the most beautiful when you are glorifying God by letting HIM shine through you. Not shining so that others can see you.
There are so many movements now telling us to “love our bodies,” to be “who you are,” and to show ourselves “self care.” People are eating this stuff up all while forgetting that the truth of most people’s unhappiness about themselves lies in the fact that they are only working on making their outsides beautiful. So why aren’t we trying to live and love like Jesus and not like the “Influencers” on social media? Why aren’t we trying to make our HEARTS beautiful?
Answer me honestly….Don’t worry, I can’t hear your answer. Are you spending more time making sure that your outside is beautiful, rather than your inside? Read that again and be honest. When was the last time, you spent honest to goodness quality time in the Word? When was the last time you prayed a heart felt prayer of THANKSGIVING not just a prayer listing your requests to God. What is your heart’s desire? Do you want people to know YOU? Or are you shining a light so that others can see God through you?
We spend so much time and money working on our outwards appearance. We do our hair, nails, makeup. We go to the esthetician and get a facial. We color our hair to hid our grays hoping to erase a few years off our age. BUT imagine if we just spent half that time working on our hearts. Digging deeper in the Word. Spending quiet time with God. Working on making our inner beauty more beautiful than our outer beauty.
A super simple prayer that I have said for as long as I can remember is, “Lord, let my inner beauty shine through my face.” You see. I have struggled with pretty bad acne since I was a teenager and there were many days I didn’t want people to see MY face. I instead wanted them to see my heart, because I knew it was beautiful because Jesus rules it. It’s funny how hard most people work on making sure they look good all while forgetting that looks fade, but a beautiful heart of someone who loves the Lord will never fade.
Friends, I encourage you to spend more time focusing on making your inner beauty more beautiful. And if you want, pray that simple prayer I shared with you. “Lord, let my inner beauty shine through my face.” I promise that if you wholeheartedly work on your inner beauty and seek the Lord and His will for your life, people will notice. Your inner beauty will shine through your face and no one can ever dull that sparkle.
Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Psalm 31:30
Comparison. Plain and simple, is a jerk. Sometimes we get so caught up in “creating the perfect life” that we forget to just LIVE our life. We try to create a life that is pleasing to look at from an outsider’s view. But ask yourself, are you making the view for all involved on the inside as pleasing? Think about that for a minute. It is way too easy to start comparing our lives to other people’s. (strangers on the internet, people you pass on the street or see on tv, without truly knowing anything about them.) We get ideas in our head of what our lives (and ourselves) “should look like” and then we forget what living a good life truly means. Continue reading →
