Being cute is easy.

Head to the mall for some good skinny jeans and new glitter Toms.
Get those girls at the M.A.C. counter to contour your checks and selecta color that make your eyes pop. 
Head to the salon for a Mani/Pedi and some more layers and boom your set.
Cute. Real cute.

Being a woman that honors the Lord and has true inner beauty is a whole other thing.
Hang up your dress, wash away the mascara, comb out the curls and what do you see?

This journey has taught me a thing or two about true inner beauty.
It's taken me outside my little So Cal bubble filled with accessories, plastic surgery,
and more materialism than I ever realized, and helped me see a different side.

The women I have met on this journey don't wear a stitch of makeup.
They don't spend their paycheck on a new designer purse.
They don't keep up with the Kardashians.
Yet these women have such big hearts for the Lord.
They truly fear the Lord and what they have in them is beautiful.

A long time ago my sisters and I used to keep a verse written on the mirror,
"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised."

Since then I've been on this journey of being a twenty something girl in this modern world, living in So Cal, managing my way through wanting to be a girl of style and a girl that truly fears the Lord. Trying to figure out my own convictions and my own morals.
 
Is it okay to spend $150 on jeans? Do I need to go get a pedicure when I can learn to paint my nails myself? Can I figure out how to trim my split ends and save a trip to the salon? Should I wear that low cut dress when I know very well I shouldn't cause guys to stumble? Do I really need another swimsuit this season?

I’m here to tell you I haven't always made the right decisions. Sure, I could blame it on where I grew up; the pressure I faced to look and dress a certain way, but being a woman who honors the Lord in all areas of her life isn’t easy. Have you ever read Proverbs 31? That woman seems like she has her work cut out for her. It is hard to be woman who opens her hands to the poor, dresses her self with strength, carries herself with dignity, is resourceful with the talents God has given her, mindful of her finances, and has influence in the community events around her.
 
My sister sent me an email the other day; she is having a baby girl! I am so excited to have another girl apart of our family, which is basically all girls already, but hey, what’s one more! I began to think about how I was going to be an Aunt to this little child and how I wanted to be the cool Auntie. You know, the one that takes her shopping, introduces her to cupcakes, and helps her paint her nails.
 
I also started to think that there are some lessons I really want her to understand when she grows up. Helping her to understand what inner beauty looks like. What it looks like to serve and love others. What it looks like to know that God created every curve and quirk and made her perfect in His image.

My advice to you: Figure out your own convictions, morals, and guidelines. Maybe you want that $150 to go to building a house in Nicaragua. Maybe you want to spend Saturday’s painting women's nails at the homeless shelter. Maybe you want to choose to dress more modestly to honor the men in your life. Maybe you want to care less about swimsuits and more about the spirit inside you. Maybe you need a reminder of how God see’s you. Maybe Ask God to convict your heart and break your heart for what breaks his.

Love,
ASH