Breaking Out of the Beauty Mold

A week or so ago I was invited to a jewelry party, I was also asked while at the jewelry party if I would do a short devotional on the Proverbs 31 woman. 

I was super excited and said "Yes!" right away. I later then thought, I never teach on the Proverbs 31 woman. It's not because I don't think she is great, I just think everyone always teaches about her, so I like to do something different. Plus, I have always had a connection with Esther. So, I started into studying. The hard part was this was going on the week we were moving and packing, playing with a toddler, working, being pregnant; and studying was a lot to take on. I constantly prayed for the devotional and gave time to study wherever I could but, not as much time as I usually do going into these things.

The message turned out great and I wanted to share it with you.  What made me most excited about the devotional was with my lack of prep time, I knew going in that what I would say was from the Holy Spirit. It had to be I didn't have time to make it up. So here it is.

Breaking Out of the Beauty Mold

The Proverbs 31 woman has a lot of characteristics we all want to achieve peace, hard worker, good mom, amazing wife and so on. When reading the Proverbs 31 woman we rarely look at her as someone who desired to be beautiful. Yet here it is in verse 17 and 22

17 She sets about her work vigorously;
    her arms are strong for her tasks.

22 She makes coverings for her bed;
    she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

We know she cared how she looked because she took care of herself and she dressed nicely. Dressing in scarlet is like dressing in Michael Kors. By reading on we do know that the Michael Kors was bought at a great deal, and probably on sale. So many of us become captive by the beauty mold by obsessing with how we look, or ignoring our looks, comparing ourselves to Hollywood, which eonline has made the perfect botched woman based on people votes for who has the best body part, 

eonline

We are held prisoner by comparing ourselves to friends or women we see on the streets, or maybe you are ashamed of your beauty so you hide it. We as women don't want to be admired for our beauty but we don't want it dismissed. We want to display both inner and outer beauty. Just like the Proverbs 31 woman. To break free from this captivity we need to realize the only way is through Christ, and if our freedom is going to be a reality we are going to have to walk it independently with Christ. Here are 3 things to help you break out of the beauty mold.

1. Know that the King already finds you beautiful!

Psalm 45:11 (NCV) the King loves your beauty

Psalm 45:11 (KJV) the King desires your beauty

Psalm 45:11 (NIV) the King is enthralled by your beauty.

I just love that last one I want to put it on a sign and place it all over my house. God finds you beautiful as He was designing you He didn't accidentally mess up your nose and say "Oh, Well, I guess she is good enough", As He designed your hair He didn't get frustrated and say; "I guess that will just have to do." No, He spent time making you exactly how He wanted you. He made you that way and He finds you beautiful.

2. Seek His face!

Hey, that's a beauty regime in itself. Look at Jesus and Moses.

Exodus 34:29 but Moses did not know his face had been shining because he had been talking with the Lord

Luke 9:29 While Jesus was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became shining white.

The more time you spend seeking Him the inner beauty becomes outer beauty. Also, the less you focus on what others think, or obsess over your looks because you realize He loves how you look. The shackles of the beauty mold start to break free.

3. Everyday remind yourself that He finds you and He made you beautiful

Psalm 139:13-16New International Version (NIV)

13 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.

I know this seems to be a repeat of number one but, this is a reminder that this is a daily challenge. You aren't going to be able to read this and suddenly the chains have broken and you are out of the beauty mold. Everyday remind yourself He made you perfectly, spent time forming you and created you to be a representation of Himself. 

4. Don't let the mirror rob you of your beauty!

How do we get mugged by the mirror you ask? If we seek our identity in what is staring back at us and how we can "fix"it.

If we want to lose weight to be healthier, by all means go on a diet.

If we want to be in better shape to have more energy, by all means, workout.

But, 

if we think we need to do those things to find happiness, to make people like us or love us, that if we could change our appearance to be thinner, stronger, more shapely, and by doing that we will be happier, more successful, have a better life, we are being mugged by the mirror.

Sidenotes:

There is nothing wrong with enhancing your beauty. Working out or putting on makeup, dressing in nice clothes. (Psalm 45:13, describes a beautiful wedding dress) We know the Proverbs 31 woman took care of herself we discussed earlier. Just don't let those things take over. Proverbs 11:22 says like a ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion. Basically, a woman who flaunts her beauty by showing no modesty, or knows she is desirable, prideful is a silly looking and useless as a ring in a pig's nose. 1 Peter 3:3-4 says; Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles or wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Rather it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a quiet and gentle spirit, which is of great worth in God's eyes.

Beauty comes at all ages Esther was a young lady found to be desirable by a King. Sara was 65 when a King invited her to bed before finding out she was married. This happened two times to Sara in her old age.

To close up I want to share this letter a friend posted on her blog. 

My Pretty Little Princess, 

I want you to know how very beautiful you are to me. I adore you, my daughter! I love the way I created you. When you look into the mirror, remember that I carefully chose the color of your eyes and the highlights in your hair. I love you so much that I know exactly how many hairs are on your pretty little head! I designed the shape of your nose and your happy smile. I made every part of your precious body. Don’t ever try to look like anyone else but you. I think you are perfect just the way you are. I love every little thing about you, my princess. There is no one in the world like you. 

Love, Your King who created a perfect you”

“I Made You Beautiful” 

 “His Little Princess: Treasured Letters from Your King.”

Experiencing Sunday

At a Children's Ministers Conference I attended the main speaker said not to call Children's Church, "Sunday School". Kids don't like Monday thru Friday school, why would they want to attend Sunday School. That really stuck with me. I think a lot of times we take the fun out of Jesus and try to just teach the kids. Another quote that often stands out is "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach him how to fish and feed him for a lifetime." It was important to me as a Children's Director to make Sunday an experience for the kids! A place they can meet Jesus and experience His love. They weren't just hearing the bible stories, or learning how to pray, or listening to stories of what God can do. They instead got to experience Jesus and His love, they got to talk to God and know their prayers were heard, they could pray over each other and see the miracles take place. I called this the "movie"experience.

Every Sunday at our kid's Ministry, I called it kid's ministry because the kid's were in charge of our ministry, not really ran by them but, they were why we had a ministry. Back to what I was saying; every Sunday at our kid's ministry was a, "Movie Experience". Movie theaters are a common place to attend but, still are a fun experience. The smell, anticipation, larger than life screen, decorations, friends and family, and so much more.

This is how we created the Movie experience.

Smell/Look: Clean classrooms with no funky smells! At a movie theater the decorations are simple, they change the poster for new movies coming out but other than that they are constant. We went with an industrial theme with neon accents. I liked that theme because you could easily decorate it for any special theme lesson. Example, a Christmas tree for Holidays, bales of hay for farms, or a large fruit tree for fruits of the spirit, etc. Movie theaters smell of popcorn, our goal was to have no funky smells.

Larger than Life: The movie screens are so big it's hard to get distracted. So our goal ... to make sure your attention is drawn up front. Using object lesson, big personalities, large graphics, and fun.

Friends and Family: Of course encouraging kids to bring their friends but, also encouraging friendships in class with small groups. Another lesson I learned from Kids on the Move is to have leaders that are "who they want to be now" and leaders that are "who they want to be when they grow up". Who they want to be now are "cool"/younger leaders that love God. Who they want to be when they grow up fun, "older" that love God and lead a Godly lifestyle. 

Characters: A lot of times we choose our movie by who is starring in it. I wanted kids I come on Sunday's excited to see their favorite "character". Whether that be a favorite teacher/volunteer or a puppet, or a character in a skit.

Music: Soundtracks of movies are always a hit. So Sunday's I would incorporate music in every way possible. Before service, after, games, transitions, and praise and worship. I would not always use "christian" music. Sometimes using "secular" stuff with good message. i.e. Selena Gomez "Who says", Victoria Justice "Freak the Freak Out", Miley Cyrus "Ice Cream Freeze". Side note; if we were doing a new Praise song I would play it a lot before and during service, so when it came time for that song in praise and worship the kids got excited, thinking they already knew it. 

One of my favorite transition songs; by Kids on the Move

Transitions: Good movies have smooth transitions from one scene to the next. It is a must to practice transitions. Somethings you can use is music, videos, jokes, skits. These take practice, and still can go wrong. Just keep working at it!!

Fast pace: Nobody likes a slow movie that just keeps getting slower. Keep the service moving (my fool proof service schedules coming in a blog soon). Keep up the excitement level, anticipation and keep moving.

Teasers: Keep them coming back with cliff hangers or sneak peeks of the upcoming weeks. 

One place I got my inspiration for making Sunday's an experience was from Kid's on the Move, this will help inspire you to have a great Sunday experience!!

I hope this helps encourage you to make every Sunday an experience. Every 4 -6 months we would have a Super Sunday. I will blog more on that later. What are some ways you make Sundays an experience?