you are beautiful

cucumber-eyesWe women long to hear:

You

are

beautiful!

Yet we rarely do. We live in a put-down world with impossible beauty standards. Flawless faces leer at us while we wait in the checkout line. You’ve seen them, haven’t you?

Blemish-free skin, perfect noses, impeccable makeup. And just below the faces. . .

. . . big bosoms and slender, sculpted bods.

Who can compare?

Not me.

Not you.

No one.

Seriously, even supermodels are air-brushed.

I surveyed a dozen Christian women, ages 20 to 60, who attended my workshop “Inside Out Beauty.” The question I posed: What are two things would you change about your looks? They wrote their answers. No names. Complete anonymity.

The results: All but one mentioned weight.

No surprise. Everyone I know wants to lose a little, a little there.

The other things they’d change: hairy arms, wrinkles, age spots, eye color, hair color, even “my whole body.”

Ouch!

Here’s the big Q? How can we learn to see ourselves like Jesus does?

Question: What would you change about you? Leave a comment.

You Are Blessed,

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her mother’s hope

francinerivers_blogtourFrancine Rivers hooked me on the first page of her novel Her Mother’s Hope, all about the intricate relationships of mothers and daughters. It goes to the heart of beauty and strength, adversity and love.

A quick description: Marty, a spunky and intelligent though homely girl, leaves her home in a small Swiss town in the early 1900s, where her father is abusive and her mother coddles her younger sister. She learns to make a way in the world, holding tight to her dream to open an inn, and eventually moves to Canada, where she meets a handsome man who sees

her true beauty.

Marta’s eldest daughter, Hildie, is her mother’s opposite. While Marta is forceful, Hildie shows compassion.

This novel prompted me to think about how my own mom influenced me and how I treat my daughters. Our pasts affect our present,

for better or worse.

Her Mother’s Hope is more than an excellent read. It makes you think about relationships that matter.

Francine, Can you tell us something about your Christian testimony?

I was reared in a Christian home. My parents were active in church, my father an elder, my mother a deaconess. I attended Christian summer camps, youth group and said grace at every meal.  I thought being born into a Christian family and raised in the faith made me a Christian.  It didn’t.

Each person makes their own choice, and it took me years to surrender to Jesus – not until after I’d gone through college, married, had children and started a writing career. Rick and I went to church, but came away dissatisfied and knowing there must be something more. We both had personal issues that brought us close to divorce several times. We wanted our own way and to have control over our own lives. Having control is an illusion.

Our marriage was on the verge of collapse when Rick started his own business. We moved to northern California to be closer to family.  We made many outer changes, but no change of the heart.  As we moved into our rental house, a little boy came over to help and said, “Have I got a church for you!”

We weren’t ready to listen. The lady on the other side of our fence also invited us to the same church. Out of desperation, I went a few weeks later. It was my first experience with “expository teaching.” The pastor taught straight out of the Bible, explaining the historical context, what the scriptures were saying, and what they had to do with me in the present. I drank it in!  I took my three children to church.  They loved it. Rick resisted (after having a somewhat disheartening experience with a denominational church in Southern California). 

I asked the pastor if he would be willing to teach a home Bible study.  He agreed — if Rick agreed, which he did.  Studying the Bible changed our lives. Our hearts and minds opened to Christ. We both accepted Jesus as Savior and LORD and were baptized in May 1986.  Since then, God has been changing our lives from the inside out. The Lord also healed our marriage. We celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary this year.  

Tell us about your current work.

I have just completed the second in a set of two books about mother-daughter relationship over four generations. This was intended to be one long novel dealing with the different ways generations have lived out their faith – but became so long it needed to be divided. Her Mother’s Hope was released on March 16, 2010. Her Daughter’s Dream will follow in September. There are numerous family and personal details woven into both books and I plan to share those things on my blog. You may find out more about my new book and more by visiting my web site at www.FrancineRivers.com.

Here’s the book trailer.

hermothershope_cover_140PLEASE NOTE: A complimentary copy of this book was provided to me as a blog tour host by Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for posting this interview on my blog. Please visit Christian Speaker Services at www.ChristianSpeakerServices.com for more information about blog tour management services.

You Are Beautiful!

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‘Pray, Pray and Pray’: Shafia Pleads

Have you wondered what a Beautiful Warrior looks like?

She looks like Shafia, who lives in Pakistan, a Christian among Muslim fundamentalists, a light in the darkness.

She looks like you.

Here’s is Shafia’s compelling story. Please watch.

Pray, pray and pray.purple-signature8

How Can God Even Love You?

“Fatso.”

“Chicken legswoman_looking_in_mirror.”

 “You’re ugly.” “You’ll never be pretty.”  “No one wants to be seen with you.”

 “How can God even love you?”

You would never say these horrible things to a friend, even a stranger.

Chances are, you trash-talk yourself. Between your pierced ears, your mind entertains lies of your beauty and worth, or lack thereof. Satan tempts you to lie to yourself; sadly, unless you resist him, he’ll con you. You’ll believe the lies and tear yourself to pieces as a wolf rips apart sheep.

I know I have.

So have the women who’ve attended my Inside Out Beauty workshops. In fact I’ve never met a woman so comfortable in her skin that she accepts herself just as she is. Yet God accepts her. God accepts you.

At the workshop, I ask the question, What’s one thing you’d like to change about her body? Sadly, at my latest one, a woman wrote: “Everything.”

Everything?

I hurt for her. Chances are her eyes shone pretty, or her eyebrows had a nice arch, or her skin looked healthy or something, anything. I KNOW she trash-talked to herself. And I don’t know her name.

I want to hug her hard and tell her:

“You are precious just the way God made you. . .a pearl under pressure. . .but a pearl.

“Exquisite!”

You Are Blessed, Lucy

The Winner Loses? Huh?

THIS ISN’T A story about softball.

Or a home run.

Or a winning team.

Or a blown-out knee.

Look deep and you’ll see someone amazing.  

As I watched this video, my heart grew three sizes and tears ran down my cheeks. I had glimped God’s beauty, his strength. And I wondered, would I have picked up the injured “enemy”? Would I have put the opponents’ interest before my own?

The unselfishness of two truly beautiful softball players remind me of Jesus. The most unlikely person, according to human standards, saves us all. Enjoy.

Please pause my music player at the bottom of the page. : )

Please leave a comment if you have a moment.

You Are Beautiful, Lucy

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