Gather 'ye rosebuds while 'ye may....

One of the greatest movies of all time.  Period.  I am fortunate enough to have a precious momma that actually gave me the book when I was in high school and then watched the movie with me.  She exposed the Truth and importance of seizing the day and living an extraordinary life early on.  Life is a battle and a war and the casualities could be your very own heart and soul.  Just as it says in the movie I believe with my whole heart "Words and thoughts could change the world." Think about it this way...God could use YOUR words and YOUR thoughts to change the world you live in right now.  Be brave enough to use them and then be courageous enough to live them. 

"The poweful play goes on and you could contribute a verse." -Robin Williams, Dead Poets Society

The Post Office..

Wake up

Take a shower

Get dressed

Start the coffee – Amen!

Have some Jesus time - YAY!

Change Ainlsey’s diaper

Get Cade his chocolate milk

Make breakfast for my peeps

Start the laundry

Return some emails

Check off some of yesterday’s “To Do” list

Make a new “To Do” list

Switch the laundry to the dryer

Confirm dates for retreat weekend

Set dates for next Chick Chat

Kiss my hubs and send him off to work

Make a list for Wal-mart

Help the kids get dressed

Slap on a smidge of makeup just so I look alive :)

Drink second cup of coffee :)

Out the door……..

I wonder how many times we do that exact schedule in a life time. How many times do we go about our everyday lives in an everyday way? The effort that Christ is putting out through Glorious Daughters isn’t about figuring out some sort of formula with God so that we can aspire to fame, fortune and easing our lifestyles. It’s about cultivating a Holy Spirit response to our everyday life. God is after our hearts. God is after our “everydays” that we get lost in. He is after our mindsets.

Last night the Lord solidified even more the vision He has for Glorious Daughters and I couldn’t wait to share it with you.….it’s about responding to the Holy Spirit as mature daughters in Christ in such a dramatic way that we get just as fired up and hopeful that God is going to use us to rescue a life while we shop for groceries in Wal-mart, as we do when we step off a plane that’s just landed in Tanzania. That as daughters we become so still and relaxed in the arms of the King that we can feel with confidence the direction the Spirit is working in our lives.

As daughters of the King the Word of God is not just something we “Do” it’s something we LIVE. Don’t get lost in your “To Do” list today. Since starting this blog I have received so many emails from precious daughters that have expressed how they are living the Word out and sharing the beauty that the King has lavished on them. Keep sending them in!! I am so sharpened, encouraged and inspired by your stories!! Every time I read an email I get more and more pumped up about the message Christ is cultivating in His daughters and I’m all in! We can’t slow up from doing or being who the King has called us to be. Because not living to our full God-given potential as daughters doesn’t do anybody any favors…I know I’ve tried and it won’t work. Be ready to share the hope that is set within you ladies. I promise you the number of beloved souls in your very reality looking for hope is overwhelming if you would just open your eyes. Look intentionally for an opportunity to bless and encourage someone just as intensely as you would if you were on a mission trip to the remotest parts of the globe.

FYI….your eyeballs pop open in the morning and you just looked at your mission field. The beauty of Christ is just waiting to be expressed….now go express it!!

Just so I keep it real on this little blog site I’ll tell you what that looks like for me today. We moved almost a year ago and have spent the better half of that year getting used to our new surroundings. One of those “new” things has been adjusting to our postal system…we have different mailboxes than I am used to, we have mail keys, and you can only buy stamps a certain way..Etc, etc, etc….well when we first moved here I had a little run in with the ladies at the post office. I was kind, but it was obvious I wasn’t doing it right and on top of it all I had lost my mail keys. Big mistake. And I have honestly avoided the post office at all cost because of my little run in a few months ago. So, like I said before, I am not asking you to do anything I am not asking myself to do and today the Holy Spirit is asking me to love on the people that work at my local post office. Nothing grand maybe just a card to say thanks for all they do for the community and that God loves them. It’s simple really. If we are responding in a mature manor to the call of the Holy Spirit…and we are serious about making a change and LIVING the Word out…for me that starts with showing a little love to my post office. Not giving them a sermon, just showing them a little love.  Call me weird I don’t really care like I said I’ve lived too long doing the half way for Jesus thing….when I say I’m all in I really mean it.

Tomorrow God could call me to share the hope that is set within me on the other side of the globe, but today serving my family in love, meeting with friends, cleaning my house, trusting that God is going to provide for us financially, supporting my local church and taking a little Love to my post office is what full and immediate obedience looks like for me. That’s what living my ordinary life in an extraordinary way looks like today.

What about you?

Go Get 'Em Girls!!

Okay so I am not necessarily endorsing this show…honestly I’ve never watched it. However we walked in the other night and turned on the TV and before we had a second to touch the remote this scene played out. It was perfect for me and God totally used it to pump me up! It’s funny, but all too true! Just let it go pretty ladies and be empowered by the King to be the woman God has called you to be. Let go of what you “think” you need to be or what part of you that you “think” you can’t ever perfect to be used by God. LET….IT…..GO and just receive that the King is wild for you, loves you lavishly and has equipped you with exactly what you need!

You are a great mom ~ now go love on those babies! You are a beloved grandma with loads of wisdom ~ now go teach what you know! You are a precious aunt ~ be ready to listen! You are a beautiful daughter ~ keep learning! You are a sweet sister ~ be available! You are a strong woman ~ now go face the world with God sized confidence! Go get ‘em girls!!

Ballet Shoes

A couple of days ago I wrote the post beautiful hands and feet. I was looking through some of our family photos and I came across two I want to share with you today. One is the photo above. It is a picture I snapped of my kiddos’ feet a couple of weeks ago. I could not resist recording this day with my son dressed for the rodeo in his bull riding vest, denim blue jeans, and boots on his feet and just waiting to bust out of the chute. My daughter pretty as could be in a pink organza tutu and the tiniest pink slippers prepared for the curtain to open for her imaginary recital performance. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and looking at this one of my kids’ feet I could not agree more. It reminded me of the scripture I ended the post the other day with…”How beautiful are the hands and feet that bring glad tidings of good things” Romans 10:15 and I had to come back to it today based on the second photo I ran across.

The one to the left is a recent photo of Ainsley and me just hanging out in the backyard after blowing bubbles everywhere! She is growing in to an incredible little lady and I anxiously jump at time to spend with my baby girl that I’m afraid is not so “baby” anymore. To say I’m not shedding a few small tears right now would be such a lie! :)


You girls want a little insight into the heart of why I’m reaching out to the King with such tenacity?

Ainsley.

I’m praying that those tiny little ballet shoes that follow me around all day long while I clean the house, do the laundry, visit with friends, shop for groceries, talk to my husband, drive in my car, put my makeup on, study my Bible, apply the Truth, learn, grow, encourage, help, sing her the Itsy Bitsy Spider and lay her down to sleep at night only to do the whole thing over again the next day is watching her mother become all glorious within. That when she is placing her feet behind mine we are actually BOTH placing ours in the King’s footprints.

As born again, daughters of the King we have been placed on this planet for such a time as this and my Ainsley embodies the next generation. When I think about the amount of time I am afforded in a day to reach her heart and expose her to the lavish love of the King, again I say “I’m all in.” Just to get real with you for a minute in my world right now that looks like when I’m helping rock her baby dolls to sleep and we sing Jesus loves Me, or she’s sitting on the bath room counter watching me put my makeup on and I share a little blue-glitter eye shadow, or painting her finger nails blush or bashful pink (yes, it’s a nod to all you Steel Magnolia lovers out there :)), blow drying her hair and encouraging her to run in and let Daddy and Bubba see how pretty she is and hearing them love on her, or when we are singing in the car headed to Wal-Mart. I have to make a choice to use those seemingly simple moments to inject the Truth of how Jesus is the one that makes her heart radiate beauty from the inside out. I’m speaking to her about WHO makes her beautiful. Jesus. Whether you are a mother, grandmother, aunt, sister, sister-in-law, daughter, mentor, friend or woman….you count in raising the next generation of daughters! What an AWESOME opportunity we have ladies!! Let’s not leave it to chance. Let’s aspire to dress ‘em up as the cuties they are but not just reach their make-up bags…let’s reach their hearts too!

I want to encourage you today to think of at least 5 women in your world that are either older or younger than you and think about their feet. If it “weirds” you out to think about feet with no shoes (let’s face it some of our feet could use a little “Pedi”-TLC-action, LOL!) think about their feet with a fabulous pair of shoes on. Ask God to speak to your heart about how you could encourage them and “bring glad tidings of good things” to their hearts today. Be confident in rising to the challenge of nurturing the next generation of daughters. Your testimony of faith and healing might be the very footprint that my daughter steps into someday to find the BEAUTIFUL love of the King!! Keep stepping!

Loving you and your beautiful feet ~xoxo

Beautiful hands and feet...

Several months ago I had to go to the doctor & undergo several tests. I had anticipated the appointment taking a while and was actually embracing the kid-free time in the waiting room. In my extended time at the office I watched numerous sets of people come and go. After several hours I was finished and waiting for the receptionist to finalize my next appointment and was told I would need to take a seat because it would be another minute longer. As I’m seated I realize there is a new patient that has come into the waiting area. She looked to be 80-ish and was sitting very quietly in her wheelchair. There was a nursing home aid at her side and they were visiting softly.

I took my seat and was overtaken with the thought that I should say hello to these ladies. You know what I mean when God just taps you on the shoulder and won’t stop sweetly bugging you? :) Although I felt terribly insecure to interrupt their conversation I overcome my nerves and introduce myself. I asked them what nursing home they were with and how their day had been. As I am visiting with the aid I realize that the older woman in the wheelchair has just been sitting there and steadily looking straight ahead. Prompted by a precious voice of the Holy Spirit, I asked about volunteering. I asked if I could volunteer on my own and what was available for volunteers to do. As I asked my questions the aid turned to the woman and said, “Winifred is that something you would like to have? Someone come and visit you? What is something that would be nice for you to have done by a volunteer?”

In one darling moment this woman melted. She delicately turned her face towards mine and described the memory of a woman that would come and pour coffee for a group of the ladies at the Nursing Home, but she had passed away and no one had continued to come. Her eyes start to moisten and tears gently rolled down her well worn face. She had desired to correspond to family that had written her, but as she spoke she lifted up hands riddled, deformed and warped with arthritis. She couldn’t write back even if she wanted to. Our conversation lasted all of ten minutes, but it was an exchange that I will never forget. The tenderness that was welling up in my heart poured out in affection for this beloved woman and I reached over, hugged her and she squeezed me like we were long lost sisters. We exchanged information and I committed to come drink coffee, write letters and chat soon.

Well, this past week I had the privilege of going to visit some of the precious men and women in that nursing home. Can I just tell you that it blessed me 10 xs more than anybody else. I sat down and chatted with the activity director about what I could do and then after tossing several ideas around I just asked if I could visit with the residents. This is an amazing facility, but they have a lot of individuals they are serving and sometimes having the time to be intentional and just talk gets knocked to the bottom of the list. She said it was their biggest need. So, I jumped up and said “Let’s go chattin’!”

We walked down the hallways and as we went in and out of rooms she explained the various situations and how above their beds would be written their names, their interests, where they were born and what they liked to do. A few stood out as we meandered down the hallway. Two women sat in their rockers visiting and expressed how much they loved to garden, both reached out to grab my hand and tell me how nice it was to visit. A young man that couldn’t have been more than 20-25 lay in his bed incapable of rolling over or communicating, a result of an accident when he was younger, listened to the sounds coming from the TV of crowds cheering on the NCAA basketball tournament as we stepped into his room. We approached his bed and started talking with him and as we did a wry smile spread across his face. I couldn’t help but reach out and grab his crippled hand and comment on his beautiful smile. At that point a smile spread across his face that radiated the room. From there we walked past a room where a couple that had been married for 70+ years sat in their recliners asleep holding hands ~ that’s real folks…not just in the movie the Notebook…that was real and yes tears were falling from my face as we quietly walked past their room. ~ There were others that touch my heart in a real and lasting way, but I will leave you with this today…

”Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion for the world is to look out;
yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; and yours are the
hands with which He is to bless us now.”~TERESA OF AVILA

You are the beautiful hands and feet that Christ wants to use to touch the world. The world you are in at this very moment. Yes, there is an overwhelming amount of worthy ministries on this globe and your beauty in Christ is never expressed more perfectly than when you are engaged in global projects! But let me express something that has really held me back for several years….I could be tempted to get so discouraged by what I CAN’T do that I forget what I CAN do. Be involved in reaching the world for Christ, but start right where you are. Be beautiful by reaching out and giving someone a touch from the King. I love what my pastor says and have it written in the front of my Bible.

“How you live anywhere is how you will live everywhere!”

Live beautifully right where you are. Ask for more territory from God, but don’t forget to bloom right where you are planted. I was sharing this story with a precious mentor yesterday morning at church and she reminded me how sad would it be to only have your hand held, or your head raised, or your heart touched when it was time for your medication. There are incredible men and women that serve as doctors, nurses, directors and care-takers but no one person has the power to do it all. I really want to encourage you to live beautifully as you stretch out the hands and feet that you have been given to love those around you. And it’s pretty simple girls all most people want is to know that they are worth knowing…isn’t that what you and I want?

“And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things’” Romans 10:15

You have beautiful hands and feet lovely ladies, now go use them!!!

Good Morning to YOU!

Good Morning!  So I've been singing a song my mom used to sing to me when I was growing up all morning.  The sun is actually shining here and I am sooooooooo glad.  I've felt so "Eeyore-head" lately living under constant gloomy rain & snow clouds!  But not today!  Today my sweet friends the sun is shining, the air is fresh and it is a beautiful 65!  So in honor of the beauty of the morning I'm posting Good Morning To You!  Yes, I am aware of the fact that it's cheesy to sing this as a 30 year old woman ~ but hey sometimes you need a little cheesy in your life!!  Especially when the Oklahoma weather man is predicting that it's going to snow in two days!?!  Hey if you live in Oklahoma you gotta take what you can get cause if you wait to long to enjoy the sunshine by mid-afternoon you could be putting on snow boots or taking cover in a storm shelter from the next F-5 tornado! 

Good Morning to you, Good Morning to you! 
The Sun's brightly shining, we're all in our places.
Good Morning to you, Good Morning to you!
We're happy together, we all love each other.
Good Morning to you, Good Morning to you!

Enjoy the "sunshine moments" of your day today!  God is good and He has plans to prosper you and give you a Great Hope and Future (Jer 29:11)!  Life has a way of handing out pretty fast highs and lows so remember to take stock of the sunshine whether rising or setting and praise God for the blessing of the moment!  Love you all so much and praying your day would be filled with wonderful moments!

"I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth." Psalm 34:1

xoxo~

I'm wishing...

As I am typing this post I can hear the flowing, enchanting high pitched melodious tones of Snow White's voice singing as my daughter watches the movie Snow White in the other room. A moment ago I was watching it with her and I was struck with this powerful flash from the Lord and of course I had to share it with you my sweet friends!

At the very beginning of the movie we find the beautiful princess not looking so "princess like" dressed in rags, on her hands and knees scrubbing the outside steps to the castle. It doesn't appear to be the "happily ever after life" I’m looking to get swept up in when it begins. However, the gorgeous beauty Snow White goes about her chores while dressed in rags with a smile on her face, a song in her heart, and a whole slew of forest animals just for good measure :). At one point she stands up, walks over to the well and begins to express her wishes. As she does nothing changes about her situation. Her clothes don’t change, her duty to clean the steps doesn’t change, but someone enters the picture that has the power to change her whole demeanor. Enter…Prince Charming.

I have watched this movie a million and one times and all at once I was overwhelmed by the moment Prince Charming enters the scene. He sees her where she is, doing what she's doing, dressed the way she is dressed and he sings her a love song! He woos her!! He comes up alongside her and he woos her! Are you getting this pretty ladies because this is juicy spiritual couture right here!!! Prince Charming saw her heart and he loved her beyond where she was and desired to draw her to himself with a song. Hello?!!? That is a good man right there!

I mean right now I'm not even gonna lie to you. I am showered. (Which is a step in the right direction, however I think that's my only positive point scored regarding my physical appearance right now ~ LOL!) I am sitting on my couch in an oversized T-shirt, no make-up with eyebrows desperate for separation :), in my favorite sweatpants (you know what I mean, the pants that you wear when you just feel like well, gross-or it's that “special” time of the month :)), a cold in my nose, glasses on and I have no intention of improving my look anytime soon. And my hubs just came over and gave me the sweetest kiss and told me I'm beautiful. Wow, that’s love folks. Yeah, he just scored himself some serious points. ;)

My point is this....Jesus sees us where… we….. are. I love how Holly Wagner describes it in her devotional Daily Steps for God Chicks (which I so recommend you reading!).

"God is not afraid of the messes that surround you. Maybe you feel unloved. You could have been abandoned, mistreated, abused. Maybe you still are. Perhaps no one in your world has extended a hand of compassion toward you. Doesn't matter...God always comes to the rescue. He steps into the middle of your mess, grabs your hand, causes you to grow, to flourish...to change. He washes your wounds, cleans up your past and anoints you for your future.....When your Father sees you, He sees you with a crown on your head. You are royalty. You are a princess. Being His daughter makes you a princess...regardless of what you feel like...regardless of your past."

"The bride, the beautiful princess, a royal daughter, is glorious. She waits within her chamber, dressed in a gown woven with gold. Wearing the finest garments, she is brought to the King. Her friends, her companions, follow her into the royal palace. What a joyful, enthusiastic, excited procession as they enter the palace! She comes before her King, who is wild for her!" Psalms 45:13-15

You my dears are among the Kings most honorable women (Psalms 45:9). And the King, like Prince Charming, has decided he loves you RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE!!!! Doesn't matter if you see yourself like the Snow White at the beginning of the movie in rags or at the end of the movie in a beautiful gown. Prince Charming seeks her out both times, because he has decided he loves HER. Christ does the same thing with you and me. And honestly girls, it means so much more to me when my hubs steps into my grubby moment and loves me up than when I’m all dolled up for a hot date night. Don’t get me wrong, I want him to notice when I have made an effort to look smokin’ hot. But the point is that when he steps in as my Prince Charming regardless of the condition of my heart (or physical appearance for that matter) and woos me it has the power to change whatever “yuk” feeling I was having about myself.

That’s exactly how we have to start viewing Christ as he enters our moments both in rags and in riches. Because if we don’t we will continue living outside the castle steps. The King's ultimate desire is to lead you off into the sunset to live happily ever after in the Kingdom. Did you get that.....IN the Kingdom. I’m putting that in italics just to drive it home! Please don't stay on the outside of the castle washing the steps waiting to get all cleaned up before you allow the King to see your heart. Give your whole heart, your whole self, your rags and your riches over to Jesus. Start digging into the Love Letters (the Word) that have been written just for you and let the Light shine over what you feel is dark. Let him enter the scene of your life, sing to you a beautiful song of LOVE and invite you to dwell inside the castle walls changed forever from the inside out!

Like I promised in my first post, you are not walking alone. I have grubby, worn out rags that I choose to wear over the garment of Christ every day. Your circumstance may not change overnight, but I can guarantee that if you allow the King to sing over you right now your heart will change and then that will empower you to change the way you are viewing your circumstance. What I'm trying to say is that we have much more than a wishing well at our finger tips ladies, we have the King of Heaven and earth desiring our attention!  That lavish love will equip you with the strength to start walking in the Light! I’m walking with you and everything I ask of you, you can bet your bottom dollar I’ve either already walked it or I’m stumbling through the process myself! But I’m ready to let Christ have it ALL, every last ounce of me and be lead forth in gladness with companions (Ps 45:15)! I’m tired of washing the steps and remaining outside the castle walls. Will you be a companion? Take a minute to pray this scripture with me today and then BELIEVE it!

“I have asked one thing from the LORD (THE KING);
it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD (THE KING)
all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the LORD (THE KING)
and seeking [Him] in His temple.” Psalm 27:4 (my emphasis added)

Sweet dreams pretty ladies and I can't wait to chat again soon!!

xoxo

Just for fun...

I believe in manicures.

I believe in overdressing.

I believe in primping at leisure and wearing lipstick.

I believe in pink.

I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner.

I believe in kissing, kissing a lot.

I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong.

I believe happy girls are the prettiest girls.

I believe that tomorrow is another day, and...

I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES!

~Audrey Hepburn

The King is wild for you!!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Dear Glorious Daughters,

God is starting something through me and I am finding my life at an incredible crossroads. I am hoping that there will be other sisters that join me as I step. He is drawing me in and even though my heart is in chaos there is a greater Peace standing valiantly before me. The Lord is asking me to just breathe out and to surrender with hands and a life opened up wide for Him. I am having a hard time wrapping my brain around this new concept from God because He is starting a work at a time when quite honestly, from my limited human understanding, I'm at my lowest. I've never felt more alone, more rejected, more sensitive, more vulnerable and more chaotic in my life.

For years the circumstances surrounding the pulse of my heart have tested me, pushed me, pulled me, stretched me, tear soaked my cheeks, messed up my heart, shaken up my soul and convinced me I'm not even worth looking at. At this point in my life God is asking me to share those experiences as well as how Christ is gaining the victory more and more everyday...because there is great Victory!  "As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." 1 Peter 4:10 Don't get me wrong I surrendered my life to Christ over 22 years ago and have been walking with Him ever since, but in recent years the King has been calling me to walk a very unfamiliar road with Him…..and it's intimidating because I can't seem to get past…well, me.

But that's just "ME" talking. That's the "ME" that beats myself up all day for what I'm not. I sling stones at my own heart in places that I, the overwhelming "ME", have messed up and missed the mark again with myself, my husband, my kids, my friends, at work, or with family…..basically my life.

Ever been there?

Found yourself at a crossroads in life where God is ready to do a work in and through you, but you feel like all you are is a train wreck just waiting to happen. As you approach the crossroads you pause at first and are captivated by the thought of God lavishly loving you and you take a step towards that road, but then something creeps inside and reminds you that you're too messed up or you've walked too far in the other direction for God to want to spend time with you. Who are you fooling to think that road was meant for you?! You claim defeat before you even experience one play in the game.

Maybe it's your own voice, maybe it's the voice of a friend, a family member, a co-worker, maybe it's coming from someone that you thought you could trust or maybe it's the voice of your circumstances, your past, your present or the paralyzing fear of your future. Or what about the deafening voice of defeat coming from within your own frame as you walk. Regardless of what shape or form that voice takes, it's the voice of the Deceiver and if you're not careful you can entertain those thoughts and that voice for too long and before you know it you've given him more space and comfort in the home of your heart than he deserves.

Because if you listen long enough you'll stop walking and you'll turnaround from the road towards Life that you have been slowly walking towards. You'll convince yourself that you gotta clean up your life before you could ever make a bold step to pursue Christ. You'll talk yourself away from the path of Life and decide that there are plenty of other, smarter daughters out there to walk that road, besides there are already enough voices for Christ in this world. How could he ever use a weak and weary vessel like you to carry hope to the lost, to the hurting, and to the lonely, doesn't He realize that actually describes YOU. You drop your shoulders, your steps slow way down as you turn back to doing life as you've always done it. You're sad, but you think yourself foolish for wanting more out of life, more out of the Creator of the Universe. You agree with the voice of deception and you walk away.

I'm here to tell you that God's thinking it's about time to re-evaluate who you really are. It's time to heal up that broken heart and mend that torn up spirit. It's time to open the eyes of your heart to see what the Father, the King, really sees.

"The King's daughter is all glorious within!" Psalms 45:13

Because what He sees is a beauty worth lavishing with the life of His Son. He sees a creative genius just waiting to be expressed. He sees beautifully worn out hands and feet that are anxiously awaiting an opportunity to carry a cup of Life offering Refreshment to the broken hearted. He sees tenderness for people placed in a heart that at its weakest, most submissive, most vulnerable place is actually quiet radiant. He sees His daughter becoming all glorious within.

Are you there?

Glorious Daughters isn't for the daughter that thinks she's got it all figured out. It's for the daughter that's weak, wounded, lost and feels like her heart's been left to die in the middle of nowhere alone and afraid. Glorious Daughters is for the daughter that on the deep inside of her being doesn't feel like she's even worth the time of day. She might put on the "face" and function in the world just fine, but in the darkest quietest parts of her heart she is crying out for healing. That is exactly who Jesus came to save, to love and to pour out His life to remind her that she is His most beautiful creation and worth everything to Him.

How do I know you ask? Because as my car idled in the Wal-Mart parking lot in the snowy early morning hours of a cold January Saturday I sat in the driver's seat broken and weeping. After years of feeling weak, wounded by life, lost, rejected, insignificant, given-out, unbeautiful, and like I had made a complete mess of my life and every relationship I had ever developed God drew me to His side. He gently shut my mouth and started over from the beginning re-teaching me who I really am.

Will you start over with me? Will you walk a road to healing your heart, your mind, your soul and your thoughts on your King? Be brave sweet sister, I know it's hard to relinquish control to what you cannot see – I'm walking that exact road right this very minute. But I promise He'll be there and He is just waiting to lavish His glorious daughter with extravagant love.

Let's walk to the Throne Room together!

Dear Beloved Father, please heal every wrong concept of the King that we have. Every destructive thought or whisper that we have believed we ask grace and mercy to wash over our desperately sick interpretation of Christ and the events of our lives. In the Name of Jesus show us why we are here and how you really see us, as beautiful daughters becoming all glorious within. Regardless of what we've done or believed we pray that you would open the windows of Heaven to bring right perspective to our hearts and wisdom to the revelation of authentic Beauty. In Jesus Mighty Name we pray, Amen.

Love from your sister who's walking with you,

Cari