roses in my heart

I haven't time to think much less post these days...but today I read a snippet on another blog that is SO worth sharing, I had to find a minute. It's from Daisy's blog. She's someone I found through the Thursday Thirteen group. Here's what she had to say...

As a young wife and mother I used to think of myself as "Cotton
Candy"......sweet and fluffy but not alot of substance. So I began to read and
study the lives of women I admired to see what the "it" factor was.

So much of a woman's identity is caught up in how she looks. We are constantly
bombarded on a daily basis of pencil thin anorexic actresses who are held up as
examples of beauty. We are told if we use a certain toothpaste that our smiles
will be gleaming, and certain shampoos will make our hair irresistable. The
emphasis is helping women look good on the outside. Never mind the inward
reality; go for the "quick-fix" .

I'm fed up with "the secret keys", "the 22 ways", and the surefire plan. I'm fed up with the phony masks of self-styled Christian experts and the dishonesty of those who proclaim one thing while living something completely different. I'm tired of looking at the superficial, the fake, the phony, when "the real thing" is within my grasp.

With each passing day, I become more determined to know nothing except
Christ and him crucified. I don't have all the answers. I haven't arrived. I
don't have the perfect marriage, or the perfect children. I only know that Jesus
Christ has done something incredible in my life. My circumstances haven't changed a bit but I am changed none the less. I used to be at Point A now I'm at Point E. Hey it's not Point Z but it is forward progress.

I may not look perfect on the outside, but I am changing inside. Nothing magical, but I've lost a pound of sin here and an ounce of crummy attitude there. I blow it every day of my life, but I'm not who I used to be and I'm not who I would have been.

I don't want people to look at me and say, "Wow, what a remarkable
woman. What a remarkable Christian." I truly want people to look at me and say,
"What a remarkable God she must serve. If God can work through an ordinary woman like her, maybe he can work through me too."

The woman God can use knows where her value comes from. She is precious because of Who created her. She is valuable because of the One Who dwells with in her, not because of the material he used to fashion her or how he chooses to use her. There you have it...... If you want radiant skin, beautiful clear eyes, and a glowing personality start by working on "inward beauty".

What are your beauty secrets? What feeds your soul?