What Makes You Beautiful?!

(Am I the one that had the One Direction song pop into my head after that title?)

Our society has become so obsessed with outward appearances.  People are so quick to judge others by how they look! What is with this?! We were not created to put others down.  We were not created to think poorly of ourselves.  We were not created to criticize and judge other people because of how they look.

What were we created for?

We were created for intimacy with our creator-God.  And anything that comes in the way of that needs to be removed from our life!  If we are obsessing over how we look, this could be getting in the way of our relationship with God. 

It is really hard to be confident in this world, especially without a firm relationship with God.  We are constantly being told how we should look, what we can do to attract someone, and other things like that.  The truth is, only the love of God can satisfy us.  Until we are confident in who we are in Christ and our identity in Him, it will be very difficult to be truly confident. 

Guys… GOD MADE YOU…

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:13-14 NIV)

I want you to think about this a little bit differently for a second…

Think of a time that you had to create something.  It could be a painting, a sculpture, a song, a poem, something that YOU made yourself.  Something that you were very proud of.  This creation may not have been perfect; you may have made a little mess with the paint, or have some eraser marks, but that didn’t matter to you.  You thought it was beautiful.  You LOVED your creation. Something that you wanted to show to everyone.  Have you thought of something yet?

Okay now, thinking of that same thing, think about how you would feel if somebody talked badly about your creation.  Somebody pointed out the flaws or mistakes you made.  Somebody told you it was ugly.  It wasn’t pretty.  That you shouldn’t be showing other people because it is nothing to be proud of.

Guys…

That is how God feels when we constantly point out our flaws.  When we call ourselves ugly.  Or we say that we need to be skinnier.  Or have better hair.  Or wish we had better skin… the list goes on and on. 

God created us to be perfect in His sight.  We are His masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10).  He created us EXACTLY how He wanted us to be. 

Why do we take into consideration the opinions of other so much?

We have God’s approval.  God tells us we are absolutely perfect in His sight.  (Ephesians 1:4)  It is very difficult to become confident in yourself unless you are confident in God.  When you know what God says about you and that He made you just the way He wanted for a purpose, nobody else’s opinion will matter. 

*Ladies, if you have been told that you need to look a certain way to attract a guy, let me tell you right now… THAT IS A LIE!  Any man that is worthy of receiving love from you will accept you the way you are.  If they do not appreciate your God given beauty, they are not worth your time.

Make this declaration over your life: “I am beautiful because God created me.  I am perfect in His sight because I am his masterpiece.  I was created with a purpose and the only opinion that matters to me is the opinion of my Heavenly Father.  I am confident in who I am in the Lord.”

If you can speak this over your life, you will soon be able to believe it and in turn, you will become more confident!  Pray for God to give you confidence in who you are.

How can I use this new confidence?

You’ve probably heard this so many times, but it is so true!  It’s not your physical beauty that matters, it’s what’s on the inside that really matters. 

“Don’t be concerned about the OUTWARD BEAUTY of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes.  You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from WITHIN, the UNFADING beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so PRECIOUS to God.” (1 Peter 3:3-4).

When we are beautiful the way God created us to be beautiful, our beauty never fades!  How cool is that?  When we trust in Him and honor Him, He sees us as PRECIOUS!  Just think about that.  We are precious to our God.  He sees us as precious… AMAZING! 

“You are precious in my eyes and honored and I love you” (Isaiah 43:4) WOW!

Instead of focusing on physical adornments, let’s focus on what God looks for in His children that are seeking to become more like Him.

“Dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another” (1 Peter 5:5)

“Loyalty makes a person attractive” (Proverbs 19:22)

“She is clothed in strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future” (Proverbs 31:25)

Focus on who God says you are.  Focus on who God created you to be. Focus on becoming more like Jesus.  When you focus on these things, when you focus on the things God created you for, you will become closer to Him and anything that this world says about you won’t matter anymore.  The only thing that will matter is what God says about you!  Press in to His love.  Dig deep into His word.  Spend time with Him, and I guarantee, confidence will follow!

Let me know what you think! Comment and Share!

Blessings!
Dani xoxo

Proverbs 12-- Godly People

Proverbs 12

Alrighty… So after spending so much time reading Proverbs 12, I thought I’d share.  It is amazing!!!

Proverbs 12 really talks about godly people and how the Lord blesses them.  I learned a lot reading through this chapter and I hope you will too!

I’m just going to take this verse by verse… and I’m using the New Living Translation:

V1 “To learn, you must love discipline, it is stupid to hate correction”

*Now let’s be honest, not many of us LOVE discipline, but it is essential to learning.  Could you imagine if you were never disciplined in your life?!  You wouldn’t know what’s right and wrong. The Lord disciplines/ punishes us because He loves us as His children.  We should love it because that is God showing us He cares!

V2 “The LORD approves of those who are good”

*How awesome is it that we have the Lord’s approval when we do good things!

V3 “The godly have deep roots”

*We have deep roots in the faith and deep roots in God.  So much that we cannot be shaken or swayed by other things.  (Reminds me of Psalm 1)

V4 “A worthy wife is a crown for her husband, but a disgraceful wife is like cancer in his bones”

*WOW ladies, that is powerful.  A worthy wife (Worthy=having good enough qualities to be considered important, and deserving respect) is her husband’s prized possession!

V5 “The plans of the godly are just”

*just=morally right or good.  Make this declaration over your life “My plans are good because I seek the Lord first and He is guiding me”.  Back to V2: He approves of my plans!

V6 “The words of the godly save lives”

*WOW!  It is amazing that God gives us that kind of power through our words!!!

V7 “The family of the godly stands firm”

*I don’t know about you all, but this gives me hope for the future that my family, if rooted in God and we seek Him first, will stand firm and be successful!

V12 “The godly are well rooted and bear their own fruit”

*They are not jealous of others

V14-15 “Wise words bring many benefits, and hard work brings rewards.  The wise listen to others”

*This is a reminder to seek godly advice and accept constructive criticism

V16 “A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted”

*Be slow to anger

V20-21 “Joy fills hearts that are planning peace. No harm comes to the godly”

*The Lord will give you JOY and PROTECTION!

V22 “The LORD detests lying lips, but He delights in those who tell the truth”

*ALWAYS tell the truth, even when it’s hard, it is always the right thing to do!

V24 “Work hard and become a leader”

*God calls His people to LEAD!  Work hard for HIM!

V25 “Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up”

*Speak truth into those around you to build them up.  Never speak down to anyone! Ephesians 4:29

V26 “The godly give good advice to their friends”

*Because they know the Lord and they know His heart, they have the ability and the power to give good advice! How awesome!

V27 “the diligent make use of everything they find”

*Don’t be lazy.  Use everything God has given you and put in your life for His glory!

V28 “The way of the godly leads to life”

*We were created to live life abundantly.  Our life is a gift from God.  We need to glorify Him with it!

I hope you all enjoyed this time of digging deeper and really looking at Proverbs 12 verse by verse.  Leave comments if you had any different takeaways!

Remember, YOU ARE LOVED!

Blessings!

Dani Finn xoxo

Why WAIT to DATE?

I am 18 years old and David is my first boyfriend ever.  Now this does not mean I never had the opportunity to date anyone.  I had a few guys ask me out, but turned them down. 

I am the girl that says I will not date until I am ready to find a potential husband. 

Why in the WORLD would I do that?! Well for many reasons…

1. I believe the sole purpose of dating is to find someone to marry.  A future spouse.  A husband.  A life partner. 

That is a BIG decision to make! And certainly not one that most middle or high school students are ready to make!  Dating is a serious matter!

2. Dating causes drama! Especially if you are still growing and maturing.
Guys, being in middle and high school is stressful enough! Why add a relationship on top of that that you need to invest in?

3. With dating comes heartache!  Dating is not always rainbows and butterflies.  In fact, it is HARD! You will have arguments.  Even if you are IN LOVE and PERFECT for each other.  It is healthy to have disagreements in relationships and talk through issues with your significant other.
I wanted to save myself from any heartache because I was not ready to date and work hard at making a relationship work as a middle or high school student.

4. There are so many other things that are important to focus on, especially when you are young. 

In middle and high school, it is important to focus on school.  If you are distracted by your girl/boyfriend, it is that much more difficult to do well in school. And that can have a great impact on your future! 

5. Temptation
There are already so many temptations presented to teens! Dating introduces a whole list of other temptations to the scene.  And it is difficult to date and not give in to temptations.  For me, I didn’t want to have to deal with this.

You may be thinking… Well it’s just fun to have a significant other to go out on dates with.

It may be fun.  Just go out with friends!  It is okay to be friends with people of the opposite sex and not date them!  Sure every relationship involves effort from both sides, but it is much less pressure when you are not in a romantic, dating relationship!

Dating is no joke!  It is not something that people should take lightly! It is meant to be a committed relationship between a man and a woman that are considering making each other their lifelong partner in marriage.

Well if I wait to date, will I ever find anyone?

YES! If it is God’s will for your life to be married, you will find your future spouse in the right timing.

How will I find someone if I’m not looking?

I believe that God has a plan and a will for each person in their life. 

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD.  They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (NLT)

If God’s will for your life includes you marrying someone, he will make a way for that to happen.  He has a plan! He knows His plans! He has GOOD plans for you! He is going to give you a FUTURE and HOPE! Trust Him!

Think about this… God, the one who created the Earth and everything in it.  The one who placed the stars in the sky and knows them by name.  The one who calms the sea.  The one who created YOU.  That ONE is the God of the universe and HE has control over your life.  He has plans for you.  I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to place my life and trust in the hands of anyone/anything other than my Heavenly Father!

God has a plan for you! And has had this plan for you since before you were even born!!!

Psalm 139:16 “You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” (NLT)

Just think about that for a second.  Let that sink in!  That is crazy!

Well…. God doesn’t care about ME…?
YES. HE. DOES.
You are His daughter/ His son.  His creation.  He literally knit you together in your mother’s womb.  You are his masterpiece.  (Psalm 139:13-15) He created you with a purpose.  He loves you.  He wants the best for you.  He is your Daddy!
He cares about YOU.  He thinks about YOU.
“How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.  They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!” Psalm 139:17-18

It makes me anxious… I don’t know if I will ever find the one!
Let me tell you dear friend…
God has this planned out.  He has had your life planned before you had even been born. 
Every. Single. Detail.  (Psalm 37:23)
That includes your future spouse. 
If you are seeking the Lord with all of your heart, He will provide for you.  (Matthew 6:33) He will lead you.  He will guide you. 
The best part is, you don’t have to have it all figured out! Because your creator has already written your story.  Your love story.  Trust Him.  Give it to God. 

Well if I don’t “put myself out there”, I’m never going to find anyone!
Says who?
I was not looking for anyone to date.  And the funny thing is I had known David for almost two years before we started dating. 
God will place the right person into your life in His perfect timing.
Or He may tell you to pursue that person.  Either way, He is in control.  You do not have to “look”.  Just seek the Lord.  Pray about it. 

If you feel called to do something (like take part in online dating or the like), do it.  But do not believe the lies this world tells you that you will not find anyone if you don’t “put yourself out there”.  God has a plan for you and I’m just sayin… If He created the heavens and the Earth and every living thing, and is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, I’m pretty sure He doesn’t need your “help” to find the one.  Again, I am not saying that you should just sit back and relax.  Keep seeking God.  Listen to Him.  Pay attention to what He is saying.  And OBEY!

I’m just nervous….

God tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
God will give you peace.  He will give you rest.  Talk to Him.  Tell Him what you are concerned about.  He is your comfort.  Your place of refuge.  Your Father.

Be patient.  God will carry His plans to completion in His perfect timing. (Philippians 1:6)

Do not be discouraged.  Do not stress.  Do not fear.  Enjoy every moment your life.  Whether you are single, or dating, or have been through this and are married.

Think about it this way…
Your future spouse exists.  They are alive right now.  You may even know them!
Pray for them.  Write a letter to them.
But guys, do not settle.  God has your spouse out there, and if you seek Him you will find.  Be at peace in knowing that God will present that person to you when the time is right.

Do not rush.  There is no reason to date just anyone, when God has THE one for you.  Use this time to press into God.  Press into the love of God.  He teaches us what true love is.  And the better founded you are in God, the better your future relationships will be.  Take advantage of this time.  Enjoy this precious life God has given you!

I would love to hear what you think about this! Whether you are single, dating, engaged, or married!  Should you wait to date? Did you wait to date?  Do you take dating this seriously (only purpose for marriage) or do you think it is okay to date just for fun?

Thank you all!

I’m looking forward to hearing what you think!

Blessings,

Dani xoxo