How November's holding up:

Nyums. I have been getting into cooking & baking a little, mostly out of sheer boredom, and also because my mom isn't going to be my maid and cook whatever I randomly desire (Obviously). One thing I have been craving all November is a nice plate of seafood spaghetti! Seafood is delicious. Most seafoods are an excellent source of proteins, vitamins, and minerals, minus the huge calorie content (Depending on how you cook it). Fish is great brain food! ;) But mostly, I just want some pasta.

Fun nutrition facts!
- Most of the nutrients in a potato reside just below the skin layer.
- Most of the fiber in fruit is in the peel.
- One medium sized-tomato provides over a third of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C, and nearly a third of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A.

Ye-ess, lately I have been drinking my mineral water with half a lemon squeezed into it and 2 teaspoons of honey. Other than the claims of others swearing by this drink to lose weight and detoxify your body (Not that I'm even remotely trying to lose weight.. Rubbish), it is absolutely delish. I am convinced that I will never go back to drinking plain ol' mineral water ever again. Never.  

More fun facts!

- Foods such as orange juice and lemon juice are acidic in their natural state but turn alkaline after they have been metabolized in the body. 

- The French referred to the tomato as "love apples", whereas lemons were once referred to as "golden apples".

- I cannot eat tomatoes or eggplants because they cause my tongue intense pain & makes it swell. 

Random thoughts on a Friday night

Tough decision to make. Momentary pleasures or eternal pleasures? To resist or to give in? The psalmist David said twice in his uber cool book of prophetic psalms that there would be eternal pleasures at Your right hand forevermore - I suppose he knew what he was going on about. Tough, tough, decision. I shrugged my shoulders and thought what the heck. You're worth it. I chose eternity.

Things that make life seem hard. Sometimes I wonder a lot why things happen. Where's the justice that God seems to go on so much about? Hard times get harder. But I realise God's ways are eternally higher. There wouldn't be much sense in believing in a God I could understand - I've realised that if a god were to be like me, that would be a pretty screwed up god. I'm going for the God that is ridiculously mysterious in His ways, yet has proven Himself much too real for me to disbelieve. We go through things for a reason. Cliche and overused, but it rings through. We'll look back a few years from now and see that what we had to go through was essential for us to get to where we are and to lead us in His will. The spark of interest in medical nutrition and eating disorders would never have been ignited if I hadn't gone through my own period of struggle with food and body image. The compassion for the hurting would never have been there if I hadn't gone through hurting myself. The belief and faith in God wouldn't have been there if I hadn't wrestled first with my own disbelief and doubts and finally let God prove Himself to me.

We'd never have been ready for what God had planned for us if we hadn't gone through whatever it was we went through. We'll never be ready for what God has planned for us if we don't go through whatever it is we'll go through. Think of where you are now and how you got there - Think of how going through tough times shaped you. Now think about where you'll be in, say, 5 years. Can't imagine? That's great. Because you don't know, but God does. And I think we all know pretty well that He knows what He's doing.

Everyone falls sometimes. Maybe not a jump-off-a-cliff sort of fall each time, but a fall nonetheless. A trip over a stubborn rock. A clumsy crash you could have avoided - Oops, too late. A slip on a banana peel. We all tumble more than a washing machine.

But its all about your attitude.

You find the positive in every negative - Even if that positive is so small, Google Maps can't even locate it. You find it. It's there.

I can't stand it when people moan and groan like their lives are ending, although it's mostly over small matters. You don't see people in Ethiopia anguished about who among their friends have been backstabbing them. You don't see the persecuted in China griping about how their moms are nagging them to do house chores.

"But Hannah," you whine, "that doesn't even make sense! That doesn't even relate to my life! I'm certainly not a starving Ethiopian! I'm certainly not being persecuted in China!"

You aren't. But what about those who are? What makes them different from who you are? How come they can survive despite how they live and how they are being treated?

We are so spoilt. We get hit by a stone but we cry about it like its a boulder.

You might fall today, it doesn't mean you'll never get up.
You might cry today, it doesn't mean the tears will never dry.
You might hurt today, it doesn't mean that hurts don't heal.
You might have had the worst day ever - It doesn't mean there are no other days left in the year for you to find happiness in.

Sometimes it just hits me how weak and selfish we are. We don't know troubles, we don't know the true pain of toil and labour. We don't know how to find goodness. One thing we do know - We're pretty bloody good at complaining.

Let's stop being so ungrateful. Let's stop being so selfish. Lets

thank God for the sink full of dirty dishes, reminding me of nice food to eat.
thank God for the pile of dirty laundry, reminding me of nice clothes to wear.
thank God for the dirty toilet that needs to be washed, reminding me of convenience.
thank God for the amount of chores awaiting, reminding me how richly You have blessed this family.

Perfect Peace

"I will give you perfect peace if you will stay your mind on Me."
-Isaiah 26:3, my paraphrase

The door had just closed behind Wade . . . the last one to leave with his lunch sack under his arm. Bill was gone. Even Esther, our dog, was outside. And I was getting ready for another big round of depression. I had made it through breakfast and fixing lunches, but now that I was alone I was going under . . . fast.

I had been pacing the house and was walking down the hallway when, in utter frustration, I stopped, made a fist, and shook it in Gods general direction. (I'm confident He was very impressed.)

God! You have promised me peace, and I don't have it! I am an emotional basket case. My insides are churning. My hands are trembling. My thoughts are so confused that I don't know whether I'm coming or going. Theres a lump in my throat that just stays there. I am hurting so badly, and I certainly don't have any semblance of peace! My world is completely haywire! Why, Lord, why?

And it was almost like He whispered to me . . .

"Anabel, what are you setting your mind on? What are you thinking about?"

* * *

How many times have you accused Him of being the reason for your problem, for not coming through on His end of the bargain? No. You must understand that He never promised an unconditional peace. It comes with instructions: I will give you peace if you will stay your mind on Me.

I guess I'm a slow learner, Lord. I still think of peace as freedom from problems. No. Thats not it, is it? Peace is resting in You. Peace is knowing You can face the day through me.

Regardless.

I remember, Lord, when I used to wake up and say, "My God! Another day! How can I possibly get through it?" It's different now.

Oh, I still wake up and call on You, but I say,
"My precious God. Thank You that You are
going to meet today for me."
Thats peace. Perfect peace.
I pray that this thought will cause you to rest more
completely in His arms today.

Lifetime Daily Devotions, day 64

What Love Isn’t:

Love isn’t infatuation. Infatuation is when you like something about a person, but when you get to know the person, you suddenly realize you’re dating more than just a the cute haircut you like.

Love isn’t about co-dependancy. Co-dependancy is about being fixated on another person for approval, identity and self-esteem. If this relationship gives you a feeling of worth that you didn’t already have from God, then this isn’t about love.

Love isn’t lust. Lust is that itchy feeling in your trousers that goes up when they dress a certain way, and down when they dress another certain way. Love doesn’t fluctuate like that.

Love isn’t a crush. Crushes are generally our way of imagining what it would be like to be with a certain type of person. Those feelings can be really strong, but they’re based on a imaginary relationship, not a real one.

Love isn’t about stalking or obsessing. If you’re hiding outside someone’s place with binoculars, this isn’t love, you’ve just bought a one-way ticket to Creepytown.

Love isn’t worship. Worship as about adoring a deity that has the power to change your life. No human fits that bill.

Finally, love isn’t romance. Romance is emotional, love is spiritual. Romance is showing people how much we care, love is way beyond human caring. Romance is delicate, love is not delicate. Love is the toughest thing there is.

///////

TMFS #1

To My Future Spouse,

You're the reason why I'm making an effort to learn how to cook. No husband of mine is going to die from starvation. Or complain to his friends that he has to order takeout every other day because I burnt the kitchen down. Nope, you're gonna get fed well and healthy and your friends will come by sometimes and they will slap you on the back and tell you you're lucky to have married such a good cook. This might take some time, but it's alright. I've got plenty of time to kill while waiting for you. Speaking of food, I wonder if you're getting enough nutrition from that bread that Jesus was speaking about? I know you will be a regular partaker of His bread, and His Word will sustain you when all else fails. I know you will drink always of His rivers, and that alone will be your source of life. I'll know it because everywhere you go, you will be strong because His strength runs through you. Strength that can only come from dining at His table. Eat up.

Yours

I may be weak but your Spirit's strong in me. My flesh may fail but my God, You never will

God is good, God is faithful. We screw up and we disappoint Him and we end up deeper in the trash than we were in the first place; but guess what - God is still good, God is still faithful. We fumble around clumsily with our efforts and tax our brains thinking and we find out that whatever we try to fix ends up screwed. Guess what - God is still good, God is still faithful. We run away and we try to hide and we realise our excuses are as empty as the wind, we are as empty as the wind. Where is our purpose and where are we heading? Down like a deer caught in the headlights, that bright light we thought so beautiful has caught us. Things are not what we want them to be - Hold up, they never are, are they? Guess what, God is still good and God is still faithful.

We aren't where we thought we would end up. Hearts a'breaking, life's a'changing. Change scares people because of the uncertainty that the future holds. But when you give your heart to Jesus, life doesn't become about you anymore. It isn't yours to hold. It isn't yours to mold. You gave it up. All edges dissolve and resistance falls away, submission becomes a way of life and not a momentary decision. We gave it up, trusting somehow, radically, impossibly, that what our life becomes, turns out for our good to bring glory to its Writer. Yes, even when it hurts. Even when it hurts.

Frustrated, sick, tired, angry
Ever hearing but never understanding
Ever seeing but never perceiving
the deeper it gets
the darker it seems

This is the God that cuts a
channel for the torrents of rain
When every cut hurts
 and each one runs deeper than the first

But without the running cuts -
breaking up of soil -
deepening cracks -
How can a channel be formed?
How is the way paved?

The torrents of rain run through
Channels deep and wide and dry
to water a desert
to satisfy a desolate wasteland

"Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm, to water a land where no one lives, an uninhabited desert, to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass?" {Job 38:25}

Light of Love

I am sitting here in front of the computer, still in my pajamas, enjoying a plate of potatoes. To be exact, a potato cut in half and about a quarter of the insides scooped out, fried, filled in with cheese, sprinkled with some salt, and melted. Amazing. (Seems like the only things I'm good at cooking are eggs and potatoes.. This needs to change.)

These few days I've been pretty irritated by someone who just goes around telling everyone off, as if everything should be done her way to benefit her. Its like she criticizes others and tries to correct their attitudes without realising that block of wood in her own eye. I'm sure we've all met with that kind of person before, or even actually been that kind of person (I know I have) - and they are so hard to love. I talked, angered, ranted, repented, threw my hands up in disgust, ranted, repented, to my Father about this. Not just talking about the-one-so-hard-to-love but also talking about myself, and how deep down, I knew that I actually didn't want to choose to love her. Wrestling with the fact that the love I give out is actually a choice to look beyond all imperfections and irritations, and how I wanted to love her but at the same time I didn't want to surrender my disappointments (I wanted revenge actually, sorry! That's the old nature for you. Its no wonder Paul always wrote letters to the churches telling them to cast off the old nature and put on Christ.) to God. Like a child that doesn't want to share his favourite toy train with anyone else, I didn't want to surrender my irritations because I wanted to use it to play around with and cause hurt to the other person.

Finally, exhausted, slightly more mellowed out but still frustrated... I sat still and listened.

Hannah, you pray and you ask Me to make you more and more like Me. You pray and say that you want to learn to love like how I love, and live the way I live. But now..

Oh.

.. But now when the unlovable comes, are you going to love like Me, or were those prayers just for show?

Oh.

Ouch.

That was a wake-up call, a much-needed rap on the knuckles from Heaven. But so much truth in it. We pray and we plead and we cry out in desperation for God to change us, for God to mold us to be like Him, for God to teach us to love everyone like How he does. However when people who are the epitome of unlovable cross out paths, we get angry and judgmental and yell to God about how He could bring such people into our lives. We expect to be able to love just like Jesus because we pray for it, but when He throws us into the arena of life, we fail miserably.

Because we preach without practising, and we don't even realise it. Faith without works is dead.

I Think I Wanna Marry You

“Recreational dating is a heresy. It’s a phenomenon. I’ll have young men walk into my office, and they’ll have that look—they’re ‘in love’. They say, ‘Oh, you know, I’m just in love!’ And I’ll say, ‘Well, that’s absolutely wonderful. Why do you want to marry her?’ ‘Well, I want to marry her because she’s beautiful. Because when I’m with her, I just feel so good, and we can talk, and communicate…’

I look at him, and say, ‘What happens when someone else comes along that is more beautiful than she is—are you going to leave her? What happens when you can’t communicate with her, but you can communicate with the lady at the bank a lot better than you can with her—are you going to leave her?’

And I start go through these different things, and by the end, the young man discovers the only reason why he’s in this is to meet his self centred selfish desires.

And that’s what recreational dating is about. It’s about a young man, who has no business whatsoever even thinking about these things, wanting to be with someone of the opposite sex, and yet, unwilling to make the commitments that God requires.”

—Paul Washer

What is the purpose of flirting? I somehow don't think anyone should flirt unless their intent is to get into a relationship with that person, and then marry him/her. Because if marriage isn't the point of a relationship, then what exactly is the point of that relationship? To make us feel good about ourselves, that there's someone out there who, y'know, makes us feel like we're wanted, loved, adored? I think that just blatantly vomits out the fact that we're insecure and desperate for the security of being loved, as if we aren't already loved infinitely. If the intent of flirting is to get the other person to fall for you, but you have no interest of pursuing a relationship, much less marriage, then you've already paved the way for your brother/sister in Christ to stumble. You've already laid down the bricks to an emotional roller-coaster. "Does he think I'm pretty?", "Does she think I'm handsome?", "He's talking to her, he doesn't like me after all," "Oh my God she gave me a hug. She interested". And when you flip away like a double-sided coin and turn your affections to another, you've probably started something you could have avoided. Insecurities. Hurt. Jealousy. "I'm not good enough," "I will never be as pretty as her," "This is because I'm ugly." Flirting without a thought about what you could do emotionally or spiritually or physically to another does not show love. Love looks out for others. Love guards others. Love leads another on closer and closer towards Christ - not you.

Here's something short written by Leslie Ludy, a woman of God whose love story was one amazingly crafted by the Creator of romance Himself (I just bought her book and I can't wait to read it!). Her set apart life was one that ultimately honored God, and God blessed it hundred-fold in return.

Shortly before my love story with Eric began, he and my dad met together one morning at Perkins Family Restaurant. It was a memorable conversation, which greatly affected our relationship before it even started. My dad told Eric many things that day, but one statement in particular stood out, “I know that your friendship with Leslie is from God,” my dad said, “because ever since you have been in her life, she has drawn closer to Jesus Christ.”

Later, when I pondered those words, I was amazed at how true they were. Since the very first day I had met Eric Ludy, he had done nothing but inspire me to pursue more and more of my true Prince. He lived a life of passionate abandonment to his Lord. Following after Jesus Christ with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength seemed to be his sole preoccupation in life. Whenever I was around him, his spiritual fire seemed to ignite my own, and after being with him I would usually end up on my knees poring over my Bible, digesting all the new thoughts and insights he had inspired within me. Throughout our friendship, Eric had never attempted to draw my attention to himself, but always pointed me back to my true Prince, Jesus Christ. He actively helped me protect my inner sanctuary.

Even after our romance officially began, he continued to lead me right back into the arms of my Prince. As excited as I was about having Eric in my life, I learned not to lean on this newly discovered human love for my fulfillment and security. Though God had so faithfully blessed me with a beautiful human love story, it was still in my inner sanctuary of intimacy with Him that I found my reason to live. Even now, after years of marriage, Eric’s primary goal is to lead me closer and closer to Christ every day we are together. He continues to help me protect the most sacred part of who I am—my inner sanctuary of intimacy with my true Prince.

Every stage of a love story that is truly initiated by our Prince—both the friendship and the romance—only enhances our intimacy with Him. If a relationship is not leading us closer and closer to Him, it will quickly become just another one of the “other lovers” cluttering up our sanctuary. Sadly, too many of us begin to build an inner sanctuary for our Prince and then get thrown completely off course because of a romantic relationship. A romantic relationship might very well have been initiated by God, but the moment our focus moves from our Prince to a human love story is the moment we cease to guard our sanctuary, and our entire foundation for success crumbles into ashes. A relationship that leads us closer to our Prince and carefully protects our inner sanctuary is the key to discovering romance as it was truly intended to be—a little taste of heaven on earth.

I'm not being judgmental in this post, because everything that I've written serves as a reminder to me - What do my word, actions, motives, really mean? To glorify self, glorify man, or glorify the One that created it all? This week, a friend told me how someone had flirted with her, but he had no intention of anything at all. It just got me thinking about the purpose of flirting. Honestly, if you don't intend to pursue, don't flirt!

"Respect everyone, and love your Christian brothers and sisters. Fear God, and respect the king." {1 Peter 2:17}

"Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved." {1 Corinthians 10:32-33}

Really Saying

It’s romantic to believe that the guy who calls and texts first, saves ‘I love you’ for you, covers you with his coat, cooks your favorite meal even if he’s allergic to it, and a flurry of other Hollywood montage moments will really fulfill you. Before we die, we want to visit Paris at night during Christmas and parasail over the Atlantic and sip wine on a hot air balloon — but you don’t really mean that.

What are you really saying? You want these things if the dude isn’t creepy, if the poor beggars in Paris do not intrude on your comfort, and as long as you don’t have to prepare a thing. A cute guy who texts you first is cute, but you change your philosophy when the dude is too nice or too short or has no jawline. Children are cute until you have to raise one — and kids are screwed up because we push our distorted view of idealism on them in place of real gritty sacrifice.

What you’re really saying is you demand a photoshopped dream, like the impossible make-up model on the cover of Maxim, to attain the highest degree of complacency at the least amount of effort for the easiest life possible. Your blog proves it.

We reveal our selfish hearts with a conditional wishlist that reads more like a bad movie script. Can you step back for a moment and examine what you really mean? And why you have these idealistic fantasies? And what your motives are? We buy into bizarre paradigms of romance and leisure and life without thinking to the bottom of them. You’ll find quickly that self-serving is not even good enough to serve yourself.

The wasted life wastes no time wasting it. The destined life invests time and makes it. You can cheat yourself to death simply by choosing the current convenient option. A life of non-committed fantasy is just a walking grave.


{Source: Tumblr}

Sketched this in the afternoon, but I'm not really liking it. I do like the pink hair, though (Come on, everyone thinks pink hair is cool). After not touching my tablet and drawing for a few months though, it did get me wondering. Wondering why some people are more artistically inclined than others, and why some others are more analytical in their ways. Or why some people can draw pretty decently but can't hold a tune to save their lives (I believe that's me, ha ha), or why some people can sing like an angel but have trouble drawing a stickman! I suppose that is exactly how God intended it to be, or else we would have no scientists or artists or mechanics or sculptors or accountants or singers.

"Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure." {Ephesians 1:4-5}

Hello everyone :) This school year is nearly over, just about a week left till school closes and its holidays till the next year rolls around! To be honest, I am so ridiculously excited for the next year, I just can't wait. Weird maybe, but I've got a feeling that God is doing something amazing. And probably even weirder, I can't wait for the exams, haha!

I've been reading a book lately, its called "Spirit-Controlled Temperament" by Tim LaHaye. Have you ever wondered why your character is the way it is? Like why you are so different from your best friends and how come the way you deal with certain situations is so different from others? That's because not all of us have the same temperament. Basically, temperament is what we are born with and what we have inherited from our parents and grandparents. It determines our traits and why some of us are more inclined to be hot-tempered or pessimistic or lazy! There are 4 main temperaments (Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholic, and Phlegmatic) and each person basically has a mix of two types of temperaments, where one is the dominant temperament and another is the secondary temperament. It's all a bit too long to get into, but if anyone is interested in knowing what type they are, you could tell me and I don't mind lending you the book or explaining!

The temperament types are amazingly accurate and the way they describe each temperament's strengths & weaknesses were spot on (Well, it was super accurate in describing me!). I, for one, am a Phlegmatic Choleric. Here's a short summary of the strengths and weaknesses of a Phlegmatic:

Strengths of a Phlegmatic:
1. Witty
- Phlegmatics have an unexcited sense of humour that keeps them from being intensely involved with life; they can often see humour in the most mundane experiences.
2. Dependable
- Always cheerful and good-natured, they can be depended upon to fulfill their obligations and time schedules. They always do what is expected or "the proper thing".
3. Efficient
- Since they are not emotionally stimulated to make sudden decisions, they find the practical way to accomplish an objective with the least amount of effort. Although they are not perfectionists, they have high standards of accuracy and precision.

Weaknesses of a Phlegmatic:
1. Slow & Lazy
- They are often accused of being 'dragging their feet'. Since they resent being stimulated to action against their will, they go along as slowly as they can. Their lack of motivation tends to make them spectators in life; they're inclined to do as little as necessary.
2. Tease
- Phlegmatics are annoyed by - and often confront - the aimless, restless enthusiasm of a Sanguine. they are disgusted by, and prone to ridicule, the gloomy moods of a Melancholic. They take great delight in throwing ice water on the bubbling plans of the ambitious Choleric.
3. Selfish & Stubborn
- They may love someone, but rarely let that person know it. This trait often becomes more apparent over time, as they learn to protect themselves from 'overinvolvement'. As they mature, they can learn to disguise their stubbornness through their easygoing good humour, while becoming even more stubborn. Instead of stamping their feet and saying, "I won't do that!", they are more apt to smile and graciously not do it.
4. Indecisive
- They are indecisive because of their desire to be people-pleasers. Also, even though they can analyze an situation and come to a practical method for achieving it, they often weigh the plan against whether or not they really want to get 'involved'.

Reading all this, I actually started laughing because it described me pretty accurately, especially the weaknesses. My mom is actually pretty worried about my "slow and easy-going" nature because I never want to be bothered about getting involved in life. She thinks that I will fail at life because I am so un-motivated to get involved and be active, and instead I just sigh and slough along. Then she nags and pesters me to be more motivated which causes me to resent that and as a result, I become slower! Hahaha :p Instead of stamping my feet and shouting out my resentment at being told to do something I don't want to do, I just nod in agreement and then... Not do it. Which saves my energy, too. Being a Phlegmatic Choleric, I can be a good leader when forced into it and I work well under extreme external pressure because I have so little internal motivation. Hmm, this book is pretty interesting in telling and explaining who you are and why you do the things you do - But most importantly, it shows you how the Holy Spirit is able to be at work in you, to change your weaknesses to be used for His glory. Its not just some pokey psychology book, but it is biblical in teaching, explaining how a Christian can not live his life by temperaments and emotions alone but by dependence and submission to Christ.

Interesting, no? :)

The Cure for Insecurity

Today’s women are desperately insecure. There is no question that our lives are teetering on the edge of disaster; that self-hatred, self-abuse, and self-destruction have become the norm among the female camp. And sadly, women in the church are struggling just as much as their non-Christian counterparts.

But the modern solution – the self esteem message – doesn’t provide lasting results against female insecurity. Why? Because the solution presented is all about self. Self-love, self-acceptance, and self-promotion. Love yourself. Be true to yourself. Live to yourself. Some of these messages even go as far as to say that by living this way, we will bring glory to God.

But what is the pattern of Scripture? Christ said, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Mark 8:34 NKJV) The word “deny” here literally translates: to forget one’s self, lose sight of one’s self and one’s own interests.

We are meant to let all thoughts of self become swallowed up in Him. The secret to becoming the radiant, beautiful princess of our childhood dreams is forgetting all about our self and becoming completely consumed with only one thing – Jesus Christ. Just as John the Baptist who declared, “I must decrease, so that He might increase!” This isn’t just the secret to living out the true Gospel; it’s also the secret to glowing with divine loveliness. It’s the cure for female insecurity.

Think about it. A woman who has truly denied herself, taken up her cross, and become entirely consumed with Jesus Christ is not going to be an insecure young woman, starving herself and obsessed with making herself look more attractive. Rather, she’s so enraptured with Jesus Christ that she’s completely lost sight of herself. As Bishop Bardsley put it, “They care not at all what the world thinks of them, because they are entirely taken up with the tremendous realities of their King.” A woman who has yielded her selfish agenda to the Spirit of Jesus Christ, who does not listen to the voice of her self but yields only to the voice of her King is not going to become a sex object, throwing herself at guy after guy in desperation.

Her security comes from a completely different source. She doesn’t derive her value from the attention of guys. Her value comes from knowing she has been redeemed and loved by the King of all kings. Her focus is on His desires, not on her own selfish wants.

The women throughout Christian history who have truly glowed with heavenly beauty all had one thing in common – an emptying of self. They were so caught up in the things of God that they gave no thought to their own lives. They did not seek to draw eyes to themselves. The sought to bring glory to Jesus Christ alone. As a result, they were some of the most confident, poised and courageous women that have ever lived. They accomplished amazing things for the Kingdom of God. They saved lives. They stood before Kings. They rescued dying children. They reformed societies.

And they did it without spending their time and energy focused on self.

{by Leslie Ludy}

There used to be a time when I thought that the modern-day solution for self-esteem problems was to simply 'love yourself more' and 'not care about what other people think'. Looking back now, I'm glad Jesus has opened my eyes to see that loving yourself does not come from what I think I am or tell myself I am, but who I actually am in and through Him. Self-esteem does not come through feeding myself thoughts of how truly amazing I am, but by serving others in humbleness through the recognition of how truly amazing He is!

It is through serving that we stop thinking about our wants and needs, but focus on the needs of others - and I love how mind-blowingly the Word puts it: Philippians 2:3, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves."

.... Don't be selfish.
Don't try to impress others.
Be humble.
Think of others as better than yourselves.

Wow. Wow. I love that. It just goes against every single thing the world teaches us to think!

Want to be a rebel? Read the Bible and do what it tells you to do.