Be That Lily

Hey Yall (all three of you who read this),
Well, I must say I haven't written lately because Andrew is working the day shift, so we actually have some normal hours to spend together.... which has been absolutely fantastic. I really have nothing pressing to talk about or really anything that will necessarily interest anyone, but there is one issue that has been heavy on my heart. 

Sexuality. "Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens" Song of Solomon 2:2 . We are intended to be sexual beings but only within the confines of marriage. Later in Song of Solomon, Solomon says"....do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires." (2:7). True love waits is a campaign that has become a little less prominent in society today but its values hold true. A true love will wait on the Lord's timing. 

 I have such a hard time looking through countless young girls' facebooks and getting one message which is the need for acceptance. Now that would be okay if they were getting genuine, Christ-found acceptance, but they aren't. These young ladies are getting messages that tell them they are only worthy of acceptance if they are willing to give up their bodies. Bodies that are to be clothed in righteousness and dignity are traded for name brands sold at high prices for WAY LESS material. Beauty is seen as an unattainable store-bought item instead of an attribute you are born with and develop through Christ's renewal. This is so saddening to me because I can easily seen where these things have completely destroyed many of my friends' and even family's precious lives. 

So please, if you are a girl, find your worth in a God who not only FORMED and molded every fiber of your being but breathed LIFE into your lungs. Let your beauty be rooted in your actions and words, not what you see in the mirror or what you buy. Don't sell yourself short by being sold out to a boy or to this world because those things will leave you to a deeper search away from the God Who created you. 

Be THAT lily. The lily among many many thorns... The lily whose inner beauty that allowed her to grow far outweighs her outward beauty that will eventually fade. Don't be afraid to be different in your stands morally, politically, spiritually. You know, even Jesus was rejected for being different. Matthew 8:34 says "Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region." This was after Jesus performed many MIRACLES. But He was still rejected for being different. Don't shy away from embracing your inner beauty and neglecting part of your outer beauty. 
So I want to issue a challenge to you to put aside one aspect of your outward beauty (make-up, hair products, number of outfits) to focus more on your Christ-founded beauty. Instead of taking 15 minutes to put on make-up each day, take 5 minutes and spend the rest of the 10 in prayer or reading the Bible. I promise you will become far more beautiful this way than ANY lip gloss, hair bump-it, or pair of shoes could ever make you. ;) Do this for thirty days and observe just how much more beautiful you feel. Don't be surprised if others reject your new views but embrace the arms of Christ. Or hey, talk to me! Not many people understood why Andrew and I didn't sleep together before we got married. I'm more than happy to go over ALL the reasons why we didn't and practical ways you can share that same moral love with someone else. (It's really not that complicated) 
And if you want a good example of what to look for in a Godly guy:

  There's one!