Cultivating Beauty

• Who can find a virtuous woman?  her price is far above rubies
• She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
• Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
• She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
• Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised

Earlier this week I did a post titled "Do You Feel Beautiful?", and mentioned that the topic of beauty seemed to keep cropping up in my thoughts and in my life for a couple of weeks.  I started noticing beauty (and the lack of it) every where I turned.

I'll be honest, I felt a little overwhelmingly UN-beautiful around that time. A sort of is-this-the-best-it's-going-to-be-for-me? mood struck me and stuck around for a while.  Don't you hate it when that happens?

Thankfully, though, the Lord arranged one of those wonderful "coincidences" that I don't believe are coincidences at all!

I went to a special prayer service at a friend's church.  There was some beautiful soft music playing, and a soothing voice leading the participants in guided prayer, while leaving time for personal reflection and prayer, as well.  And even in that situation, what subject came up?  Guess!  The beauty of God's creation--and the Lord dropped a bit of wisdom into my heart.

You can have a beautiful life if you cultivate it.

Immediately thoughts and examples started flooding my mind.

This was my garden this year.

Because I didn't cultivate it.

Last year I did better.  I planted....

...and watered

...and watered some more.  (And even tried to shade some of our plants from the hottest of the sun--for no avail for those particular plants--it was just a bad year for cucumbers that year.)

But we had a bumper crop of cherry tomatoes.

This year a friend of mine kept telling me all of the good things she was harvesting from her garden and her fruit trees--and I had nothing that I'd grown in myself in my own garden--because I didn't cultivate it.

Earlier this year I shared about what a mess my house had become--you can see the whole Clean In 30 series.  It got that way because I wasn't cultivating a clean house....

But little by little, one room at a time, I started cultivating clean. 

There's a reason I had started calling this my "Ugly Room"....

Until I challenged myself to do something about it.

I'd like to say that everything has stayed just as clean and organized, or gotten even better (which was my intent) since then, but the truth is, while it's better than before, it's not as good as after right now.

Why?  Because I haven't cultivated it.

I will probably never live in what I call a big, nice house.  But my little house is paid for, and it's as beautiful as I make it.  If I want it to be better--cleaner, more organized, prettier--I have to cultivate the habits that not only make it that way, but the ones that keep it that way, too.

I will never be younger, or taller, or have less wrinkles and gray hair than I have right now, but if I eat right and exercise and do the little things that help me feel prettier, I can be beautiful in my eyes and in the eyes of those who love me.  

I just have to cultivate it.

If I want beauty of mind, soul, and spirit, I have to be careful what I allow in. What books do I read, what television shows do I watch, who do I spend time with, with what do I fill my conversations?  How much time do I spend with my Creator, or in His Word?  Am I all about me, or do I reach out to those around me?

Do I cultivate it?

Until next time...

This post is linked to:

Heart Reflected

Make Your Home Sing Monday at Mom's the Word

Faith Barista Jam Thursday

Proverbs 31 Thursday at Raising Might Arrows

Do You Feel Beautiful?

• Who can find a virtuous woman?  her price is far above rubies
• She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
• Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
• She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
• Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised

The word "beautiful" keeps coming up in my thoughts and in my life--in the words of a song, a conversation with a friend, even in my prayer life.  

I attended a wedding last weekend, and the bride really was absolutely beautiful (don't you agree?) The bridesmaids were beautiful, the church was beautiful, the reception decorations were beautiful, and the bride and groom are returning from their honeymoon to a beautiful new-to-them house.  

An old friend of mine welcomed a brand new grandbaby into her family this week, her first; a beautiful baby girl.

Another new friend invited me out to lunch, and I went by her house to pick her up--and IT was beautiful, with gorgeous, expensive-looking furniture, and everything just "so".  

I keep thinking to myself--I want a beautiful life, too! I know I'm an overweight, middle-aged lady, with a small house and not much money to speak of, but what about me?  Has my time for beauty passed, and is this the best my life is ever going to be?  

Frankly, that thought is rather depressing.

Another day, I was with a friend and she asked me to pray for her--not "will you remember me in your prayers" kind of thing, but "I need prayer right now, will you pray for me now".  So I did, and as I was praying, I got the distinct impression that Lord wanted me to ask her a question.  

"Do you feel beautiful?"

And she laughed a little and said, "No, I don't." 

And we had a conversation about inward and outward beauty, and about how the later does depend somewhat on the former, and vice-versa.  How we look can affect how we feel, and how we feel can affect how we look.  The physical affects the mental affects the spiritual, and the reverse is true as well. 

It's all tied in together.  

I have some further thoughts that I want to share with you at another time, but I leave you with this question:

"Do you feel beautiful?"  Inside or outside?

Until next time...

This post is linked to:
Heart Reflected
Spiritual Sundays
Make Your Home Sing at Mom's the Word

A Virtuous Woman Cooks--Low Carb Pizza Crust

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies
• She bringeth her food from afar
• She giveth meat to her household

Check out the new recipe I tried out on my food blog for low-carb pizza crust--made out of cauliflower! I thought I didn't like cauliflower, but I found out that I just don't like it boiled to death.  It's a fairly mild vegetable, so it basically takes on the flavor of whatever you use to season it.  

Try it, you might like it!

Until next time...