Authentic Beauty

While I was in Russia, I was talking with some Pastors in the Living Room at the "Purcell's House", I excused myself to go grab some more water, when I was gently touched by my hand. An older woman, who I had been getting to know the past couple days, "Mrs. Craig", took me by my hand, looked at me very sweetly, and said, "You are so beautiful!" I smiled, and politely thanked her as I walked away.

Having someone tell you something, whether about your looks, or the things you do, is always so encouraging! :) So, encourage others! It may be hard to do at times, but I can guarantee you, that it will make their day! :)

So, what does authentic beauty look like? What does being Feminine look like? Are we suppose to be a set-apart young woman from the culture? What should our lifestyle look like? Please join me as we study these Biblical principles, and how we can make it apart of our lifestyle!

To start off, here are a couple verses that talk about beauty:
1 Peter 3:3-4 ESV

"Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious."
Proverbs 31:30 ESV 

"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."
Psalm 139:14 ESV 

"I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."
1 Samuel 16:7 ESV 

"...For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
1 Peter 3:4 ESV

"But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious."

As you can see, beauty is mentioned often in scripture! Beauty is more than just nail polish, make-up, and hair. Beauty is so much more! It begins in the heart. Our perception of our beauty and femininity is often shaped by the culture in which we live in. As we seek to live the set-apart life, we will not likely be understood or appreciated by the world around us. often even in the Christian world. But we are not on this journey alone. God is with us, and is tenderly shaping us into His - lilies among thorns in this generation. In His presence is the fullness of joy, and the true, authentic beauty! :) Have a wonderful day! 

When You hit rock bottom

All of us have been there! And for those who haven't, your time will come. All of us know what its like to be at our lowest point in life. Maybe we think we've hit rock bottom, only to have another rock being thrown our way. The rock will hit, and it will hit hard! The rock will hit so hard, that you have no
 one to rely on, except God Himself!
Just recently, my family and I watched a movie called, "Seasons of Gray". It's a modern day story of Joseph, in the Bible. It really made me think of how Joseph truly felt. He probably felt like God had abandoned him. He probably had doubts, fears, pain, and I'm sure he had to deal with forgiving his brothers. Joseph could have chosen to do so many things, but instead, he chose to let God rule his life. Surrendering isn't the
easiest thing to do. It's so easy to just give up the fight. I wonder what Joseph did and thought about
while he was in prison for something he didn't do... Did he question Gods motives? Did he accept his
life, knowing that Gods will was in all of this, and that God was trying to teach him something?
As far as Joseph knew, he'd die in Prison! There are so many things we can learn from in Joseph's life, as well as many others throughout the Bible.

We see in 2nd Corinthians 12:9, "...My Grace is sufficient for you,
 for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
Wow! Gods strength is made perfect in OUR weakness!
Here are a couple verses that I thought fit perfectly with our discussion.
"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."
~Galatians 6:9~
"I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and hear my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps..."
~Psalm 40:1-2~
What are some verses that have helped you when you've gone through a trial? What are some ways that you can encourage others who are going through a tough trial in their life right now?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHEm-b4IRYk

Learning To Be Still

Hi there everyone! Sorry its been a while since I've posted! I just got back from Russia on Thursday morning at 2:00 a.m., and then went to bed around 3:00 a.m. with little sleep. I took a Benadryl on Thursday night, fell asleep by by 9:00 p.m., and woke up at 11:15 a.m. on Friday morning! :) 14 hours of wonderful sleep! Any way, how do you return to normal life, after being gone for 2 weeks?!
After trying to get my life back together, unpacking clothes, running a couple errands, and doing some other odds and ins, I was reminded about the verse in Psalm 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"
Be still? Wow! After being busy constantly in Russia, it was nice just to be still! To thank God for everything that He'd given me, pray, think, and just be in silence!
How often to do we take life for granted? How often do our lives get so busy that we aren't "still"? We are to be still and know that He is God even in the midst of those days that our life is out of control!!!
Let's take a moment of each day, and Be Still! Seek His Face, and Pray! :)
I looked up a couple verses about being still, so I thought I'd share them! Enjoy!
Psalm 37:7

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
Mark 4:39

And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Psalm 62:5

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.

                                           

                                             http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD2uPRhOPkk

                                             http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMM1hLwDhz0

God's Will

As I write this, I'm in Russia for the first Homeschool Conference!
DURING the time That I've Been here, I've Been Thinking and Praying A lot! 
It has Been super neat to see God work in this, for ALL of His glory!!! :)
When I first WAS Asked to Come to Russia, I WAS super excited! ... Still am! ;) HOWEVER, WAS A Their Process of trusting God That I HAD to Experience. When I first HAD Applied for my Passport, I Told That WAS with expedited shipping, it Should be here within A Week in A Half. Two weeks later, it WAS still not here. I WAS worried That Would not it be here in time, and I Went over the "What if's" in my head. It WAS DURING this Process That my parents Constantly reminded me That if God wanted me to go, That He'd make it happen ... in His timing! One thing .. . That my heart WAS not Willing to Let God have. Once I received my passport, I HAD to apply for A Visa to go to Russia. You have to be Invited, but I just Applied for A 29 day tourist Visa, since we ' d only be there for 2 weeks. I HAD to go over to the Davidson's house to fill out That, Because Their WAS so many Questions That I did not know the answer to.
When I sent in the Passport, Visa to receive A passport, I WAS Told That it'd be here within A Week in A Half. It WAS here in one Week! :) After That, it WAS Official That I Would be going to Russia!!! 
however the the the, WAS not at the Process All Easy to Trust in God! God Knew the Entire time, What the Outcome WAS going to be, and yet I WAS worried That this Opportunity WAS going to Pass up.

• 1 Peter 4:11-12

  If anyone Speaks, Should he do it as one speaking the very Words of God. Serves If anyone, he Should do it with the strength God Provides, so in That All May be things God through Jesus Christ Praised. To HIM be the glory and the power for Ever and Ever. Amen. Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.

• 1 Chronicles 16:11

  Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.

• Exodus 15:2

  The LORD is my strength and my song; he has Become my Salvation. He is my God, and I Will Praise HIM, my Father's God, and I Will Exalt HIM. I saw this the Other Day, and thought I'd Post That it! Enjoy! Me: God, can I ask you A question? God: Sure! Me: Why did You Let so much stuff happen to me Today? God: What do you Mean? Me: Well, I woke up late, took my car forever to start. At lunch they made ​​my sandwich wrong and I had to wait. On my way home, my phone went DEAD, just as I picked up a call. And to top it all off, when I got home I just wanted to soak my feet in my new foot massager and relax, but it wouldn't work! Nothing went right today! Why did you do That? God: Let me ... See the Death angel WAS at your Bed this morning and I had to send one of My angels to Battle HIM for your Life. I let you sleep through that. I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road. The first person who made ​​your sandwich today was sick and I didn't want you to catch what they have, I knew you couldn't afford to miss work. Your phone Went Dead Because the person Calling That WAS going to Give false Witness About What you Said That on call, I did not even Talk to you so you Let Them Would be Covered. Oh, and Foot Massager That, it HAD A shortage That was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I did not think you wanted to be in the Dark. Me: I'm sorry God!
  God: Do not be sorry, just learn to Trust Me in ALL things, the good and the bad.
  Me: I Will Trust You!
  god : And do not Doubt That my plan for your Day is always better than your plan.
  Me: I Will not God. And Let me just Tell you God, Thank You for everything Today!
  God: You're welcome Child! It was just another day being your God and I love looking after My children! :) May we learn to Trust God in All Circumstances!

Award Post #3

Hi Everyone! I was recently nominated for the Sunshine Award by Maddie.Go and check her blog out . . . it is great! :) Here's the link: http://schoolandsuntans.blogspot.ru/
Questions for the nominees: (that'd be me! ;) )

1. Where did you come up with your blog name? hmm... I wanted to name the blog that had to do with being my dad's daughter, and God's daughter. And I knew that I was destined to be God's daughter (Romans 8:29-30, " For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.") So, I put together "Daughter of Destiny". :)

2. Why did you create your blog? Because I love to write! :) And my mom told me that she thought I'd be a good idea. ;)

3. What is your favorite Bible verse? James 1:2-4

4. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Ireland! :)

5. What is your favorite book? Tough one! ;) Besides the Bible, probably any Max Lucado books! :)

6. Would you rather be a queen or the president? Tough one! ;) Whichever one I can get the most done... Make Abortion illegal, make Gay-Marriage illegal... etc... 

7. What is your favorite subject in school? Music! 

8. If you could make three wishes, what would they be? That men and women would repent, and turn from their wicked way. Women would no longer have abortions. And, that 

9. What is your favorite flavor of cake? Chocolate!!! 

10. If you could choose between tennis shoes, cowgirl boots, or sandals, which you you choose? Depends on the season... mostly flip-flops! :) 

11. If you could be in any book, which book would it be? The Bible!

So here are the instructions for the nominees.

 If you are chosen and want to participate:

1. Copy and paste image above or create your own.
2. Answer the following questions.
3. Nominate your own bloggers (as many as you choose).
4. Let your nominees know.
5. Put together 11 of questions to ask them.
6. Publish your post!
   
   My nominee is:
   Kaylee at: http://worthfarmorethanevenrubies.blogspot.ru/
   questions for the nominee:
   1. What's your full name?
   2. Favorite color?
   3. What color do you wear most often?
   4. If you won $10,000, what would you do with it?
   5. How big is your family?
   6. What's your favorite animal? Why?
   7. What's your favorite season? Why?
   8. Name me 5 of your favorite movies?
   9. Favorite Sport?
   10. Would you rather go camping or spend the night in an RV?