ONE DAY, I will write again.
God IS.
Love, Crys...
Friday, June 17, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
The Virtual Glam Squad
I wrote this article last year when I was freelancing for a teen girl's magazine. The article was specifically for the prom issue, but by (alleged) human error it was not published. Did not find out until after prom season so I wanted to share it for this years prom season, because the subject matter and God's word are still relevant.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So I hear it’s that time of the year again, prom season! Oh the memories I have from my high school junior and senior years over the excitement of going to the prom. What colors should I wear, what dress, what hair style, what shoes? So many things, so little time to do them. Oh indeed the to-do list can go on and on. I believe going to the prom is the most important time in a young woman’s social life and it is enclosed by so much femininity. We finally have a time to let the genetic makeup of what makes us the special gender we are just come to the forefront and shine. The finished product can easily showcase the outward grace of a woman. We have a real reason to just glam all out, and for some it can be the first time or only time. We think that reaping the fruits of a self created red carpet glam squad is the most important, but it’s not.
And then there is the other thing, who’s taking us? The other most important part of prom for most of us wasn’t just the dresses, or the jewelry, or if you were anything like me, the distinctive nail design I had to select for my manicure and pedicure…it was the date. Oh yes indeed, the most important part is and will always be the boys. And we all know, at that age, we just love us some boys! But it’s ok, its natural, and just the showing signs of becoming a woman, and eventually learning to love and support our men as the women in their lives. The nervousness from wanting to be asked by that special guy can just be overwhelming, or the excitement of this anticipated night finally being shared with your high school sweetheart seems so exhilarating. So yeah, now that you mention it, the boys are the most important. This is what we think when we think about it, but guess what, once again, it’s not.
Well now, don’t get me wrong because all these specifics are significant and of course we want them to be, as this night is to be cherished for decades. But the most important factor is not what we are wearing, nor who’s on our arm; but what we exemplify our character to be. So let’s get an understanding of what type of character God desires us to have according to His standards. Anytime I think about God’s desire for who I should be, I always think about the description of the “Virtuous Woman” in the book of Proverbs. The verse itself states, “A capable intelligent, and virtuous woman—who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls.”(Proverbs 31:10 AMP) Other translations use the words “her price” or “her worth”. Basically, God specifically says that as women, our character should be worth a lot of money, wealthy or slangly put, just ballin. If we have something that is worth a lot of money, if it is lost, stolen or given away by accident, we are left with a depletion in our net worth or accounts. And if it’s near and dear to us we feel the anguish and harsh reality that what we once had is now gone. Or if and when the value of a material item we own falls, sometimes we couldn’t even give it away if we tried once the value has been downgraded. Sadly we as women really over exaggerate the jewelry reference because we do know jewelry (hey, I’m guilty too)! While that part is crucial also, we still sometimes skip over or fail to correctly interpret the most important word in the topic…virtuous.
The word virtuous has many definitions, but the few I like are “morally excellent”, “upright”, and “pure”. And because these traits signify that our worth is priced higher than jewels, with knowing jewelry the way we do, we now know that this means how we carry ourselves does hold way more weight than the jewelry, the dress, the date and the whole polished look we have for our special night. Therefore, ultimately it is the most important. So let’s fast forward a little bit, and talk about the prom night…"night", uh-huh. Yes, after all the bells and whistles of the evening have faded there is still attention to be given, and it’s just you and your date, or so you think. See, the thing is, it really isn’t just you and your date and it never is, because we are never alone. The Holy Spirit is always with us because He resides in us, within our hearts and spirits, therefore within our bodies. And the word specifically says, “Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit, Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a gift] from God? You are not your own; You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 AMP). There is that word “price” again. Ladies, seriously, you are really worth way more than you think to God. He paid a lot for you, and honoring him with our bodies keeps our price, worth, and value through the roof. By not doing so seriously downgrades the net worth of our character and our internal accounts are left depleted.
Therefore, take on His thoughts of your worthiness and make them your own. Cater to His wants and do so by honoring Him first and foremost with your body. This pleases God, does not grieve or sadden Him (Ephesians 4:30), and it makes Him proud to call us the “Goddesses” we are. So on your special night, remember and listen to God’s view of the type of woman He has already said you are. When or if you get the advances to go beyond the activities of prom night itself - ahem, yall KNOW what I’m talkin bout-, turn up that value, worth and preciousness that shines from your inner and outer jewels, smile and politely decline. Allow God to be your virtuous glam squad, because through His consultations the finished product will be, you guessed it, always worth far above rubies, pearls, or even for your special occasion, the best set of pretty prom jewels you can find.
“Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised!”
~Proverbs 31:30(AMP)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So I hear it’s that time of the year again, prom season! Oh the memories I have from my high school junior and senior years over the excitement of going to the prom. What colors should I wear, what dress, what hair style, what shoes? So many things, so little time to do them. Oh indeed the to-do list can go on and on. I believe going to the prom is the most important time in a young woman’s social life and it is enclosed by so much femininity. We finally have a time to let the genetic makeup of what makes us the special gender we are just come to the forefront and shine. The finished product can easily showcase the outward grace of a woman. We have a real reason to just glam all out, and for some it can be the first time or only time. We think that reaping the fruits of a self created red carpet glam squad is the most important, but it’s not.
And then there is the other thing, who’s taking us? The other most important part of prom for most of us wasn’t just the dresses, or the jewelry, or if you were anything like me, the distinctive nail design I had to select for my manicure and pedicure…it was the date. Oh yes indeed, the most important part is and will always be the boys. And we all know, at that age, we just love us some boys! But it’s ok, its natural, and just the showing signs of becoming a woman, and eventually learning to love and support our men as the women in their lives. The nervousness from wanting to be asked by that special guy can just be overwhelming, or the excitement of this anticipated night finally being shared with your high school sweetheart seems so exhilarating. So yeah, now that you mention it, the boys are the most important. This is what we think when we think about it, but guess what, once again, it’s not.
Well now, don’t get me wrong because all these specifics are significant and of course we want them to be, as this night is to be cherished for decades. But the most important factor is not what we are wearing, nor who’s on our arm; but what we exemplify our character to be. So let’s get an understanding of what type of character God desires us to have according to His standards. Anytime I think about God’s desire for who I should be, I always think about the description of the “Virtuous Woman” in the book of Proverbs. The verse itself states, “A capable intelligent, and virtuous woman—who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls.”(Proverbs 31:10 AMP) Other translations use the words “her price” or “her worth”. Basically, God specifically says that as women, our character should be worth a lot of money, wealthy or slangly put, just ballin. If we have something that is worth a lot of money, if it is lost, stolen or given away by accident, we are left with a depletion in our net worth or accounts. And if it’s near and dear to us we feel the anguish and harsh reality that what we once had is now gone. Or if and when the value of a material item we own falls, sometimes we couldn’t even give it away if we tried once the value has been downgraded. Sadly we as women really over exaggerate the jewelry reference because we do know jewelry (hey, I’m guilty too)! While that part is crucial also, we still sometimes skip over or fail to correctly interpret the most important word in the topic…virtuous.
The word virtuous has many definitions, but the few I like are “morally excellent”, “upright”, and “pure”. And because these traits signify that our worth is priced higher than jewels, with knowing jewelry the way we do, we now know that this means how we carry ourselves does hold way more weight than the jewelry, the dress, the date and the whole polished look we have for our special night. Therefore, ultimately it is the most important. So let’s fast forward a little bit, and talk about the prom night…"night", uh-huh. Yes, after all the bells and whistles of the evening have faded there is still attention to be given, and it’s just you and your date, or so you think. See, the thing is, it really isn’t just you and your date and it never is, because we are never alone. The Holy Spirit is always with us because He resides in us, within our hearts and spirits, therefore within our bodies. And the word specifically says, “Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit, Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a gift] from God? You are not your own; You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 AMP). There is that word “price” again. Ladies, seriously, you are really worth way more than you think to God. He paid a lot for you, and honoring him with our bodies keeps our price, worth, and value through the roof. By not doing so seriously downgrades the net worth of our character and our internal accounts are left depleted.
Therefore, take on His thoughts of your worthiness and make them your own. Cater to His wants and do so by honoring Him first and foremost with your body. This pleases God, does not grieve or sadden Him (Ephesians 4:30), and it makes Him proud to call us the “Goddesses” we are. So on your special night, remember and listen to God’s view of the type of woman He has already said you are. When or if you get the advances to go beyond the activities of prom night itself - ahem, yall KNOW what I’m talkin bout-, turn up that value, worth and preciousness that shines from your inner and outer jewels, smile and politely decline. Allow God to be your virtuous glam squad, because through His consultations the finished product will be, you guessed it, always worth far above rubies, pearls, or even for your special occasion, the best set of pretty prom jewels you can find.
“Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised!”
~Proverbs 31:30(AMP)
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