Polishing Silver Until He Comes Back.

Let's talk blessing. God does not bless his children because of anything they do or do not do. That is a conditional God, which is so not the Father. It is almost as if we are playing the childhood love game with God. "He loves me, He loves me not. He loves me, He loves me not." So with flower in hand, we hopelessly wait to pick the next petal because THEN he will love us. FALSE folks. God loves you the same yesterday, today and forever. His love never changes. NO matter what you do. what freedom!

But as we live this best life, we have the ability to CHOOSE to grow in the favor of God. Even Jesus had to grow in favor.

I was driving home many months ago. I had been trying to figure out where to work this summer and just couldn't quite seem to get any direction. So I am driving home one day and the Lord says to go apply at a restaurant. I thought, well my gosh, I have no restaurant experience. They won't hire me. Blah, Blah, Blah. So after negotiating with the Father for a while, I gave in. Although I was unable to see clearly at this moment, remember that the Lord will NEVER set you up to fail...only for you to step out and trust His faithfulness. Ok, so I go in. Apply. And get the job right away.

My job consists of polishing a lot of silver and running a lot of food. Which is great. The job is a blessing of God. And I could not have been more thankful. One night, after polishing what seemed to be mine of silver I started getting a little lazy. I heard the Lord ask why I wasn't polishing the right way. And then He said that everything I do is unto the glory.

You see, when you live IN LOVE with the King of the Universe everything you do is in response to that LOVE. That changes everything. Moving from religion to relationship will literally change everything. It is not that polishing silver is my favorite past time. But when you move to the rhythms of mercy with an understanding that EVERYTHING is because of the grace of God, what/why/how/when/how many is all a by-product of that love. EVEN on my best day it is only by the grace of God. Living poor in spirit is wealth in the Kingdom.

After the Lord re-calibrated my work ethic, I polished like the Queen was coming to town. Two days later I got a very significant raise. When you live in LOVE, favor follows. Blessing follows favor. Challenge is the next step. It is easy to assume that because of God's blessing you dont' have to work for it anymore. that is an incorrect way of thinking. Abuse of blessing only leads to error. And response to error only creates another error. We then assume that God takes away those things in our life. And I do not think that is the case.

Let me illustrate.

1 Kings 11:9 The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.

Why does it matter? The more obvious God's will is to you...or the more He reveals His heart, the greater the requirement. His still small voice is not punishment, it is His mercy. When you clearly see and hear the blessing of God on your life, there is great weight in that. God appeared to Solomon twice and gave him the desires of his heart. And yet Solomon CHOSE to turn from the Lord. A lot of times people cannot handle blessing and crumble. Solomon did.

"Sometimes He actually speaks so quietly that you actually have to be leaning in to Him to hear his voice." Why? it is his mercy.

BeautyTIPS4

This is the end of the series on BeautyTIPS. But it will certainly not be the last! I mean how could it be? We didn't even touch on hair, clothes and SHOES. So fun.

For this last part, I asked the Beauties in my life to share what makes each of them so exquisite. ENJOY!

This first beauty just happens to be one of my BEST friends. No one quite melts

my heart like this girl. Emily was the first I asked for beauty advice. She's got it goin' on. Take her advice and look glorious!

EYES: There are 6 billion people on this earth right? Something like that. That means 6 billion sets of eyes. Every eye being different than the next. That is so cool. Emphasize those babies! Use the right makeup to make your eyes pop! Alex does the BEST at this. When talking to her, I can't help but stare at 'em. I also really enjoy choosing eye shadows that make my eyes pop.

A GREAT SMILE: To me, it brightens everything up. I was very blessed to have a good set of chompers, and parents that always made me brush and floss. Here's the thing; You don't have to have a perfect set of pearly whites to have a great smile. Enjoy life, smile a lot, and definitely still remember to brush.

CLOTHES: By no means, am I fashion expert, but I'm workin on it. A unique sense of personal style just about tops any beauty tip. Once again, I look to Alex on this one. I think it's safe to say her sense of style has changed a lot in the last two years. She puts together pieces that I would have never thought to combine, and yet they work so perfectly. Don't be afraid to wear what others won't wear, and don't be afraid to try new things. If you like it, buy it.

CONFIDENCE: This is hands down, the hardest beauty secret to upkeep. In society today, there are so many factors that can shatter our confidence. Naturally, we compare ourselves to others, and always want what we don't have. If we're short, we want to be taller. Straight haired girls want curly hair, but the ones with curly hair would kill for it to be short. Once we can get past all of this however, we can become confident in the person we have become over years of fine tuning. Ask anybody and they will tell you, a woman with confidence in herself shines in a room. You can see it when she walks down the street, when you have a conversation with her, or when she is with no makeup and in her pajamas still feeling like a million bucks.

Wise woman, yea?

Our next guest editor is truly the most beautiful, gorgeous, unique, natural, confident and humble person I know. I could truly go on for years telling you about my sister. YEARS. she is most certainly my better half.

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• She does her thannnng and does it well. I can honestly say that any beauty wave that I have ridden over the years is because of her. She is a beauty pioneer.
• She loves well. What I mean is that she calls out the beauty in others. You will never leave a conversation with my sister not feeling better about yourself. Her very nature draws out the magnificent in those around her. The depth of this trait is so great because you cannot recognize a quality in someone else that you yourself do not also have. Also, she is so confident in who she is, and so grounded in the value the Lord has in her that she is not shaken or jealous by anyone else's beauty. Rebecca celebrates those around her!
• She has these big, deep, hazel eyes that are captivating.
• She eats really healthy and works out a lot. Becca's got a rockin' bod. Seriously. But she works hard for it. Take care of your body. She certainly is on my case about it. But in the end, it is so worth it.

Rebecca is a fighter. She'll fight for those close to her until it is finished. She knows truth and lives by it. When I look at her, I see the love

of Jesus. So sweet is my sis.

My dearest Kait Rohfling is such a natural beauty.------------------------->

She is the only friend I know that swears by lipstick and man does she wear it well. I started wearing lipstick because of her. Lipstick gives your just that added color that really can make or break and outfit. LIPSTICK!

My glorious friend Hannah can make anyone, anywhere feel

valuable and know their worth. She asks questions. She really, truly cares about the converstaion. It is genuine. To be interested is to be interesting.

Finally to my favorite!

I asked our sweet Jesus what His beautyTIPS were. This is what your Creator has to say about YOU:

"I made you just right. Every hair on your heard. Every freckle on your neck. When I look at you My fair one, I just see perfection. I think it is funny how you all color your hair and try and change how you look. I colored your hair just right. But I love watching you curl and put bows in your hair. You could never do or undo anything that would make me look at you any different. I am captivated by your beauty. I can't stop thinking about the way you move. The color of your eyes. To me, you are My beautiful one. My beloved. Just be you. Don't be a version of yourself. But be the REAL you. The you I created is quite magnificent. Don't change anything about you for someone else. I just love you. I really, really love you. You make my heart dance. There are these times where I gather all of heaven just to watch you...just because you take my breath away so. Let me love you more. Let me be the lover of your soul. Let me in. Let me love you more. Ohhh, if you only you knew how beautiful and remarkable you are to me. Will you let me tell you?"

OHHHH thank you sweet Jesus! We were created for the glory. Let Him in you beautiful one!

BestBeautyTIPS3

Today is all things FACE. My favorite...

Couple things you just have to do to get that GLOW...no matter the season.

1. Wash your face day and night. As my mother always tell us, "TAKE OFF YOUR MAKEUP." If you don't,

your pores close and can't breathe. LET your skin BREATHE! I have sensitive skin so I had to search around for the best cleanser. I tried the expensive stuff like Chanel's cleanser, and it just made my skin go CRAZY. I use Cetaphil now and love it.

2. Moisturize. We are in Colorado, folks. Most of our skin is dry, dry, dry. That is not good. Your skin flakes and your makeup just totally sucks into your face because it needs moister. There are some great moisturizers out there. I use Kate Somerville's Gentle Skin Moisturizer. L'Octaine also has some excellent products.

3. Ok next. EXFOLIATE. You need to do this twice a week. When you exfoliate, it gets all the

dead skin off so new skin can grow. Don't exfoliate too much though. You're skin will get irritated. This step is KEY to getting that perfect glow. I use Kate Somerville's Exfolikate for

Gentle Skin. I love it.

4. I already went over the stuff to eat in a previous blog. That will drastically improve your skin. A couple things to try and stay away from or at least moderate is:

• salt
• processed foods
• fake sugar...splenda, etc.
• fried anything
• smoking
• alcohol...sorry, don't shoot the messenger. I don't make the rules. A glass of red wine is healthy for you. But like most anything, alcohol and the above mentioned have to be in moderation.

*great rule of thumb. If it is not good for your health, it is not good for your skin. This was an AH-HA moment for me. Your skin is an organ. Don't forget that. What you put in your body comes out. And your skin is the most obvious form.

Ok now for the fun part! MAKE-UP

Find a good Face Primer. I use Bare Minerals face primer just because it came with a set I purchased. NARS sells a great primer. This just helps your make up set and stay longer.

Second, when finding foundation try and try and try and keep on trying until you find the one that gives you the best glow. I started with Bare Minerals, moved to MAC and am now happily resting with Bobbi Brown.

**Here's an important tip about foundation. Spend more on your concealer, foundation and powder. Spend less on

the eyeshadows, eye-liners, blushs etc. You can SO tell a difference in quality between a cheap foundation and a more expensive one. You get what you pay for. I buy $2 eye shadow that lasts me years. Seriously. But I will pay more for foundation. I switched from MAC to Bobbi Brown. Even though there was about a $10 price increase, I could totally tell a difference in quality.

When picking the right foundation, you have the option of liquid or powder. I prefer liquid...especially because now a days most liquid foundations come with an SPF 15 and moisturizers in them. A lot of

people prefer powder. just use your preference.

• Make an appointment with different make up counters like: MAC, Laura Mercier, Bobbi Brown, Estee Lauder. Have them match you. DON'T BUY right away. Leave. Check yourself out in the sunlight. Ask around. Then if you like, buy it.
• Its important to have good brushes. You could have gold dusted foundation, but a 4 year old brush. And let me tell ya, it will be a disaster. Change out your brushes about every 2 years if possible. You'll probably need a foundation brush, powder brush for bronzer and blush, a concealer brush, eyeliner and eye shadow brushes. You don't have to buy super expensive ones either.
• Target has some great brands for some great prices. I really like Sonia Kashuk.
• Also, to the left is stick foundation. I just got this product for a wedding I was in. Stick foundation works wonders when you are going to be photographed. You would think that the foundation would be cakey. BUT it is not! I LOVE IT. You can also wear it everyday. The down side is that there is not an SPF or moisturizer in it.

Concealer: Bobbi Brown says that you should never leave the house without concealer. EVEN if it is the only make up you have time for. Concealer 'conceals' bags or puffiness under your eyes. Gives you an instant lift. And draws attention to the focal pointof your face. THE EYES!

BLUSH and Bronzer: Nars has a great duo out right now with a bronzer and blush. the

combination of the two gives you that glow you are looking for. Don't over do it though. The key with bronzer is to go all the way down the neck and chest do get the most natural look.

Also, I'm going to be your mother again and remind you to wear sunscreen. Help your face out (except if you are going to take pictures. Put it on after. Sunscreen will make your face oddly glow in pictures).

Finally, I love a good eyeliner. My sister introduced me to liquid liner and I have never gone back. I dabbled in different liners, both cheap and expensive. I have happily landed right in the middle.

MAC's fluid liner is IT. like seriously, this stuff is awesome. It is $8 and the brush you need is $15. I know, I know. The brush was painful to buy. But will last you years...well about 2. Then you should replace it. BUT, it is a necessity when using the eyeliner. They come in extravagant colors and they last at least 6 months to a year! GET EMMMM!

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I AM MY MOTHER'S DAUGHTER.

EVERYTHING I have learned about beauty comes from my mother.

she truly is THE beauty queen. I am excited to share some of her beauty secrets with you.

She is the most extraordinary I person I know.

Ok 5 best beauty secrets my mother has ever given me! (and then I kinda put my own little twist on some of them)

1. WHEATGRASS! this green juice is so incredible. It clears up any infection, acne, pimple...or if you just want your face to glow, I recommend putting the wheatgrass juice directly on your face. It will look like a mask. Keep it on for 15-25 minutes. Wash it off. Be amazed. Places like Jamba Juice sell 1-2 ounce shots of it. I usually ask for half an ounce which is plenty! Drink the rest to give your body a kick start. Seriously guys. This stuff is awesome.

2. My mom only uses Hot Tools hair appliances. I have had my Hot Tools curling iron since 8th grade and it still works like a charm. GET EMMM.

3. Accessories, Accessories, Accessories. I don't like to wear earrings. But class it up a little with a necklace or bracelet. Even both. Here's my rule of thumb...Where do you want to make a statement? the clothes, hair, makeup or jewelry. Don't get out of control with big hair, outrageous

jewelry and metallic clothing. That is SO BAD. A big necklace is best suited with a more simple attire (generally). ALSO, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT mix gold and silver jewelry. NO WAY. just can't. sorry. Gold with gold. Silver with silver. Watches and earrings included. Girlfriend over here on the right has got it going on. Simple outfit, BANG necklace, perfect purse.

4. Have a signature piece of jewelry. My mom has these incredible diamond studs my dad bought her years ago. She never takes them off. I wear a heart necklace my dad got me. I never take it off. Don't go looking for a 'you' piece because that just takes the 'you' out of it. When you see it or receive, you'll know. SO classy!

5. Wash your face everyday. night and morning. Don't forget to take your make-up off! Your skin is thanking you now, and the mirror will thank you 20 years from now.

Here's the thing. My mom has raised my sister and I with such Godly confidence. The many prayers, the long nights, the countless lunches made...and most of all--the way she poured everything she knew into us is bearing such incredible fruit. I can honestly say that I am who I am because of my mother. Plus, she is just stunning. I mean look at those pictures.

Everywhere she goes, God's glory follows.

I think that is the ABSOLUTE top beautytip. As she would say, fall in love with the Lord and the rest will not just take care of itself, but exceed and shatter any expectation you could possibly have.

What a marvelous and brave woman.