Ever met a really pretty, ugly girl? Externally, she's OK, maybe not much to look at, but internally she's absolutely stunning? How about the ugly, pretty girl? She is show-stopping, head-turning gorgeous, but internally she is sad, unhappy, unfulfilled, self-absorbed, bitter, gossipy, ego-driven, competitive, two-faced and phony-baloney. Met her? Let's get a little closer to home ... are you that girl? What about our daughters? Which one are we raising?Pretty women. Image. Style. Beauty. Who's got it? Who doesn't? Teenage girls are fixated on it. Anorexia, bulimia, and suicide prove it. Moms, wives and women of all ages are spending time and lots of money on insta-beauty. The fact that we spend more money on cosmetics and alcohol than we do on homeland defense proves it. Verify this ...
Let's face it; none of us wants to look like an old hag or the fashion queen from the 80s. I am all for doing the best we can with what we have to work with; like one old preacher used to say, "... if the barn needs painting ... paint it!" (And all the husbands said, "Amen!") But, what is real beauty?
The Bible bottom lines this topic ...
"What matters is not your outer appearance — the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes — but your inner disposition. Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in."
Cultivate inner beauty? I was hoping for something easier, weren't you? Just like you, I appreciate the miraculous powers of Maybelene, Clinique or Lancome. I love a girls' shopping day or an occasional day of pampering. And, although I grew up as a tomboy, I have my share of mid-life, high maintenance issues: fill it, color it, wax it, massage it, whiten it, exfoliate it, soak it ... you know the drill. ("Preach it, sister"... I can just hear some of you!) The only problem is that there are not enough salons, salts, sugars, lotions, crèmes, botox injections, aroma oils, spas, stylists or artists on the planet to make us beautiful inside.
If we try to fix all our internal issues using external remedies. we're wasting precious time! Worry, depression, fear, guilt, stress, anger, bitterness and jealousy creates wrinkles, sad eyes and severe facial expressions that even Cover Girl can't fix! (Trust me, I've tried!!!) The only way to get "the glow" is to give our attention to "inner remedies." So, for real beauty, here are five things every girl needs in her cosmetic bag.
5 Things Every Girl Needs In Her Make-Up Bag
Have you noticed that when we give the "inner man" the attention it deserves it helps to make the "outer appearance" more beautiful? There's a sparkle in the eyes. There's an easy smile. Congruence in the inner man makes the beautiful, ugly girl — a Pretty Woman!
Beth
