Nail Trend: Green & Gold

When I saw this pretty nail art over at The Beauty Department it was love at first sight and I knew I'd have to give it a try. I used Mint Sorbet 340 by Sally Hansen and As Gold As It Gets by Essie. This is a fun and budget friendly way to try out this new Summer trend.




While we would normally see bright colors take over for the Summer many subdued ones have become popular this year. This includes many pastel shades, especially green (I'm still waiting to find my perfect pair of mint green jeans!) which I'm currently crushing on. What trends are you most looking forward to trying before school's back in session?
Happy Monday Friends!
Love,
Lolo

Modesty: Girls Gone Mild

 Real Beauty Part 3

True Beauty.

Oh, modesty.  

The word that everybody emphasizes, but a concept that nobody seems to fully understand. Let's get straight to the core. In order to determine what modesty is, it may be helpful to first determine what it is not. Modesty is not about you. Modesty is not about people pleasing. Modesty is not about submitting on the outside. Modesty is not about "following the rules." Modesty is not dressing like your grandmother. Ladies and gentlemen, modesty is a heart issue. Consider the thoughts you have when getting dressed each day. Are you thinking about how you can show grace to others by dressing in a way that will not distract them and ultimately glorify God or are you concerned with what __________________ is going to think about you?? (Yes, I went there.) When approaching modesty, it becomes clear over time that your clothes reflect your heart. As women, the Bible calls us to place our focus on our souls rather than our bodies. This does not mean that we should disregard caring for our bodies, it just means that giving attention to your appearance should not be your primary focus. 1 Peter 3:3-7 tells us, "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," (ESV). In John 3:16 we learn that God sent His only son Jesus to die for His children. If you are truly sorry for your sins, ask God to have mercy on you and forgive you, turn from your sins and trust in Him, love Him and serve Him, you are His child. He subjected Himself to living as a human so he could know how you feel in your struggles. He lived just so He could die. For you. His child. When we consider how much God loves us, it makes us want to love Him and live for Him in wholehearted devotion. There are trials and temptations in this world. Sometimes we are tempted to think that life would be so great if we received attention from certain people because we think that once we have their attention, we are that much closer to making them love us. This is a huge battle, which is also a huge lie and unfortunately it can often be seen in how we dress. A woman whose heart is set on Jesus will dress in a way in which does not draw attention to herself. A woman who doesn't know Jesus seeks love and affection and since she does not know Him as her personal Savior, she will not be able to comprehend His love and will seek to fill the void in her heart from other temporary sources. Deuteronomy 4:4 says, "For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God," (ESV). You have more attention and love than you ever deserve in the arms of Jesus Christ. My prayer is that if you don't know Him, He would have mercy on you and you would be adopted as His child. If you do know Him as your Lord and Savior, my prayer is that you would become more like Him. I pray that as women in the church (and even those outside of it) our hearts would be convicted and we would desire to dress in a way that does not cause our brothers in Christ to be tempted to sin and in a way that tells the world, "Jesus has my heart and it's resting safely in His hands."  Ladies I get that this is hard. Guys, you never will. My whole life I've battled with swimsuit shopping. Not because I can't find one that is modest enough (although that did seem to be more of a battle this year), but because I can't find one that is long enough. Words can't express the frustration I had in the Target dressing room going through small, medium and large in the same swimsuit hoping that with each size increase the suit would be longer (lesson learned: they only make them wider). I finally found an affordable one piece (affordable meaning $30.00 - guys count your blessings in that you buy a pair of water resistant shorts and you're good to go) only to learn that some guys have issues with one pieces because they show too much leg. *SIGH* I really just want to be able to purchase clothing that doesn't require a minimum of 3 layers in order to be modest. It is hard because sex, not modesty, sells. Clothes are designed to show us off - in a sense it's all the wrong moves in all the wrong places. I've gone on many shopping trips in which I've searched multiple stores for hours and went home empty handed (mom, you're my witness). As I have grown up in soul, I have realized how great God's love for me truly is and in turn He works in me to love Him more. Because of this love, I want to show grace to my brothers and dress in a way that doesn't start a battle for their hearts and souls every time they interact with or see me. I don't have this down perfect. In fact, my heart only really started to change in this area about two years ago (in my early twenties I was a rebel without a cause). Ladies and gentlemen alike, be encouraged. Know that, ". . . the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us," (Romans 8:18 ESV). Gratifying ourselves, whether it be in the way we dress or the pleasure we take from the way others dress, may seem pleasant in the moment, but it is choosing to live contrary to lifestyle of purity that we have been called to in Christ. 1 Timothy 5:22 states, " Do not be hasty in in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure," (ESV). Guys, how will you change your hearts and minds in encouraging women to dress modestly? Ladies how will you change your heart and your wardrobe to draw attention to Christ rather than yourselves? Hmmmm . . . are you thinking what I'm thinking??? All together now, "Shopping trip!!!"

 Love, Lolo

Resources:

• Lolo's Look Book
• Modesty Survey Take the pledge. Sign the petition. It says guys only . . . oops.
• What Guys Think About Modesty
• The Soul of Modesty by C.J. Mahaney 

{True} Beauty Starts in the Heart

Two weeks ago you were introduced to my personal struggle with beauty, all that it is supposed to be versus what it actually is. In Part 2 of the Real Beauty series, you will learn what it means to be truly beautiful

(which is only possible in Christ of course).

 In Proverbs 31:30 it is written, "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised," (ESV). This is only one verse, but there is so much knowledge about beauty that can be gained from it. First of all, charm is deceitful. Let's think about Eve in the Garden of Eden. She was deceived by a serpent who offered her the opportunity of becoming like God. In that moment, Eve chose sin. It seemed pleasurable at the time, but ultimately being deceived led to sin and in the end her sin had devastating consequences. If your hope is in what can be gained by good looks instead of in Christ, you are deceived and you will be left with much disappointment as well. Hope in Christ is the only hope that truly satisfies. The second lesson to be learned from Proverbs 31:30 is that beauty is vain. According to Webster's Dictionary, vain means: "Having no real value".

All this is meaningless.

      

This is definitely something to think about when you do your hair, put make up on and choose an outfit. There is nothing wrong with doing these things, but if they are done to the world's standards for the means of pleasing people, then they have no real value. Since we tend to invest so much of our time, effort, hearts and money into beauty, this should convict us to consider our priorities. Let's work on developing hearts that are focused on Christ and  not cosmetics. The third lesson from this verse is stated obviously, but it is sometimes harder to digest.
A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

What does it mean to fear the Lord? Does this mean that we should feel the same way about the Lord that we do about some horror movies? Definitely not. In this sense, to fear is to show respect and devotion. Ladies what steps are you taking in your daily lives that show you respect and are devoted to Christ? If you have more of a focus on getting ready for your day than getting ready for Christ, it's time re-evaluate your love for Him. Since making Christ a priority involves heart change, it will take time. Don't expect to wake up tomorrow and have the heart of Mary (Jesus' mother). Start small and make larger changes over time. Maybe start by reading your Bible for 5 minutes and praying for 5 minutes each day. Cultivating a Christ like heart means weeding out distractions and for some of us, this could mean time spent on our daily beauty routine. It may be hard, but it will be worth it. After all beauty will not last, but our soul will. So why not focus on making something beautiful that will be around for all eternity? My prayer is that you grow more beautiful in His grace daily because in my book (and His) sanctification is beautiful.
 Love, Lolo

Photo Credits:

Photo 1 - me :)

Photo 2

Real Beauty

This series came out of a heart that is tired of living the cultural lies. I somewhat inwardly promised myself that I would never talk about beauty on here because in a sense I feel that is has been over talked about, especially in the church community. Due to my own personal struggles with beauty, I am starting to understand why. Since beauty comes in many forms, I don't know if there is a one size fits all definition as to what beautiful actually is. What I do know is that I am tired of having standards (whether good or bad) shoved in my face. Every. Single. Day. I wish I could be free from thinking that I need to look/be a certain way to be accpeted by people and be consumed with my Heavenly Father's unconditional love and acceptane of me based on Christ's work on the cross, but the truth is, this is something I struggle with.

 If I, who am saved and loved by Jesus Christ AND have been declared free from condemnation, struggle with this I wonder how many others struggle with it as well. Thinking about beauty and the time/money that I invest in it has forced me to evaluate how much of a priority it is to me personally. I have had two thoughts flip flopping in my mind regarding beauty and confronting myself with them daily has helped me reign in the ugliness of the concept known as beauty.

The first thought is this: If you're more concerned with how ____________________ sees you than how Christ sees you, check your heart. Beauty might very well be your idol, meaning you value looks (and what you can obtain by them) more than Christ.

The second thought I have is this: Am I getting dressed for ____________________ or for Christ?

 It is true that dressing in certain ways will earn us a response, but as my dad wisely told me, "It's not the response you're looking for." For those of you who are guys, you probably don't understand all this, so let me explain. There's the desire to want to be beautiful (naturally). Most females LOVE clothes, shoes, accessories and overall fashion and that is not a problem. The problem lies with the world's standards in fashion and how those standards are in every song, on every t.v. show, in every movie and on the cover of every magazine and we are bombarded by these standards consistently. The standard is to look better, feel better, act better, live better, work harder, grow more, be better....and it never ends. We see that these cover girls are amazingly perfectly beautiful and receive so much attention and what we perceive to be as value and we want our fair share. Simple girls like ourselves can only hope that our mere means are enough to earn a spot in the heart of a man who will love us for the rest of our lives or earn us the acceptance and approval of those who surround us daily. This isn't right and that's why there is a pull which creates the battle. The battle between wanting what this world has to offer and what Christ has to offer. The battle between becoming who I am in Christ versus who the world is pressuring me to be.

 The truth is, perfection is an impossible standard. The world's ideas of beauty are a snare for the heart that chokes and eventually kills anything within us that is supposed to or could have ever been beautiful. It's time for us to take up arms and defend ourselves in the ongoing battle. It's time to discover beauty in the way that it was intended to be percieved by it's Creator. It's time to say goodbye to the lie and embrace real beauty.

 Love, Lolo