You are Beautiful!!--Crown of Beauty

Hey girls! Today I want to share with you a problem that is very dear to my heart...the problem of media making girls feel no self worth. As a Christian I believe that no matter what the media tells you, you are beautiful!! As Christians and women I believe that it is important for us to tell other they have worth and to stop living behind the shield of media and what they tell you is beauty, because their wrong!

The Crown of Beauty Magazine, is am online magazine that is focused on helping Christian women know that they have worth and that they are beautiful and that the world can not define what beauty is. It's a magazine that I'm so excited to share with you about! Here's a brief summary of what the Crown of Beauty Magazine is all about by Livy, the editor of the magazine.

Unless you've been living in a cave for the past fifteen years of your life, or dwell on an Amish farm out in the hilly countryside, you've probably noticed the way in which the media has a special gift for making girls feel ugly and inadequate. We've all suffered through those nauseating T.V.
advertisements in which an underwear model poses, pursing her pouty lips, as her hair blows wildly from a fan. After watching such ads I roll my eyes and try not to laugh. I mean, how lame do the marketers think that I am?! (It's like those drug advertisements that list the deadly side effects, such as hearing loss or your nose falling off, while they show happy old couples flying kites, and walking puppy dogs.)

I'm sure you've picked up on the trend in many teen magazines. The words on the glossy cover shout, “Boost Your Self-Confidence! Six Tips To Loving Yourself!” Yet by the time you flip to page ten, you've already seen a dozen perfect faces and bodies posing for makeup advertisements, which drained away all confidence you were hoping to get from their pep-talk article.

 Every girl has noticed what's going on. We're not immune to it. But have we ever recognized what's going on around us as a targeted attack on our beauty as females?

The sickening plot has been dreamt up, and skillfully executed by the enemy of our souls, Satan. He has always hated girls. Ever since the Garden of Eden, he has been attacking Eve and his daughters with lies that spew like fire out of his dragon mouth.

The purpose of this disgusting scheme is to convince God's chosen daughters that they are worthless. The familiar scenery of the hour we live in, the set on this stage, and the cast of characters in this story remind me of what unfolded in Esther's day. Esther’s story is a dramatic tale that all of us love. An ordinary, average, orphan girl was called to play a magnificent role in the Kingdom, and God used her to release her entire generation from destruction. Just like Esther you were called into the kingdom for such a time as this.

Girl, your adrenaline-pumping, high-action, story of greatness is unfolding. You living in the midst of this BEAUTY-saturated generation for a purpose, and that purpose is not to remain silent and be destroyed. There is no need for fear because we know how this story ends. The victory is not in jeopardy, it already belongs to Christ. He is calling you to walk with Him into this adventure.

Will you join your Christian sisters and discover what's going on behind-the-scenes in the modeling industry, Hollywood, the media, and cosmetic companies? Many of these avenues have added insult to injury , as thousands of young girls just don't feel like they measure up. Discover the unique role that we have as young women in combating this attack on our generation! You have been given a powerful influence and are called to play a meaningful role. Be both challenged and encouraged in this powerful new recourse for Christian girls, an online magazine, Crown of Beauty Magazine. Crown of Beauty is releasing their first FULL downloadable issue on Friday November 1st, 2013! This issue includes articles and interviews with some wonderful young women! Including, Jenny Simmons of Addison Road, Sarah Ross from Everlife, Rachel Lee Carter author of Modeling Christ, and Kylie Busitti, a former Victoria's Secret Model, who walked away from her glamorous career to obey God's call and be an example for girls everywhere! Recommended for teen girls ages 13+.

If you decide you’d like to order The Beauty Issue, it costs $4.99. Now, this is the first time we’ve charged anything to our readers, but this issue took a lot of hard work & it’s totally jam-packed! But if you don’t want to purchase anything...no worries! We have lots of free content on our site! http://www.crownofbeautymagazine.com/

xo
Livy

Thanks so much Livy!

Make sure to check out the Crown of Beauty Magazine! It is brand new and full of beauty tips and tricks and advice for living a Christ centered life!

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H54F: Kingdom

Happy Friday! I'm out of town right now at camp but here are five highs from last week.

1. I was asked to be a Bible study leader for camp and I have had so much fun studying for my lessons and learning more about God's goodness.

2. Fixed my hair by doing a french twist. It turned out super cute!

3. Just taking pictures of my neighbors horses. They are adorable and I wish I had one!

4. Me and my two youngest sibling doing funny pictures on the way home from church.

5. I read Dee Henderson's book An O'Malley Love Story: Jenifer. If you haven't read this series I highly recommend it! I really enjoyed all the books.

Hope you have a great weekend!

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Long Island, New York Recap Part 2

Here is part two of my awesome trip to New York! If you haven't seen part 1, go Here.

Day 4: Tuesday, June 25

Just hanging out with the kids as we bag bookmarks. That was one of my favorite crafts.

 After a long day of hanging with kids we had a little chill time and headed to the beach to relax. It was way to cold to swim but I still had fun.

Just getting buried alive, no big deal.

Day 5: Wednesday, June 26

We got our group picture on Wednesday. These kids are so cute!

Later in the evening we headed for the Tanger Outlet Malls and did a little shopping. I had to take a picture of this in the bathroom. I don't think I ever want to try a chewable toothbrush.

I will never understand why they had a machine to get sour drps from or crazy lip balms. This stuff must only be sold in New York.

Day 6: Thursday, June 27

This was by far my favorite day. I got to pray with a little girl name Erin to accept Jesus into her heart and I swear I was giddy for the rest of the day.

 Just a little sidewalk art.

 They drew all of their friends. My favorite drawing was of course, me.

 Everyday we had two recs and still these kids had energy to spare. We played some fun games of tag, basketball, volleyball and swung on the swing.

You know, just a little freeze tag. These kids were really good at this game.

The theme verse of the week, 2 Timothy 1:7. I'm still reciting this verse whenever I'm scared or feel need a reminder of God's love for me.

Our schedule for the day. I was a part of music, but I love rec time and craft time.

The basketball goal was a favorite place of the guys and some of the girls all week. We had some up and coming basketball stars.

The two trusty 15 passenger vans that took us to Discover Church. Our church was about 30-45 mins from Crossroads church which was our base church where another group from my church led VBS there.

So many good memories were made at Discover Church that I'm not going to forget. After cleaning up for VBS we headed out back to Crossroads for the last time.

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H54F: Witnessing

Happy Friday! This week and last week have just been so much fun! I got to go on a mission trip in New Orleans and make lots of memories and impact the lives of those affected by Katrina.

Here are the 5 highs of my week. It was actually really hard trying to pick just 5 highs from my week because I had so many.

1. I got to meet a cute little puppy that was being pushed in a stroller. I have to say that is pretty smart but weird to push your puppy in a stroller.

2. Got to eat beignets in New Orleans at Cafe Du Monde.

3. There was a french themed dog show going on while I was in New Orleans and all the dogs were dressed up so nice, but this poodle was my favorite.

4. Found this little piece of truth in a store in New Orleans.

5. Was so excited that I got to go to the Cafe Du Monde. It was seriously packed!

Hope your week was awesome too!

Long Island, New York Recap Part 1

I got to go to New York at the end of June with my church and we were able to lead two VBS camps at two churches in New York. It was an awesome time filled with new information on how unreached the people of New York are from God. I enjoyed the trip so much and am so glad I was able to go and be a light to others in New York.

Day 1: Saturday, June 22

We headed out to New York. We had over 50 people from my church go, so the plane ride was very entertaining with lots of laughs, games and bathroom breaks. I kid you not, every time I looked at the bathroom someone from my church was in line to use it.

 Flying over New York City was just breathtaking. You can seriously get some awesome pictures from just flaying over NYC.

Central Park at its finest from the air.

As we landed we saw this cute little welcome sign for us. It would have been cool if they had just put it there for us.

While we were in New York we got to see the super moon on Sunday and Monday. It was so big and and beautiful!

Day 2: Sunday, June 23

On Sunday I had the opportunity to lead a church in worship. I got to see first hand that not many people go to church in New York. It was sad to see that although I go to a church that averages a couple thousands each Sunday, New York churches have from 5-200 people in attendance.

 I really enjoyed leading worship on Sunday and was so inspired by the pastors sermon on being more Christ like and not being afraid to share God's love to others.

After that service we headed to Starbucks and then to Crossroads Church to listen to the sermon there.

After church we ate lunch and headed out to pass out flyers for kids camp/ VBS that we were having at Discover Church.  We got a couple feet pics too just for the fun of it.

See that converse in between those to orange shoes. That was me. I totally photo bombed just to be different.

Day 3: Monday, June 24

We had our first day of VBS. Since most people don't go to church and we had no kids signed up we expected 5-7 kids. We got 17! It was so awesome and an answer to prayer to have so many kids.

This is my crazy face right before we started VBS for the day.

The end of part 1 of my trip to New York. I would love it if you continued to pray for Crossroads Church, Discover Church, and Ecclessia Church as they continue to be a light for God in a place where there are so many unreached people. Also I would love it if you prayed for Erin and Dylan the girl and boy who accepted Jesus into their hearts at VBS.

Polluted by the World

 Hi y’all! My name is Taylor and a blog over at Live and Move. My blog is for the girl who isn’t sure where she’s going but knows she wants to enjoy getting there. I post a little of everything: photography, fashion, DIYs, and my own musings. I’d love if you gave it a look!

When Caroline asked me to guest blog, I wasn’t sure what to share! Then, I thought that the best route was to share a little bit of what God placed on my heart this week.

If you’re a Christian, there are those verses that you know to the point that either 1) they lose all meaning or 2) you feel like the meaning is set in stone and you can move on. That’s how I felt
about James 1:27 until this week, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is
this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted
by the world.” This verse is used by a lot of nonprofits. They often leave off the second part of
the verse. I kind of forgot it existed.

I’m doing a book study with a friend this summer and it mentioned this verse. The second part
really impacted us. “And to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” For us at least,
allowing ourselves to be polluted by the world lessened our ability to look after orphans and
widows. The world is all about growing, climbing, being known at a major level. Helping the
least of these doesn’t often fit in with those worldly goals.

Sometimes I get frustrated with myself for not doing more for the kingdom. Now, instead of signing up for something new right away, I’m going to be introspective and “de-pollute.” I’ll ask myself (and God) what’s important to me at the moment and to change my heart if necessary. Social justice and caring for the least of these will be inevitable when I begin, once again, to value the right things.

Have you heard this verse before? I’m curious to know if you, too, overlooked the second part. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Spirit of Power, Love and Sound Judgement

Last week I had the opportunity to lead VBS in Long Island New York and a new church. The verse for the week was 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment. Even though I was leading the VBS, I learned that fear doesn't come from God and that he gives me a spirit of sound mind, power and love. It really helped me last week as I worked in an area where not many people believe in God or go to church. Since the church I worked at was fairly new we were only expecting a couple kids but we had over 17!! It was so mind blowing to have that many kids and none of the kids/ families even went to the church, so they were all brand new and my church group was so excited that we had the opportunity to plant the seed of God's love into the their hearts and to introduce them to a nurturing church.

One of the most exciting parts of the week was the last day. For the last day we gave the kids the opportunity to stay behind after morning worship to talk to a counselor if they wanted to accept Christ, and one of the girls, Erin, who was 8 stayed behind and asked me to help her pray to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior. I was so happy she had asked me and know that God knew that I needed to go on this trip to New York before I did. A boy named Dylan who was 10 also asked Jesus to be his Lord and Savior and I'm so happy that I will see them both in heaven! I'm hoping that I'll be able to visit New York again and do more mission work. I had the best time at this mission trip and really felt God by my side the whole week.

 After my week in New York I have learned so much and am so excited for the work God has ahead of me! I'm so glad God gave me a spirit of power, love and sound judgement and NOT of fear.

Encouraging Words {Isaiah}

via

So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.

 Isaiah 28:16

One thing that never changes in the world is the fear and struggles that we as humans face. Over the past few month the Boston Marathon bombing, riots in Turkey, and murders all over the globe show just a portion of what we as human beings face in the world. We go through hurt, loss of loved ones and pain, but in all the worlds suffering, God claims in Isaiah 28.16 that if we trust in him, he will be our cornerstone. God knew we were going to face suffering on earth and he promises in his word that he will always be there. Don't forget that he is your cornerstone, your sure foundation no matter what you face.

 via

Hillsong wrote a song that perfectly shares that God is our cornerstone, our rock and protector. So, even though we live in a world full of fear, hurt and loss, God is always with us and we only need to call on him and he will help us and remind us he's our cornerstone.

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