Newlyweds ♥: "Beauty" Defined

No wonder so many American girls, even grown women fall into the lie that this is what true beauty is [see video above]. Magazines, television shows, and advertisements tell us how we should look and what we should wear in order to be "beautiful." As Christian women, we need to learn to embrace our inner beauty and that confidence will reflect just as much on the outside. NOBODY could ever live up to the standard that Hollywood has set for American women. I myself have bought into this lie that outer beauty is all that matters, and it is something that I struggle with daily. Everybody has flaws, but we need to embrace the good inside each of us. Even runway models will tell you that they have flaws, and they try to take peoples' attention off those flaws by embracing their positive features! Models are not perfect, and shows like America's Nest Top Model pour lies and lies into our minds. They make it seem like the girls on that show are the underdogs that make it, when in all reality, they are just 5 inches taller than everyone else and the rest of them is photoshopped. Anyone can learn to walk like a runway model, you just have to have 5 inches on everyone else, a good photo editor, and you're all set. Take a look at what I mean ...

Even "TOP MODELS" have to be photoshopped. What does that tell you? We have such an unrealistic expectation of ourselves, and when we don't match up to what we're "supposed" to look like, we get all depressed and start extreme dieting and exercising like we're going to be in the upcoming Olympics. Look at the pictures below. These are B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L women without all the glam. So instead of focusing on our outward appearance, I challenge you to look on the inside just as Christ does.

Proverbs 31:30 - "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting: but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

1Peter 3:3-4- "Let your beauty not be external – the braiding of hair and wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes – but the inner person of the heart, the lasting beauty of a gentle and tranquil spirit, which is precious in God’s sight."

1 Samuel 16:7 - "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

To me, THIS is beautiful