As a woman, I’ve fallen into the trap we women (and men too) can so easily fall into.
Wishing my hair was thicker, my skin was tanner, my nose was straighter.
At every turn, we’re bombarded with the world’s definition of beauty.
Whether it’s the airbrushed models or actresses we see on the covers of magazines. The commercials and the ads and the billboards proclaiming quick fixes to acne or cellulite or dark circles or any other possible “flaw” a person should really hurry up and hide. Or Victoria’s Secret absolutely ridiculous “perfect body” campaign.
Seriously?
That is a flat-out impossible standard for probably 98% of women in this world. But I guess if Victoria says it, it must be true, right?
Somewhere in the midst of all that noise and all those lies, we lose our compass.
Instead of looking up to see what our Creator has to say about us, we look around and fall into the horrible, dreaded trap of comparison, which inevitably leads to the road marked “not good enough”.
We forget that He formed us in our mother’s womb. We forget that we are a reflection of Him.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. ~Psalm 139:14
We so easily diss HIS creation. HIS masterpiece. You. Me. Us.
I really think we have this idea of beauty all wrong. Messed up. Out of whack.
Which is why I’m so excited about this FACEme tour today, organized by a couple of my author friends.
A day when we take off the makeup and we celebrate beauty. REAL beauty. Which ALL of us have.
In this day and age of selfies, where let’s be honest, we take twenty shots in search for the best angle and the most flattering light, I have a series of selfies that is by far, my favorite. I’m not wearing make up. I don’t have my contacts in. I’m still in my pajamas and I’m sure I hadn’t even brushed my teeth yet. They were taken over a month ago, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where my daughter lives.
I look at these pictures and I see beauty.
In her.
In me.
Because love is beautiful and SHE makes me a more beautiful person. That is real. That is something that can’t be airbrushed or filtered. That is something that will never fade.
That is something, God-willing, I will get to teach her some day.
Today, as you hop around to the various blog posts celebrating beauty, which are all listed at the bottom of this post, I hope God whispers words of love and affection and healing to your heart. I hope He shows you how beautiful you really are.
All of us participating in the #FACEme blog tour are posting selfies without makeup or filters or perfect lighting. The name of the game is celebrating the natural beauty God’s given each of us.
This is me. And God calls me beautiful.
He calls you the same.
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A #FACEme Giveaway!
In celebration of this inspiring #FACEme tour, I’m giving away a copy of my most recent novel, A Broken Kind of Beautiful, which is all about this tricky thing we call beauty. There are several ways to enter. Just click on the options below and enter as many ways as you’d like! I hope Ivy’s story ministers to you!
Fashion is a fickle industry, a frightening fact for twenty-four year old model Ivy Clark. Ten years in and she’s learned a sacred truth—appearance is everything. Nobody cares about her broken past as long as she looks beautiful for the camera. This is the only life Ivy knows—so when it starts to unravel, she’ll do anything to hold on. Even if that means moving to the quaint island town of Greenbrier, South Carolina, to be the new face of her stepmother’s bridal wear line—an irony too rich for words, since Ivy is far from the pure bride in white.
If only her tenuous future didn’t rest in the hands of Davis Knight, her mysterious new photographer. Not only did he walk away from the kind of success Ivy longs for to work maintenance at a local church, he treats her differently than any man ever has. Somehow, Davis sees through the façade she works so hard to maintain. He, along with a cast of other characters, challenges everything Ivy has come to believe about beauty and worth. Is it possible that God sees her—a woman stained and broken by the world—yet wants her still?
To order A Broken Kind of Beautiful, scroll down to the buy links at the bottom of this page.
Bloggers who are joining the #FACEme tour today:
- Nick Kording: http://nickkording.com/thoughts/
- Lindsay Harrel: http://www.lindsayharrel.com
- Joseph Courtemanche: http://www.commotioninthepews.com
- Gabrielle Meyer: http://www.gabriellemeyer.com
- Jaime Wright: http://coffeecupsandcamisoles.blogspot.com
- Carrie Wisehart: http://www.carriewisehart.com
- Emilie Anne Hendryx: http://eahendryx.blogspot.com
- Andrea ‘Dia’ Nell: http://andrea-michelle-wood.blogspot.com/
- Sarah Baker: http://godbooksandchocolate.blogspot.com/?m=1
- Kristy Cambron: http://www.kristycambron.com
- Rachel Britz: http://www.rachelbritz.com
- Cara Putman: http://www.caraputman.com
- Stacy Monson: http://www.Landof10000words.wordpress.com
- Laurie Tomlinson: http://www.laurietomlinson.com
- Katherine Reay : http://www.katherinereay.com
A free short story I wrote a few years ago about a little girl who thinks she’s ugly: His Masterpiece
Tell me one thing that’s beautiful about YOU!
Thank you Katie! Getting 12 7th grade girls together this Saturday to talk abou this very issue. God defines beauty — don’t let the world try to define it for you because it will always sell you short and leave you feeling less than you are! Beautiful as a child of the King!
Two of my fave verses that I have taped up to my bathroom mirror are Psalms 139:14 and Ephesians 2:10 – For we are God’s MASTERPIECE! The pictures of all involved in this face.me challenge are all precious and priceless masterpieces! Thanks for such an uplifting post!
You are beautiful inside and out.
Love your pics, you both look so happy. Pray that everything will work in Go’s timing. Your post was very thought provoking. Thank you for that.
Sorry, didn’t read good enough. I never did love to much about myself, time has changed that. I have always loved that my fingers were so agile for piano playing, typing, shorthand, tatting, sewing, crocheting, knitting and a lot more crafts. And now, my RA is hitting me in the only place left, my hands.
I love your post Katie! And those pictures with your daughter are beautiful!
I actually started a couple years ago, when I was seriously struggling with self image, finding something positive about myself to focus on, instead of always looking in the mirror and listing my perceived faults. My favorite thing about me, physically, are my eyes. I love my hazel eyes, which lean more toward green most of the time, but are a brownish gold around the pupil and are slightly blue around the edges. I used to laugh when in a book the author would say that a character had expressive eyes, but have found that I actually do. 🙂
Thanks for a very thought provoking post!
LOVE that Sarah! Both you and your eyes sound very beautiful! 🙂
What a wonderful post, Katie, celebrating the beauty of Christ in us! Continuing to pray that your precious daughter will come home to your family soon.
Love this post, Katie. I think of you and your daughter often. Still praying! xo
Katie, I think those photos say it all. Beauty is love, laughter, joy, the freedom to just be. Thanks for sharing your words and your heart.
I’ve never felt I was beautiful in the traditional sense. Now that I’m older, I concentrate more on having a beautiful inner spirit and letting that shine through my smile and kind words. I admire you and the other authors for showing your real selves, which ARE beautiful. Thanks for the chance to win your book.
Thanks for sharing Katie – I thought about some of the same things while I was writing my post. So easy to fall into the trap that we need to always look our best (got to get the perfect selfie angle, right? haha). It’s awesome to take part in this and remember what’s true – we are beautiful only in Him. <3
Searching for the perfect selfie reminds me of the I Love Lucy episode where Lucy and Ethel take at least 25 or more pictures of themselves looking for a perfect picture for their passport photo.
Yes, yes, YES!!!! His creation. His masterpiece is us! I love it. And the pics of beauty, of smiles and hugs shared between mother and daughter… I’m moved by your beautiful heart, friend!
What a wonderful post. I always wanted to foster or adopt but never was able to. I have a nephew who was adopted, so I know the bond. Your daughter is so beautiful, as are you! Thanks for sharing this valuable message!!
I love that God uses children to show His truth – to see us and others as He does. Thanks for sharing your real beauty.
Absolutely beautiful, Katie. Thank you for sharing yourself and your gorgeous daughter with us!
I love to hear your story about your little girl. It took us many years to adopt our too. We did ours though the foster care system and told them we wanted some that were eligible to be adopted. The set us up with a family. We have 3 siblings. They are now 9, 7,and 6. I feel your pain the. Mom took off with the little one and we did not get her till she was 18 months. So when we tell people that they are siblings and we got the 9 year old at 2 years and 7year old at a day old and the 6 year old as a 18 month old they just give us looks like how. They are so adorable they don’t look like us. So we get the questions and sometimes I will just cover their ears and shake my head and say they don’t know they are adopted. Which of corse they do it took 3 years to adopt each one. My oldest will roll her eyes and we will keep going.
Thank you Katie for this much needed post. I, too, believe that all people are beautiful because God created us. The pictures of you and your daughter as precious. I keep praying that she gets to come home to you and your family. I, too, would look at pictures of models in Seventeen magazine as a teenager and wished I had a body like them. It is really sad that our society only shows models that are a size 2 when in reality most of us will never be that image.
awesome!!!
Huge tears this morning. The fierce mama love in you is so, so beautiful. Makeup can’t even touch it. And the love S has for you…I’ve said it before and I’ll say again that she is breathtaking. <3 <3 <3
A wonderful post. I love it. Beauty comes from the inside. Loved the book. I think all young women should read it. Thank you for sharing.
Those photos are precious! I cannot wait for your girl to come home where she belongs.
I love how your book fits so perfectly into this theme. It’s so true. God’s creation is beautiful…why do we try to fix it?
And you know what makes those pics of you and S soooo beautiful? The pure joy radiating from both of you. Joy that springs from deep within. Joy that God put there. Love, love, love it.
I posted earlier, before I read you wanted us to post something beautiful about ourselves. I’ve always been told I have beautiful eyes. I’ve often struggled with the rest of me. That is why I find your post so refreshing. I pray that God is working on my inner-beauty and that someday others can see His radiance shine through me.
I was going to say I needed this today, but in reality, don’t I need this every day? I’m so quick to lose sight of being made in the image of my Creator when my hair doesn’t look right or my outfit doesn’t quite match my Pinterest inspiration.
Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well! – that’s me!
Thanks for doing this. How refreshing. I LOVE the pics of you with your daughter. She is so beautiful. I hope things soon work for her to be in her home with you and the rest of her family. Can’t wait to hear about the adventures then and what all God will teach her through you.
Awesome, awesome, awesome!! Love this, especially the pictures of you and your daughter. We’re God’s creation. We’re beautiful.
Love this, Katie. You and your daughter are so beautiful. Praying she comes home soon….In answer to your question, I used to hate my eyes but I’m finally seeing them like God and my husband does: pure chocolate:)
As a mother with a daughter who has skin that’s pure chocolate, I can assure you that is one of the most beautiful colors in the WORLD!
I love the 3rd selfie, where she’s looking up at you. Praying the Lord openes the door for her to come home with you.,
It’s so sad hwo society puts those unrealistic ideas in young girls heads. It stilck with us all our lives.
Thanks for those prayers, Ane!
And you are so right. I remember looking at those Victoria’s Secret catalogs when I was in high school and wishing more than anything that I could look like them. It’s really sad.
I love my hair! A great head of hair is one thing I was blessed with=)
Love that, Patty!
Great post, Katie. Those amazing photos of you and your little girl had me tearing up!
Thanks, Kara!
Great post!
Thanks Irene!