Hebrews; She Brews

Thoughts are brewing as we’re studying the book of Hebrews. A book who’s writer is unknown, was written before the destruction of Jerusalem (in A.D. 70), and is written to Jewish Christians.

The verse that recently hit me so hard it compelled me to write a blog on it (after being absent from writing for over a month…) is Hebrews 2:1.
“We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”

Let me go on a tangent that will eventually connect with this verse:
What I’ve been struggling with for the last few weeks is physical beauty and how I fit into that label.

For us ladies, physical beauty is a daily concern, whether it be our chest, butt, legs, thighs, our hair, our face, smile, facial expressions, the way we chew food, our skin, eyes, even our fingers or nails.

Everything can strike up a moment of self consciousness.
Its easy enough for me to encourage another lady with her specific beauty, but you ask me to look over myself with the same perspective and its impossible for me to convince myself of the truth.

The truth is, I want to SEE physical beauty and not work towards it, cause lets face it… I’d rather be cooking, crafting, or reading rather than working out. I love biking and walking, but when it comes down to it, that’s not gonna get me the truth that I want to see.

Hearing the truth that ‘You are beautiful, because I love who you are. It doesn’t matter what your body says, your soul doesn’t change,” doesn’t make me visually see myself as ‘ideal’.

The media says that “ideal” is flat, tan, toned, and smooth. That’s my ideal for my body too. Sometimes I love my body, but lately not so much.

Then we read this Hebrews passage in church on Sunday and the Spirit just reminded me to, “pay more careful attention to what I’ve heard, so that I don’t drift away.”
Diagnosing that:

• What have I heard; that I have been healed from terrible skin conditions that caused me to not serve the Lord with my hands. My heart was scarred (and still is) by the thought of never having skin good enough to be beautiful. I was chronically fatigued due to my body’s suffering internally and my immune system fighting off what was being let in by my cracking skin externally. I was depressed.
  I HAVE BEEN HEALED. 
• How I’ve drifted; I’m spiritually poor. My lack of digging into the word, and having connection with my Lord has allowed my thoughts and heart to wander.
  I AM SPIRITUALLY POOR.
• Whenever thoughts of ‘not good enough’ ‘not pretty enough’ ‘not muscular enough’ or ‘not elegant enough’ step in to play, it usually means that the spiritual definition of beauty has gone away because spiritual disconnect has occurred.
  I AM DISCONNECTED
• How do I fix this? Well, recognizing disconnect is probably the first step to spiritual healing. Because you must PAY ATTENTION. 

God healed me. He led me to the resources to figure out the cause of my atopic dermatitis and now, I believe, He gifted me that pain to enter into a field of healing others.

PAY ATTENTION: DON’T FORGET WHAT YOU HAVE HEARD, BEEN SAVED BY, OR RESCUED FROM. DO NOT DRIFT AWAY, BUT REMIND YOURSELF OF WHAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER OTHERS, BECAUSE THE FACT IS: LIFE ISN’T ABOUT YOU.

Hebrews 2:18 “Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.”

Your circumstances are given to you to help others through theirs.

Viewing Beauty In Others

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As the sun rises and I know that after eating breakfast with Mi Amor I’ve got the day to myself, I try to do at least ONE crafty or kitcheny thing to keep my juices flowing.
Today, after making a cork board out of wine corks and calling my mom, I was off and out of the house for the rest of the afternoon until four.
This indian summer is just making my life SO good, perfectly sunny and cool enough to not have you sweating up a storm.
I biked north west today.

To start off I went to the overlook at Coit park and then on to a few other look out points down on the city by the water. Along the roads where I was biking, I stopped at any little shoppe’s I was interested in. {and for this specific reason, I left all money at home} I found some good spots and revisited old ones; Metal Art Studio {beautiful and gorgeous, just like the owner} Minty Keen {a vintage collection} 6.25 Paper Studio, Wolverine Shoes, Blue Boutique, and a few other stores that are in this little complex together.

Amidst my walking and biking, I did stop to lay in the sun and read my book, eat a granola bar and rehydrated. It was a good pause but I honestly felt like I could fall asleep, I was so cozy!

I did some people watching all the while, just taking in people’s personalities as they present it in their clothing. The varieties, I wish I would’ve taken pictures! We are such interesting creatures in so many ways.
From men in long trench coats with chains, business suits, or skinny jeans and cardigan to the woman who wears high heels while walking her dog, the one who showcases Gucci and New York & Company, and she who sits watching them in her leather bracelets, sweater and scarf.

Our presentation of ourselves is so important to who we are TO ourselves as well as to others.
Personally, I see such great hair, beautiful bodies, perfect accessories and perfect balance of our color spectrum, it just depresses me sometimes knowing that I’m not like that. Why do we talk down about ourselves? Why do we compare? Is this just a woman thing, because I feel like we complain the most about our appearances…
This spiral of what beauty is and if we can be described as that, it really taunts women every day. Is it long silky hair? Tan, smooth skin? Curly eyelashes? Plump lips? Long, slim legs? A stomach that doesn’t flow into a muffin top? Curly or Straight? Blonde or Brunette? Dark, mysterious eyes, or bright reflective ones? White teeth? Precision make-up? Talent of apparel matching?
It can go into that too, talent, I mean. Is it the ability to sing/play music/paint/write/bake/taste/craft/plant/capture/decorate/sort/etc…?
Why can’t we see our own worth? Why do we see it in other’s?

Its sorta like my bike ride today…
A city is just like any other, until you take the time to explore the personality and little life in the nooks and crannies. When you have a place that is your favorite to eat, or relax, or meet up with friends…that becomes familiar. Sometimes, I think we become too familiar with ourselves…too used to us…we don’t see what makes us shine anymore. Voice your opinions of the ones you admire, what is it that makes them ‘beautiful’…reflecting goodness and light. Remind them that they shine.
When you first move to a city, you feel like you would miss out if you never went anywhere apart from home to work and the grocery store. When we explore and see the availability and potential of spaces and nature and scenery, we get this calm; peace inside us that invites us to just stop and stare awhile. That need to appreciate should happen with the people around us too.
Stop trying to always be in another place. Leave your phone at home, seriously. Write a note or tell a person where you are and leave. Take a book to write in or a camera to capture some cool stuff you see.
After you write down some beauty or findings, go back and review them.
Take this exercise and apply it to encouraging a friend; look closely at the life they’ve allowed you to see. Do you see something that you admire? What is redeeming or inspiring or motivating about them? Let them know by a sweet note or in an unexpected way.

{Mi Amor}: I admire your humility and the way you view the world. You are the most amazing mind I’ve met, the way you perceive the composition of color and art always intrigues me. I will never stop asking for your opinion because I know it’ll always enlighten me and give me a better perspective on the issue.  The humility you have draws me to reflect the same.

{Mom}: You’re always giving: time, resources, words, and gifts. I love these acts because it shows your service and thoughtfulness and unselfish motivation.

{Rizo}: The fact that you are so excited to hang out with me just gives me joy. I love the way that your mind never ceases to amaze me. You are always full of thoughts and I never get bored with hearing them. Your friendship means the world to me.

{Lizzie}: Even though states separate us, the connectedness we share through our sisterhood is strong. I admire your mercy for others, you’ve taught me a lot about caring for those who are easy to overlook.

{Dad}: Your endless endurance and perseverance in everything you do inspires me. You are so determined to finish the race, and you’re picking up people and helping them all the while. You’ve always been my motivator.

{Josh}: The simple fact that you are always drawn to the outcast is something I wish I payed more attention to when we were growing up. You set an awesome example of looking out for the least of these.

My list can go on and on, and frankly, I sorta want to…this is gonna be my new challenge to myself!

Give people a reason to see the importance of their life and the beauty that they give.