True beauty~

~On the second day of blogging, my conscience said to me,

"Are you waisting time,

And can you blog-and do it hum-bl-y?"



Answer= My time will not be wasted if I can share things that are a blessing to others.



So, for today's' encouragement, I thought I'd share a chapter on beauty that has been very helpful to me in realizing what true beauty is. This is an excerpt from the book, "Harmony for the Heart", which I received 4 years ago when I graduated from our home school high-school.



A Chapter on Beauty~
Although my waistline measures 25 inches, and I weigh 110 pounds; if I have not God's gentleness, I am not beautiful.
And though my complexion is clear, and though I have no pimples, and though my skin is smooth and tanned; if I have not God's grace, I am not beautiful.
And though my hair is neither frizzy nor greasy, and though it parts only where I want it to part; yet if I have not God's kindness, I am not beautiful.
God's beauty doesn't depend upon my appearance, for it is beauty of spirit. It is gentleness and patience. It thinks first of others; it lets a friend interrupt. God's beauty sings while it presses dresses, and smiles at the crippled neighbor. It stretches a warm touch to a hurting sister. God's beauty listens to an overwhelmed friend.
God's beauty can't be purchased. I can't buy it by the yard from a bolt of lace; neither can a store sell it in a powder can or tube of lipstick.
God's beauty never grows old. But glossy hair will turn gray and fall out. A slim waistline will grow flabby, just as pink cheeks will fade.
But God's beauty can shine on a wrinkled face and live in the clasp of a trembling hand. It can still sparkle from faded eyes.
When I was ignorant, I tried to be beautiful by myself. But, when I understood God's ways, I realized that only God's spirit within me can make me beautiful.
And I may have charm, form, and beauty, these three. But the greatest of these is God's beauty.

I'm striving for true beauty today...