IN REAL LIFE

ISN'T SHE LOVELY?

Really? Seriously? Could Maeryn BE any more pink and ruffly? I mean, right down to the shoes! (I gotta get me some of those . . .) 

Actually, what I see when I look at this picture is not the outfit. Okay, I lied -- it's hard to MISS the outfit -- but once I get past that what STICKS with me is the expression on her face. She's just so pleased, and not with the ruffles and bows but with her mom. She always looks at her mommy with so much adoration, it breaks your heart. I'll get back to that in a minute.

Earlier today, when I was listening to 60's rock in the car (my guilty pleasure) I heard an old song by Stevie Wonder where he sings, "Isn't she lovely?" For the first time (and I know I've heard this piece a bajillion times at least) I was struck by that word "lovely", and the fact that its root word is "love." When we say someone looks "lovely", we literally mean that she is "in the manner of love" just as "sweetly" means "in the manner of sweetness." Before you get any more confused, what I'm saying is that when we are acting in love, when we are broadcasting love, when we are "in the manner of love", we are lovely. Whether we're ensconced in ruffles or are carefully made-up or happen to be having an amazing hair day, our true loveliness comes from the love we're showing.

Maeryn loves her mom. Adores her. Looks at no one else the way she gazes at Marijean. And I have to say that my daughter (the mommy in question) has never looked more beautiful in her life than she does right now, as a mother.
What I'm thinking is that if we gaze at the people we love that way, not only will we be our loveliest, but they will, too. And the ultimate expression of that is when we're just plain loving the ultimate parent, our God, our Father. No matter how heinous your outfit or how horrible your hair day, people will look at you and think, isn't she lovely?

That's what we talked about all last weekend on our beauty retreat, which, by the way, was a completely amazing experience and I loved every minute of it. I'll be recapping that in Monday's post, as well as posting a scrapbook of the high points. For now, let's consider how "lovely" you can be between now and then.

    *Who could you look at in love that, frankly, you now take for granted?

    * What quietly loving thing could you do for somebody who's pretty hard to love? (I just realized that Jesus's first direct reference to love in the Gospel according to Matthew was to say, "Love your enemies.")

    * Who would be surprised to hear the words, "I love you," coming from your lips?

Give it a try. Tell us what happens. I think it will be lovely.

 

Blessings,

Nancy Rue   

   

A Winner Among Winners

Here is Judge Crystal's decision, which is beautiful in itself:

"Wow, this was the hardest contest of all! 

I decided to read all the poems out loud, one by one.  There were so many great lines in them...and some of them made me smile, some made me tear up.  What a tough world, and how much hope there is with these beautiful ladies.

The one that whispered to me today though was Sylvi!'s line...
"and sat down to pray".
It caught my heart by surprise, and I love that.
So today, she gets my vote. "

 

I have a very large lump in my throat as we end our weekend retreat. This has been an even more meaningful thing than I imagined.

That's God for you, isn't it?

Ladies, let's  now put on the full armor of light and go out into the world, rejoicing in the power of the SPirit that has made us beautiful.

Okay . . . I'm crying.

I love you all.

(Ooh, and SYLVI! Your "prize" is an email exchange between us so we can be prayer partners for a week.)

 

When you hit those "obstacles"

You may have been wondering who has been judging the sandwiches and the chocolate concoctions and the poems. It's my dear friend Crystal, pictured here. She is one of the most beautiful woman I know. Crystal has a brain tumor, which she's been dealing with for a while. When she has to have chemotherapy, her hair falls out. She jokes that one day she was driving and an eyebrow just flew out the car window. She jokes. And she laughs. And she prays. And she reaches out to people. And she comes here to join us and read your poems and your recipes and your wisdom. She is my friend, and a more beautiful woman you'd be hard put to find.

I think each of you would also be beautiful if you had to face being bald or anything else that might mar your physical appearance. I really believe that, because of what you've shown this weekend. SO as we list the obstacles that are sure to come your way as you venture out to carry out your plan, remember Crystal, and remember you.   

Catch up as much as you want . .

Yes, Nicole, and everyone -- respond to whichever posts you want to. It's all happening pretty fast. In fact -- we've hit the deadline for getting your poems in -- so judges , get your answer ready!

What's going to try to mess that up (your plan, not your bun!)

Your plans are truly wonderful and doable and godly. Let's continue to be honest, though, and look at what is going to come along and try to mess the whole thing up.

Will it be other people? An absurd little brother? A group of girls at your dance studio? The billboard you have to pass every time you leave your house?

Let's make a list so we can be ready . . .

Stray hairs . . .

Your honesty is filling my heart -- both because I think you're really getting a clearer picture now -- and because you've had to live in a world that makes it so hard for you to accept yourselves. VERONICA's "Today I even made sure there was the right amount of extra stray hair around my face" really hits that one on the head, doesn't it? We have to make sure even the imperfections are perfectly imperfect. We're going to go there next: What's going to try to mess with our plan? Stay tuned.

You Can't Delete Yourself

ABBIE and I think it was VERONICA? EMMA KATE? EMILEE? ANyway, somebody said they will let someone take their picture, and then they look at it and say, "Delete that!"

Um . .  ladies ... you can't delete yourself. And why on EARTH would you want to. Becuase you don't look perfect -- whatever the sam hill that is.

I have a very good friend who runs a photography studio. She says the worst part of her job is when people come in to pick out their photos and all they can do is critique themselves. And it's always the prettiest people who do it. SHe feels like she needs to sit down and counsel all of them!

Remember that, will you, my lovelies? 

THe MEssy Bun!

Doesn't that just say it all, KATE(S)?

"Is my messy bun messy enough or is it too messy?"

I love that! Even "messy" has to be perfect!

(BTW, EMMA KATE -- We're going to do a FALL RETREAT!)

Yes, Let Them Take Your Picture!

Therese, I was really captured by your comment that you're going to let people take your picture instead of putting your hand in front of your face. My great-nephew is a great teacher -- we should all go back to believing that inside of us we are as cute as we can possibly be! I do like that as a mini-step. In fact, I'm going to stop saying that I hate having my picture taken and just SMILE!

 

Mini-Steps!

I love that, *Rachel* -- let's call them

"mini-steps"

Your example is SPOT-ON

because making these changes takes being very intentional and conscious.

This is HARD WORK!

But, then, we work pretty hard on that mascara, don't we?