True beauty.

Beautiful... What comes to mind when you hear that word? What about when someone says it to you? I'm sure [and I am just assuming at the moment] that you think of perfect hair and teeth, just the right figure and face, flawless skin, da da da da da. It's all physical features when that word comes to mind, correct?

Well, what about beauty of the soul? Or beauty of the heart? In scripture it says,
"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearence, but the Lord looks at the heart." It basically says that God looks at how we are on the inside and not the outside, like the world does. That body without blemish? It doesn't matter to Him. He loves us whether we have acne or not, split ends or no split ends, if our teeth are crooked or straight -- it does not matter to the Lord.

Why do we care about how we look? Because we listen to what man says: "Get this and you'll be wrinkle-free!" "Wear this and everyone will love you!" "Only this hair-dye will make your hair absolutely ravishing!" And the list goes on and on...

How long will those things last? Temporarily. Your hair color will change and fade out, those clothes will go out-of-style, and your wrinkles are still going to be there when you're eighty-something years old.

So what kind of beauty really does last? That of the heart and soul. God tells us time and time again that our outer adornments do not matter, but rather what He sees on the inside.
"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 Peter 3:3&4

"There could never be more beautiful you."

Regarding anxiety, worry, the like.

I have been worrying. A lot. Probably because of CIS classes and homecoming week. My point is, worrying discourages me. I get sad, frustrated, upset, *STRESSED*... It's not good. But I came across these verses today:

"Seek first God's kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well. So don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough troubles of its own." - Matthew 6: 33 & 34

Man oh man have I been blinded by my worry... But this lifted that veil from my eyes. God wants us to seek His kingdom and what He wants-- not ourselves, not what we want. He wants us to trust him and give Him all of our worries (also 1 Peter 5:7). How amazing is that? God, who sent His one and only Son to die for us, who bore all of the wrong that we did, have done, or will do-- He wants our worries! All of our cares, all of our stress, all of our anxiety: He will take all of it for us so that we will seek Him and His kingdom. That is just so amazing!

Then it says that "all your other needs will be met as well." So anything else that we have going on in our lives, God has it taken care of. Isn't that such a relief? God will meet our needs no matter what if we seek Him.

Lastly, our future is in His hands. It goes on to say, "...don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough troubles of its own." I interepret this as: "I have a plan for your life, so you don't have to worry about it. You don't have to worry about what will happen because I have it taken care of." He knows about everything that will happen in our lives, and He knows what is going on right now, and He wants us regardless of anything.

After reading these verses, I was so encouraged to know about Him taking away every single one of my anxieties, He will give me what I need if I just trust in Him with my life, and He has a plan for my life and I don't have to worry.