Monday Musings, It's What is on the INside That Counts!

As you may know I have {gulp} three daughters. One is even a {double gulp} teenager. They are 14, 11 and 8 – I have a boy too…but this is my GIRLY post! When they were little, (think 6, 4 and 1) they were so cute! Bows and hats and leggings. They almost always let me dress them anyway I wanted to…and I loved it!

We didn’t worry about peer pressure, or body image or {gasp} boys. That was so, so far away. I knew what my struggles were. I know what demons torment me…but these were my daughters. They were going to be stronger and far more confident then I ever was. I made sure to tell them each day how smart, creative, and beautiful they were.

But one day something began to gnaw at me. It was a verse in the Bible I knew very well from 1 Samuel 16:7. It says:

"Looks aren't everything…God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart." (The Message)

God Looks on the HEART.

SLAP.

Was I really teaching them this? Did they know how important the condition of their hearts were? Could they even begin to know what that meant?

God Looks on the HEART by Studio Jewel

I make jewelry, so my first and immediate reaction was to make them a necklace that would tell this story…that would remind them ALL the time. Because despite my efforts it ends up being between THEM and GOD. I can teach, guide and remind…but that is it. It’s up to them, and the God they love.

So I made them a necklace. A silver heart on a leather cord. From the center of the heart hangs a beautiful clear crystal…representing the inside of the heart…the part that counts. I wrote out the story for them with the verse on a little card and included it in the box. It was something I could do.

I’d like to tell you we don’t struggle with body image, and peer pressure…but I would totally be lying. And I would also be lying if I told you we don’t put care about fashion and jewelry and BOOTS, oh how I love boots, you know like the over the knee style that’s really hot right now, or a pair with a really nice stiletto heel…oh sorry, I got distracted! See? We love us some fashion…me and my girls!

But at the end of the day we talk about the condition of our hearts. How ugly am I on the inside today? Cause that has a funny way of showing up on the outside…but that’s another post!

A great check point system is yet another verse…and I don’t know what you believe about God or not, but this is a great system none the less. In Philippians 4:8 it says this: 

“friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.” (The Message)

What you put into your mind and your heart, that’s what really counts. That is what will show on outside. And beauty on the inside will make you truly RADIANT on the outside!

Now about those boots….