To My Women Friends (and The Men Too)...You Are Enough!

  Have you ever looked at a magazine and the more you read, the more dissatisfied with your life you become? I noticed that many years ago when we bought our home in Washington. I was looking for decorating ideas but the more I compared the pictures in the magazine to my home, the more I became unhappy with my home. I eventually stopped getting those magazines and became a happier person.
  It is the same thing we are experiencing in our culture as we see, hear, and read about how we can improve our bodies, faces, etc.  The more we view the media, the more we think something is wrong with us.  And, we become dissatisfied. So, we spend our time, money and energy trying to fix ourselves.
  Fortunately, God does not look at the outside, he looks at our spirit and says "you are enough". Many people have the idea that we have to fix ourselves before we come to God. The reality is that we only have to give ourselves to Him and then He completes us. We just have to stop trying so hard.
  My heart hurts for the young women in our society that are being bombarded by the message that they need to look a certain way. I thought the women's movement of the 60s put an end to the idea that we are to spend all our energy making ourselves look good for a man. But, it seems like the messages in the movies and music tell them that the way to get noticed is to be the sexiest, most desirable one. What is on the inside doesn't matter, as long as you look good.
  I'm currently reading a book called "7, An Experiment Mutiny Against Excess" by Jen Hatmaker. I am being challenged in so many ways. How many hours do we waste on 'stuff'? One chapter in particular about clothing was especially challenging to me. How much time do I spend buying clothes and then thinking about what I am going to wear. While we can't completely live in a bubble, if we spent some of that energy focusing on the underserved, we would all be happier and less self-focused.
  My encouragement to my friends is that we can start by purging our closets, and also purge our minds of the negative image of ourselves and let God tell us that we are loved just the way we are.