you are beautiful!

I have taken a long hiatus from my blog but I am back! 

To all my girls/ sisters: 

I read a blog about natural beauty today. It really struck a cord with me. I've felt insecure, ashamed and plain ugly. Maybe you can relate. It's something I've been wrestling since childhood. You see, I am one who barely wears make up mainly because it doesn't represent who I am as a person. I don't naturally have red lips, cat eyes or Barbie doll eye lashes. Don't get me wrong, I love getting dolled up here and there but I'm more concerned with sharing light with others than my outer appearance. I wanted to share this photo with you because it represents the real me. No makeup, no duck face, no camera angles, no poses and no filters. I am made and formed by the Highest of highs and he loves me. So with that being said, I can walk confidently in who I am created to be instead of what this world expects of me. Isaiah 43 & psalm 139. 

ISAIAH 43:1 
But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

PSALM 139: 13-18 

13For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

15My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place,

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

16Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

17How precious to me are your thoughts,^a God!

How vast is the sum of them!

18Were I to count them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand—

when I awake, I am still with you.

YOU are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are beautiful. You don't have to mask yourself with all of this nonsense. You don't have to give into peer pressure or any of that mess. WHY? Because, God DELIGHTS in you. HE cares for you and all he wants to do is shine his glory through you! All you have to do is BE YOURSELF. For real, He doesn't need you to act like everything is okay. You don't have to put on a show or act IGNORANT. He loves your messes. He loves fixing them. WHY? BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU. He wants you to grow in him. HE wants all of you! Song of Solomon: (I am my beloved's and he is mine." You are his beloved and he absolutely adores you. 

There are many days that I come home from work and I'm absolutely exhausted. I'm grumpy, tired, unpleasant and hard to deal with and what's the first thing God does? He showers me with his abundant love. That is real. When the bible says Love is patient. Replace the word love with Jesus and then see how THAT places out in your life. Goodness gracious do you see his patience with you. I am absolutely captivated with that truth. 

Praying, praying, praying that your eyes are open to such that is Jesus. 

Know that He created you and formed you uniquely, wonderfully and fearfully made! 

-me 

steadfast.

stead·fast

adj.

1. Fixed or unchanging; steady.

2. Firmly loyal or constant; unswerving. 

I have noticed this word all throughout scripture but it's never been so relevant to me than in this particular season of my life. God has shown me his steadfast love from the beginning of time. But, it's taken me up until now to truly understand his constant, never changing love for me. I've messed up many times.  I've placed other thoughts, ideas, people before God. I've disobeyed him intentionally and I've doubted him so many times. YET, I read a verse like this: "Your steadfast love endures forever." So I ask for forgiveness and repentance. His response is " I'm always here. I'll always be here." Those words have changed the course of my life. When everything around me is failing or I feel like no one cares about me, God has showed me that He has always and always will love me. That love is steady, constant, true and UNFAILING. Every time that I have failed, I turn my eyes back on the Lord and He reveals himself with this tangible unshakable love! 

Then I find myself worshiping, praising and praying more. My love for the Lord increases and I find that everything else in this world will fade-- except for Him. So then, I get down on my knees and surrender my life, my dreams, my future to the ONE who holds my life in his hands. 

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 

In Psalm 136 (His steadfast love endures forever) , the word steadfast is mentioned 27 times. That's alot for just one word. And that's only in one psalm. It's so easy to overlook this word because it's mentioned so many times. But, when we stop and think about how much the Lord wants to know HIS STEADFAST, UNSHAKABLE love, something in us starts changing and we start trusting in him.

This may be a small example but it has everything to do with this topic. I got sick yesterday with food poisoning. I was at home all by myself and it was undeniably awful and terrible.  I was scared. 

The only thing that I could do was pray that the Lord would heal me. I felt alone, helpless and weak. With one touch, I heard him say, "I'm right here and I love you." Even though I felt this way, The Lord never let me go. And indeed, he DID take care of me. :) 

 Here's another example. Look at this illustration. When an infant is sick, does the parent walk away and say take care of yourself? No! That's silly. Instead, they run towards their child and do everything they can to take care of their baby. That's how God is with us. He is steadfast. Ponder on these words and let it sink into the depths of your heart/soul/strength and mind. 

It will change you from the inside out. 

Friend, His love for you is steadfast no matter what you're going through or what you've done. 

Praise be to He. {Jesus} 

Your sister, 

M 

God the Father & other things related.

I watched a documentary called somewhere in between yesterday afternoon about these native chinese girls being adopted to American families in the states. They talked about their struggles, fears but also their hopes and victories. It was a raw and authentic documentary courtesy of Netflix. I encourage you to watch it especially if you are called or considering adoption. So you ask, Meagan, what does this have to do with God the Father?" My response: everything. Sit back, hold on tight and keep reading. 
There was a scene in the movie where one of the girls decides to go back to China and find her birth family. Well, it turns out that she did find them. As soon as her birth dad sees her,  he starts weeping, hugs and welcomes her in. Note: the girl doesn't speak chinese; therefore, she could not communicate to her family very well. Not to mention the fact that she had never met them prior to this reunion. It was almost as if they were strangers. YET, they welcomed her in like she had been there her whole life. This immediately reminded me of that moment when God took me into family. Even though I was sinful, weak, helpless and barely knew who God was-- He welcomed me in like I was always apart of the family.  

^{5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. ⁶ So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.^[b] 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. ⁸ He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.} Ephesians 1:5-7 

He adopted us into the kingdom to be children, ambassadors, heirs to a Holy, great, worthy, loving God. There is so much substance and depth to the fact that God chose us to be people who represent Him. But before we know our role as His children, we need to know Him as Abba father.  

When thinking about God as Father, I get an image of myself as a child being scared of the monsters under my bed, running to my earthly father's arms and sitting on his lap as he embraces and holds me tight. God is the exact same way. When there is something going on, fears, anxiety that overwhelm us; God wants to be there to care for us. He wants to hold us in His lap like a father would with his child. When something or someone is bothering us, our dads are the first ones to defend and protect us. They're the first to jump out of their seats and take control. God is the same way! He is protective, stern and jealous for his children. Yet, He gives these amazing papa bear hugs and cuddles that are filled with kindness and love that surpass any hugs from any earthly beings. The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about my earthly dad is the fact that he is a handy man. He is quick on his feet to fix anything for you anytime, anywhere. He doesn't care how far he needs to drive to get to you. He doesn't care what He has to sacrifice to help you when something breaks down. I think God is a handy man too. He's an expert at repairing broken things and makes them new. His eyes are filled with fire yet He's the most gentle and sweet person you could ever know. 

Beloved, I know that some of you have been in corrupt, abusive, non existent, fatherless homes but our Father God is just the opposite. He chose you before time began. He wants you to take your cares and burdens to Him because He knows exactly what to do.

[Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, ⁷ casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7]

Get to know your Father. It is worth it trust me, beloved. 

M