"For you created my
inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you
because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are WONDERFUL,
I know that full well.
My f r a m e was not hidden from you
when I was MADE in the secret place.
When I was WOVEN together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
ALL the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before
one of them came to be.
"Search me oh God,
and know my h e a r t.
Test me
and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way
in me
and lead me
in the way
E V E R L A S T I N G."
Psalm 139:13-16, 23-24
As I talked about last month, I struggle with body image. I idolize "beauty" and believe the lies of Satan instead of the truth of God.
What we must remember when thinking about beauty, though, is the point. What is the point of beauty? Is the point to make us feel confident? Healthy? Attractive?
I want to answer my questions with scripture, so let's look to Psalm 139. But we must make sure not to use it out of context, for I have heard Psalm 139 used out of context. I've even used it out of context.
We want to take these verses and let them confirm our worth and beauty. We want them to inflate our ego, when the real meaning behind these verses isn't about us.
"You created... you knit...I praise you... your works...made...woven...ordained...written..."
It all points to God.
Not to us.
So the point of beauty isn't about us. The point of our bodies isn't for our pride, confidence, health, or pleasure. It is when we live like beauty is about us that sin roots itself into our ego.
Beauty is about God.
And I want to live that way.
I'm not sure how. I'm not sure how makeup, eating, exercising, clothing, modesty, hair, self-worth, insecurity, and encouragement all fit into this picture of beauty centered on God. I'm not sure how we should treat our temporary, earthly bodies and the beauty placed in them from the ultimate Beauty, God.
But I'm on a mission to find out.
Welcome to Edition 139, a series on beauty that I will post about around once a month. Some posts will explore ideas and some posts will share my five favorite drugstore makeup brands. Some posts will delve into scripture and others will upload a workout video.
In all of these posts, however, I never want to forget the true purpose and definition and point of beauty.
God.
"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, I know that full well." (Psalm 139:14)
Comment below what kinds of posts you would like to see in the Edition 139 series? Do you love Psalm 139 as much as I do?
Princess Hannah
Princess Hannah
Wow, this totally aligns with what I've been learning lately. I was just reading in 1st Corinthians the other day about how our bodies are essentially made FOR God, to be His temple. And when you think about how Satan became prideful because he was beautiful (Ezekiel 28:17, I believe), it really gets serious!! Our society's obsession with beauty truly is a self-centered thing, of which I myself am guilty. And by the way, your new post series is totally the bomb dot com, yo. I love how honest you are in sharing your heart! Keep it up. :) It is encouraging!
ReplyDeletewow. I never thought about Satan's downfall due to beauty.
DeleteYOU JUST BLEW MY MIND!!!
And scared me just a bit, because you are right, this /is/ super serious. BUt it is also a joyful experience to live in our bodies for the glory of God and not ourselves.
Thank you so much for your encouragement!!! You are such an inspiration to me on this topic because of your open posts.
Dude, thank YOU! I so appreciate your honesty and vulnerability, and can really sense your heart in your posts. I'm praying for you! It's so encouraging to know that in this difficult struggle, we are not alone!!
DeleteERIN YOU ARE THE BEST!!!!
DeleteWhat a wonderful idea, Princess Hannah! I love Psalm 139, and this sounds like a great idea. I'd love to see whatever kinds of things you post about. :)
ReplyDeleteWhy thank you!! I'm really looking forward to the series as well. I've been thinking of ideas for months now and just now got the chance to start the series!
DeleteTruth! Beauty is about God, not us! I forget that way too often.
ReplyDeleteDid you take the pictures in this post? They're beautiful!
SPEAK THE TRUTH GIRL!!!
DeleteAnd alas, no I did not take the pictures. I should seriously start noting that in the posts. Although I want to get more into photography, it's faster to use stock photo websites.
I LOVE Psalm 139! I memorized it this year. It is one of my favorite Bible chapters! <3 I am so excited to read more of these posts, Hannah!!!
ReplyDeleteIT IS THE CHAPTER THAT DEFINES THE PAST YEAR FOR ME!!!! And that is a great idea, memorizing it. Not sure why I didn't think of it before. I've been lazy in my memorization habits lately (lately, as in the past year or two. It's bad.)
DeleteI know! It's really hard to memorize complete chapters... especially if you are not motivated! I found out that if you have a really fast memorizing partner, it encourages you to memorize faster! (even though I still couldn't beat her) ;) Psalm 139 is a great one to start on! <3 <3
DeleteI need that accountability as well.
DeleteI AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS SERIES!!! Oh my goodness I am so excited. Psalm 139 is the best! I love all of the post ideas that you mentioned- makeup, Scripture, exercise, ideas- I can't wait!!
ReplyDeletejflasfnlsdaefldk,maehlfsdjdsauikjdf
DeleteYAAS!! It's been on my mind for a while, but now seemed a good time to start! I even want to do some videos for the series!
Ooh, I love videos! I've been playing around in my mind with the ideas of doing some videos on my blog as well. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS SERIES!!!!
DeleteYOU SHOULD!!!! I need to see more of your pretty face on the blog!!!
DeleteExcellent definition of the point of beauty! That's something I need to keep in mind every day. Can I just say this has blessed me already, and I'm excited to see what the rest of the series holds?! :)
ReplyDeleteJessica, the fact that these words in this post encouraged you and made you see the world a bit differently makes it all worth it! But seriously, your comment made me day and made blogging a bit brighter!
DeleteGreat encouragement! I absolutely love this post and how you typed out the words of the verses. Thank you for letting God use you, you are inspiring and blessing others.
ReplyDeleteAllie D.
www.alliesblogdesigns.blogspot.com
www.friendlovesatalltimes.blogspot.com
www.sincerelyallied.blogspot.com
www.spreadingmyjoy.blogspot.com
I had a lot of fun with that passage, didn't I? I hoped that it didn't look too weird. But THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! Obviously it's God working in me that's beautiful, not me by myself. But I love to see the fruit of Christ's Spirit in the lives of others and myself.
DeleteWow you really unpacked that well! I too often struggle with beauty and what it means, but you're right! Everything we are is because of God and we are made for His glory, not our own. Thank you for this reminder <3
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
http://whimsicalthoughtss.blogspot.com/
"We are made for His glory, not our own."
DeleteExactly.
You hit it spot on, and I'm so glad that we get to encourage each other!
I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS SERIES. Beauty is a tricky subject, because you don't want to be all about "ah I want to be so pretty and I'm going to spend two hours e very morning on that," but yet it's important to take good care in your image and make sure you're not walking about without a care in the world. So, it's a tricky subject and I'm excited to hear what you'll have to say about it. :)
ReplyDelete// katie grace
a writer's faith
I struggle with this balance every day! I don't want to spent more time getting physically ready than I do spiritually ready, but I also find great happiness in looking nice and putting on makeup. It's how god made me. But a good thing can easily become a God thing, and that's where we must seek God's beauty and discernment. I'm quite excited to tackle this subject with grace and a little bit of glitter!
DeleteThanks bunches for the comment!
This is SUCH a good post, Hannah! I love how you pointed the reader back to God and his design for beauty. Beauty is such a distorted thing and I'm definitely looking forward to your series! =)
ReplyDeleteBeauty is quite distorted! We measure it with a broken measuring cup, when God pours abundant grace into our lives. It is His beauty that is truly beautiful, everything else just strives to reach Him. Nothing will outshine Him, though. Nothing.
DeleteThanks for the comment sweet girl!
This series will be a gem. <3
ReplyDeleteI have to say I'm looking forward to it!!!
DeleteAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH
ReplyDeleteSO STOKED FOR THIS RIGHT NOW!!!
This is an incredible topic, and it's body image is something I struggled with for a little too. Not as much as some, but just the regular thoughts that most people would get. SO I AM REALLY HAPPY YOU'RE DOING THIS <3 I can't wait to see your series, and videos will be awesome too :) I've always loved doing videos and the like, but since I'm not allowed to say my real name or post my face on the blog, I really can't. :P I just do nature videos instead lol.
SO EXCITED FOR THIS!
p.s. Psalms 139 is gold.
I think that everyone, at some point in time, struggles with this. But I'M PRETTY HAPPY TOO!!! I've thought of so many ideas, and now I need to go and DO them!!!
DeleteAnd that kinda stinks that you can't put your face. But nature videos are fun!!!
Hi Hannah,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Glitzy Girl from my new blog glitzymevida.com. I recently came across your blog, and hoped from one blogger to another that you would come and visit.
Thanks so much!
Glitzy Girl
I just looked at your blog, and it is ADORABLE!!! Can't wait to encourage each other in Christ!
DeleteThank you so much Hannah! I appreciate it (as a new author to the blogger world).
DeleteBlessings in Christ.
Glitzy Girl.
Psalm 139 is my favorite Psalm!!!! I absolutely love every verse! <3 <3 <3 This is a lovely blog post as well - great point that beauty is about God. We should glorify Him. <3
ReplyDeleteGrace
golden halcyon