Beauty

Last fall I attended a webinar hosted by the Botkin girls. 

 

If you are familiar with them I'm sure you know that they are girls committed to doing God's work by serving their families from the home. They honor their parents and work hard to cultivate gifts and talents that have been given to them by the Lord! They are definitely far from bored!! The webinar they gave last fall was titled: Reclaiming Beauty. There are 9 hours of power point slides and a 45 page study guide.
Sessions Include:

• What God Says About Beauty and Beautification: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
• What Style Is Your Heart, Mind, and Soul? Pardon Me, Ma’am, but Your True Identity is Showing
• Getting Your Temple in Order: The Physical Foundations of Beauty
• Figuring Out Your Look: How to Dress in Character
• Putting Things Together: Composition, Style, Occasion, Accessories
• Acquiring New Pieces (and Making Better Use of Old Ones): How to get what you need with minimum time, money, and fuss
• The Focal Point: Being a Good Steward of Your Face and Crowning Glory

They are offering the first episode free! You can check it out here: http://westernconservatory.com/products/reclaiming-beauty

I really like the perspective they take on this subject! They offer a healthy way to look at beauty as well as many practical resources and ideas for keeping our skin, hair, and over all body healthy. I think many girls are trying so hard to be counter-cultural, that they think wearing makeup and trying to dress in a beautiful way is wrong. (By beautiful I mean colors that go with each other and with your coloring and a shape of clothing that complements your body type in a way that makes you more modest and less distracting. I DON'T mean a way that makes men stumble when they look at you!) They totally write it off without delving deeper into the matter. The Botkins are actually a perfect example of this. They were so intent in years past on not being like the world, that for many years they went around in frumpy sweatpants and as baggy a t-shirt as they could find, with no makeup on, and hats covering up their hair. We need to go to God's Word and see what He has to say on the subject. Not just write it off. God made us to be beautiful, but we need to take a stand for the kind of beauty He made us to have!

The body left in its most natural state is an ideal we never see in Scripture. God gave clothes to cover our shame as a metaphor of how he gave righteousness to cover our sin. 

Here's a Biblical Theology of the Body presented in the first episode of Reclaiming Beauty.

• We are created in God’s image Genesis 1:27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
• We are fearfully and wonderfully made Psalm 139:14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
• We are to take dominion of the world Genesis 1:26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
• The body doesn’t belong to us 1 Corinthians 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
• We are supposed to be glorifying Someone Who is not ourselves in our bodies 1 Corinthians 6:20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
• We are God’s temple 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. 2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people."

We definitely need to watch our motives in this whole thing. Isaiah 3:16 Moreover Yahweh says: "Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, And walk with outstretched necks And wanton eyes, Walking and mincing as they go, Making a jingling with their feet,18 In that day the Lord will take away the finery: The jingling anklets, the scarves, and the crescents; 19 The pendants, the bracelets, and the veils; 20 The headdresses, the leg ornaments, and the headbands; The perfume boxes, the charms, 21 and the rings; The nose jewels, 22 the festal apparel, and the mantles; The outer garments, the purses, 23 and the mirrors; The fine linen, the turbans, and the robes. 24 And so it shall be: Instead of a sweet smell there will be a stench; Instead of a sash, a rope; Instead of well-set hair, baldness; Instead of a rich robe, a girding of sackcloth; And branding instead of beauty. 26 Her gates shall lament and mourn, And she being desolate shall sit on the ground.
So, we don't want our physical beauty to become a thing of pride. Obviously the Lord does not look on that favorably.
We also don't want to put our trust or confidence in our beauty. Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears Yahweh is to be praised.

If you choose to purchase this 9 session "webinar", you will be blessed and inspired! The Botkins definitely do their research and you will have a lot of info thrown at you! But if you can only take one thing away, do remember this; that even among all these practical tips, the beauty of the heart is what matters and what lasts! 

Just remember: The world did not create beauty: God did! The world does not own the copyright on beauty!

“My daughters and I have heard the Botkin girls many times and we are always improved in our thinking as a result. I commend this experience to all those who would like to grow in their understanding of this important subject.” -Scott Brown

"Thank you so much for taking the time to do this :) It is so refreshing to hear a well-balanced view on this subject- a view that is based upon the Word of God and a love for the Lord Jesus." — A

"…listening to you both was very helpful, encouraging, exciting, fun, freeing, enlightening, insightful, thought-provoking, action-provoking… It produced growth in all of us and it was a huge blessing!" — V