Can we stop the lies?

I'm honestly REALLY sick of the message we're confronted with every day in our society that says that we have to be specifically and unrealistically aesthetically pleasing in order to be beautiful. Honestly, how completely ridiculous is that? You have to "look" a certain way to be beautiful, and what's more, to be valuable?

No.

No, you don't.

I'm not bashing those who choose to fix their hair and do their makeup every day. I'm one of those people! But what I do have a problem with is this idea that if we don't measure up to some outward ideal—some unattainable standard—we're not beautiful. 

Contrary to what we've been raised to believe and our society states, beauty and outward appearances are not one and the same. Yes, a person can be described as beautiful based upon their looks. But looks are not the only thing that can be called "beautiful". So can hearts, minds, attitudes, acts of kindness, and character.

You have the ability to be beautiful no matter what you physically look like, because you can choose to treat others well, put their needs before your own, and follow Christ with your life.

And as for value... that will never change, because God made you, and Christ died for you. That's enough to make anyone and everyone, without exception, inherently valuable.

So... can we just stop the lies? Can we believe that we are more than what we look like? Because I think beyond changing our lives, we would make this world a far better place for future generations if we did.

Do you feel pressure to look a certain way? Do you feel that in order to be thought of as beautiful you have to look a certain way? In what ways can you stop the lies that society has fed us and cultivate a heart of beauty today? Want to read more on this topic? Check out Erica's post on "what is beauty?" by clicking HERE!

"You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God."

-I Peter 3:4-

Happy Easter!

Dearest Friends, as we head into this precious weekend of remembering Christ's extravagant work on the cross to save us, may you be blessed with the knowledge that Christ is risen, draw comfort in the truth that our sufferings are temporary, and rejoice in the miraculous hope of a risen Lord! 

Happy Easter sweet friends!

Staying Motivated

Sometimes going back to everyday life after all the excitement of the holidays is challenging. The newness of 2016 is over and now it's back to school, back to everyday chores, and back to normal life. I used to try to start out every year with ideas of what I wanted to accomplish. Hoping to work harder, to get more done, to be a better person. But after a while the newness wears off, life gets busy and soon I don’t feel like using energy to do my best, even in the little things. The other day I read that about 45% of Americans make New Year’s Resolutions and that only 8% of people actually keep them. I guess a lot of people have the same problem!

Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be that way. God has given us in His word everything we need for “life and godliness” and the scriptures mention over and over how to live a fruitful life.  Here are a few verses that I have come to love that encourage me to strive to do my best.

Do it in Christ - “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in Him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5) We can do nothing apart from Him. We can have good intentions and good ideas. But if we really want to make a difference it has to be in Him. Spending time in His word and in prayer is a vital part of our relationship with Christ.

Do it for God’s glory - "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31) My life is not my own and when I am doing things for God’s glory it gives me a special desire to do my best.

Do it Joyfully - "The Joy of the Lord is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10)  Whatever you set your hands to do, do it in joy! Joy can only be taken away if our focus is in the wrong place. Knowing what God has done for me through Jesus Christ gives a peace and joy that really does give strength to carry on even when I’m tired. 

Do it Willingly - “Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you.” (Matt 20:26-28, John 13:15) A lot of doors are opened just by being willing to serve others. I’ve read books about missionaries and heard so many stories of people that had a huge impact for the gospel by serving those around them.

Do it Faithfully - “The one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much.” (Luke 16:10) It might seem that the tasks are little and insignificant, but maybe God is using them to prepare us for something greater. Be faithful in all things!

My prayer for all of us is...

 “That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and long-suffering with joy.” Colossians 1:10-11

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We here at Grace Engaged have been so blessed by Hannah's blog contributions and the entire Wissmann Family's love and devotion to the Lord. If you would like to connect with them, view their schedule of concerts, or purchase their music (which we highly recommend), you can connect with them at their website, on instagram, or on their Facebook page. Thank you Hannah for your beautiful blog post contributions this year! You are a blessing!! 

Monthly Scripture Memory Program: March (Hebrews 13:9)

As we shared in September, one of the heartbeats of Grace Engaged is the scripture memory program that we hope y'all will join in with each month! Each school year we will be picking one "theme" to look at in scripture and for the 2015-2016 school year we have chosen "grace" as our theme. For the month of September we memorized a portion of 2 Corinthians 8:7 and for October we memorized a portion of Ephesians 2:8. For November we memorized Hebrews 4:16 and for December we memorized John 1:14 and in January we memorized I Peter 4:10. For the month of March we are memorizing a portion of Hebrews 13:9 that states; "Your strength comes from God's Grace". 

One of the things that we are passionate about here at Grace Engaged is encouraging ladies to know that we have a Savior who not only loves us big and beautifully but one who is fully involved and present in our lives and pours out His lavish love on us each day.

These past two months things have been quiet around the website and here on the blog. We appreciate your patience as several of our team members (and myself included) have been dealt some difficult life circumstances, including deaths in the family, illness, difficult relationship issues, and several other personal issues. In the midst of all of these circumstances we are seeing more than ever the wonderful blessing of grace in our lives. We see how our strength for the daily battles and issues that we face are able to be faced because of the Lord's strength. In our brokenness we are driven to the Lord and to His faithful and loving grace. 

As we celebrate Easter this month we are beyond grateful for the Lord's grace in our lives. We are praying for you dear friends and we appreciate the way that you have lovingly understood our struggles these past two months.

Happy March friends! May you be encouraged as you memorize this verse and may we all see the beautiful grace of God in our lives in fresh ways in the days ahead!

Friendship

Friendship can be tough, especially in high school where everything and everyone

changes. Your middle school friends aren’t even recognizable, they have each gone

their own way and you are left to hurriedly find your new crowd, your new best

friends, the people that will make you survive high school. It’s a tough time really

and I certainly struggled the first year because everything was so new and fitting in

was definitely tempting.

While you are on your search, to find yourself, to find your friends, to find where

you belong, it’s important you stay true to yourself. I know you might be thinking,

“How can I stay true to myself and fit in?”. High school is all about trends, and doing

what everyone else is doing but most of the time, what everyone else is doing, isn’t

the right thing at all. It can be hard to willingly not fit in, but you will grow true

friendships from it. You will find people that understand you and that have the same

interests and that like you for who you are.

In Corinthians chapter 1, verse 15:33 it states, “Do not be deceived: “Bad company

ruins good morals” You are righteous for you are a woman of God, you are blessed with good morals and changing that just to “fit in” is not worth it, I can guarantee it. So do not change for anyone! Do not become someone you are not, so you can fit in with people that do not care about you. Instead focus on God and his ways and He will lead you to

similar minds, similar people, people of God and together, you will survive high

school and develop your newest friends in Christ.

Welcome Back! (And our Scripture Memory Verse for January!)

Welcome back friends! We hope that you had a wonderful holiday season with your friends, family, and loved ones! It was such a delight for our team to spend time away with those closest to us and also spending time in God's word! We are excited to be back and to connect with you throughout this semester! Don't forget to check out our website for exciting news and things that are going on in our ministry! You can find the website by clicking HERE!

We are also excited to share our scripture memory verse for January! You may have already seen in on Instagram (are we connected with you on IG? We would love to if we aren't!) As a little background, one of the heartbeats of Grace Engaged is the scripture memory program that we hope y'all will join in with each month! Each school year we will be picking one "theme" to look at in scripture and for the 2015-2016 school year we have chosen "grace" as our theme. For the month of September we memorized a portion of 2 Corinthians 8:7 and for October we memorized a portion of Ephesians 2:8. For November we memorized Hebrews 4:16 and for December we memorized John 1:14. For the month of January we are memorizing I Peter 4:10 which states: "As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." We would love to have you join in on memorizing this scripture with us this month!

One of the things that we are passionate about here at Grace Engaged is encouraging ladies to know that we have a Savior who not only loves us big and beautifully but one who is fully involved and present in our lives. In understanding this big and beautiful grace we then can serve one another as good stewards of that grace. Isn't it a beautiful thing when we understand the love and grace of the Lord and can encourage other ladies? Truly it is a beautiful thing to see and a beautiful way to share the love of God!

What a beautiful thing to ponder as we return to our school routines for this second semester. Who in your life needs to experience the manifold grace of God? Who can you serve in this way? Happy January friends! May you be encouraged as you memorize and live out this verse!

Cultivating a Heart of Worship

Photo Credits: Kori Wissmann

Hello from across the miles! My name is Hannah and I am the ninth of 13 siblings who, with my parents, are my very best friends and role models. God has given our family the incredible opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ through music all over the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This was not something that our family had ever imagined doing, but God opens doors that no man can open and I am so grateful!

Photo Credit: Bethany Beasley

I’ve seen God answer so many different prayers over the years, and we’ve been able to tour places that most people only get to read about. But life on the road is also a significant amount of work and I have my challenges just like you. Life doesn’t always go as we plan, and we often run into unexpected problems. Maybe we are discouraged, or having health issues. Maybe something happened with a school or home project. Perhaps it’s just a wrong attitude that we are having a hard time changing.

That is the perfect time to cultivate a heart of worship, because God is so much bigger than our problems. I’ve found that when I take my eyes off of myself: what I feel like or what my “problems” are and instead focus on who God is and what He has done, then I am left in awe of God’s awesome power, faithfulness and goodness. He sees the big picture. If I fully trust that He will mold me into who He wants me to be for His glory, then worshiping and surrendering to Him with my whole heart is the best thing I can do. You can read in Psalms where David worshiped God when he was on a mountain top and you’ll find that he had the same heart of worship when he was in a valley with King Saul in pursuit of his life. Having a heart of worship and gratitude is not based upon outward experiences, but it is a constant trust in who God is. 

Sometimes worshiping Jesus is exactly what it takes to help me change my attitude or surrender my problem. Here are a few practical ideas which I have found to be helpful in cultivating a heart of worship:

                        Start each day in the Word.

There is nothing like starting each day with a firm foundation of truth! The Bible is living and active, and it is His very precious gift to us. There is nothing that can take the place of God's Word!

                    Memorize Scripture.

We need spiritual food just as much as physical food, and memorizing scripture is a wonderful way to keep God’s Word constantly before you.

                  Play worship music.

Music can be an extremely powerful tool and is often used to create an atmosphere in a room. Sometimes when I don’t exactly know what to pray I simply sing the lyrics of a worship song that says it for me.

Look to the needs of others.

Usually when I take time to see the needs of others, my wants become so minor, and I am soon just grateful for the blessings God has given me.

Photo Credit: Wissmann Family

Life is not about me. I don’t want it to be. It’s about Him! Having a heart of worship not only changes us and our perspective, but as we worship our Creator for Who He is, people around us get to “taste and see that the Lord is good!” 

Our family has adopted Psalms 40 as our theme, because it sums up the work God has done in our lives:

“I waited patiently for the Lord: and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth — praise to our God: Many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord.” 

-Psalms 40:1-3-

That is who God is. It is what He has done in our lives. And I pray it is a description of what He does in yours as well.