The Beautiful Face Project

I had the most amazing opportunity last night.

I was able to lead a Bible study for eighth grade girls on true beauty.

I don't think I could even begin to describe how nervous I was. I've had sort of a "falling out" with my inner beauty topic, and when I was asked to do this I wasn't sure how it would go. I did a lot of praying and a lot of looking for Bible verses to go along with my topic. I wrote down every little word I was going to say in order to remember all of my points. You might not have noticed, but I am a TON better at writing than I am at public speaking.

This girls were so cool! (YOLO) I've worked with them before in a junior leadership program and I was so amazed at the depth of their faith in God. I was definitely not that confident when I was fourteen. They have such a love for God and for others. I know they're going to be such a light when they go into high school in the fall.

I began with the verse Proverbs 31:30, which says, "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." I wanted to get across that before anything we must have a heart for God in order that our "inner self is being renewed day by day" (2 Corinthians 4:16). I shared with them the Beauty Redefined catch phrases: "You are capable of much more than being looked at." "There is more to be than eye candy." "If beauty hurts, we're doing it wrong." and "Your reflection does not define your worth."

And then I brought up the term "fat talk." Fat talk is defined as an expected behavior for women to participate in to "earn" compliments, express emotions, seek social reassurance, and excuse eating behaviors (Boyle, Operation Beautiful).

I wasn't sure how they would react to that. I know some people just accept it as normal to fat talk, but these girls were so willing to listen. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, "For God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

We had great discussions about how society wants us to believe that we aren't beautiful. This is a lie. It not only challenges the Bible, but it makes us question God's Will in our lives. I challenged them to all go a day with out make-up, stop fat talk and hold each other accountable when they do fat talk, and believe that they are beautiful, no matter what.

I wasn't expecting such awesome feedback when they quickly decided that they were going to go a WHOLE ENTIRE WEEK WITHOUT MAKE-UP!!  Beginning on Sunday. I myself have been talking about going without make-up since I began this thing and I haven't had enough courage to do it. So I promised them that I would do it with them. No make-up. Sunday through Saturday. The reason I'm writing about this? Is so that all of you know to hold me accountable. I cannot wait! I'm calling this:

The Beautiful Face Project

Won't you join me in an ENTIRE WEEK of natural beauty? 

Beauty isn't only our reflection in a mirror. It's the essence of who we are. If we decide that we're having a bad day based on our reflection, that isn't beautiful. Visa versa. When we fix our eyes on God's view of beauty, it's so much easier to find beauty within ourselves. 

Note: I kind of got my idea from these women. Aren't they amazing?