Category: {Beauty}

Written by: Marnie Pouget

Can I be honest with you? You may be young and your skin beautiful and dewy, your hair thick and

glossy and your body toned and healthy but you are aging. It may not feel like it but it is true.

We live in bodies that are growing and changing but aging from the minute we are born.

I really don’t mean for this to be discouraging but it is a reality we all must face.

“For, all people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the

flowers fall,” 1 Peter 1:24

Our glory, our beauty will fade and fall. Our skin loses elasticity and gets saggy and wrinkly. Our eye sight

fades and we squint at pages we once read with ease. Our hair begins to take on new shades that

demand to be noticed (and dreaded).

It is easy to take for granted your youthfulness until a sweet child brushes through your hair and

declares in drawn out enthusiasm that you have “be..YOU…ti…ful white highlights” and the more she

brushes the more she finds. It helps that in her innocence she believes she is honouring you with a great

compliment.

Or in the arms of a precious toddler snuggling close and sighing in contentment over the soft pillow of

your body; which sends you frantically into ridiculous amounts of abdominal exercises to gain a  6 pack

or thereabouts.

We can try to fight the process but it is a losing battle.

Even the fit women will find their skin sagging and wrinkling. The sun exposure that creates golden

healthy tans in youth produce premature wrinkles with age.

The truth may be hidden, but underneath the dye the hair is still turning white and grey. One only has to

look at the roots which all too quickly divulge the secret. And one day a glance in the mirror reveals an

old woman with a ridiculously fake hair colour that is anything but flattering.

For those who can afford the extreme, there are tucks of all kinds available for the right price.

Now, I am not saying that using hair colour and make up is wrong. Nor is keeping fit or even, if you are

so inclined, to make permanent changes to your appearance. Enhancing, reducing, tucking. Fight the

aging process full force, if you like.

We can spend a lot of time and money in an attempt to keep our bodies looking young and vibrant.

Though, with observation I would say that it is a poor investment with a less that satisfactory return.

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing

of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a

gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” 1 Peter 3:3-4

I admit that I hope my husband finds me attractive but I don’t want that tied to what I wear or how I

have done my hair and makeup. When the makeup has been washed off, my hair has been brushed out

and I have donned my comfy clothes, I want to know that he still thinks I am beautiful.

As women, we want to be beautiful. Not temporarily pretty but with an enduring beauty.

So what is an eternal beauty? “the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit”.

I have struggled with the inference of this image in the past. Quite frankly, I am not sure anyone who

knows me would describe me as gentle or quiet, in fact at one time I was shocked to be described as

blunt.

When I picture a woman with “a gentle and quiet spirit”, I think of my Sunday School Teacher, Arielle.

That was really her name. But unlike the stubborn, rebellious redhead under the sea, this Arielle was the

precious, patient mother of three boys. They were true, rough and tumble boys. Arielle was neither thin

nor heavy. She had a soft warmth about her. When she smiled, her eyes lit up and her face shone. She

was calm and patient (until that one day when she was pushed too far- I wouldn’t want you to think she

was perfectly perfect but she was real). Her hair was neatly piled with soft grey tendrils. She had a

gentle and quiet spirit and she was beautiful.

That is not me. I can be loud and bossy. I am passionate and exuberant. I am certain that I must

embarrass my children on a regular basis with my abundant personality. But gentle and quiet?

To be honest I have felt like a failure reading this verse. One day a lovely friend pointed out that it would

be a boring world if we were all quiet and gentle all the time but this verse wasn’t referring to

personality but spirit. I didn’t have to tame and subdue the vibrant personality I was given.

Her encouragement didn’t stop there but went on to explain that she saw my quiet and gentle spirit. My

daily walk and trust in God. My faith lived out through difficult times. The fruit of the Spirit growing and

overflowing in my life.

As I live in communion with God….

“…but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person

is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not

wither—whatever they do prospers.” Psalm 1:2-4

“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and

enduring word of God. For, all people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the

grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” 1Peter 1:23-24

The grass may wither and the flower may fall but a tree planted by the water, the word of the Lord, is

vibrant. Full of life and fruit. An eternal beauty. Definitely worth the investment.

Until Next Time,

~Marnie

Written By: Marnie Pouget

As the younger brother to two older sisters, it is typical to be surrounded by and participate in the “girl”side of childhood. Dolls, dress up and princess movies are par for the course. In our house the girls were quite taken with Polly Pocket and the first movie was on regular rotation through the DVD player. Little brother was captivated by the movie, also.

Polly and her friends are on the cutting edge of fashion and quite aware of the latest beauty tips which are shared liberally throughout the show.

During a last minute flight to a private island, Polly, hostess extraordinaire, provided her guests with a satchel filled with “everything a girl needs for the lengthy overseas plane ride: flavored lip gloss, ionized face mister, bottled water and moisturizer. Everyone who’s anyone knows the #1 rule of flying…”

My boy would join enthusiastically in chorus with Polly’s friends “Don’t dehydrate!” This was great advice from Polly and I used it copiously to insist that my children drink their water daily. It is well known that water makes up about 60-70% of your body’s composition. Drinking water provides numerous benefits like promoting clearer skin, helping the body flush out toxins and waste, regulating body temperature, lubricating joints, and carrying nutrients and oxygen to the cells.

According to the Mayo Clinic.  “Every system in your body depends on water.”

“Lack of water can lead to dehydration, a condition that occurs when you don’t have enough water in your body to carry out normal functions. Even mild dehydration can drain your energy and make you tired.” I am sure we can all recall a time when we experienced that parched feeling. The dry, desperation for a drink that compels us to search for refreshment. We may not always recognize our thirst but it is real and satisfaction is necessary.

Water is crucial to a beautiful, healthy physical life. Living water is crucial to a beautiful, healthy spiritual life. As our physical bodies thirst, so our spirits thirst.

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” Psalm 42:1-2a

We may not always recognize our spiritual thirst but it is real and satisfaction is not only necessary, it’s crucial. Unfortunately we can be led into seeking spiritual refreshment in the most unsatisfying places. Our search ends because we are feeling dissatisfied and discouraged and often we just settle for something less than satisfactory simply because we are weary. At other times, we find ourselves in a spiritual desert and we keep chasing after the mirage. That reflection of the sun on the sand deceives us to hope that we have found the oasis. Desperately desiring the quenching of our parched souls we press on in our futile attempts.

In response to the Samaritan woman’s questions “Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water (the water from the well) will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13- 14

“To him who is thirsty, I will give to drink, without cost, from the springs of the water of life.” Revelation 21:6

As with the Samaritan woman, Jesus offers us the spiritual cleansing and refreshing that comes from salvation through Him. We can choose to drink of the water he offers and never thirst again.

“On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” John 7:37-38

In comparison to the desert the oasis is a lush and vibrant place of refuge. The word oasis is defined as “a fertile spot in a desert where water is found.”

When we dwell at the source of the living water, in communion with God, that refreshing living water will overflow from us. We will be an oasis. A fertile spot in a desert where water is found.

Until Next Time,

~Marnie