Sleepy Worship

Let me start by saying that I absolutely love my church. I have learned so much and grown in my faith by leaps and bounds since my family became members over 5 years ago. Like every church, its not perfect but I'm deeply committed in a way I've never been in the past.
 One of the "non-perfect" things is that during praise and worship the congregation always seems...well, asleep. In no way do I want to judge people and how they worship God but when you look out and see hardly anyone singing along with the choir than you wonder what people must be thinking. It's been like this for as long as I have been attending so while it does frustrate me, I've also just gotten used to it. I just try to concentrate on my own attitude and make sure that my heart is in the right place for worship.
 Our pastor is aware of this problem and apparently decided to add 3 more songs to what we usually sing in the morning. Now I have no problem with this idea and I love having a longer praise and worship time on Sunday. I was raised in a contemporary church back in Hawaii so singing 6 or more songs does not seem odd or long in the slightest. It actually wasn't until we moved to the South that it became apparent to me that many churches really just want to sing their 2-3 songs and be done with it. How sad! Why would we not want to spend as much time as we could praising our Creator?? Our choir leader once said, "How can we put on a time limit on the One who we are going to spend eternity with?"
 I don't really know how people feel about singing these extra songs on Sunday. I guess only time will tell. What I do know is that I want The Church to wake up! Wake up and realize that if we really believe that God is here with us then He deserves our time and undivided attention.

My Beauty/Makeup Philosophy

"True Beauty comes from within. Its not something that you put on in the morning and take off before bed. It radiates from your body when you walk with grace and confidence. It shines in your eyes when you express your individuality. It glows from your heart whenever you wear a smile on your face. Glow baby glow!" ~ Me :)

 In a nutshell, that's basically my entire outlook on beauty in general. We've all heard before that its what on the inside that matters. But just because we have heard this saying almost ad nauseam does not make it any less true. Some of the most beautiful people I know don't wear a stitch of makeup or follow all the latest fashion trends. I have known some people that would not be considered pretty in the commercial sense but they just radiate this light from within and you can't help but be drawn to them. Outward appearances will fade with time but your inner beauty will last forever. As much as I LOVE makeup I do not want to be remembered simply as the girl who does cool eyeshadow. I want to be remembered as a woman who loves the Lord, who can be depended on and someone who shows kindness to everyone.

 Ok, now for outward beauty. I really enjoy taking care of my appearances. I wash my face religiously and invest my money in quality skin care products. I do something different with my makeup almost everyday because I love to experiment.
 However you do not have to own 20 lip glosses or $50 face creams just to make yourself look good. I own a lot of excellent products that just come from good ol' Walmart! Sometimes women get scared of the word makeup. They immediately conjure up images of pancake foundation and Bozo the Clown red cheeks. They shy away from cosmetics because they feel like it would make them into a different person.
 Makeup should NEVER be a mask (unless of course the occasion calls for it such as Halloween). After applying makeup you should always look like you but enhanced and polished. And there's no need to spend an hour trying to put your face on. A great 5 minute face really just consists of concealer, blush, mascara and lip balm. The best thing about beauty products is that they wash off. Its not a tattoo so you don't have to be afraid of trying something out of the ordinary.
 I think the biggest thing to remember is that outward beauty is merely an opinion. There is no "standard of beauty" because everyone likes something different. I know that seems hard to believe when every magazine seems to show the same type of girl on its cover. You know her...she's got the tanned skin, long flowy hair, skinny but with curves magically in all the right places. Most people (including me) think Kim Kardashian is one of the most beautiful people alive. While I don't care for her much as a person I would love to have her gorgeous complexion and luxurious hair. I was shocked when my brother and some guy friends told me that they thought she was hideous! You see? Its all a matter of opinion.
 I love making myself look good and showing other how to do the same. But in the end, God doesn't care about how long your eyelashes are or how flawless you can get your skin to look. He created you. He sees your heart and knows how beautiful you truly are.

Read me!! Pretty please? ;)

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." -Confucius

I've never considered myself to be the blogger type. I sit down for several minutes staring at a blank screen waiting for some spark of inspiration while never actually writing anything. I did try starting a blog about a year ago but I was too shy to let anyone read it which totally defeats the purpose. Then I got irritated that the only person reading it was me, blah blah, 5 posts later I gave up.
 But I believe I'm ready to commit to this new venture. I've been inspired by reading some friend's blogs and I think I may have caught the writing bug! Let's hope a side effect is coming up with oh-so-clever and profound posts. Or at least thoughtful and entertaining ones. Sooo a little bit about me:
 I'm about to turn 23. I live at home which has its ups and downs but is pretty good all around. I'm completely committed to being an authentic Christian and really living my life for Jesus. My family moved from Hawaii to a small southern town about 11 years ago. Still dealing with culture shocks at times lol. My passion is makeup/skincare. I love all things beauty related and finding out how many different types of beauty there are in this world.
 This blog will most likely wind up being a mishmash of topics. I want to write about everything from growing in my faith to how to apply bronzer to dealing with racism. Most of all I want to remind people that you can find so much joy in life when you take the time to see the beauty in simple things. Cliche? Yeah, probably. Still true? Definitely!