Perfect Red Lips, but cracked on the inside…

Beauty is big business and it takes a lot to a beautiful. But not in the way you are thinking. Not in the way the world has convinced you to think.

The world’s perception of being beautiful is based on chemical peels, moisturizers, concealers, foundations, eye makeup, bronzers, facial masks, serums, dyes, stylists, polish, manis and pedis, designer labels, the ability to emulate the fashion magazine models, and beauty by Jaribu. Just kidding about the Jaribu, but you get the point.

It was exhausting just reading through the list of beauty must-haves, but as a woman I can tell you it is both exhausting and mind-boggling trying to actually get it all done. It is also expensive.

Even if you ‘go cheap’ by buying all your beauty ‘essentials’ at big name discount stores, on average you close to 1000 kwacha or more for all your beauty supplies, here is a quick list:  

• Shampoo/conditioner
• Leave-in potions to curl or de-frizz your human hair
• Body lotion
• Lipstick
• Mascara
• Foundation
• Eyebrow pencil
• A bottle of nail polish
• Two razors
• Eye shadow
• Deodorant
• Body wash
• Face cream (the daytime version)
• Nighttime face cream
• A tiny container of wrinkle filler
• Brush to apply the makeup with
• Fake nails and lashes
• Brazilian hair

That’s more than your monthly rent. Or if you are really feeling the need to be pretty…I mean really pretty, some of you can even spend 2000 kwacha or more on a single piece of hair and over 500 for lightening creams to put on your face each morning and again at bedtime.

Btw, studies show that the 10 kwacha face cream is as effective as the 100 kwacha version. I’m just sayin’….save your money.

Now, let’s get to the important stuff…what I really want to say is that…

• There is nothing wrong with looking nice and feeling pretty—taking care to be neat, clean, and attractive. This even includes having what we gals call ‘fashion sense’ as long as you are modest and not calling attention to your body, your trendiness, or the labels on your wardrobe. There’s nothing wrong with feeling like this and doing these things as long as you aren’t finding and defining your self-worth in these things. One of the many Bible verses we will be looking at throughout this book is found in the book of 1st Peter. Let’s look at it now:
• 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. ~1st Peter 3:3-4

We all know ‘that’ girl or woman—the one who always has to have the last word, the office or neighborhood gossip, the one who is loud and bossy, who won’t stop talking even when she should, or who thrives on the ‘game’ of one-upmanship. FYI: One-upmanship is the ‘game’ of always having done something better, been somewhere nicer, or achieved something more impressive than whoever else is in the room.

No wants enjoys being around her.  No one wants to admit to being her. And as a woman pursuing true beauty, you r name shouldn’t come to anyone’s mind when thinking about who this woman is.

Instead, you need to be the polar opposite of the woman you just read about. As a woman pursuing true beauty, you need to possess and display a gentle and quiet spirit by being:

• Humbly confident. Don’t be afraid to speak up; expressing your thoughts and opinions tactfully and graciously. Don’t be afraid to share your knowledge and wisdom. But don’t speak because you want to ‘show off’, put someone ‘in their place’, or because you feel you have a need to be in control.
• Don’t gossip. If you wouldn’t say something to someone face-to-face, then don’t say it. If your words don’t encourage or build someone up, then don’t speak them. Even if your words are true, but aren’t spoken in love and with the intention to help and bring comfort, then don’t speak them.
• Speak in a normal tone of voice—not too loud, but not too soft. Speak with confidence, not arrogance. Let your words be genuine and sincere. No one likes being patronized. Proverbs 17:1 says, “Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.”  House…school…office…shopping mall…golf course…exercise gym…ball field…anywhere is better when you make it a peaceful place.
• There’s a big difference between leadership and being bossy. Leadership is guidance, and mentorship. Being bossy is exerting authority (often presumed) for the sake of doing so.
• Sometimes the best words are the ones not spoken. Sometimes there are no adequate or appropriate words to be spoken. A truly beautiful woman knows this and knows when to exercise the gift of being silent.
• Listening is equally, if not even more important, than talking. Only when you listen can you know the needs and desires of others. And only when you know these things can you meet these needs and hope for their desires to come to life.
• It’s okay to not be the best in everyone’s eyes. It is okay that someone else can do somethings better than you can or has ‘made their mark’ in a different or more indelible way that you have. So what! Several years ago a song on the Christian music charts, called “My Father’s Eyes” pretty well summed it up by saying that as long as we live life seeing things the way our heavenly Father sees them, we’ll be just fine.

A gentle and quiet spirit that pleases God is equally pleasing to everyone around you even if they don’t realize the fact that this is what draws them to you. At the risk of sounding like a 1960’s hippy, people crave peace and calm. They long to have tranquility and to be settled. So when they see that in you, they are drawn to it like bees are to flowers and children are to mud puddles. Once you have their attention, your true beauty will continue to radiate and the impression you can leave on them has the potential to be life-changing.

Being beautiful is not all about getting all dressed up and portraying a “perfect appearance” when deep down, you are empty and cracked. To every woman who has ever felt like she isn’t good enough, pretty enough, content enough or beautiful enough... searching your insecurities with temporary voids and desperate to let God change you from the inside out and completely surrender to God. Then “Perfect Red Lips, but cracked on the inside” is a perfect book for you.  It is a step-by-step guide that will help you feel and become truly beautiful. The moment you read this book you will see the beauty and perfection that is already inside of you the beauty that has always been with every woman since the day they were born, and it will always be with you…. This book is available on amazon read it now.