A Spiritual Makeover

We have all, probably, watched one of those TV shows where Ty, I believe is his name, goes into a house and completely makes it over, so much so that you can hardly believe it is the one and same. Then there is the show where you have the before and after transformation of a dowdy woman, (not right hair, not right clothes, not right make-up, pretty much not right anything :)  ) and together with the make-up artist, the hair-dresser, and the fashionable wardrobe consultant, the new woman has changed from frumpy to fabulous in about an hour.  Together, with that example, let me use a couple of TV ads which make me laugh and frustrate me all at the same time, to try to show where I am going today in this writing.

Have you seen the one speaking to ladies which asks them- " Have you noticed now at sixty that there are more wrinkles?"  WELL, YEAH!  Or, to the male species, how about the one who asks- "Have you men at forty-five noticed that you don't have the stamina and energy level that you had at twenty-five?"  WELL, DUH!  Grandanny and I often laugh as we collapse on the couch after having those two precious ones over for a sleepover and we ask the question- why do they have all that energy, even at bedtime? Simple answer- they are ten and five - and we ain't!  It's why we were raising Mark and Amy when we were in our twenties, not in our late fifties and early sixties. I could keep up better back then with that browned-eyed boy who got into everything (he turned his MaMa Womack's mixer on one time with the beaters up and coconut cake was on the ceiling- true story) and that blue-eyed girl who did not believe in naps.( I used to take my fingers and close her eyelids- didn't work!)

Now, understand, please,  that I am not anti-looking good or anti-feeling good. I understand that looking presentable is right- I don't think the more bland we look, the more spiritual we are. I do feel for our young girls today though because there is so much emphasis on the appearance. We need to impress upon them that "who they are" is more important than how they look. I mean Lindsey Lohan and Miley Cyrus are beautiful but they both seem to be headed down the wrong  paths. Can I insert this without sounding too meddling? Parents, pay attention to whom your little girls are looking to and why do we want them to look provocative? Are we afraid they will be deemed different? I write to Christians- we are called to be different!  I also know that we have high demands and schedules today and the better we feel, the more we can accomplish so I am all for feeling better- in fact, I am on a new herbal regiment to see if I possibly can improve my quality of life. But, with that said concerning the outer man or woman, I want to give you a couple of verses from Scripture and convey what is really on my heart today. 2 Cor. 4:16- "For which cause we faint not: but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day."  Col. 3:10 "And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him."

My concern for myself this day (and if it applies to you) is that I spend more time looking in the mirror of God's Word (James 1:23-25) than I do in the bathroom mirror. One is fading, deteriorating, at best, and going back to the dust but the new self should be glowing and becoming more attractive to the point of others noticing and wanting to be like Jesus because He is Who is shining in and through me. Christian friend, it is impossible to gaze upon Him at length and not be transformed. Back to 2 Cor. 3:18, which says "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."  I love the O.T. verse from Proverbs 4:18 which, I believe parallels with this thought - "But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."  My desire should be to shine brighter and brighter for Him as I press on. I know it is yours too and hopefully next time, I will share something that looks good on all Christians. The "experts" on the physical body will tell us that certain colors and styles don't accentuate our best features. For instance, orange is not a good color for me but my sister, Darlene has skin tones that it works very well for her. (I wear my Tennessee Vol shirt anyway on Saturdays and I am sorry the Dawgs took their wrath out on them this past week.)  When you find a color, though, and people remark "Hey, I love that color- it looks good on you", you shop for things in that color, don't you?

Well, I have been studying some things that the Master, the Creator, the Potter, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ says "That looks good on my children!"  Doesn't He create in us a desire to put them on and wear them for Him and His glory?    Lord, give us hearts to know You and pliable hearts that long for a spiritual make-over, to throw some things out and to put on some others which look like You! Amen and Amen!

Looking up, Deborah