Lost In the Prairies.....Found by God

I saw one of them again.  She looked perfect.  She had the nice shoes.  She had a great jacket.  She had perfect hair and make up.  She looked good.  She looked perfect.  Who am I talking about?  A woman without children.  

You moms know what I am talking about.  Our shoes are comfortable.  Our shirts have stains.  We own jeans and maybe a few dress pants for church or special occasions.  The last time we wore a formal dress was either a bridesmaid dress or our husband's Christmas social.  We rarely get hair cuts.  We wear make up but to hide the dark circles under our eyes.  We don't have time to look perfect.   We want wash and wear.  It has to be comfortable.  It has to practicle.  I am sorry Stacy and Clinton, we don't want to wear high heels to the grocery store and we don't have time to put on nylons to drop the kids off in the mornings (I'm lucky if I have all my make up on).  

However, I understand what poor Stacy and Clinton on What Not To Wear are trying to do.  In fact, God spells it out for us.  

I know many people focus on this verse as telling us that we shouldn't have any adornment or any elaborate hairstyles.  That we don't need to focus on our outsides.  But I learned something from Tony Evans about this verse.  It doesn't say don't do it.  It doesn't say let yourself go so that you can glorify God.  It doesn't say don't keep yourself up, it just says don't make it your idol.  We should focus on our inner beauty.  Once we do that it will reflect out.  However, we don't need to look this while we work on it:

We should take care of ourselves.  We should look on the outside how we feel on the inside.  When we let our outside go, it is usually a reflection of what our inside looks like or how we are feeling.  When we take care of ourselves, we feel better about ourselves and can work on our insides.  It is hard to focus on what God calls us to do, when we hate ourselves or don't care about ourselves.  God wants so much more for us than we give ourselves or even allow ourselves to hope.  We don't need to look like a fashion model (those days are sadly gone), but we should look good.  We should allow ourselves times for manicures and/or pedicures.  We should allow ourselves times for good haircuts and colourings.  We don't need to let ourselves go - Mom or not.  

These past few weeks I have been reflecting on my own wardrobe.  I admit I have been slowly slipping into track pants, t-shirts and sweatshirts.  For those that know me personally, you know if I usually have jeans and a nice top or sweater on.  I don't leave the house without my hair down.  But admittedly I am tired.  I am frustrated in having many of tops ruined by stains from mucky fingers.  I frustrated by my weight and frustrated by my the greying hair.   It would be so easy to give up.  It would be easy to let myself go.   It would be easy to give up.  It would be easy to buy into the line that I shouldn't focus on my outside because it would be dishonouring God.  But God asks me to look after myself.  

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body,"  (1 Corinithians 6:19-20 NIV)

God paid a price for us.  Not just for our insides, but also for our outsides.  We are to care for both equally.  We should focus on our spiritual life.  We should focus on God's leading in our lives.  Just the same, we should look after our bodies.  Caring for the temple He gave each of us so that we may honour Him.  You wouldn't allow anyone to ransake your Church.  You wouldn't allow it to become run down.  So why do we allow ourselves to become run down?

Are you taking care of your temple?  Are you caring as much for your outside as your inside?  Come link up with the other java junkies this week.