You are Beautiful and Brilliant

I've partnered up with women who have a story to tell.

These women are ready to be authentic with themselves.
Their stories are shared to inspire and encourage you.
To help you validate the truth that we all know deep down in our hearts.
Sometimes we get so bogged down by our insecurities.
By our hurts.
By things that have happened to us, or choices that we've made.
No matter what you look like, or what you have or have not done, no matter the color of your skin, the size of your bottom, no matter where you were born or how you were raised, God wants you to know this:

"YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL AND BRILLIANT"

 Please meet my beautiful friend.

“I am beautiful and brilliant. I am beautiful and brilliant.” I can see myself now as I meditated on these words throughout my life, wishing like crazy I believed it was true. The truth was, I believed myself to be broken, worthless and an accident.

It wasn’t until my second husband left me for another woman that I was finally healed of these lies. One day, God sat me down and told me that I am not broken. I had been in horrible emotional pain for a couple of months when it happened. I was sick with betrayal, rejection and abandonment. That particular trio had left me devastated.
God decided to have a little discussion with me. He told me that I am not broken, that I am whole. Even though it did not feel true inside me, I decided to believe what the creator of the universe was saying to me. He told me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. He told me to let go of the hurt, resentment, betrayal and pain. Little by little, as he coaxed the pain out of me, I surrendered to the truth. God lives inside me. He is part of me. He is all good things. If He is inside me, then I must be those good things too.
I am beautiful and brilliant.
So are you.

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If you'd like a free Beautiful and Brilliant 5 x7 print and have a story you feel led to share, (or know a group of people who could benefit from these prints) please email me at gracechrissie@yahoo.com.)  I am more than happy to share them with you free of charge!

You Are Beautiful and Brilliant

I've partnered up with women who have a story to tell.

These women are ready to be authentic with themselves.
Their stories are shared to inspire and encourage you.
To help you validate the truth that we all know deep down in our hearts.
Sometimes we get so bogged down by our insecurities.
By our hurts.
By things that have happened to us, or choices that we've made.
No matter what you look like, or what you have or have not done, no matter the color of your skin, the size of your bottom, no matter where you were born or how you were raised, God wants you to know this:

"YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL AND BRILLIANT"

 

Please welcome my friend Cheri and her story:

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Beautiful and Brilliant

I have wracked my brain for weeks on this subject.  When did I know?   When did it finally sink in?  When was my “ah ha” moment that I am Beautiful and Brilliant?

My lovely parents delighted in their children and offered plenty of love and respect to each of us.  They planted the seed for self-confidence and they watered the seed consistently by praising our accomplishments and believing in us.  But that wasn’t enough to fend off the under current of “not good enough” as I went through middle school and puberty.   High school was a nightmare when I had to move from Texas to GA, and give up cheerleading, dance team and my boy friend!  And then I chose a career of ballet and performing arts, of all things! That was a trap for perfection if ever there was one!  There is no such thing as “good enough” in the world of dance.  There was always room for better, for improvement, for solo star status.  But I never wanted that.  I always wanted to be in the corp.  I wanted to be the support for the one who did want all of that glory and pressure; for that one who did know she was Beautiful and Brilliant!  I was quite content to hide in the mass of tutus, thank you!  I was just not beautiful and brilliant enough.

My young adult years were filled with turbulence.  Not a fertile ground for Beautiful and Brilliant.  Becoming a widow with a 3 year old to raise nearly did me in.  But in true red headed determined fashion, I pushed through.  I found my way through fog and fear.  I conquered daily battles, including a divorce much later.  I raised two beautiful children.  I completed decades of life.  I fattened my faith.  I became a real person with about forty million layers of lessons and experiences.  I finally found the love of my life whom I felt I would be content with forever.  We eventually moved into our dream home, a historical mess that we could rebuild together as we built our own life.   We attended my children’s weddings, became grandparents, celebrated life right out loud!  And we fought to keep our lives and hearts intact when my daughter was diagnosed and battled cancer; when our grandson became deathly ill and spent months in the hospital and when my dad, brother and Paul’s grandmother passed away. 

I can’t tell you when, where and at what exact moment it happened.  But as my artistic self went from performance art to visual art; my creative writing increased by blogging about my life and I became quite sure that God loves me, warts and all…I found the peace I had searched for most of my life.  As I glue mosaics together, creating a completely new image out of glass shards and as I weave cloth and create a beautiful piece of fabric from mere strings, I have peace in my heart, in my soul and in my creative energy flow.  And the more I work with these things, the more I want to promote healing amongst the masses of people who need to heal, especially adolescent girls!

And one day I looked in the mirror and there was no criticism about the image looking back at me.  In fact, she was beautiful, just the way she was.  Freckles, which were the source of a lifetime of teasing, were still shining brightly and dancing around my face.  But now there were lines and wrinkles marking the passage of time.  I could actually name some of them and when they arrived!  I have always been satisfied with my intelligence.  Slightly above average most of the time, unless you’re talking about finance.  And “it” was just there … it had finally arrived.   I am beautiful and brilliant.  It is never too late when you discover that you are beautiful and brilliant just as you are!

p.s. And as a side note Chrissie is the angel who gifted me with the love for putting mosaics together through her art.  So Chrissie, I will say to you right now, you are a major source in my beauty and brilliance finally arriving.  And I love you.  Thank you.

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Thank you sweet Cheri, and for sharing  your honesty and gentle and sincere beauty.
You can learn more about Cheri by clicking on the links below.
Blog

Facebook 

Shop

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If you'd like a free Beautiful and Brilliant 5 x7 print and have a story you feel led to share, (or know a group of people who could benefit from these prints) please email me at gracechrissie@yahoo.com.)  I am more than happy to share them with you free of charge!

You are Beautiful and Brilliant

I've partnered up with women who have a story to tell.

These women are ready to be authentic with themselves.
Their stories are shared to inspire and encourage you.
To help you validate the truth that we all know deep down in our hearts.
Sometimes we get so bogged down by our insecurities.
By our hurts.
By things that have happened to us, or choices that we've made.
No matter what you look like, or what you have or have not done, no matter the color of your skin, the size of your bottom, no matter where you were born or how you were raised, God wants you to know this:

"YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL AND BRILLIANT"

 

Please welcome Angie and her story:

 

 

These girls of mine are growing up right before my very eyes.  In just a few short weeks they'll be turning 11.  They're half way done with 5^th grade and then it's onto middle school next year.  There are times when I catch myself looking at them and think, Who are these big kids?  How are they so tall?  When did they grow so opinionated?  I am the mother of small children.  These BIG kids can't possibly be mine.  But, you see, I am not the mother of small children.  These tweens are mine.  

And as they grow, I have this urge to hold them close and stroke their hair and whisper encouraging words in their ears.  Words that will burrow into their hearts and stay there forever.  Words that will become their truth.  Their anchor.  Their rock.  Words that will become their inner voice, words burned into their being.  Words that take shape and grow wings and fly about them, protecting them and keeping them safe.  Safe from self doubt (it will surely come one day), safe from the chains of society, safe from the buzz that surrounds us and makes us feel unworthy, not good enough, unloved.

I worry everyday for my girls.  They're blued eyed with blond hair.  Identical twins.  They are gorgeous.  One is a dancer, a perfectionist, a scholar.  The other wants to spend her time crafting and creating -  crocheting, sewing, drawing.  She loves to laugh and make people laugh.  They both love big.  They wear their hearts on their sleeves.  They care – about themselves, each other, our family, our community.

I worry about raising them right.  That we are raising them right.  I worry about making them strong and confident,  so that one day, when the weight of the realization that their biological father signed papers to give them up, to let their Daddy adopt them, comes crashing down on them, they will know that he did it out of love.  That he gave them up because he loved them, not because they were unworthy, not good enough, unloved.  And that their Daddy adopted them because he loved them.  And that every decision in their lives was made out of love and nothing else.

I want them to always be able to look in the mirror and know that they are  strong and courageous.  Kind and loving and thoughtful and  amazing. That they are beautiful and brilliant.

 

Thank you Angie, for having the courage and generousity to share your story with us.
You can learn more about Angie here:
Blog:  http://www.ikeandco.com/
Shop:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/ikeandco
Instagram:  @ikeandco

 

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If you'd like a free Beautiful and Brilliant 5 x7 print and have a story you feel led to share, (or know a group of people who could benefit from these prints) please email me at gracechrissie@yahoo.com.)  I am more than happy to share them with you free of charge!

You are Beautiful and Brilliant ( New Series)

Welcome to my new series that I feel so blessed to share with you.

I had a calling a few months ago to do something.

I had created some art entitled "You are Beautiful and Brilliant" a few years ago and changed the format of the work to just include the words.

It became apparent to me that I needed to give these away.

To people who needed them.

To people who needed to see them. To Hear the words.

To validate the truth that we all know deep down in our hearts.

Sometimes we get so bogged down by our insecurities.

By our hurts.

By things that have happened to us, or choices that we've made.

No matter what you look like, or what you have or have not done, no matter the color of your skin, the size of your bottom, no matter where you were born or how you were raised, God wants you to know this:

"YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL AND BRILLIANT"

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I asked some women if they were ready to share their authentic selves with you.

Women who were ready to share a story about themselves.

A story that may be easy or difficult to tell.

Most importantly, a story that would resonate with someone and validate issues that we all deal with.

 

My beautiful friend Kate, has a story to share.

 

I would love to tell you that nothing really upsets me.  

But that wouldn’t be true.  That wouldn’t be true in 242 different ways. 

For many years, I’ve told myself that it is ok, because I’m a really nice person with a kind smile.   I’m a good friend to people and I love to make people feel special. 

As I run past full length mirrors, I’ve whispered to myself that those qualities excuse everything else.  As I order clothes online to avoid trying things on in a dressing room, I comfort myself that God loves me anyways. 

I could blame it on the stress of moving or the sadness of five miscarriages.   I could blame it on one of those miscarriages being beautiful twins that decided they would wait for me in heaven. 

Growing up, there were a few in my family that struggled with weight, but not me. 

That wasn’t my story.  I wasn’t supposed to have to deal with weight struggles, right?

Before marriage, I was a dancer – high school was filled with drill team practice and ballet recitals.  I’m not sure what I weighed. 

I asked mom to proofread this for me – the most vulnerable post I have ever written – and she told me that one day the school nurses called concerned that I was underweight.  My friends that I went to prom with cornered me in the bathroom and asked me if I was anorexic, which I wasn’t. 

I can remember when I was pregnant with Nate; I prayed that I would not hit 200 pounds.  At my last weigh in, I was 199.  I felt triumphant!  That was the heaviest I had ever been.  Ever.  

Before we moved to Arizona, I was at my thinnest after having children and I felt amazing – size 10 and 164 pounds. 

Then, the next time I stepped on the scale I was somewhere in the 220s.  I had skipped right past the 200s and the 210s.  What?  

For a few years, I dressed in blacks and greys, just ignoring what my body looked like. 

I should tell you that I have always felt that those of us that have weight struggles have this unfair disadvantage. 

Everyone can see what we struggle with.  I don’t get to look at others and know their vulnerabilities, but everyone gets to look at me and just know.

 I hoped that if I was nice enough, then everyone would overlook what I looked like. 

Forget what I know in my heart about showing others God’s love.  

Apparently, I had taken ownership of His love as if it was mine to dole out and hide behind.  The more kind I was, the more of His love I would have to dole out.  The more of His love I doled out, the more people would see what I wanted them to see. 

Yeah, that’s not quite how it works, huh? 

And you know what?!  Now that I am taking baby steps into His amazing arms of unconditional love, I’m leaning that it is ok to ask for help with my weight loss, too.

After a long journey of prayer and many talks with my mom, late last summer, I finally realized that God loves all 242 pounds of me.   Just writing that number seems astounding and embarrassing.  There is a teeny little part of me that thinks – I bet people reading this think I have no self-control or they are embarrassed for me.   But that’s ok. 

I am blessed that I’ve come to this point.  I know that my God truly loves me. 

Not like – “hey God loves all His children” but He has given ME talents and gifts and wants to grow ME. 

What?  He wants me to pour His love on others – absolutely, but He also wants to fill ME with His love. 

It is ok to ask for His strength and wisdom in this, too.   God wants His children to come to Him with all things – even those things we think we are not supposed to pray for.    When He told us to lean on His strength, He really meant for everything!  Even that super cute cupcake in the window or the extra large bowl of queso. 

If I can encourage you on this journey, please let me know!  I am learning that I am beautiful and I’d love to help you discover that truth, too! 

Learn more about sweet Kate here:

Kate's Blog: www.SongsKateSang.com
Kate's Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/SongsKateSang

Kate's Twitter: @SongsKateSang

Kate's Facebook: facebook.com/kate.t.eschbach

Kate's Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/songskatesang/
Send Love. Expect Nothing in Return.™

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(If you'd like a free Beautiful and Brilliant 5 x7  print and have a story you feel led to share, (or know a group of people who could benefit from these prints) please email me at gracechrissie@yahoo.com.)

You are Beautiful and Brilliant

A few years ago I had a series of art that I called the "She Series".

This year I wanted to update the series and I 'm doing different things with the original quotes I had written.

This one originally said:  "She told herself she was beautiful and brilliant and one day she woke up and finally believed it."

I shortened it to say "You are beautiful and brilliant".

It is going to be a regular feature on my new web site (when it launches).

We will be hearing stories of how people found their authentic selves.  Stories of how people survived trials and heartaches.  Stories of how we are all beautiful and brilliant.  Stories to celebrate the uniqueness of us all.

 Each and every etsy order now through March 31st will receive a "You are beautiful and brilliant" print for FREE!  I invite you to take a picture of yourself with your print and share your story with me.  I will share different stories that will help inspire others.  Or you can just keep it for yourself.  Or you can gift to someone that you think may need it!  :)

I'm excited about this little dream that God planted in my heart.  My prayer is that is provides comfort, friendship, inspiration, and peace for those who choose to be involved.