Monday, October 21, 2013

look for toothpicks, not billboards


Recently, I started watching Doctor Who. There was a quote on an episode that I find extremely funny, but also thought provoking.

"Ricky, let me show you something about the human race. You put a mysterious blue box slap-bang in the middle of town, what do they do? Walk past it."

Now, as amusing as that quote is, it's got a point. People can be extremely oblivious to important details. I had seen a show on Tv about how mind tricks work and why they work. In the one example, a man went into store and he talked to a random guy he met. During the conversation the man that was randomly selected was purposely distracted maybe 6 or so times and each time he was distracted the other man would change something about his appearance. He started out with a neck brace, a red shirt, a hat, an eye patch, and a jacket. In the end he had a black shirt, no neck brace, a different hat, the eye patch was moved to the other eye, and no jacket. Sadly, the random guy that was picked to do this didn't even notice. Now what does that say about how oblivious humans can be?

As humans we tend to not notice little things, yet we seek out the big things. But that's not how God works. God doesn't just come down from heaven and say to me "ok, Rachel, here's what I want you to do: you're going to marry this guy, you're going to go to this college for this career and you will never have a struggle ever again." Ha! Wouldn't that be nice? Too bad

As a friend of mine once said, signs from God are like getting toothpicks thrown at you, they may not seem big and important at the time, but later on, when you look down at the toothpicks, they'll spell out what God was trying to show/tell you.

Look for God in the small things that you might normally take for granted. For me, nature is a huge reminder of God's presence. To know that He created everything and that it is all so beautiful.  Have you ever heard the quote "what if you woke up and all you had left was what you remembered to thank God for"? How many of us would be left without anything?

Remember, God doesn't want us seeking out miracles to base our faith on. "Blessed are those who have not seen and still believe."

During a struggle it is easy to be upset with God and to feel like He left you, but looking back on those struggles, we realize that He was there the whole time. Look for the toothpicks! Don't get all down because God doesn't come down to earth and resolve your problem! Look for Him in the little things, He's there, you just have to keep your eyes open!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Are you a Catholic or a Christian?

I hate when people ask me that! I hope to clear up any confusion with this post.

This past Sunday, I was at youth group and it was our first one for the school year and we were playing trainwreck as a "get to know you" game. Trainwreck is a game where everyone sits in a circle and there are enough chairs for everyone except for one person. That person that ends up without a chair stands in the middle of the circle and says something like, "If you go to highschool" or "If you have brown hair," something like that, and whoever has that, does that, or has done that gets up and has to change seats. Or if someone says, "Trainwreck!" then everybody has to get up and move.

Well, while we were playing, the siblings were trying to get each other in the middle of the circle. One sibling's brother was named Christian so he said "If your name is Christian" so Christian had to get up. Well, Christian's response was "If you ARE a Christian" (Now remember this is a Catholic youth group--Everyone should have gotten up). Some people did not get up and their response was "well, I wasn't sure if being Catholic we weren't Christians"...

Let me clear some thing up for you.

->Do you believe in Jesus Christ?
If you answered yes, the you are a Christian
If you answered no, then you are not a Christian

Do you believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth?
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary: suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell: on the third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty: From thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead: Do you believe in the Holy Spirit? Do you believe in the Holy Catholic Church: the communion of saints: the forgiveness of sins: the resurrection of the body: and the life everlasting?


Then You are Catholic! AND Christian! Catholics believe in Jesus!


Thank you for listening, this has been a rant from Yours Truly! If there is still any confusion, please comment or message me.
Thank you again and God Bless!


Sunday, August 11, 2013

What Does That Make Me?

While I was on our mission trip, we would have worship every morning and night. There would be music and prayer. One song we sang was Everything Glorious, by David Crowder. This song has been stuck in my head ever since mission trip! Haha which, I'm not complaining. It's a good song! :)

There is one part in the song where he is singing to God and says "You make everything glorious and I am yours. What does that make me?"

It really got me thinking. In the creation story God made the earth and the trees and everything and He said it was good but when He made man and woman He said it was very good. A lot of times it is easy to get caught up in what we think are flaws and what other people tell us are flaws. Good doesn't make mistakes! He made you exactly how He wanted you to be.

My youth minister described it as Good walking around a room with file cabinets labeled hair color, height, eye color, skin tone, personality, etc. and God would go to each drawer and piece by piece design us in His image and when He is done he will smile and say "my child, you are very good."

I know that when you are being made fun of it is a lot harder to remember that. Believe me, I know. As Bob and Larry would say "God made you special and He loves you very much!" (VeggieTales) Whenever someone says something that is hurtful or points out something they consider to be a flaw, remember that God made you exactly how He wanted you to be. Think of good things. Things that make you feel good about yourself. For me, I love my eyes, I think they're really pretty. So when someone says they don't like the way I look, I remember that God blessed me with pretty eyes. Sounds silly, but it helps to me go on. Remember to thank God for everything, even your flaws.

Good bless you :) thank you for reading

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

The hands and feet of Jesus


When I was at NCYC, I was given a poster with the following quote by Teresa of Avila:

"Christ has no body but yours, 
No hands, no feet on earth but yours, 
Yours are the eyes with which He looks Compassion on this world, 
Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good, 
Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world. 
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, Yours are the eyes, 
You are His body."

I came across this quote again a little while back. People often say "Let Christ shine through you," most of us when we hear that think "don't do this, don't do that, be a good little Christian, What would Jesus do?, etc." And most of us cut off after "don't do..." cause nobody likes to be told not to do something or being told what to do in general.

About a week ago I was on a mission trip in Hastings, Michigan. Before my group left, we had our hands and feet blessed with holy water and were told to be the hands and feet of Jesus. While we were there, it was powerful how much of an impact our actions made on the town and on the residents whose homes we were repairing.

I was working on a home with six other people and we scraped and repainted a house. Our resident and her family were so grateful and it was so great to be able to help them! This was my 3rd mission trip, but I will never get tired of seeing the smiles that come from sharing God's love. :) It is is so great to know that you're making an impact on someone's life and the you are able to share God in the process. :)

God bless you all! Never be afraid to show Jesus to someone. You never know who may need Him right at that moment<3

Monday, July 8, 2013

Steubie Changed my life once again

Hi everyone. :) I hope your summer has been going well. Mine has been pretty crazy so far! The last weekend in June, my youth group and I went to a Steubenville Youth Conference, it was AWESOME!!! It's pretty awesome seeing 2,300 teens praising the Lord with all their hearts! there's just so much passion and love and faith in the air that you just wanna sing! Praise and worship is absolutely incredible! I love the music they play and the energy is just amazing! Our speakers this year were really great too! Father Dave Pivonka, Deacon Ralph Poyo, Sarah Swafford, Bob Rice, Chris Padgett and the Awesome LEAD people who gave their witness. Fr. Dave talked about how Jesus comes to Us, He died on that cross for Us, that Jesus loves Us. Deacon Ralph talked about our chains that weigh us down and keep us from God and how confession takes away those chains, that there is healing in God. Sarah Swafford talked about the crowds on Palm Sunday that shouted "Hosanna!" were the same crowd that shouted "Barabbas" on Good Friday and that during the conference, it's like Palm Sunday, are we going to go with the crowd or against it after the conference? One of the LEAD witnesses I really remember and really hit me was by a guy name Daniel. Daniel talked about how he'd never really felt anything during prayer and so he prayed about it and the number 100 came to him. He realized that God wanted him to give 100% in prayer, not 99.9%, but 100%. His witness really spoke to me and really inspired me to work harder to give God my 100%.

During the conference we also spent a lot of time in adoration. Adoration is my favorite way to pray because Jesus is right there, physically in front of us! It's a very powerful experience.
Every time I spend time in Adoration, something in me changes. On Saturday night, The priest (Fr. Dave) brought the monstrance around the field house. He brought Jesus up every isle. It is absolutely amazing, you can literally feel His presence! During that time I did some major praying and contemplating. Lately my prayer life has been, well, pitiful. I lacked the devotion I felt empty and I was upset. Ever since I left Steubenville, I've wanted to fix my prayer life, or, more like create a prayer life. I decided to do that by opening The book, The Bible. I just kinda opened it, letting God turn the pages for me, And I found this: Psalm 13:1-6
"How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
  Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
  lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me."
God is good! He took how I had been feeling and was able to give me peace. I'm not perfect, I make mistakes, but He's still there, walking me through the day, step by step. 
God bless! Thank you for reading!


Friday, May 24, 2013

Summer is almost here!

Summer is right around the corner! For some, it may already be their summer break!
 
Isn't it exciting!?
 
I know I'm excited. A lot of times school and work just seems to jumble together and we feel like we just need a break. During the school year we tend to feel like school is our life, it takes up the majority of our time and then we have to study, or do homework, or work, or do our chores, etc. There's always something.

And then, as summer rolls around the corner we're thinking "hmm, finally! a break! Time to relax!" am I right?
So then the first couple weeks of summer we're all kinda lazy and don't really do much. You know the routine, hang out at home, order some pizza, kick your feet up, watch a couple movies, read a book. Sounds good, right? 

Let's face it. If all you're doing is lying around the house, you're likely to get bored. I know I do.

How about put you open schedule toward something? See where I'm going with this? No point in slouching around the house boring yourself to death! Get out and enjoy yourself! Spend some quality time with family and friends. See where God is calling you to! I'm not saying that you should move to Africa and give all you own to the poor (Unless, of course, God is calling you to that. Then by all means follow your Father to where ever He leads you!)! My point is, make a difference with the life God gave you. If you are stuck inside, say you don't have a ride or everybody's busy. The best thing to do is to spend some of that free time in prayer. Say a rosary. Pray for those you love. Discern God's vocation for you. 

This summer my youth group is going on a mission trip in Michigan. In the past we've gone to the Carolinas, Texas, our own home town, and a couple other places, never out of the country. Most people, when they think of missionary work they think of the people who go to Haiti, Africa, the Philippians, etc. That's awesome that people do that! I actually have a friend who did that (funny thing is I met her at a mission trip in North Carolina). But, where I'm going with this is that you can be a missionary in your own home town, in your day to day life. Christ can work through you no matter where you are; He could be working through you right now!

It's the simple things that often make the biggest difference. My first mission trip My crew was painting for an elderly woman. She had lung problems, she was paralyzed from the waist down, her daughter had heart troubles but on top of all that she was the sweetest person. It meant so much for her that we were painting and making her house look pretty. She enjoyed the company and she loved being able to talk to us. There were 6 people in my crew so we would rotate who did what. One person would spend time talking with our resident and keeping her company while the other 5 painted. On one of the last days, while I was talking to her she told me that us spending time with her and talking with her meant so much more than the painting did and that she really enjoyed that we offered to pray with her.

Always remember that no matter how small an action seems, you could be being Jesus to someone. As my youth minister likes to say, "Be Jesus with skin on!" basically, be Jesus to others, you never know who's going to need Him more in that moment.

God Bless you!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Stop! Sit! Pray!

Let us Pray.
Loving Father, we stand before You in the midst of confusion and complexities of life. Our future sometimes seems distant and unknown. Give us, O Lord, the vision to see the path you set before us. Grant us the courage to follow Your way, that through the gifts and talents You have given us, we may bring Your life and Your love to others. We ask this through Jesus, Your Son and our Brother. Amen


Lately, everything has been kinda crazy. Between everything that's going on in the world and at home, sometimes it feels like you don't have time to do anything! The other day My schedule was just packed yet I could not concentrate at all. I do online school, so not being able to concentrate is BAD! I sat at my computer, staring at the screen and then a thought occured to me. Doesn't the bible say something about placing our cares in His hands? ;P of course! John 14:1 says"Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me."
So that's what I did! I went over and sat on my bed and prayed for Jesus to calm my fears and take my worry. I have a chaplet to St. Padre Pio (He's awesome!) and at the beginning of each set you can add in your petition. After I had finished my chaplet I sat there in silence because first of all, it's hard to hear God if we never hush and second, ending prayers with quiet time is really peaceful to me. Giving everything to God is not easy, believe me, I struggle with that a lot. I tend to be a control freak, so the thought of giving my problems to someone else to handle kinda freaks me out. But when we place total trust in God, we will know true peace.

Praying helped me to calm my thoughts and to know that I'm not alone. This world can be extremely hectic, add that to our personal lives and it's like a nuclear bomb went off in our heads and it tends to cloud our thoughts. When our thoughts are clouded we tend to ignor the fact that God is by our side saying, "Don't worry. I got this." Instead we say "no, I've got this," when in reality we don't have it--at all. 

Saying "I got this" without God is like saying "I can eat this tomato soup with a fork! It's all good!" When in reality, your soup will slip through your fork, you will get a minuscule amount actually to your mouth and it will take you a million-bazillion years to get even close to the bottom of the bowl and you will never be able to get that last little bit at the bottom. But if you say, "Lord, I can't do this by myself. Help me." It'd be like Him saying, "here, have a spoon!" and He'd be there with you.

Yes, I know, I'm weird. But think about it. God is the key to our problems. God doesn't give you an impossible task, without Him it is impossible, but with Him you can move mountains (Matthew 17:20   "...if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”)

Next time you are stressed or worried or feel alone. Pray! You're not alone


Matthew 7:7-8
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened."


God Bless you!!!

Friday, April 12, 2013

Padre Pio once said, "We have so many faults to criticize in ourselves, why pick on our brothers?" 
 
 

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Alleluia!

The Fifteenth Station: Jesus is Risen!!!!

We adore You oh Christ and we praise You,
because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world 


"Then the angel spoke, addressing the women: 'Do not be frightened. I know you are looking for Jesus the crucified, but He is not here. He has been raised, exactly as He promised.'" (Matthew 28:5-6)



 Alleluia! Alleluia!
Happy Easter Everyone!

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Stations of the Cross

The First Station: Jesus is condemned to death

We adore You oh Christ and we praise You,
because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world
"When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak, Pilate said to the, 'look at the man.'" (John 19:5)


The Second Station: Jesus takes up His cross

We adore You oh Christ and we praise You,
because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world

"When they had finished mocking Him, they stripped Him of the purple, dressed him in His own clothes and led Him out to crucify Him." (Mark 15:20)


The Third Station: Jesus falls the first time

We adore You oh Christ and we praise You,
because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world 

"He advanced a little and fell to the ground, praying that if it were possible this hour might pass Him by. He kept saying, 'Father, you have the power to do all things. Take this cup away from me. But, let it be as You would have it, not as I'" (Mark 14: 35-36)


The Fourth Station: Jesus meets His mother Mary

We adore You oh Christ and we praise You,
because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world

"When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold your son.' Then He said to the disciple, 'Behold your mother.' And from that hour onward the disciple took her into his home." (John 19: 26-27)


The Fifth Station: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross

We adore You oh Christ and we praise You,
because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world 

"As they led Him away, they laid hold of one Simon of Cyrene who was coming in from the fields. They put a crossbeam on Simon's shoulder for him to carry along behind Jesus." (Luke 23:26)


the Sixth Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

We adore You oh Christ and we praise You,
because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world 

 "Then the just will ask Him and say, 'Lord when did we see you hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and welcome You or clothe You in Your nakedness?' The king will answer them, 'I solemnly assure you, whatever you did for the least of My brothers and sisters, you did for Me.'" (Matthew 25:37-40)


the Seventh Station: Jesus falls the second time

We adore You oh Christ and we praise You,
because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world

"It was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that He endured. He was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins. Upon Him was the chastisement that make us whole, and by His stripes we are healed." (Matthew 25:37-40)


the Eighth Station: Jesus comforts the women of Jerusalem

We adore You oh Christ and we praise You,
because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world 

"A great crowd followed Him, including women who beat their breasts and lamented over Him. Jesus turned to them and said: 'Do not weep for me. Weep for yourselves and for your children'" (Luke 23:27-28)


the Ninth Station: Jesus falls the third time 

We adore You oh Christ and we praise You,
because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world 

Jesus said, "the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I solemnly assure you, unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much fruit." (John 12:23-24)


the Tenth Station: Jesus is stripped of His garments 

We adore You oh Christ and we praise You,
because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world

"Then they crucified him and divided up His garments by rolling dice for them to see what each should take." (Mark 15:24)


the Eleventh Station: Jesus is nailed to the cross 

We adore You oh Christ and we praise You,
because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world 

"When they came to the place of the Skull, they crucified Jesus there and the criminals as well, one on His right and the other on His left. Then Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, they know not what they do'" (Luke 23:33-34)


the Twelfth Station: Jesus dies on the cross 

We adore You oh Christ and we praise You,
because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world 

"It was around midday, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. Then the veil of the Temple was torn in two. Jesus uttered a loud cry and said, "Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit.' After He said this He expired."


[Take a moment to pray in silence...]

 

 

 

 

 

the Thirteenth Station: Jesus is taken down from the cross

We adore You oh Christ and we praise You,
because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world 

"Afterward, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove Jesus the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it, so they came and took the body away." (John 19:38)


the Fourteenth Station: Jesus is placed in the tomb 

We adore You oh Christ and we praise You,
because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world 

"Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it in clean linen and laid it in his own new tomb which had been hewn from a formation of rock. Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away." (Matthew 27: 59-60)

  

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Integrity, Courage, Love

This is such a beautiful quote by Blessed Mother Teresa. I've always loved it and I hope you like it too! :)

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway

If you are successful, you will winsome false friends and some true enemies.

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you.

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight.

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have , and it may never be enough.

Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, 

it's between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.


God Bless You! <3

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Ah, public speaking...gotta love it!


We all have something that scares us. No matter what we do, we just can’t conquer that fear. For some of us, maybe it’s a spider, for others, maybe heights; maybe it’s of small places, or getting lost. But no matter what we’ve tried, that fear still grips our mind. You see, our problem is, we try to handle stuff on our own instead of offering it up to God. But God doesn’t leave us to fend for ourselves; He will carry us through our struggles and give us strength to mount up on wings like eagles, to run and not grow weary, to walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

In the book of Joshua [1:9] we are told to “be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”


For me, I’m terrified of speaking in front of people, which is funny because I wish I could be a catholic speaker (ironic, right?) I know I dream big, but hey, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!” (Phil. 4:13) I have wanted to conquer this fear for forever now! I’ve tried reading more in the class room (yes, I’m even scared to read in front of my classes at school) I’ve helped out more with my youth group and reading and speaking in front of them, but every time I get up there and I see everyone looking at me, I start shaking and my voice gets really quiet and I stutter and it’s just not a pretty sight. I’ve gotten better, but I’m still nervous. I even get nervous practicing before I go up in front of people!


Towards the beginning of the school year, I had made a video for my youth group on adoration (sorry I can’t post the video online) and we played it at youth group right before our first adoration of the school year. (Movie making is just one of my hobbies and I’ve gotten pretty good at it, if I do say so myself) My priest, who knows how much adoration means to me, was in the church when we played the video and he gave me thumbs up as he was watching it. After adoration was over, I went back to tell him thank you and he told me that he really enjoyed the video and asked if I would be willing to share it at the other church that he is pastor for. Of course I said yes! I was so excited that Father approved of my video and liked it enough to share it with the other church that I didn’t realize what he was asking me at first. Then he asked me if I would do a presentation on the Eucharist along with the video… Ah public speaking, such a wonderful thing…

Have no anxiety at all, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your requests be made known to God.” (Phil. 4:6) This is the bible verse that popped into my head when Father asked me if I would give a talk…and I said yes. So, for the past couple months I have been editing my witness to surround the Eucharist.


As I was writing this blog post, I decided to look up bible verses on fear and I found one I really like and I hope you like it too. It’s from the letter to the Hebrews [13:6] “we can confidently say, ‘the Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” how true!? So often we worry about what other people think of us, “but in the end, it was never between you and them, it was between you and God.” (Mother Teresa)

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?” (Psalm 56:3-4)


Next time you have to face something that scares you, remember that nothing is impossible for God (Luke 1:37)


“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. ...” (Psalm 27: 1-14)

God Bless You!!! :)

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

To all the girls out there...

I know, every girl out there has looked in a mirror and wondered, "Am I Beautiful?"

Let me just say, that is one thing I have struggled with ever since I was little. I never felt beautiful and certainly didn't think others thought so. This is a problem most girls face.

Beauty is something that is much deeper than a lot of people realize. Ever heard of people having "inner beauty?" To me, inner beauty is what makes up a person. Our inner beauty consists of our love for God, how we treat people, our thoughts and actions, and basically who we are as a person. Outer beauty, isn't neccessarily what makes a person beautiful; Make up doesn't make someone a better person...

There's a song by Johnny Diaz that has really spoken to me, it's called More Beautiful You (you can click the link to listen to the song)
Basically, in this song he is talking to a girl who tries to fit into the world's deffinition of "perfect" and she is weighed down by the pain.
 
"Well, little girl twenty one you never thought that this would come
You starve yourself to play the part
But I can promise you there's a man whose love is true
And He'll treat you like the jewel you are

There could never be a more beautiful you
Don't buy the lies, disguises and hoops, they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you, more beautiful you"
 
 
I can't say that I don't let society get to me.
I can't say that I don't see the scars of past regret. 
I can't say that I always see myself as beautiful...
 
What I can say is that I'm not alone. And neither is any girl out there. To all the girls who have been called ugly, or feel ugly, you are not alone and you are NOT ugly! To all the girls who feel useless, you are not alone and you are NOT useless! To all the girls who feel like no one loves them, you are not alone, and YOU ARE LOVED! You are loved by the One who made you, The One who loved you enough to die on a cross, for You! For all the girls out there, who feel worthless, pointless, stupid, unloved, ugly...tell Satan to get out of your head! You are GOOD, BEAUTIFUL, and BELOVED <3 God made you and He loves you so much!

You are Beautiful...