Tag Archives: life

A Partial Reflection of God

Faith, Life, Personal Style, , , ,

Pure beauty is healing; that is why we send flowers to the grieving heart. It is powerful. It is meant to inspire others to become better, stronger and more relaxed and confident; that is why we vacation in beautiful resorts. Your beauty should bring peace, joy and energy to others. That is what Eve’s beauty was all about.

Walk with me in the Garden of Eden; let me show you the first Supreme MakeOver. Notice I said supreme makeover; this was not the kind of makeover we do in the salons, which would make Eve look different (although we do know she did get a new leather outfit!). This was the kind of makeover that changed who she believed she was. Unfortunately, this supreme makeover was not done by her Creator, but by her enemy…

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over ever creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.                Genesis 1:26, 27

In Genesis 1:26-27 we see that Adam and Eve were created in the image of God—each one of them. God sees a married couple as one. Jesus Himself said that, “a man shall… be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh; that they are no longer two, but one flesh.”

It is the one–the union of the two different sexes–that reflects the image of God. Think about that, God did not create man in His image and then create woman as an afterthought. He created man and woman together in His image.

images

Man is a reflection of the side of God that fights for us, pursues us, protects us, provides for us, and desires us, the powerful side of God that is a warrior…

Woman is the reflection of the gentle side of God that is relational, nurturing, comforting, encouraging, and responsive; the side of God that gives life and get this the side of God that longs to be sought after, longs to be seen for His (her) beauty. Let that sink deep into your soul. This battle within you, the core longing for beauty, is something God understands, something He put there to reflect Him!

Is that something you can believe?

Let’s talk about it more tomorrow.

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Catrina Welch is an image- and life-coach whose message is not as much “what not to wear” as it is, “Know Who You Are,” which is the title of her book of guidelines for your personal image identity. Catrina has also written a Bible study to help women overcome their confidence conflicts; it is titled Supreme MakeOver: a Rich and Refreshing Devotional Experience. Her other books include Footprints Through the Sand: a Consolidation of Life-altering stories about Loving and Loosing a Trisomy-18 Baby and Confident Beauty: Reflecting the One Who Made You with the Images in Your Mirror and Your Soul, which will be available in book stores this spring. All of these books are available now at www.CatrinaWelch.com

If you are interested in having Catrina come speak to your friends, colleagues or ministry you can contact her on facebook or by email at catrina@catrinawelch.com.

Leaving Impressions

Greif, Life,

A couple years ago I consolidated and published some short stories I had written after loosing my daughter; I titled it Footprints Through the Sand. I feel that often the challenges we face are part of our life’s purpose in leaving an imprint for someone else to follow.

I’m sure you have read the poem Footprints, where the author looks back through her life’s journey to see only one set of prints during her most difficult times. She questions why God had left her alone when she needed Him most. He explains that the impressions left in the sand were His, because those were the times he carried her.

When I was walking through the difficult times of Rebecca’s death, I didn’t question God’s presence much. I was keenly aware of it. His loving arms carried me every step of the way. Friends often told me that I was “handling things beautifully,” but I knew I wasn’t “handling things” at all. Their words felt more like a cop out for not knowing how to help me than they did an encouragement, but I didn’t blame them for not knowing what to say; honestly, I didn’t have the strength to be offended, instead I just kept looking to my Comforter to help me.

When I look back now I understand that they were impressed with my Savior’s footprints, not mine.

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Catrina Welch is an image- and life-coach whose message is not as much “what not to wear” as it is, “Know Who You Are,” which is the title of her book of guidelines for your personal image identity. Catrina has also written a Bible study to help women overcome their image issues. It is titled Supreme MakeOver: a Rich and Refreshing Devotional Experience. Her other books include Footprints Through the Sand: a Consolidation of Life-altering stories about Loving and Loosing a Trisomy-18 Baby and Confident Beauty: Reflecting the One Who Made You with the Images in Your Mirror and Your Soul, which will be available soon.

If you are interested in getting these books or having Catrina come speak at your event, you can contact her at www.CatrinaWelch.com or on facebook.

Balancing Confidence Conflicts

Life, Personal Style, , , , , , , , , ,

Have you ever been thrown off balance by a distorted understanding of truth? It’s easy to take one side of the truth or the other and blow it out of proportion. When we believe a distorted truth, we can be left off balance and confused … and it is not beautiful to live a  stressed and striving life.

The truth about beauty is that God designed it; He loves it, He wants it to reflect Him and to draw others to Him. He wants to be sought after for His beauty, and He made us to feel the same way.

Satan wants us to be ashamed of our beauty and to hide it … or to seek after it with an ungodly obsession.

Let’s be careful not to fall for distorted truths by walking in shame and self-contempt or by believing that our beauty is our worth.

We all get thrown off balance at some point. There are a lot of powerful traps set to ensnare us with confidence conflicts. The bait is different for each Img.ID, though.

The Classic’s desire to have things done properly can drive her to perfectionism and her true self may get hidden in busyness.

The Natural’s desire for comfort may drive her to denial and her practical and unpretentious nature may get hidden in laziness.

The Dramatic’s desire for popularity may drive her to demand attention to the point where it may swallow up her independent nature. Rejection and neglect may discourage her to the point of defeat.

The Ingénue’s desire for peace may drive her to desperation or determination. Self-reliance or codependency may engulf her beautiful complacent nature.

The Romantic’s desire for acceptance may drive her to flaunt her beauty or focus on pleasing others and her compassionate nature may get swallowed up in selfishness or selflessness.

The Gamin’s desire for justice may drive her to control others and herself so much that she may lose her fun, bubbly nature … and her friends.

For all of us, life is a continuous battle of confidence conflicts. It takes time to find beauty in balance, but when you do, you will radiate Confident Beauty, which doesn’t wear off like makeup does!

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Catrina Welch is an image- and life-coach whose message is not as much “what not to wear” as it is, “Know Who You Are,” which is the title of her book of guidelines for your personal image identity. Catrina has also written a Bible study to help women overcome their image issues. It is titled Supreme MakeOver: a Rich and Refreshing Devotional Experience. Her other books include Footprints Through the Sand: a Consolidation of Life-altering stories about Loving and Loosing a Trisomy-18 Baby and Confident Beauty: Reflecting the One Who Made You with the Images in Your Mirror and Your Soul, which will be available soon.

If you are interested in getting these books or having Catrina come speak at your event, you can contact her at www.CatrinaWelch.com or on facebook.

God’s Comfort to our Friends and Family

Greif, Life, , ,

 What an honor it was to be interviewed by talk show host Kellie Peterson of  Everyday Wisdom for Families this morning. Whether you got to hear it or not, I’d love to share with you the poem I read to her listeners.

This is a word God gave to me one night after laying Rebecca down to sleep. We shared it at her funeral less than three weeks later. Please feel free to print it and share it with someone you know who may be going through a difficult season. 

The Joy of the Lord is our strength.

This child is my gift to you, like a delicate flower.

Do not expect her life to last like that of a carnation.

Her purpose here is a quick and powerful one.

Enjoy each moment.

Do not waste time in meaningless comparison,

And do not get caught in the trap of self-pity,

Or you will miss the blessings I have in store for you.

I love you and long to bear this yoke with you.

I want to ease your pain; I do not want to take it away.

Because if I did, I would take away all the victories, the lessons,

The character being created in you.

I promise, I will never leave you, nor forsake you.

I will bear this load with you, if you just draw near to me.

Trust in me, and tell of the wonders you will see.

There are great riches in store for you,

But if you only look at the pain and sorrow, that is all you will see.

Look unto Me and my Son.

When you want to find comfort in the sympathy of others

When you feel as though no one understands,

When you are tempted to sit and compare your circumstances with others,

Look at the cross, look at the life of my Son.

He understands.

He knows what it is like to anticipate great trials and great pain.

He understands rejection and betrayal.

He knows misunderstandings and false accusations.

He understands what it is like to be raised by a father who is not his own.

He has felt every physical and emotional pain.

He has felt separation from Me,

And I have felt the great pain of losing a child I so dearly loved.

Let me bear this cross with you.

You have honored me as Creator and Master; right now, let me be your “Daddy.”

Climb into my lap, and I will give you rest.

Wait upon me and I will renew your strength.

Trust in Me, and I will provide all your needs.

But if you turn from Me, and blame Me, How can I reach you?

I will wait, and I will welcome you back when you are done with your fight,

But I will not fight back. I am a gentleman.

I will stand at the door and knock, but you must open the door.

Only then will I enter in; and you and I shall dine together.

I will be your God, I will provide for you, protect you, comfort you and counsel you.

I love you and My grace is sufficient for you.

My power is made perfect in weakness.

Give to me your challenges, I find that to be the greatest gift of all.

And you will know my peace.

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Catrina Welch is an image- and life-coach whose message is not as much “what not to wear” as it is, “Know Who You Are,” which is the title of her book of guidelines for your personal image identity. Catrina has also written a Bible study to help women overcome their image issues. It is titled Supreme MakeOver: a Rich and Refreshing Devotional Experience. Her other books include Footprints Through the Sand: a Consolidation of Life-altering stories about Loving and Loosing a Trisomy-18 Baby and Confident Beauty: Reflecting the One Who Made You with the Images in Your Mirror and Your Soul, which will be available soon.

If you are interested in getting these books or having Catrina come speak at your event, you can contact her at www.CatrinaWelch.com or on facebook.

The Great Pursuit

Faith, Life, ,

This Tuesday’s Tip?

You can find it in both Psalms 34:14 and 1 Peter 3:11:

Seek Peace and Pursue it. 

it’s a phrase I’ve come to love and use often to encourage others with when they are doing too much. I figure anything God repeats in His Word is worth repeating to each other.

 

Tonight I am not just going to repeat it; I am going to follow My Father’s wise instruction and enjoy the Olympics with my family.

Hope you are too!

The Law of Balance

Life, , , , , ,

Can we talk a little bit more about “Jesus the Time Manager”? It seems to me that knowing we need to engage more in other people’s lives is not enough; we need to know how to develop the skills it takes to listen and care for them. Not that I think caring for others is simply a skill, actually, I believe it is more a mater of an unselfish attitude more than anything else.

It is hard not to be selfless when we are hurting and overwhelmed with our own lives, but when we put our confidence in Jesus’ love and concern for us, we are more apt to hear a friend’s complaint and not compare her difficulties to our own.

The root of all unhappiness is comparison. How helpful is it to tell a friend who is complaining that she has no time that you have even less? We are all given 24 hours in each day and how we spend it is ultimately up to us.  So, when a friend needs an ear and her words are only a sounding gong, what should we do?

When I was raising my boys, moms would work together to get the chores done. We had routines of running errands together and taking turns sitting in the car with the children so that checking the mail wasn’t a major event, and we had the time in transport, with children restrained by seatbelts from interrupting us, to listen to and encourage each other.

Now, as I raise my daughter, I find that moms don’t want help, and they are full of anxiety if they are ever asked to help someone else. It seems that vulnerability has become a very ugly thing. It’s a shame, because it is when we are weak that others are allowed to be strong, and when they are weak and let us be strong, that true friendships are formed. The kind of friendships God intended.

Galatians 6:2-5 is a great example of God’s heart on the matter.

Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

Call me old fashioned, but I think it’s time we got back to living life together and not being so proud.

Thank you, Lord, that you are a God of balance, and that you give us the formula for living a balanced life. Help us to be responsible for our own lives, but also to be vulnerable when we need help with those responsibilities. Keep us from fearing commitment, or of being used. Teach us to help others when their load is too heavy to bear alone, but restrain us from taking their responsibilities for them. Help us Lord, to live a balanced life with your Joy being our strength. Amen

I’m running out to do errands, anyone need to go up town?