(Editors Note: The post titled “Inner Beauty” was posted before it was completed. I will blame pregnancy brain and I hope you enjoy the rest of Rosemary’s thoughts on Inner Beauty)

“The Beautiful woman whose life shows the fruit of the Spirit, exhibits some other practical qualities as well. They are the qualities that make her personality real and down to earth.

1. She has a fragrance of humor: She might now have been born with a great sense of humor, but she trains her mind to look at her life’s happenings in good humor.
2. She has the fragrance of friendship: “A cheerful heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit makes one sick”. (Proverbs 17:22) The friendly woman greats you with a warm smile whether she knows you or not. She recognizes the tremendous therapeutic value of a smile to her husband and to her children.
3. She has the fragrance of organization: She does not have this fanatic thing about cleanliness and being neat and tidy always. She does not drive anyone up a wall over a speck of dirt, but she is neat. Her house, according to the present rate of speed of their family, has a semblance of order. She is sure God does not want her to live in an unorganized mess of a house.
4. She has the fragrance of hospitality: She opens her home to others even when her couch is rather threadbare, the walls need paint, and she doesn’t have enough dishes or chairs. She shares her dinner table, without apologies, and can be gracious even if its only “hamburger night”. If you drop in on her unexpectedly, you take her (and her house) as is, and instantly she puts you at ease.
5. She has the fragrance of wonder: Nothing is too small or insignificant to catch her attention. She is interested in everything. She teaches her children the sense of wonder by pointing out the little brown bug on the ground, the sleeping kitty and the orange sunset. She smiles and talks with her eyes, her face lights up over the wonder of little things. She is a joy to see.
6. She has the fragrance of honesty: She does not lie- even about little things. If she is busy and does not want to answer her phone, she does not say to her children “Tell them Mommie is not home.” She says “Tell them Mommie is busy and will call them back later”. She teaches them honesty in the best of ways- by example.
7. She has the fragrance of learning: She is not afraid to develop new skills. She tries to do something creative at least once a day- even if its only adding a dash of paprika and parsley to her mashed potatoes. She reads a wide range of books. She takes instruction from a Bible study course to a needlepoint classes. She I enthusiastically dedicated to increasing her learning powers and her willingness to tackle new projects is gorgeous.
8. She has the fragrance of balanced priorities: The beautiful woman is one who has asked God about the goals and priorities of her life, and He has opened several new doors. First, she found she is a person- a woman- she is somebody.
9. She has the fragrance of appreciation: She knows that in life the essence of appreciation is like butter on the toast: it makes it go down much easier. The has sincere thankfulness running through her veins. Just think… HE MADE US! The woman who understands the truth of who she is and why she’s loved is completely surrounded by fragrance. It is an unmistakable fragrance, swirling around her in a fine, penetrating mist. It is the real, the God-given fragrance of beauty!  This is what every Christ-centered women can and should be.

How to be a Beautiful Woman

(based on a tape by Rev. Jerry Cook)

“Beauty may be only skin deep but ugly is clear through.”

We as people and as a country externalize beauty. We are so caught up in outward appearance. That is not to say it isn’t important. But…. The bible does not say that we should run around looking like a bunch of uglies. And it does not say that Holiness is next to Ugliness, or Plainness is a virtue. But the bible does recognize the true source of beauty, being something much greater than an external adjustment.

These are some thoughts from 1 Peter 3:1-6 “Likewise you wives, be submissive to your husbands, so that some, though they do not obey the word, may be won without a word by the behaviors of their wives, when they see your reverent and chaste behavior. Let not yours be the outward adorning with braiding of hair, decoration of gold, and wearing of robes, but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very previous. So once the holy women who hoping in God used to adorn themselves and were submissive to their husband, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord. And you are now her children if you do right and let nothing terrify you.”

1. A beautiful women knows how to be subject to her own husband and how to keep her mouth shut. She also is not subject to any one else’s husband and not in subjection to all men in general.
2. A beautiful woman has a pure life style. “When they see your reverent and chaste behavior.” She has the kind of life that is transparent- you can look solidly at it and it doesn’t blink. A life that you can surprise and it is not embarrassed. Purity in life is just a consistently wholesome life.
3. A beautiful women is one whose adorning is not just hair decorations (not that this is wrong). But the real issue is the hidden person of the heart with meek and quiet spirit. Meekness in a feminine sense means consideration. We notice people who are considerate, who sense a persons need and moves toward it. A person with a restful spirit. One with whom you are able to relax. A quality of beauty that ministers rest. Some homes are that way and others so full of tension you can cut it with a knife.

If you do not have the inner qualities we have talked about, no matter how you remake your face, or how much weight you lose, or how expensive your clothes are, or how proper you walk, you are not beautiful. Even if you don’t have the external, but have the internal there will be a beauty about you that cant be missed. That only comes from Jesus Christ.

We all can be beautiful women with Inner Beauty, if we allow ourselves to be all God would have us be, with His help, and the Holy Spirit within us.