Beautiful Barista!

I’m not a morning person, so when I have to be up and out before 10am I don’t feel so beautiful.  This is the woman who makes me feel beautiful on mornings like that, Linda.  Linda is an entrepreneur, and I’ll bet she helps some of you feel beautiful, too, because she is the one who gives us our coffee!  Linda owns the local Lynchburg business, Joe Beans.  But what some of you may not know is that being Ms. Joe Beans is not Linda’s only job.  She’s also a chiropractor, and owns her own successful wellness center.  So she’s making lots of women feel more beautiful in many different ways! 

  Linda wrote the word ‘Attitude’ on her ‘beauty board’ during her Just the Girls: Real Beauty photo shoot.  She says that her can-do attitude is what gets her through each day successfully.  She met a lot of obstacles while starting up her businesses, and met a lot of people who didn’t think she could do it.  But she keeps up a positive, beautiful attitude and believes in her own capabilities…and she’s proven the naysayers wrong time and time again.  But she doesn’t only depend on herself, she also credits a strong support system that includes her awesome (should we say beautiful?) husband, her Joe Beans managers, her fabulous baristas, and other friends, co-workers, and family members for helping her get where she is today!  Linda is fantastic, encouraging, and fun!  Thank you, Linda, for being who you are, and for being our Beautiful, Bold Barista!  I’ll have a soy iced mocha with no whip and a spine adjustment, please!

Peanutty Beauty!

Told you you’d see this adorable face again soon!  Audrey’s parents (and pretty much everyone else) call her Peanut, because she’s itty-bitty!  Peanut is one of Aubrianah and Faith’s favorite models, because she makes them laugh with her so-serious face.  But that serious face is a front, because Peanut is really fun to be around, so clever, loving, and super-entertaining.  One of her favorite outfits is her Run DMC t-shirt paired with her pink tutu.  Peanut’s parents are raising three awesome kids with character, charisma, wit, and humor, and we love them all!

  Hey by the way, our beautiful girls Faith and Aubrianah have been making really cute hair accessories like the one Audrey is modeling here.  If you are interested in buying any, let us know!

Beautiful Freedom!

Becky’s Real Beauty shoot was a blessing to Aubrianah and me, because she told us a story about the freedom she’s found after years of hurt.  She’ll tell the story better than I can, so here it is:

“I am a 34-year-old wife and home-schooling mom of four beautiful children.  I have lived with a terrible, dark secret for all of my adult life.  I was abused as a child. Until a year and a half ago, no one knew about my dark past, not even my husband knew the details. 

  Even though I have a wonderful life and family, I battled depression and hated myself.  Over a year ago, I realized that I could no longer keep pushing this secret down deeper and deeper.  It was destroying me, and my life!  God sent a wonderful lady to me.  She counseled me for several months and, with her sweet spirit and understanding, walked me through Scripture to show me that I am beautiful, and that God loves me NO MATTER WHAT my past looks like.   I was raised in a Christian home and knew this, but hadn’t accepted it.  I realized that God doesn’t want bad things to happen to His children.  He is a loving, gracious, good God who wants the best for us. 

  This is why He died, so that we may be set free.  I am free!  I have become a glorious child of God.  He shouts to us ‘Freedom, freedom to the captive ones and the broken!’  That is just what I was, held captive by my painful past.  I was broken in my own eyes, but not in His!  Now, my chains are gone.  I am no longer held captive by my past.  I have dealt with it, given it to God, and now He carries the burden for me.

  I am now a better wife and mother.  I recently got a tattoo as a reminder of my freedom, and though many look at it and frown because they disagree with tattoos, I look at it and remember what I went through and that Jesus paid it all for me! 

  It is my prayer that God will use my story to help others. In fact, I know that is the reason for my suffering.  We all experience pain in our lives, we can choose to be bitter and live in misery, or have it mean something and use it for God’s glory. 

  This is the first time I have shared my story, and feel privileged to be able to share it now, with others, in hope that it will help someone else.  To God be the glory, great things He has done!”

THANK YOU, Becky, for sharing your beautiful story, you ARE beautiful! 

If any ‘beautiful girls’ would like to tell us your story, OR if you would like to contact Becky to talk with her about hers, please contact me via email or facebook.

#1 Beauty!

Who hikes the AT, goes on a 70 mile bike ride, kayaks, runs, spends quality time with her friends, plays the  piano, studies hard in school, participates in ROTC, and still has time to be beautiful?    This uniformed beauty, Petra! 

  Petra doesn’t do things half-way, she is driven and motivated to succeed.  The ‘studies hard in school’ and ‘participates in ROTC’ are understatements, because not only did she study and participate, Petra is the NUMBER ONE ranked ROTC nursing cadet IN THE NATION!!  She was ranked number 1 because of her college GPA, her physical fitness, extracurricular activities, and a leadership evaluation. 

  Petra is preparing to be stationed in Germany, where I know she will continue to work and play hard…because that’s what #1 beauties do!  

Even Blondes can be Beautiful!

The post title is a little joke, I promise!  Remember those blonde-haired blue-eyed beauties I talked about in our very first post?  The ones we all think are so beautiful physically that we don’t bother to find their real beauty?  And then sometimes, even when we do, we are surprised to find out they aren’t as beautiful as we thought? 

  This is Hallie, and she has blonde hair, blue eyes, perfect teeth, and eyebrows other women pay hundreds to get.  Hallie is gorgeous!  But this girl is no shallow beauty!  Spend a few minutes with her and get past all that annoying gorgeousness  ;) and you’ll find an even more beautiful young woman.  Hallie has two younger brothers, and they love her fiercely because she is kind, compassionate, and funny.  I was blessed to be at her recent 18^th birthday party, where her family and friends spoke so lovingly about her beauty that it brought tears to my eyes, even though not one of them even mentioned those perfect eyebrows. 

  Hallie is a great example of real beauty.  She doesn’t ignore the outer, she takes care of herself and puts her best face forward.  But Hallie knows that real beauty is about what’s inside.  As Hallie stands on the edge of her adult life, I want to join her mother in praising the Lord that this beautiful young woman has already learned what real beauty is about!  Congratulations on your graduation, Hallie, I can’t wait to see what the Lord does through you, beautiful girl!

Sweet, Beautiful Conqueror!

Heather here is too sweet.  Oh I don’t just mean she is really nice, encouraging, and fun to be around, although she is all those things….I also mean she is literally TOO SWEET!  Heather has lived with diabetes most of her life.  She was diagnosed as a young girl, and she shared with us on her Just the Girls: Real Beauty shoot and interview about how different she felt as a kid.  She also told us a funny story about one group of children saying she was ‘disgusting’ and leaving her alone to eat at the lunch table, just because she was eating green pepper slices instead of cookies! 

  Heather grew up, and adults don’t usually think eating vegetables makes a person a leper, but Heather still has to conquer every day as it comes while still dealing with diabetes.  She now has a wonderful husband and two beautiful, young children, so she leads a busy life.  She gets tired easily and she has to keep a structured schedule to make sure her blood-sugar level stays consistent, which is difficult to do while caring for two little ones!  But Heather juggles it all with great determination and strength, and she is a beautiful conqueror!  

Party On, Beautiful Girls!

  Think about the events we participate in as women.  You can call me old-fashioned, but I don't like a co-ed bridal shower!  Just look at these beautiful women, they are bonding together and having fun with one another.  The bride-to-be spent time with her single friends and women who have been married a long time.  They had the freedom to be silly and make funny faces like they are doing here! They were free to talk about things and give advice they might not have given if men had been invited. I'm not talking about a man-hating women's club, I just love an event now and then that only women attend!  Our girlfriend relationships are important, and we can learn from one another how to make our relationships with the men in our lives better!  So party on, beautiful girls, and best wishes on your upcoming wedding, bride-to-be!