LA Style Fashion Week...

Has been amazing so far.

Day 2 has finished. My legs ache, I need a shower, and I'm pretty sure I smell like my husband does after he finishes a skate sesh.

But my heart is full.

The Bible says that we were created in God's image-- meaning we resemble Him.

These fashion people are reminders to me of how incredibly creative our God is. All of the unique colors, shapes, and designs... The God we resemble certainly is not boring.

Today I was also reminded, once again, that there is more to life than simply being beautiful.

The other night at MFC a model asked the group,"What do you want to be remembered for? Do you just want to be a beautiful girl? Because there are millions of beautiful girls. What legacy do you really want to leave behind?"

Well today I was working with male models. They were all good looking. And quite talented. But do you know what separated a few of them from the rest?

Humility.

Most of them were charming.
Some were confident. (Borderline arrogant.)

But the memorable ones?
They were humble. & Thankful. & Genuine.

They stood out from the crowd because of their hearts.

No question.

After the show all of the girls in my car talked about their favorite models and we agreed that our favorite models were the ones that were kind and grateful.

Those qualities make a world of difference.

...So if it goes like that with a day full of mostly men- that the most memorable ones are the humble ones.

Then same must go for the ladies. There are plenty of physically beautiful girls in this world. But it is our hearts, not our waistlines, that will determine whether or not we are memorable.

The legacy we leave behind will be based on things like humility, kindness, and love. All the external stuff fades away in comparison to those things.




I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep now... And praying that God will continue to purify this heart of mine... So that the legacy I leave will always point to Heaven.

I just want to look like my Creator.
The Designer of all things beautiful.

Celebration. Not comparison.

That's something I'm learning.

Celebrating a person means that when someone else achieves something great or receives something wonderful... I get excited with them. If they look particularly good, or happen to be gifted with a certain strength then my job is to encourage them in it.

If they sing well then I promote them. If they cook well, then I tell them.
If they have an awesome body, I can affirm them in that.

It's so common to feel insecure about someone else's successes... But that is comparison... And it's rooted in lies.

The success of another person is NOT a mark of our failure, and it doesn't have to make us feel bad.

I read this cute story recently:

3 caterpillars were crawling through a field. Seeing a butterfly pass over them, the first said, "Look at that smart aleck up there, flitting around, making us feel stupid." The second caterpillar said, "You know, some days I wish I could fly." The third caterpillar said excitedly, "I know that guy! He used to be one of us! If he can fly then I know I can fly too!"

Where do we fit in the story? How do we respond when we see strengths in other people?

God designed us so that when we walk in our gifts & strengths, with confidence and humility, it will actually inspire other people to embrace their own gifts & strengths too.

God's word says in 1 Peter 4:10, "As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."

Meaning our focus isn't on whether or not we are better than the people around us. Our focus is on using what we have been given to bless, serve, encourage, inspire, and LOVE the people around us.

Comparison is a thief.

Celebration is a love-filled-life-giving party!
So.... Let's party! :)


(these are some of the beautiful friends that I have been trying to celebrate lately.)

How they see me...

Should be irrelevant shouldn't it?

Who are they to decide whether I'm smart or beautiful or talented or successful? When did they get permission to be the ones determining whether my body is the right shape, or my hair is the right length? Why am I okay with letting their opinion of me being THE opinion of me?



Isn't it strange? So often we allowing others to tell us who we are... And we change ourselves in order to be what we think they are looking for.

This week I submitted my picture for a potential modeling job. I was extra nervous. In my email to the company I asked what kind of look they were going for. They responded- "preferably a brunette or redhead with a unique, strong, interesting face".

"Crap."
That's what I thought to myself.

A strong face? Interesting? What does that even mean?
Surely I don't have it.
People have said I have an American face...
And a smiley face...
But never strong and never interesting.
And I know I'm not a red-head... but am I even a brunette?
I don't know... I think so... but my ends are lighter than my roots...

So guess what happened next? Anxiety happened.

I quietly allowed thoughts of despair to take over... Leading me into a whirlwind of negativity.

It didn't last too long, because by Gods grace I am a lot stronger now than I used to be. It's easier to separate truth from lies. But still... For those few hours I spent in the "pit"... It wasn't pretty.

I ran through all the reasons I wasn't good enough to model. It became bigger than this one job... It became about my identity.

I questioned EVERYTHING about myself.

Yes... Drama queen Jessica worked herself into a tear-filled mess.

UNTIL....
I decided that I was tired of my own thoughts and ready to ask God for His.

Turns out, while I was being dramatic about my un-interesting face, God wasn't even phased. In fact, He was still on the throne, still taking care of the details of my life, and still totally content with the way He made me. Actually He reminded me that He really loves my face and He didn't make any mistakes on it.

It's so easy to believe the lies telling us that we are only as good as someone else thinks we are... But truth is... Our opinion of ourself should come from the Creator... Not from our fellow creation. God delights in His children... We resemble Him. He is the artist and we are the masterpieces.

The only way to have true peace in this crazy world is to have intimacy with Jesus, who is called "the Prince of Peace".

So about that modeling job... I didn't take it. Not because my face wasn't interesting enough, but just because I actually wasn't available on the day they wanted to shoot photos.

All that anxiety was for nothing.

Its always like that.
Anxiety does nothing.
Trusting Jesus is the only way to live securely in our identities.

Praying you find rest in His opinion of you today.

(( to carry with the theme of "how they see me", I decided to post photos I found of me that other people posted on instagram recently. Just for fun... This is literally how they saw me... :) ))