Psst! I just have to tell you...I have some pretty bad days.
Admit it. You do too!
You're a woman!
How do you FEEL today?
Beautiful or boring?
Well-groomed or well-worn?
Are you about to be named Nag of the Universe because it's THAT time of the month?
Are you feeling overwieght? Or toned?
We women certainly are...well, I've heard it termed "emotionally wealthy!"

Today's lies about beauty don't help much. Here's a secret you don't want to miss. Did you know the average model today wieghs 23 percent less than the average woman? And that's BEFORE they take an airbrush to her photos to "perfect" her. I guess that's why in one recent Harvard study two thirds of underweight twelve year olds though they were fat! (Did you get that...they were underweight...and yes....twelve!)
What's a woman to do when she feels overwelmed by hormones, beauty lies and bad hair days?
I had one of those days not long ago. Loneliness. Rejection. Numbness. Tears. A loss of direction.

My friend Mary Lee visited.
“What do you sense in me,” I asked wondering if I was as bad off as I felt.
“A wilted spirit,” she empathized.
Tears flowed.
I felt pretty wilted.
She prayed specifically for God to begin to water my soul. Funny thing. He did! The next morning I just happened to read Isaiah 55 as I’d been reading through that particular book of the Bible.
“Come, all who are thirsty, come to the waters…As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and so not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so my word that goes out from my mouth; It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace.” (Isaiah 55:1,10-12)
The watering began.
Three days later, as I studied the writing of Beth Moore that precious passage was re-introduced with a freshness from her perspective. “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters.”

I came.

The watering continued.
Oh the fresh outpouring of God’s spirit during those seasons of emotions.
Can you identify? Have you found the fresh outpouring of His Spirit during those short mini-seasons like bad-hair days and pms? Have you felt it overwhelm you like an ocean during those long winters of emotional pain?
Again and again, have you returned to the word of God to find that it has the power and authority to arrest those unhealthy emotions and replace them with God’s truth about your value…your beauty…your purpose.
Won’t you return to Him right now?
Bring the wilted parts of your heart to Jesus and ask for Him to water them?
Just stop for a moment and ask the precious Holy Spirit to make you a well-watered place of refreshment before you go any farther? After all, how can we bring that refreshment to others if we’ve not first found it ourselves.

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters.” Isaiah 55:1

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Do you have an 8-12 year old living in your house? A sister or daugther? The above is an excerpt from "Secret Keeper Girl." It's a kit of eight great dates for an 8-12 year old and her mom to navigate through the truth of beauty and modesty. Hope you'll check it out at my web store!
-Dannah Gresh