Inward Beauty Giveaway *Closed*
Congrats to the Easter giveaway winner. Jenny. Timestamp: March 26 at 11:25 am
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I know many of you are joining us after clicking over from the devotion I have running at Proverbs 31 and on Crosswalk.com. If you haven’t read the devotion, click here so the rest of the post makes sense! :-) Be sure to come back to finish reading this and enter the giveaway!
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Have you ever encountered the backwards ways we measure success in our society?
- School teachers who pour their lives into students or nurses who care for the sick earn modest wages.
- However, those who can shoot an orange ball through a hoop or smack a tiny white one down a fairway make millions.
- People who pour their lives into working with the poor or homeless go virtually unnoticed.
- Others who write vulgar lyrics set to rap music are adored by scores of fans worldwide.
Or how about the time and money we spend? Anything backwards there?
- Couples drop thousands of dollars in order to put on an elaborate wedding, but think a hundred bucks is too much to spend on a biblically-based marriage conference.
- Those same love birds will spend countless hours planning the ceremony, reception and every last detail of the day right down to registering for the type of dish towels they simply must have.
- Yep– lots of time planning the wedding. Little time preparing for the actual marriage relationship.
Why is it that we expend great amounts of energy on the outward and often ignore the things of our inner selves? Have we never heard God weigh in on all of this? Read these verses from the devotion again:
“But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.'” I Samuel 16:7 (ESV)
Peter 3:3-4, “Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” (ESV)
The Lord sees more than the external. He sees straight to our hearts. While he is not against us working on our outward appearance, it certainly is not priority number one for Him.
To boil it all down, He isn’t against pearls, He’s just more concerned with personality.
He doesn’t forbid getting your hair spruced up. He just rather you spend as much effort on your heart as your hair.
Maybe even more.
For those of you who are parents, this topic can be a challenging one. While we certainly want to encourage our kids to excel academically, musically or in athletics, we must be even more concerned with their character.
I’ll say it again as in the devotion. Who we are inside is really who we are.
So applaud those efforts as much as the A on the math test or the starting position on the ball team.
In fact, make a big deal about it. I mean why not take a kid our for a treat when he is diligent to study every night for a week for his big exam? Reward his diligence. Yes, don’t just wait until you find out what grade he or she gets on their Friday exam. Take them out on Thursday night to say “way to go!” for studying faithfully Monday-Thursday. Reward faithfulness, not just an A.
Or catch them modeling Christ.
Did they hold the door open for an elderly woman at the grocery store without prompting from you?
Swing by a favorite soda shop and treat them to a “mom-never-lets-us-buy-this” goodie.
Did they do something wrong (which angered you greatly) but then later admitted their fault (which made you pleased)?
Time for a date with you to do something they love (even if it is something you can’t stand)
{Ahem…..later today I am trekking off to the Detroit Zoo for an impromptu trip with my youngest and a friend from his homeschool academy to reward him for a huge behavior change. Hello? I am no animal lover. I’d rather have a root canal than go to the zoo but he and his friend ADORE animals, so off we go. Don’t think of me as martyr mom. They’ll be a Starbucks in this trip somewhere for me. I have a gift card from my birthday to use up :-)}
But I digress.
Today I want to offer a giveaway that will enable you to reward your kiddos for their inner qualities.
It is called the Family Enrichment Tool kit and it was developed by my friend Michelle Weber a Proverbs 31 She Speaks graduate. Here is what is said about this on our P31 website store:
We are thrilled to have discovered a unique gift idea for any family. The Family Enrichment Toolkit was developed, practically in our own backyard, by a She Speaks graduate. Michelle Weber’s toolkit provides parents with a fun way to instill positive virtues and character in their children, while building stronger family relationships. The kit includes a 12″ lead-free ceramic plate, plate stand, a set of 250 Table Thyme Activity cards with discussion topics and questions, and a 28 minutes CD that will walk you through the incredibly simple steps to making the toolkit an invaluable part of your family.
Michelle developed this because she had one child who was a star gymnast with lots of pats on the back and public praise while her other child has special needs. She wanted to be able to provide an “atta girl” to her as well for efforts she made. Thus, this wonderful idea was born!
We have one of these plates that we use in our own family. And we even use it with extended family.
The gist is this: You decorate the plate with your own family name. Then it becomes the “Smith Family Honor Plate” (The finished product is durable and washable and it is easy to do) Then, catch your kids (or spouse) exhibiting any fruit of the spirit– love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness or self-control. When they do, serve them their dinner on the family honor plate and reward them for this inner quality. There is also a cd that explains this concept more fully and great discussion starter cards for family dinner time. Click here for more info.
Okay…leave a comment today to be entered in the drawing for on of two Family Enrichment Toolkits. It can be a comment about any aspect of this topic, or if time is tight, simply say “I’m in!” Winners will be announced on Wednesday.
Backwards Blessings,
I’m in.
Wow Karen, You always have posts that make me think. It is a struggle between what “society” says is good and what I, as a Christian Mom, think is good. (I say what I think is good, but ultimately I am not the judge only the teacher).
I’m in! Thanks for the reminder to get my focus in the right place.
I’m totally in – especially with three children ages almost 13, 10 and 7. It’s so hard to find the correct praise for all of them. Thanks for the opportunity!!!
Wow. I’m in:)
This was a complete eye opener for me. I have only one child and some will say that she is spoiled, but I say that she is loved. We often put so much interest on the outcome of the things she does rather than the processes or steps she takes to get to that final outcome. We praise her many talents and awesome grades, but I am so guilty of not giving her due praise when she does hold the door open for someone, or help someone who is struggling, or show unconditional love to her much younger cousins by trying to guide them in the right direction. She is only 12 and I vow to start today to recognize and acknowledge those little things she does that comes from the inward her (her heart).
Thanks you Karen for those words of truth and enlightenment.
I would love to enter this giveaway, thank you Karen!
After some quiet time with the Lord this morning and a 9 year old son who bravely admitted he had lied to me yesterday, your devotional and blog were “meant for me” today. Oh how I want the hearts of my children to be tender toward the Lord, yet I find myself and our culture emphasizing the externals. Thank you for your post and the reminder that God sees the heart!
Thanks for this. I have 2 girls – 10 & 7 my older one is pretty low maintenance – good grades, manners, easy bedtime no problems at school. etc. My younger one is the COMPLETE opposite! She tries my patience. I have been having issues with her and her behavior at school – with pushing innocent kids! Now she has the reputation as a troublemaker. It made me stop to realize that I have to take a step back and look at her insides not her behavior outside. God is telling me to spend a little more time praiseing her goodness and not focus so much on the other stuff! Thanks Karen!
I’m IN!!!!!
What an AWESOME devotion!!! Truly inspiring and motivating.
Thanks
As I was running late for work I just HAD to click on Prove 31–I knew there was a message for me! And yes, just as promised I have a son who at 13 got a bunch of B’s and mostly C’s–not quite what I had hoped for or what I think he is capable of…BUT next to that he recieved an E (EXCELLENT) in every single class with postive remarks from his teachers! Thank you! I almost let this go!
Thank you Karen for jolting me back to reality on this issue. Your devotion convicted me that in some areas I was pushing my boys more for outward accomplishments. I realized that I had fallen for satan’s lie that life will be easier for them if they accomplish wordly success! How wrong I have been! and Thank you for waking me up!
What a great idea! I’m in!
Thank you so much for the excellent devotion and reminder of focusing on the heart condition. I work hard at doing this with my two boys, but in today’s society, it’s easy to lose focus.
I thank God for Proverbs 31’s Encouragement for today Ministry and for your devotion today. Too often God uses yours and the other ladies wisdom to penetrate right where He needs to. Our lives as Christians are backwards from the world, and sometimes I quickly forget the virtues I would like to instill and the legacy I want to leave to my son. Thank you for your courage to speak His truth and wake some of us up.
So many good points, Karen. I needed this reminder to focus more on my son’s hearts instead of outward stuff. Thank you!
Dear Karen,
I have two teenagers (14 & 13) and one is such a handful. Reading your blog made me think of how we are always hounding on his negative behaviour. I am hoping that at this age it is not too late to change the way we do things. I love this idea and will let my family know, who have younger children about this. Thank you so much! May you be blessed for giving of your time to your child to spend at the zoo!
Thank you for today’s devotion. Our lives are so busy that often times we don’t take the time to give our children the praise when they do the little things that make them the wonderful kids they are. My son will be starting Tball this week. He is very worried about playing well. I keep explaining to him that it is more about having fun and playing well with others. I love the family enrichment toolkit. I would love to win it. I know it would help encourage my kids to focus more on the inner beauty God desires.
Ah…Karen,
Boy is this so true in our society today. Reward the brightness, prettiest, most athletic. I am trying to teach my daughter’s the concept of doing for others. My 5 year old is awesome, I see her do many acts of kindness everyday. So the pure innocence of her coming to me and saying ” I love you mama”, is awesome in itself. It is tough being a mother in this society now. My 5 year old says she would like to be a teacher when she grows up and I encourage her every step of the way. She has a beautiful and tender heart. My 3 year old is that, a 3 year old. She does attend a christian preschool and I have been trying my hardest just to get her to say please, thank you and excuse me. Boy what a chore. However, the tenderness of her words of “mama I love you”, is the best.
Hi Karen, I enjoyed reading your devotional through Proverbs 31 today. Excellent thoughts! Helping our kids learn how to change at a heart level is a huge challenge, especially when so many of the child training materials and methods we see today are based on behavior modification. Learning how to reach our kids’ hearts is so important! I wanted to recommend a book on that topic: Parenting is Heart Work by Joanne Miller and Scott Turansky. I think you and your blog readers might be encouraged by the practical and biblical ideas found there.
Blessings,
Carrie
I’m in! What a wonderful idea. Thanks!
Karen,
I really enjoyed today’s devotional (that bumper sticker idea is hilarious). I would love to win the giveaway. Then I would give it away to my oldest son and his family. I think they would have a great time with it. Thanks again, God Bless.
Love in Christ,
Dana
Hi Karen,
I’ve enjoyed listening to you for years at Hearts-at-Home, and now with the Proverbs 31 daily devotion in my e-mail box. Today’s devotion helped me think about my 2nd dd and how to emphasize the good things without dwelling so much on the negatives. She is a strong-willed child. Thank you for reminding and encouraging me to give praise to the little, but oh-so-important things.
Karen B
fellow Michigander and moniker
Thank you for your words in the Proverbs 31 post today. With two little girls that are completely different, I find myself reflectively often and praying to choose my words correctly. To not place TOO much emphasis on outward achievements for one and when I see the other with a sensitive heart towards making the right choices. Equally compelling achievements, one is just not quite as visible to the untrained eye.
I’m in!! What a wonderful way to build character in our kids!! Thank you for this post.