All you need is love???

Autumn is probably my favourite season, but also the time of year when I most struggle with singleness. I absolutely love the colourful crunchy leaves and long for the day when I can go walking hand in hand with the love of my life. It was when I was walking back from town the other day when I noticed the first signs of autumn, the first of the rich coloured leaves were falling from the trees and conkers lay on the ground. I immediately wanted to put my wellies on and in search of somewhere to walk through the leaves. But I also began thinking who could I take with me, it didn’t seem like the sort of thin I could do on my own yet it also seemed like a strange thing to ask someone else, and at the same time it didn’t seem like much fun on my own. My love of crunchy leaves clearly isn’t shared by the majority never mind being understood by them. Anyway, it was then that on my ipod I heard the words ‘Jesus you are all I need’. As I scuffed my feet through the leaves on the floor I began thinking about the words. I realised that the famous Beatles song ‘all you need is love’ is actually a load of rubbish! Love from another human is NOT all you need and life isn’t about finding the perfect man. Jesus is all I need and in this season of singleness I’m going to enjoy having this time just me and him. He will provide all I truly need and it will come to me in his perfect timing rather than when I think I want something. Jesus’ love for us is so much more than we can get from a boyfriend/girlfriend, after all, God is love and so the best love comes from him.
I’m now looking forward to more leaves falling as the season progresses so I can go on my walk, just me, my ipod, my notepad and my bible!

The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail (Isaiah 58v11)

Prayer

I often think about prayer, I think its because I don’t feel I understand enough about it. A little while ago I was getting a bit worried that I had become too reliant on written prayers and that this meant I wasn’t talking directly to god. After all, it would be much quicker to vocalise them and would make me sit and listen rather than just writing what I wanted to say and moving on. Anyway, I continued my quiet time and was inspired to write another blog, the first in a little while. I was struck how this was gods way of showing that he is close and ever present. He can work in so many different ways and there’s not one set way or superior way of communicating with him. Vocalising prayers in a group can also be nerve racking for some people, the fear of judgement of other people, saying the wrong thing or simply not sounding holy enough are all reasons to fear praying aloud. These are all very genuine concerns but what I have come to believe is firstly that prayer is very important and that it is more important than these fears. Secondly, I have realised that I should be fearing the Lord not fearing people. I could easily go off on a tangent now about fearing and trusting but I’m not going to this time, I'm sure you could guess what I'd write anyway. What I feel is my main point here is that we need to make decisions about what’s most important and act according to those decisions we make. We need to fear people a little less and learn more of what it means to fear the Lord.

Nevertheless, it isn’t just about us talking to God, he also wants to communicate with us, to build a relationship not a once sided phone conversation. In the same way there are many ways to share things with God, God can communicate with us in many different ways. There is no hierarchy of best ways for God to tell us things, he can speak through other people, through the bible and directly into our hearts and minds. Who are we to value any of these above another? If we want to be close to God we need to let him be close to us and spend time building a relationship with him; talking but also listening.

The Lords Prayer

I always find it uncomfortable when you say the lords prayer in a new church or setting. You never quite know which version they will use and you don’t want to be the one that gets it wrong. But in spite of this it’s not the specific words that’s important it’s the meaning behind the words. Jesus taught us to pray in this way not using these specific words. Ijust wanted to share with you a brief outline of what I am praying as I say the lords prayer.

Our father who art in heaven - Lord god you are the father of all the earth, but more than that you are my father and know everything about me. You are in heaven and I am on earth. But you have overcome this and I can still enter into a relationship with you and I thank you for that.

Hallowed be your name - May your name be kept holy and revered for it is a worthy and deserved title.

Your kingdom come, your will be done - Lord help me to see ways in which to bring about your kingdom. Use me in the building of your kingdom, I want to work for you. You have such an awesome plan even though I don’t understand it. Help me to see what you want and what you have planned so that I can work for you.

On earth as it is in heaven - Lord make me like the heavenly creatures with a greater understanding of praise and worship to you.

Give us this day our daily bread - Please give me today all the things I really need, physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually.

Forgive us our trespasses - Lord I’m sorry for all the wrong I continue to do, wash me from my sin and forgive me

As we forgive those that trespass against us - Help me to grow in your likeness so that I can truly forgive anyone who has done wrong to me. Forgiving them fully and loving them completely just as you do.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil - Help me to stay away from what is evil and wrong in your eyes. Walk with me through the difficult times so that I will never go astray.

For thine is the kingdom - Lord you are the king and you reign over heaven and earth.

The power and the glory - You are all powerful and all glorious, help us to recognise your power in our lives as we seek to glorify you.

For ever and ever. Amen. - May this be true always and may I continue to pray in this way. I agree. May it be so. Amen!

My challenge for you is to think about the words of this or of another prayer that you may know or recite and consider the meaning behind the words.

A childhood prayer

At school we were taught the following prayer and we’d sort of chant it together at the end of each school day:

God our father I’ve come to say
Thank you for your love today
Thank you for my family
And all the friends you give to me
Guard me in the dark of night
And in the morning send your light
Amen

As a child the prayer didn’t mean a great deal to me but I have recently found that this is a great prayer for just before I go to sleep. It says all the things I want it to at that time of day. It begins with thanking god for the goodness of the day, then for the love of my family and friends. This is often a good reminder for me to think about specific people to pray for and their needs. Then they prayer asks for safety and to bring light once again, I kind of feel that this is more than the physical light but also the light of gods love through our journey of life. I really thank the lord for inspiring such simple prayers for children but that have such a bugger meaning when we reflect upon the true meaning of the words.

Do you still remember any prayers you were taught? Just because it’s written or said often doesn’t diminish the value or sincerity of the prayer. Keep praying!

Loosing things

I hate it when you lose things it makes you realise just how much you relay on them. Maybe your very careful and you don’t often loose things but how would you cope without your mobile, your laptop or you TV. Recently I have lost my satnav and it has made me realise just how much trust I put in that little piece of technology and now that I don’t have it I’m really wondering how I will manage. Of course not having it will not prevent me from getting from A to B and won’t hinder my life’s course. Not everyone has a satnav and they manage fine, but is living without really the best way. This really elates to god, theres many people living without a knowledge of him but are they really living the best and getting the most out of life. When we are without physical things we are troubled but how bothered are we when we loose time with god? When I don’t make time for my quiet time with god I more often than not fob myself off with excuses (I say myself because God always knows the truth and is most defiantly not fobbed off with such excuses). It’s ok to miss one day… one week… to just meet god at church... and so it continues. Well God doesn’t demand we spend time with him, but we should really want to do this and enjoy it, it should come from our love for him and reliance on him. Missing 2 days of my satnav has worried me and made me wonder how I can cope but really this has stirred up a bigger challenge to me; how I would I feel to be without god, would I have the same feelings of anxiety and wondering where I am going… would you??

Trusting and relying on god is so much better than trusting in technology, he is the one thing that wont let you down! Spending time with god is far better than spending time watching TV or on the internet. When we trust in him we truly have no need to fear for he will provide for all of our needs. Amen.

Repetition

Apology on lack of variety

Having looked back it seems many of my blogs are on a similar theme. I want to apologise for this, not because I feel the themes are not valid, but because I appreciate you want to read about a variety of topics. In way of explanation the repetitive nature reflects what it most commonly on my mind, and more often than not an area which I am struggling with or working my way through. Particularly with reference to worry and giving things to God in prayer, I find that one day I can feel really positive about this and feel strong in Jesus Christ, yet other days I forget or I am unable to give things to him and find myself not quite believing that praying will make the situation better. I just want to encourage you that just hearing or thinking about a subject doesn’t make an instant change within us. Haha cliché of them all, we need to pray and allow the Holy spirit to change us. Trying to do this in our own strength will produce little yield but when we allow the creator of the universe in we should not be surprised when things do start to change. I pray for myself that I will learn more about these areas in my own life, and I pray for you too that any repetitive issues in your life may be grown and developed through the power of the holy spirit. The Lord can help us in each and every aspect of our lives so hopefully, as I learn to trust in him more, you will see a greater variety of theme's and topics on the blog.

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. (Deuteronomy 31v8)

Friendship

A Brownie Guide thinks of others before herself and does a good turn everyday.

This is the Brownie guide Law which, as a brownie guider, I teach to girls aged 7 when they first start brownies. Its a phrase I am very familiar with but can this be applied to our friendships?

As I may or may not have mentioned I have written myself some aims or goals for the new academic year. One of these is to be a good friend. But what does it mean to be a good friend and why is this one of my goals for the year?

Well, I guess most goals are things that you want to improve on due to thinking your not particularly good in that area. This is true about friendship. I have had a tendency in the past to be rather selfish in my friendships, I wanted to be friends with people that do nice things for me and have the friendship on my terms. I also like to keep people at arms length so they don’t find out too much about the real me. But while I was in India I realised that it’s really important to let people into your life and really get to know the person below the shell. I have had the privilege of 2 fantastic housemates over the last year who, without my allowing, have somehow learned more about me than I would ever allow. In fact there have been more than one occasion when they have known what I need or how I would react before I knew myself. To begin with this scared me but then when in a foreign country with people who didn’t know me I realised how important it is. I suppose my point here is that you should have friends in your life who you let in and share things with. Don’t always keep people at arms length or put on an act for them. Friends want to know the real you so don’t keep hiding from them. Imagine if other people did that to you, if they put on an act and told lies rather than the truth.

A good friend is someone who you can be completely honest with and will love you no matter what. Don’t ask ‘who are my good friends’ rather we should question for how many of my friends am I a true and honest friend for? I suppose this highlights my second point; that friendships shouldn’t always be to your best interests. As part of my goal I am seeking to put my friends before myself and see how best I can serve them. Serving in this way shouldn’t be a chore but should spring out of love and, in most cases, should turn out to be fun. It may not be easy to be selfless in all of our friendships but I believe that if we all tried a little harder our friendships would be much more valuable and much more Godly. Jesus gives us a perfect example of how to be a friend when he washes the disciples feet. In biblical times the feet would no doubt be dirtier than ours and it would be even less desirable to touch other peoples. But Jesus shows us how to serve our friends by putting their needs before our own and letting them get to know the real friend they have in Jesus. How many times do we turn up our nose at things our friends suggest? This is not only in big decisions, but when choosing a dvd or place to eat it wouldn’t hurt us to put our friends before ourselves every once in a while

Take this time to reflect upon your friendships. When do you take more than you give back in your friendships? Are there any opportunities to serve your friends by doing something nice for them that they would really appreciate? Do you have close friends who you allow to meet the real you? My suggestions are nowhere near perfect but let me point you in the direction of Jesus whose example gives us all something to think about.

Let him who is without condemnation cast the first stone

Recently I’ve been reflecting a bit more on friendship and how we get on with people. For those of you that know me I hope you will agree that I am the sort of person that gets along with everyone. I’m pleased that I have been blessed with this ability but I have to tell you that its not always that easy. Through thinking about the friendships I struggle with the most I realised that these are mainly caused by me being jealous in some way or another. Whether prettier or more popular, smarter or more confident my friends often possess qualities I desire and this, through my own distorted feelings of self worth, leads to jealousy. Once I realised that jealousy was the root of my problems I began thinking about where it comes from and what breeds it. In Galatians 5 it says we are to live by the spirit and that jealousy comes from our sinful desires. This supports my initial ideas that we need to admit when we are jealous, give our jealousy to God and let the holy spirit work in us to overcome it. Paul also comments in Philippians that he has learned the secret of being content in all situations and later on that he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him (phil 4v11-13) this has been the single most often quoted verse for me over the last year. To be quite honest this perfectly demonstrates my inadequacy and the need for Christ in my life. Now if I have a problem in a friendship or a relationship is struggling I will seek commit it to prayer, consider the problem within myself and try to understand my part in the problem. Then, most importantly, I can move forward with the strength that Christ Jesus provides. Yes this may be easier aid than done but by pointing at other people we often fail to look at ourselves and our internal problems. In the program ‘8 simple rules’ (I don’t know the episode exactly) it is said that every time you point at someone there are three fingers pointing back at you. This is also biblically correct as it is mentioned Mathew 7:3 why do you see the speck in your brothers eye and fail to see the plank in your own

I pray that after reading this you will take time to look at your own friendships and see if there are any troubled by your own jealousy.

(hehe you should also listen to the children’s song about Mathew 7:3 by Doug Horely, but that’s just cos I like the song I don’t think it will hugely influence spiritual growth).

Space

We all need space, somewhere to go or somewhere to be. Sometimes to be alone and at other times to be with people. Our spaces can be private but often they are available to everyone. We like our special space but it can’t always be as we want it. There’s other people there or maybe there’s no one there. When it changes we don’t like it. We pass judgement on these people, just for there presence or lack of it. What right have they got to be in our space, changing it so its not to our liking.

I love Pitville park. I suppose you could say its one of my special spaces. It’s a park that suits all occasions and moods, for meeting friends or for being alone. The other night I went for a walk in the park and as I went along I noticed that there were lots of other people using this space as their own special space to get away. There were youths escaping from parents, young couples silently enjoying the other persons company, runners, dog walkers and fishermen, all there for their own reason yet all sharing the same special place. Its so easy to pass judgement on these people, wishing the youths would be more responsible or the couples to be less in your face and the runners to be less enthusiastic. But what right have we got to pass judgement? We don’t own the space and we don’t own them and so there’s nothing we can do about it. If your not careful this can also affect your mood.

I’ve been challenged recently by the ‘I want never gets’ statement. I assume I know what I want and when I want it but actually it should be what god wants and in his perfect timing. How do we know what’s best for us and what will be best in the long run. As I sat in the park I slowly realised that there’s so much in the world that you cannot see. Your peripheral vision just contains too much for your brain to handle never mind process thoughts about. This got me thinking more. We always have such a limited view of our current situation and experiences but god sees it as it truly is and he sees and knows how each situation fits together into his grander designs and plans. However much we stop and think we always get a distorted image. Imagine looking at a reflection in a lake. A beautiful scene or person reflected in the water yet it’s interrupted with ripples and movement on the surface of the water. Initially it looks beautiful but as you look up you realise its not as good as the real thing. When we keep our eyes focussed to the floor we only see the reflection but when we look up we see it through Gods eyes in its true beauty.

However much control we want we can’t have it. We can’t have the spaces to ourselves and we can’t live in a world where things always go our way. Perhaps more importantly we don’t properly see our situations or spaces. To be honest I’m glad I cant control all these things, id surely mess it up and then id be even more miserable. God has each space and situation in his hands and whether I should it or not I’m glad it’s all controlled by him.

Rain

A while ago I went for a walk one evening round the park. I was feeling really down and I just wanted my own space. I stepped outside, turned on my ipod, then angrily went back inside. My ipod had no charge and it looked like rain. I put the ipod on charge and sat in the house twiddling my thumbs. After half an hour I was so wound up that I decided I must go out and walk, it was the only thing that would help my mood and it would surely clear my head. I really don’t remember what was causing my foul mood but id got it into my head that a brisk walk was the only thing for it, so I just had to go.

As I walked, briskly in the cool evening breeze, my bizarre thoughts got even worse and I got it into my head that it would really help me feel better if it rained. You know, those big spots of rain, I just wanted to be drenched and I thought that would make me feel better. Those of you who know me will appreciate how unusual this is; I usually hate getting wet and always have an umbrella in my bag just in case. But somehow, on this occasion, I believed that some proper rain would help me to feel better and then I could go back home. It didn’t rain. There was thunder, and wind but no rain came. After an hour and a half I decided it was getting late and I should probably go back. Not all was lost I had been out of the house and I had been able to use the time to pray and reflect. As I climbed the steps to my bedroom I heard drops on the rooftop. I looked out of the window and low and behold it was raining, not just light rain but wet, heavy rain. Now I was cross. I had wanted a walk in the rain and that hadn’t happened. It felt like God was laughing in my face by sending the rain just as I got home.

This was a while ago now and apart from my unusual feeling of anger I didn’t really see the significance. This morning I listened to a talk on a passage from mark that I thought I knew quite well. Id lead bible study on marks gospel so knew the main themes and I think because of that I didn’t start with the best attitude. The talk was unexpectedly amazing! The speaker was so powerful and covered many different areas. One of these was the need to reassess our priorities and the realisation that societies priorities are not always correct.

This caused me to reflect on my current situation. For many years now I knew I would go to university to train as a teacher and I assumed I would walk straight into a job. From the age of 5 I’ve known I would be a teacher and so just assumed it would happen. Now that it hasn’t happened I’m not angry at god, rather wondering what he has in store for me.

My priorities should be god’s priorities and these are not necessarily the same as societies priorities. God knows what is best for me even when I don’t. This talk caused me to remember my walk in the ‘rain’. I thought the rain would be best for me but actually it wasn’t and god knew that getting wet wouldn’t have helped in the slightest but the long prayerful walk did.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is that god always knows what’s best for us even when we don’t. Retrospect is a wonderful thing but we can’t have that until the time has passed. I don’t know what the future has in store for me but I pray that we will each be open to the challenges and opportunities he sends us. God does know best and getting cross or agitated certainly doesn’t solve anything.

Coping

What do you do when you don’t know how to handle a situation? Some people run, others hide. Some people face it head on whilst others ignore that its happening. However we choose to deal with the situation it’s not going to change what’s happening. Nothing you do can chance the inevitable and so methods of how to deal with things are important. But all these ways mentioned above are human ways, ways that won’t help in the long run or truly change the situation. What we should do is turn to god in prayer. This may seem like a simple response or you think to yourself “here we go again” or “yes, but it’s easier said than done”. Well too true, I’m glad if you’ve heard it before because just hearing it is not enough. I’d tell you a thousand times if that would have an effect. Taking our troubles and situations to god isn’t something we should just do in glad or sad times but all the time. This brings us nicely onto the next cliché “its easier said than done”. Again I agree. When we don’t know what to do we want answers, we seek help from our friends, neighbours, colleagues, family, the man on the bus, sometimes it gets to a point where we tell anyone who will listen and who could provide is with some tangible advice. But where we need to go is to the cross and present our situation to god. He is the one who will truly listen, for he has planned it and understands. Sometimes we can find it hard that we hear nothing in return and no practical guidance is offered, but how often do we take the time to listen for his response or read his word in the bible. So often we limit the power of god and don’t allow his voice to shine through. Is it that God isn’t doing anything or is it that we aren’t allowing him to do anything?

I’m living in a world of uncertainty at the moment and it’s not easy! But I’ve come to realise that if I’m not giving god the opportunities to speak and tell me of how to cope or what to do than I’m not going to know. God knows it all, for he planned it before I was made. When you put it like that it seems stupid not to be asking him what to do and where to go. It’s good to have your own ways to get through the ups and downs of life but its better to listen out for god. In Philippians Paul says: in everything, through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God and the peace of God that transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

I pray that whatever situation you find yourself in through the coming weeks and months you will get through it in gods power and will spend time listening as well as asking and crying out to him. May God guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus and may you too receive the peace that transcends all understanding. Amen.

Becoming a Proverbs 31 woman Part 2

This is a continuation of my reflections on proverbs 31, please start by reading that one and again I suggest you read the passage before you read my reflections. Dont accept what i suggest, think about it for yourself.

In verse 20 the proverbs 31 woman opens her arms.
This is particular a challenge for me. I like things, I like to have nice possessions and I also like to keep things to myself. The proverbs 31 woman of god shares things with the poor and opens her arms and herself to others. This doesn’t only apply to material things, whatever we have that we keep to ourselves we prevent other people from enjoying it. If we have been given a gift and we keep it locked away (either physically or metaphorically) the gift doesn’t reach its full potential or its potential is cut short. We need to open our arms and open our hearts to others in whatever ways we can. Don’t be storing treasures where rust can destroy!

A proverbs 31 woman has no fears as they are covered in scarlet
I too would love to be free from fear. I am indeed covered by the scarlet blood of Christ yet I so often lack the faith that his plans for me are always for good and will cause me no harm. I challenge everyone to consider their worry in relation to what Christ has done for us and to ask for gods help in stepping out in faith and trusting in his scarlet covering. Since trying practical strategies for preventing my worry I have felt such a peace and freedom from God. When we stop worrying we have time to see things more clearly and this is exciting!

The last trait I’m going to pick out is that the proverbs 31 woman laughs at the days to come (v25)
Laugh guys! Don’t worry what tomorrow will bring because tomorrow has enough worry of its own, and after all its all in his hands. Why do we so desire to know what will happen in the future? If I did know I’d be more than likely to mess it up, so really it’s probably best that I don’t know. Saying this I know it’s not easy to put it into practice. The next year of my life is one big unknown and I’m not able to laugh yet, but id love to have the confidence to do so, Ive got as far as rejoicing in it so maybe laughter is the next step.

I know I’ve only picked out a few of the characteristics that I have been considering in trying to become a proverbs 31 woman, and I don’t claim to be any sort of preacher but remember:
Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised!

Becoming a proverbs 31 woman

This passage strictly relates to a wife but the principles can apply generally to all women. Have you read it recently? I have been challenged on becoming a woman of god so I’ve been investigating and reflecting on what that means so I thought id share some of my musings on proverbs 31. (you should perhaps grab a bible and read it first)

In verse 11 it expresses that other people have full confidence in a proverbs 31 woman.
Are we trustworthy people that others can have confidence in? This is not just for husbands and men, we need to be trustworthy to our female friends also. How important do we value our own trustworthiness? It is easy to fall into gossip or other such silliness. We may not think it harmful or degrading to others but by doing this we not only disrespect our brothers and sisters in Christ we detriment our own character of trustworthiness. To grow into trustworthy women of god we need to consider how our actions affect others and if indeed we are a person that other people would have confidence in.

Verse 15 expresses how a proverbs 31 woman is a ‘doer’, she doesn’t leave things for other people to do or whimp out if it seams too difficult.
I don’t want this blog to be full of finger pointing, I certainly struggle in these areas, but I recognise the importance of working in this area and changing for the better. I need to actively work on this in order to change and to grow, to develop as a woman of god. We don’t always do the things that we find difficult, mostly because we don’t want to; ‘its ok someone else will do it’, ‘that’s not really my thing’, ‘that’s such a good idea…but I personally don’t really have the time’. These things are all too easy to say but they can prevent us from stepping out in faith and playing our part. God gives us this description of a woman of noble character as a guide for us, we too need to be active and start doing, even if we don’t want to. As Christians we shouldn’t be under the impression life is going to be any easier, what we are told is that God will be with us every step of the way and that we can do all things in his strength (Philippians 4,13)

Verse 18 tells us that the lamp of a proverbs 31 woman doesn’t go out at night.
How easy is it to let our lamps go out when our circumstances or situations change. We can be on fire for god one day but then when with our non Christian friends we struggle to stay strong for the lord or we hide our light for fear of others judging us. This woman strives to keep her light burning and so must we. Why would you light a lamp and put it under a bowl? Your light needs to be put on the stand for all to see and from all to benefit from.

There’s lots to think about so I’m going to break here and make it 2 separate blogs. I pray that you don’t just skim over the bits that are difficult to read. Think about what God might be trying to tell you and reflect upon it yourself.

Gods beautiful masterpiece

God is painting a picture on the canvas of our lives. Our bodies are merely the frames on which to paint. (L. Dillow from ‘Calm my Anxious Heart’)

This little quote really helped me to reflect upon self esteem and our self worth when thinking about ourselves. I know from personal experience and in the lives of my friends that so many people struggle with self image. We have some sort of innate tendency to compare ourselves to others and want to be more like this or less like that. What I understand from this quote is that God made us just as we are and this is in his image. Whatever we think of our physical form it is made by his almighty hand. Although this is a wonderful truth its not always easy to accept. Society has such strong opinions on beauty we can find it difficult to resist the pressure to disregard Gods opinions on beauty and go along with society. The thing that struck me from the Dillow quote above is that god is ‘painting’. After forming us in his image the masterpiece isn’t complete. Frames come in all shapes and sizes, but once the artwork is in the gallery it is not the frame that it looked at or admired. The body is not the finished work, god is continuing to work on us shaping us into the person he wants us to be, making us more beautiful and closer to his image. We need to work with god in the painting process so that our inner beauty and personality can be seen in the frame. We should not discard the frame before the painting has begun. God has given us so many beautiful character traits and gifts, it is in using these and developing them that truly makes us beautiful. Proverbs 31 is a commonly used passage when looking at the idea of beauty (look out for the next blog on this passage). In verse 30 it expresses ‘Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised’.

In spending time worrying about being more beautiful we waste time that could be spent on cultivating more godly traits which can last forever. Do you want beauty in the eyes of society that is momentary and fleeting or do you want your treasures in heaven?