Authentic Beauty

The Media bogs us down with this unrealistic idea of beauty. All the photos we are seeing in magazines are re-touched and modified. There is no way to look absolutely perfect/flawless. Every girl has their bad hair day, or that annoying zit that pops up out of nowhere. Face it, it happens to every girl in this world! If it's not their nose that bothers them, it's their forehead; if it's not that, it's something else. When it comes right down to it, we need to just learn to accept what God gave us, and realize we were made the way we were made for a reason, and being negative isn't going to change things. All we can do is stay healthy and do our best with what we've got, right?

This is what the Bible says about being beautiful:
1 Peter 3:3-4
Don't depend on things like fancy hairdos or gold jewelry or expensive clothes to make you look beautiful. Be beautiful in your heart by being gentle and quiet. This kind of beauty will last, and God considers it very special.

It makes sense to me, how about you?
I think some of the most beautiful girls and celebrities are really not great role models. They may look pretty on the outside, but it's the heart that counts. Which I think really is what the above verse is talking about. So how will we know if our hearts are in the right place? How can we know if we have or can attain that unfading beauty?
I like this saying that goes like this, "The tongue is a tattle tale that tells on the heart and discloses the real person."
What we speak of, what we spend our time doing and thinking about, can be a good clue to what state our heart is in.

Also, some days we just don't feel beautiful. We feel ugly, unwanted, not special. Whenever we have days like that, I like to think of this verse:
Psalm 45:11
The king (God) is enthralled by your beauty;
honor him, for he is your lord.

God thinks we're beautiful. He created us and loves what He sees! He doesn't see our flaws or imperfections; in fact He sees just the opposite, He sees PERFECTION.