shine like a diamond, glitter like gold

i've got a confession to make.

when i see a blog and every photo included in the posts are picture perfect...i don't believe it.
you know. the one's where her outfit looks so well put together. her makeup is flawless. her hair is flowing locks that look like she just got it professionally done.

you can scroll and scroll but there won't be a picture of her on an "off" day. where here hair is in a pony tail and makeup is no where to be found.

i started thinking.
what good does that do?

sure she looks amazing and beautiful. but what's that really truly saying to us?
to the girl who is lucky if she puts on mascara, not because she's lazy but because makeup isn't that important to her. to the girl who hates her hair 5 days out of the week, because she has to wear it in a ponytail for work, and it never goes into a cute bun on the first try. to the girl who has tried countless beauty tutorials and just can't get the smokey eye down, without looking like she got punched. to the girl who's just doesn't have the time in the week to take a billion pictures of herself and what she wore.

it's putting a lot of pressure on me her for sure.

we live in a society that seriously demands so much of us. the way we look, the way we act, what job we have, who we marry. all these things are supposed to make us "who we are".

but i'm wondering, when did we loose sight of who we really are.

when did we become so obsessed with hiding every flaw we have, 

and finding a million different ways to cover it up. 

instead of.
well instead of embracing it.

instead of just knowing we have it and deciding that it isn't a flaw: it's what helps us to be who we are.

the problem though.
is that everyone is so focused on all the negatives, that if you're not all dolled up the "you're beautiful" comments cease to exist.
tough i know.

we've turned from beauty being what's on the inside, to what we're wearing.

i'm here to tell ya sister, that's a lie straight from satan.

we are beautiful.

every single one of us is STUNNING. in our own ways. our flaws, our quirks, our lough laughs, our laid back attitudes. it's all a part of us.

a part that God hand crafted Himself.

every inch of our bodies God designed to be the way that it is.

our birth marks. our fluffy hair. our weird fingers {or is that just me?}. our big noses. our tiny ears. our small lips. our big feet. our big hips.

all created because He knew we'd learn to love it.

there's really no sense in it all. trying to look perfect all the time.
it has got to be exhausting. 

ain't nobody got time for that. 

what if.
what if, instead of focusing so much on love for others because it's february...we focus on loving ourselves first.

love what we look like.
the imperfections and all.

i want young girls to know that they don't have to look like the magazines just to be beautiful. that they were created with a purpose, and that what happens on the inside is so much more beautiful than what goes on on the outside.

it's about who you are as a person. about what you do daily that makes you a child of God.

beauty can't be applied by a tube.
it's already in us. just waiting to get out.


i saw carrie underwood in december and fell in love with this song. and was just listening to it the other day when all these thoughts came flooding to me.
take a listen:

so what if we took it all off?

the make up, the fancy clothes. and just let the world see us for who we really are?

bold move i know.

but will you join me?

here's to letting the world really see me.

{megan}

sinner saved by grace. 

wife to the worlds best husband. 

cries at everything. 

loves dogs. 

wants to be a better photographer. 

admits when she's wrong. 

gets jealous easily. 

laughs the loudest. 

doesn't wash her hair every day. 

do you see where i'm going with this?

it's about me. knowing that although i have no makeup on, no earrings, my hair is in a bun, and there hasn't been a single edit done to this picture...i feel beautiful. 

it doesn't matter to me what other people think or might say, because i know i'm beautiful. 

do you know how beautiful you are?

if you do...show the world. 

blog about it. and then make sure to leave me a comment with the link. 

maybe no one will do this, but maybe one other person will take a picture el natural, and put it on the internet. 

i might be crazy. 

but i'm crazy enough to know that it doesn't matter what someone else things. it's about what i know. 

all my love, 

meg