Why Beauty Should Stay On Your To Do List {Guest Post by Trina Holden}

 I'm very excited to introduce my friend Trina Holden to you as today's guest poster :). Trina makes her home in upstate New York, where she spends her days as a busy homeschool mom, real foodie, and blogger. Her first ebook, Real Fast Food, is an excellent resource for busy moms who want to serve whole foods to their families. Trina just released her second book, Embracing Beauty, which I absolutely loved! Stay tuned for my upcoming review {and a giveaway!}. In the mean time, here's Trina...

 My life is an every-day whirlwind between 3 children, a diligent husband that works an ever-changing schedule, and not a small amount of traveling for the family business. Sometime in the chaos last year, I gave up on beauty. I thought I could live without it, so I let it slip off the to-do list.

Clean laundry, dinner on the table, bath times, bed times, and clean-those-toys-off-the-floor-so-we-can-walk-through-the-living-room filled out that list well enough, so I let beauty go. I was doing enough, wasn't I?

But just a few short months after dropping that ball, a part of me started to shrivel, to feel parched, undernourished to the point of starvation. It was my beauty detector--that part God put inside each of us that notices and appreciates beauty. See, God loves beauty--the Scriptures are full of references to God creating and celebrating beauty. Because we were made in His image, we, too, have an ability to create and celebrate beauty, thus bringing us in sync with our Creator.

He meant beauty for our joy. And when we neglect beauty, we miss out on a huge area He intended to bring refreshment and satisfaction to our souls. I don't know about you, mamma, but I have realized that I need every bit of joy I can find when the days are long and the nights way too short.





So, I've once again put 'Beauty' on my daily list. Sometimes it's as small as making sure to put a single flower in a vase on my kitchen windowsill. Sometimes it means packing the kids in the car and making a trip to the local thrift store to spruce up our wardrobes. Or, it's taking the time to transfer dinner to nice serving dishes before bringing it to the table.

One of the easiest ways for me to celebrate beauty is to take a quick photo on my phone of the every day beauty that pops up all the time if I'm watching for it. These little acts have once again put beauty in its rightful spot in my day--and put my soul in a place where it can thrive. Because every snap shot, every moment paused to relish His creation, every effort to embrace beauty can become an act of worship, thanking and praising my Lord, the author of all beauty.

If you desire to be more purposeful in celebrating beauty in your heart and home, I invite you to pick up a copy of my new book, "Embracing Beauty: Practical Style for Every Shape and Season of Motherhood" which will take you step by step in finding and creating more beauty more in the area of your personal style!