Guest Blogger: The Servant and the Rebel

Hi, there! I’m a friend of Clara’s. For the sake of privacy on the internet, you can refer to me as Courtney. I'm a teenage girl who loves chocolate ice cream, performing, reading, I Love Lucy, Disney movies, Jesus, and writing. Clara recently asked me if I would be a guest writer for Beauty in Everything, and I eagerly accepted. Her blog has really inspired me, and I’m thankful for this opportunity. I hope you enjoy!

The Servant and the Rebel

If you were suddenly left as an orphan and then treated with both verbal and emotional abuse, would you still trust in God? Would you still wake up singing a song of hope? Meet Cinderella: a young woman who lost both of her parents at a very young age. Her stepmother is known for being evil (and her stepsisters for being ugly). Because of her threatening good looks, Cinderella is forced to become a servant in her own home among her own “family”. In the 1950’s Disney film, Cinderella never says anything mean about her stepfamily. She is honest, kind, respectful, and serving. Every day, she wakes up with a purpose full of hopes and dreams and works diligently.

Cinderella is an excellent example of Jesus Christ. The Pharisees were people who plotted against Jesus, trying anything to prove He wasn’t the Messiah. Similarly, Cinderella’s evil stepmother put her in rags to take away from her beauty. Jesus is the Prince of Peace and Lord of Lords, yet he humbled Himself to become a servant for mankind. Mark 10:33 says, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Cinderella has a servant’s heart that really reminds me of Jesus’. She follows Colossians 3:23: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” In addition to this, she didn’t deserve her harsh treatment, and neither did Jesus. In fact, Isaiah 53: 9 says, “He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.”

When I was a little girl, my favorite princess was not Cinderella. She seemed too sweet and unreal. I liked the red headed and passionate Princess Ariel from The Little Mermaid much more. In this Disney movie, Ariel is a mermaid with a desire to become human, even though her father, King Triton, specifically orders her not to go near them. The desire being too much, she seeks out the evil Ursula, a sea witch octopus. In their meeting, Ursula agrees to turn her into a human for three days. If Ariel kisses her human crush, Prince Eric, before the end of the third day, she’ll permanently be human. However, if she is unsuccessful, her life belongs to Ursula. Unfortunately, Ariel fails, and the octopus drags her back into the ocean. Because Ariel legally belongs to the sea witch, her father can’t save her with his magic triton. Finally, Ursula agrees to give Ariel her freedom in return for the King’s power- and his life. Hesitantly, he complies in return for the safety and freedom of his princess.

There are some obvious differences between Cinderella and Ariel. For example, Cinderella respected her stepmother and worked with a faithful heart. Ariel, on the other hand, disobeyed her father and was merely concerned about achieving her lifelong dream of being human. In the movie, Cinderella sang joyful songs of contentment and hope to her animal friends. Ariel sang of wanting more, even when her friend, Sebastian, sang, “The seaweed is always greener in somebody else’s lake."

Now before you start hating the little mermaid, consider how our actions are very similar to hers. I know I’ve rebelled against God, sinned, and compromised for things I thought would make me happy. Similar to how Ariel’s father gave his life, our Father gave His, and by no means did we deserve it. Romans 3:23 makes that clear: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Just like the mermaid, we’ve disobeyed our Father. But there’s redemption. Even though we’ve messed up, our sins are forgiven, thanks to a merciful and loving Savior. Titus 3:5 says, “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.”

Through Cinderella and Ariel we can take a peek at how to live life as a princess- a princess of God. A follower of Christ should strive to be like Cinderella: having a pure and innocent beauty, a servant’s heart, a loving attitude, and being full of joy, peace, and hope. Ariel’s story is a reminder that although we’re princesses, we’re not perfect, but our Father in heaven most certainly is.

More than Meets the Eye...

Miss Bates and Mrs. Bates from the 1996 adaption of Emma (the version I like to watch)

Emma, a movie based off of a book by Jane Austen, is my go-to chick flick movie. The basic premise of the movie is about a witty young woman named Emma who enjoys getting into other peoples' business. Throughout the story, she continually faces consequences from her matchmaking attempts (which are a whole different matter that I may talk about some other time). But, one thing that particularly stands out to me about Emma are its crazy characters. One woman in particular, Miss Bates, adds lots of humor to the story (as if there isn't enough already). She is an old maid, living alone with her mother Mrs. Bates. Her mouth runs many times faster than her brain and usually she is continually saying stupid things. To make matters worse, she laughs at her own lame jokes too. The audience sees Miss Bates as a two-dimentional character; she is simply the batty, slow type that adds comic relief to the plot line. But, towards the end of the movie, a scene takes place that changes this opinion completely (the following quotes are actually from the book, not the movie, but they are very similar)

Emma and several of her friends (including Miss Bates) are at a picnic. They are running out of things to talk about, so one of the picnickers suggests that everyone tell Emma "two things moderately clever or three very dull things indeed". Miss Bates teasingly says, "'Three things very dull indeed.' That will just do for me, you know. I shall be sure to say three dull things as soon as ever I open my mouth, shan't I?" 
Emma responds, "Ah, ma'am, but there may be a difficulty. Pardon me—but you will be limited as to number—only three at once’."
This remark suddenly shows something in Miss Bates; her entire happy-go-lucky, dull attitude changes into one of embarrassment and spellbound shock. For the rest of the picnic, she sheepishly wonders out loud if she really is as dull as Emma says she is, and her entire afternoon is essentially ruined.

Isn't it funny that this seemingly two-dimensional character took that blow so drastically? Watching that scene and its painful outcomes made me realize something important: there is more to every person than what meets the eye.

We all have those people in our lives who seem to have no depth to them. For example, while I was working at a kids day camp this summer, I came into contact with this one crazy girl in my cabin.  She was loud, bold, and comfortable with everyone. In fact, this girl even gave nicknames to several of the counselors. She was also the one who liked to stick her tongue out at me whenever my will clashed with hers and the one who complained rather frequently. It seemed as though she was just a crazy, slightly annoying kid, nothing more. 
Until the last day of camp came around. We were doing various relay races that day and eventually we reached an egg-and-spoon race. The girl dropped her egg during the race and everyone, in their competitive spirits, naturally started yelling at her, telling her to "go get another egg" and "turn around", stuff like that. Only about a minute after the race had ended, I found the girl crying her heart out. I suddenly came to a realization; everything that this little girl had done this week, from pushing to get her way to giving out obscure nicknames was for a single reason: to cover up HUGE insecurities. 
Beyond the loud and often obnoxious little girl was a human being with looming insecurities and doubts of whether or not she was appreciated. 

We need to realize that there is so much more to everyone than what we see. From the annoying jerk to the painfully shy wallflower to the flamboyant attention-seeker, there is so much more to every person than meets the eye. 

As Christians, we are definitely called to look beyond initial judgments of the people around us. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

If you listen to any CCM music at all, you probably know the song "Give Me Your Eyes" by Brandon Heath. This song actually depicts this concept very well by challenging us to see beyond the outward appearances of the people around us. Even if you could sing the song in your sleep, reread these lyrics, thinking about the meaning behind them.

"Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see."

Let's start looking beyond ourselves into the lives of others. I don't mean to be nosy and probing. I mean to start truly caring for people, no matter what type of outward appearance they seem to have. Start praying and encouraging EVERYONE around you, even when it seems like your efforts could never penetrate their initial personality. You might just be able to have an impact on someone who needed support, love, or good influence in their life, or you might just meet an awesome friend :) 
As Shrek said, ogres (and people) are like onions, they have LAYERS... 

Guest Blogger: Skyler Simone's HSB song

My name is Skyler Simone! I’ve been playing the piano for about five years now and I’ve been writing music since 2011. I also run a music blog.

I enjoy thrift shopping, playing board games, sewing, and writing short stories. And I think the Lord of the Rings trilogy is the best thing ever!

Towards the end of August of 2012, I became slightly obsessed with a gorgeous intro to a song called Say I Love You. It was so simple, yet beautiful. The short intro evoked images of red and yellow forests, snow-capped mountains, and other natural wonders.

Around this time, I met a teenage girl that was fighting depression. The first thought I had when I saw her was, “Wow, she is so beautiful!” Unfortunately, she couldn’t see that how pretty she was.

Not only was I saddened when she would say that she was ugly, I was frustrated. Frustrated because I knew she wasn’t alone; millions of people buy into the lie that they aren’t beautiful.

Out of frustration, I wrote my song HSB (Heart-Stoppingly Beautiful). I wanted to describe the emotions I felt when I heard the intro to Say I Love You. And I also wanted to remind people that no matter what society says, we are all heart-stoppingly beautiful.

As I look at the things before me

The flowers and the trees

The mountains, the rivers, the hills and the valleys

Nature, all of it, in its splendor and glory

And I think, “This is heart-stoppingly beautiful”

These lines were inspired by the images evoked by Say I Love You.

When I hear a song so lovely

That the music is singing

A symphony of pianos, and lyrics that sound like poetry

My hearing, Lord, I’m so grateful you gave to me

So I can think, “This is heart-stoppingly beautiful”

Even though the first three lines are about the song Say I Love You, they could refer to any of my favorite songs. :)

The last two lines are thanking God for allowing me to hear! Music is my passion and I can’t thank God enough for creating something so incredibly amazing!

As I see all of the people walking around

I see someone that is staring at the ground

They look up and glance at me

How I wish that they could only see

That they are so heart-stoppingly beautiful

These lines were written with teenagers everywhere in mind.  

If we are all made in God’s image

And God is a perfect being

Then why do we hate ourselves?

I know He wants us to think

That we are all heart-stoppingly beautiful

I always like to have thought-provoking questions in my lyrics, especially if I’m writing a song that’s a bit aggressive. These are probably the most important lines in this song.

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them…” -Genesis 1:27

Our society says if we don’t look a certain way

Then we can’t be pretty

People. They hate themselves because they feel ashamed

They think they aren’t lovely

Why can’t we all see that we’re amazing?

Just stop and listen to me

I want to tell you, my dear, you are heart-stoppingly beautiful

The bridge is my most favorite part of HSB. I wrote and rewrote it several times. I wanted to get the lyrics just right because it’s another important part of the song. Like I mentioned before, I was pretty frustrated when I wrote this song. The bridge is where I poured out all my frustration (not just lyrically, but vocally as well!).

My God’s works are wonderful

Everything He has made

There are no flaws, no imperfections, and no mistakes

So when my heart skips a beat

And I see God’s Hand

I try to put it in the best way I can

And the only way I can say that is by saying heart-stoppingly beautiful

  

Like the bridge, I wrote and rewrote the chorus of HSB quite a number of times. The line “There are no flaws, no imperfections, and no mistakes” is referring to nature…but to human beings as well. After all, we ARE God’s creations!

I’ve written many songs, but I feel like HSB is one of the most important. The message is so powerful, one that needs to be shouted all around the world. It can’t be stated enough!  Because everyone is heart-stoppingly beautiful!   

Here's a link to the song:

https://soundcloud.com/skyler-simone/hsb-heart-stoppingly-beautiful