The Make Up behind your Make-Up : Foundation

Hey Everyone, 


So As I recently posted, I am starting a series of blogs entitled " The Make Up BehindYour Make-Up." I talk about the vision HERE ----->>> The Beginning of The Make Up Behind Your Make-Up <<<----
So if you want to know the inspiration behind the series.. .make sure you read that first. 

I hope you enjoy this series :) 




When I put on my make-up, the very first thing I typically reach for is my foundation. My foundation is essential to my make- up routine in  fact that it is the base for which the rest of my make up will be applied to, and it creates a great surface for all of my make-up to flow beautifully onto my face. 

The word " foundation" is defined as "A body or ground on which other parts rest or are overlaid." 

A foundation to ANYTHING in life is a crucial element to being any solid, maintaing structure. From a house, to your face, foundation is critical in properly putting together works of art. The foundation is what is laid FIRST before anything else is built, it is the determining factor as to whether you will have a solid, long standing structure, or whether everything will crumble under pressure. 

So here is the same question God posed to me: " What is your foundation, and how strong is it being built?"

When God posed this question to me, I gave Him that " Christian answer." You know , " God...of COURSE, YOU are my foundation." But God told me, get REAL with Him. Was my foundation REALLY Him? Or was I standing on something else?

I began to really evaluate everything that I leaned on in my life.What was I allowing to be a structure for me to stand on, and how stable was I? 

Looking into this question was really hard.Sometime self-reflecting will be difficult, but it is necessary for growth in Christ. Self-reflection allows you to see where you TRULEY are, don't be afraid to get real with yourself, then you can get REAL with God. 

So as I began to look at my life, I saw that God was like little pieces of rock in my foundation, but He wasn't the surface of my foundation. It was like God was a little piece of the structure, and everything else I allowed to influence me became the actual foundation for my life. 

I can honestly tell you... 


I wasn't solid. 


In fact, 

I was probably in the most unstable place I could have ever been in, in my life. 


This new found fact about myself literally BROKE everything in me. 

I had to change my whole state of mine. I had to literally allow God to TEAR down all the foundation that I had built on my own, and ask Him to re-build His foundation in my life. 


Okay....


So where do you begin?!??! 


How does God begin to wreck everything you built on your own and then re-build everything from the ground up?

For God , it is BEYOND simple, YOU are the one who built that original, old, raggedy, broke down, busted and disgusted foundation of yours! He can easily tear down that and start over, He is the God of creation, He just needs an invitation from you personally to start over! 


So what are some key components ingredients in your " Make Up" Foundation??????







APPLYING THE WORD: 

Luke 6:47-49

Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

This verse tells you EXACTLY how to " invite God" to start re-building everything about you. You have to hear God's words and DO THEM. Doing God's word is a HUGE factor in making your life everything that God intends for it to be.

" I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." ( Psalm 119:11) 

When you have God's word hidden inside of  you, it makes it difficult to be an unstable person, but ONLY if you apply it. God's word is the key to having a solid foundation. Build your foundation with HIS WORD. 

APPLYING HIS WILL: 

Jeremiah 29:11 

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

God has plans for you beyond anything you could conjure up in your head! STOP TRYING TO BUILD yOUR FOUNDATION ON YOUR OWN! You will FAIL FAIL FAIL. How can you even THINK that you can do better than God can? Let Your life be built on Him. He is the SOLID ROCK (Matthew 7:24-27). You stand on HIM and you will be unwavering in your faith and in a lot of other aspects of your world too.

Ephesians 2:10 

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

You were created for good works! You were made to glorify the kingdom of God. You have to understand this in order to understand that your foundation being rooted and grounded in Christ is so crucial to your ENTIRE walk with God. 

DO NOT WAIVER : 

James 1:6

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

Stand tall and firm on the foundation that God builds for you! Know that if God has built you up, NOTHING can tear you down. God builds SOLID things. HE doesn't create just to create, He has purpose. If you allow Him to mold you, and shape you, your foundation will be set in STONE. You will be able to stand against anything the enemy tries to bring your way! I encourage you today, evaluate your foundation. Get a life inspection! If you discover that God has not built up your foundation and that you are not standing knee deep in Him, then ask Him to tear you down and start over! Tell Him to MAKE YOU OVER! He will do it... I know because He did it for me! I pray that you all got SOMETHING from this. Know that God's foundation is only the beginning to the beautiful things He wants to build in you! " On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand!"

WELCOME to " The Make Up behind your Make-Up" series! 

I love and adore each of you!!!!!

Nicole L. <3

Love.... THE BEGINNING OF: "The Make Up Behind Your Make-Up"

Hey Beauties!

So a while ago God gave me this VISION for a conference and the theme was " The Make up behind your Make-up!" I was so excited, and still am for this to take place. I was prepared to make things happen, but God said.." Not Yet!" SOO... Not yet! BUT... He recently laid this theme back on my heart. He began speaking to me about it and told me to WRITE. Write out exactly what He described to me with this theme. SOOOO... This is IT! I am going to start a series... every month for the next six months, (or so) I will be doing a blog pertaining to make-up.. but not so much Make up... GET IT? Not yet? Flow with me.

God gave me this vision of how various things we wear on our faces apply to His word and some biblical principles that we HAVE to learn in order to have a successful and complete "face" or in this case.. a healthy and flourishing relationship with God.



You are made up of SO many components, but there are some key components that are crucial to your walk with Christ.

WHO ARE YOU?

We are going to dive DEEP into what your Make up should consist of.
What types of products are in your spiritual make-up bag and how well do you know how to apply them?

God has laid specific aspects of the Christian walk on my heart to speak with you all about these next six months! Gosh I am so excited for you all to hear the amazing, thought provoking things God has been whispering in my ear.

I have been working on applying all of these "make-up" products to my own spiritual life , and God is just showing me how His make up is ten times more beautiful than anything Mac or Sephora can provide you!

His glory is made evident in all of the supplies in your make- up bag!



 I am so excited to do this.. it is really going to be good! God just keeps giving me more and more on this topic.. and I am so ready to share this with you guys! Stay posted... God is going to show you " The Make up Behind Your Make-Up." <3

In the mean time... while I prepare to make God's vision for this go off smoothly... I want you all to continue to read the previous blog posts, encourage your friends and family to do the same!

I believe that God has had me in this place of not writing for a while to prepare for this very moment. I have had some time to take and reflect on the things of God and now it is time for Him to just do what He wants. I want Him to Have His way! 

I am so excited for yall to just see God's vision made evident in this!

I encourage you guys to continue to let God move in your worlds! Don't stop letting Him have His way! Keep loving on each other... our goal forever and ever is to ...

LOVE OUT LOUD AND LOVE ON PURPOSE! 

Be Blessed Pretties, 

Nicole L. 

Love Me... Enough to Stay Pure

WHEW! It has been a while since I wrote a blog! I have just been so busy my life has gotten pretty crazy.. but that is NO EXCUSE... and I have MISSED writing.. so I am super excited to get back to the blogging life!! I have some time to sit down and write and God has been nudging me for a while about this particular blog post. I have hesitated because.. for me... it honestly ,until recently, has been kind of uncomfortable for me to talk about. SOOO here goes nothing!


God has been tugging at my heart strings about sexual purity for a while. I think it is a topic that so often in the body of Christ we just cover over with a simple "stay abstinent.. if you aren't a virgin.. be celibate.. and call it a day!" But it is not that simple. There are so many struggles...temptations... tv commercials alone are enough to have you stumbling..so a simple "remain abstinent/celibate" ... simply is not enough! So how do we stay sexual pure in a society that encourages sexual immorality?

It is ROUGH ROUGH ROUGH.. yet EASY EASY EASY...

The answers are in the WORD of God...

"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." 1 Corinthians 10:13 

God said it in His word! You CAN overcome temptation! It does not have to rule your world..just because it is in your world! God says He will provide a way OUT! Temptation WILL come your way.. but there is an escape route.. His name is Jesus.. run to Him QUICKLY and don't look back! 

The very best way to maintain  ( because temptation will happen!) is to evaluate what you are watching,listening to, taking in, hanging around, looking at... etc. 

"Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways." Psalm 119:37 

TURN YOUR EYES! If you struggle with lust.. why are you looking at things that cause you to lust?!??! Walking away is a simple option to a lot of things... It can be the difference between you doing something you regret and you keeping your sanctification in Christ. Choose wisely! 

The reactions I get to my testimony crack me u every time! The moment I say " I am a 22 year old virgin," ears perk up and people listen. I have been told I am a liar ( because virginity seems impossible I guess!), I have been told I probably live in a box and don't get out much ( definitely not true.. I am a very outgoing girl and love hanging out!), and I also get the reaction that I must be " so holy" to have lived this way! ( also so far from true it couldn't be any more false lol.. )

So what made me make the decision to remain a virgin until my wedding date? 

At a very early age ( I wasn't always saved so Jesus wasn't the reason until I got saved!) I made the decision to be different. I saw so many girls giving so many men EVERYTHING they had .. only to be left in the dust for the next chick. I promised myself that that would NEVER be me! Baby mama drama in high school was enough to keep me far away from " getting it in." I didn't want to risk the lifetime consequences for the temporary pleasure.. it just was not worth it for me! 

When I got saved and surrendered my life to God... my virginity became even more important. But life did get MORE real. I saw a lot of my friends having sex and telling me I was missing out. I literally felt like I was! I felt like such a lame girl. Why hadn't I had sex...just gotten it over with and done what everyone else did? When my friends would talk about their experiences I would just sit there in the corner with nothing to share. I was convinced I was lame. But the closer I got to God.. the more that I realized the enemy wanted me to feel like I was a lame! The enemy knew my virginity was the one thing that he could not get to.. and he didn't like it! So the devil would plant things in my head ( and he still does ALL THE TIME.. *Side Note: the enemy will only live in your mind if you let him.. KICK HIS SORRY BUTT OUT!*). He tells me things like "you will never find a man who is willing to wait for you. " And, " Nobody wants to date a virgin... you are crazy!" But what does the devil know?? NOTHING.. he is a LIAR and the truth is not in him! 

"For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" -2 Corinthians  10:3-5

Trust that God has someone who is willing to wait on you.. in fact.. He has someone who will INSIST on waiting for you.. because he will be a man who respects you and your body! 

The question I am usually asked... Am I tempted??

HECK YES! 

Sex is a good thing... it was designed by God.. BUT only for MARRIAGE... not for ANYTHING ELSE! 

How do I fight temptation?

When I am tempted ( and believe me the struggle is real!) I honestly talk to God in my head. He reminds me of all the  reasons I have promised to keep myself for marriage and then He reminds me of all the ways HE keeps me!

"So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace." -Romans 6:11-14

 I am determined to have this special gift set aside specifically for my amazing ,God sent husband! It will be an experience that I get to share with him. I will be able to look him in his face and tell him in my Elle Varner voice  "I only want to give it to you!" lol. SERIOUSLY... I want my husband to feel special.. what better way to do that than to show him he has ALL of me! A part of me that NO ONE else in this world will EVER have but him! 

NOW...

If you have had sex.. or are having sex....

I encourage you to STOP. If you are not married.. STOP. God has seasons for every part of your life.. this is NOT your season for sex... SIMPLE. You CAN remain celibate ! It will be hard... probably ten times more difficult than it is for someone like me who has never experienced it.. but it is doable! Honor yourself, your future spouse, and MOST importantly, God with your body! Choose purity! 

"Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it." -1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

Always chose God's best for your life! Tell your flesh to SHUT UP.. you don't obey it.. you obey God! He rules your life!

God loves each of you SO much!!!!!!!!!!

Nicole L. 

Love... No Condemnation

So lately I have been hearing SO much about Conviction, Condemnation, and God's grace. How do all of these "Christanese" terms have so much in common?!??! It took me a while to fully understand the concept of each word and what they stood for.

So often, we hear these terms defined but we still don't fully understand their roles in the kingdom of God. Here are some dictionary definitions of the words according to Merriam Webster:

What is Conviction?
- The act of convincing a person of error or of compelling the admission of truth


What is Condemnation?
- " to declare to be reprehensible, wrong, or evil usually after weighing evidence and without reservation"
What is Grace?
-unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification

- a virtue coming from God

- a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace

-disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency
It can all get confusing if you don't go DIRECTLY to God's word and pick apart these terms yourself.

Lets start here :

" If anyone hears my words and doesn't keep them, I don't condemn him, because I didn't come to condemn the world, but to save it." (John 12:47)

"There is NO condemnation for those IN CHRIST JESUS." Romans 8:1

You can clearly see that condemnation IS NOT from Christ! that is made absolutely clear in these scriptures.

I read in a devotional, " The Dare," by Josh Mayo 

" Conviction is the tool of the holy spirit, Condemnation is the tool of the enemy." 

So often, people want to make God out to be this bad God who sits around in heaven and judges their every move. He is NOT that kind of God.. don't let the enemy fool you! God wants nothing more than to love on you! But He absolutely wants you to keep His comandments and follow what He says... but if you don't He isn't going to condemn you.. He will , however make you FEEL awful about your choice which will hopefully cause you to TRUE repentance which is where CONVICTION comes in. God makes you feel a certain way about your sin that almost hurts you. Your love for God takes over and you feel awful about what you have done to sin against Him.. Conviction causes you to run to God.. tell Him what you have done.. and ask for His forgiveness.. you repent.. TURN AWAY from that sin... and are forgiven!


SATAN, however, is the " accuser of the brethren..." Revelation 12:10 

Satan condemns you even before you are proven guilty of anything! He is NOT a just devil.. He wants to make you feel SOOOO bad about your sin that you RUN from God because you feel " too dirty, unholy, and too unrighteous " to go before God. That one sin.. mixed with all that condemnation from the enemy can lead to a MAJOR downward spiral in your walk with Christ which is EXACTLY what the enemy wants! 

PRAISE GOD that we DON'T Have to go through all of that foolishness the enemy tries to hand us! Because Jesus lived a PERFECT and SPOTLESS life... Sinless... went to Calvary...got up on a cross with nails in His hands and feet...thorns on His heads... blood dripping from the slashes on top of slashes He endured... ALL so we could be seen as RIGHTEOUS people in the eyes of God! PRAISE HIM! 

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21
WE ARE RIGHTEOUS! When God looks at your pretty little face... He sees JESUS! He doesn't see your sin.. because Jesus took that already.. He doesn't see your imperfections... He sees you through the blood of Jesus Christ! He deems you " Not Guilty!" even though we are SOOO guilty! When we sin, He gives us that unmerited grace.. that divine act of God. He sees us not as sinners.. but as people covered in His grace and mercy. 

The bible says 

" But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me." 2 Corinthians 12:9 

God's grace is more than enough to cover all of your sins! Anytime you sin He covers you and forgives you. NOW DON'T GET IT TWISTED... there are STILL consequences for your sin... you will STILL be judged on it one day... but your sin won't put a huge divide between you and God that would make Him rebuke you. His grace is the love that after you sin... you can STILL RUN back into His loving arms! His grace and mercy is what has covered you when you had sex with 10 different people and don't have that STD or an unexpected pregnancy! He had mercy on you! He has plans for you.. His grace is what helps illustrate His love to you! 

BUT PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Do not ABUSE God's AMAZING grace! Just because He gives it to you.. it isn't rights for you to use Him up! That is a mockery of everything God is... we as His people must STOP THAT NOW! 

"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
    therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
    Blessed are all who wait for him!" -Isaiah 30:18

Conviction brings sorrow to you.. it is SUPPOSE to hurt when you hurt God. He hurts when you sin! It is almost like you nail JEsus right back on the cross.. thank God He took it over 2,000 years ago.. but it still hurts. The bible says that God's kindness leads us to repentance ( Romans 2:4). God's kindness and grace towards us should definitely MAKE us want to repent and turn away from any sin that can hurt us but more importantly hurt God's feelings! 

I want to encourage you today... if the enemy has brought any condemnation on your life .... TELL HIM to SIT HIS EVIL TAIL DOWN! You are covered in God's love... His grace and mercy... and you are not condemned because of your sin! You are NOT held on or bound by that sin. God wants you to run to Him and ask for forgiveness.. He wants you to turn away from anything that can harm you! Don't let the enemy lie to you anymore! You are NOT condemned ..YOU ARE FREE in Christ Jesus! Hallelujah! 

I pray that today... you understand the difference between conviction and condemnation. I pray that God has shown you that you are LOVED by Him so much that He sent His son to die for you so you DON'T have to be condemned anymore! I pray that you know that the enemy is a LIAR and the truth is NOT in Him and that He won't win! I pray that you no longer let the enemy make you feel guilty for the things in your past. Do not let Him whisper in your ear the things that you have done... or how you have messed up! Call Him out! Tell Him HE IS THE ONLY ONE CONDEMNED TO HELL FOR ETERNITY...and because you are SAVED and know that Jesus is your Lord and savior and have confessed it to the world.. YOU WILL not let Him punish you daily.. you KNOW you are righteous and spotless in Christ Jesus.. and you WILL be in Heaven worshipping God's holy name for eternity! You are LOVED by an amazing God and Have been SAVED ! 

You are SO dang Loved!!!!

Nicole L. 

Love...Studying

I made a promise to myself and God that this year I would dig in deeper! I want MORE. the best way to get more of Him is to read more about who He is. When you want to know something about a person, you read their biography or their autobiography. The bible is a biography of everything Jesus. The bible is Jesus' autobiography. When He came to earth everything in that book became Him! 

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14). 

Okay... 

So you have this yearning desire to dig deeper into God's word. So you pick up the bible, open it, and start reading. All of the sudden your mind begins to wonder into far places and the next thing you know you have forgotten what you read. Can anybody else relate?

I know I can! 

Lately, I have gotten a ton of questions on how to sit and actually study the bible. So I thought I would do a quick blog on my "go to tips" for digging in a little bit deeper! 

It can be really difficult to take the first step in saying you will commit yourself to studying God's word, so getting committed to doing it is the very first step to take. Once you make that step with God in saying you are devoted to learning more about Him, you will be more enthusiastic about going deeper into what He has to say . 

So how do I spice up my bible reading....????


1.) I let the holy spirit lead me- 

Let the holy spirit in on your bible time. Ask Him for guidance and help to understand and comprehend what God wants you to get. Sometimes right before I read my bible I address the holy spirit in my prayer. I ask Him to lead me to what He needs me to get from my quiet time and direct my every thought. I ask Him to be with me and give me instruction as I read about who God is. The holy spirit was given to us as a helper. UTILIZE Him! He wants nothing more than to be a part of your every action INCLUDING your study time. 

"He told them, “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.” "(Acts 1:7-8).

2.) Google is my best friend-

I ALWAYS have my bible, my journal, and my macbook handy while I study God's word. I google like a crazy woman! If I don't know a word or history about something, I will google the mess out of it until I gain understanding about it. I look for RELIABLE sources ( almanacs, libraries, etc.) to help me study and when I know it, comprehend it, I move on. 

DO YOUR RESEARCH!!!!!!!

When you meet a new person you are interested in... what is the first thing you do? You go add them on Facebook..follow them on Twitter...Google... you research them! You want to know a little bit about this person before you invest your time! God wants us to do the same for Him. He wants us to research Him.. to SEEK Him and invest our time and attention to getting to know Him. Treat God BETTER than you treat that new cutie you met..Do your research! :) ♥

3.) I journal my thoughts- 

I journal my every thought during my quiet time with God. I want to remember what He spoke to me. I write scriptures in my journal, I write worship song lyrics that pop up, I write revelation... EVERYTHING.. I write it. It makes it a lot easier for me to comprehend what just occurred in my alone time with Him. It also allows me the opportunity to go back on previous notes and study. My advice to you is get a journal, write prayers, scriptures, everything in it. 
*Side Note- Note cards are really great too! I write scriptures on them if i have them handy to memorize them! 

4.) Find a bible that works- 

Find a bible that works for you! Some people do REALLY well using the KJV ( King James Version). Others of us.... not so gifted. I personally like the Message, the NIV, NLT, ESV, and amplified ( I love the lengthiness of the amplified bible!). Find a version that works for you to help you better articulate God's word. Some will argue all day until they are blue in the face that every Christian should read the KJV.. I have no time for that dispute.. you do you.. ! Whatever works! You like it.. I love it! Find your bible or switch it up and try multiple versions whatever works! 


My best advice to spice up your bible time.... JUST DO IT! The word of God is SO important! I understand frustration behind not understanding what you are reading.. but not understanding it is no reason NOT to do the assignment. Think about school.. when you have a paper to do.. and you just REALLY don't get the topic you go and figure out how to study it! MAKE MOVES! Figure out how to drum up your interest in God's word, how to make it easy for you to understand and READ. The more you know about God the better! He is AMAZING. Once you have gotten your study pattern down it will be REALLY hard to pull your head out of the bible! 


I really hope some of these tips help you guys! 



You are loved! 

Nicole L.