Women are Beautiful

  Some people exude beauty. Their personality, their charm, their kindness, their outward beauty, but especially their vulnerability and authenticity. These are the things that I find so beautiful about Amy. She is REAL. 

Amy is such a godly and beautiful woman. She is a light on Facebook, and while I know she strives to be a positive and uplifting person, she will also admit to her struggles and shortcomings. And THAT is a breath of fresh air in a world where anyone can pretend to be anything on social media platforms. 

Amy's career is rocking it as a Sapphire Brand ambassador with Plexus.  (To put this in perspective, the only position above her is Diamond, which means that she has worked her way up to 2nd from the top!!  Beautiful AND brilliant!)  Amy was willing to share her story with us, so please enjoy reading about her amazing rise with Plexus:

"I’m a teacher by trade and when I had my third baby it was costing me more than I was making in childcare. My husband was in ministry and we could not afford to live on just his income although I was desperate to stay home with my babies. 

Somebody from our church gave us a 600 square-foot hideously ugly mobile home that had holes in the floor and termites in the walls and we took it. We had a no yard, and my daughter did not have a bedroom.  

Soon after, we were pursuing missions, and God had seemed to open every door. My husband step down from the church, and they gave us a send off and replaced him. And then God closed every door and closed our way to go missionaries to China. We were devastated. 

So six months after they move there, he no longer had a job, and what was for us to save, now became necessary.   I knew I had to go back to work, and it broke my heart, I started subbing and doing home school evaluation. My husband took a job at Walgreens for the time being as a cashier. It wasn’t enough.   I was incredibly thankful to be home with my kids but also very angry that my husband has a masters degree and I have a teaching degree and we are living on welfare and food stamps. I was humiliated and embarrassed about where we lived. I had to lie to friends because I didn’t have the gas money for play dates.   My friend kept asking me about Plexus, and although I was happy for her - it was not even an option for me because we could barely afford food. I was not going to spend money to lose weight. No way.  

One day she shared on Facebook that she made enough money to cover her product, her mortgage and her car payment. I called her immediately and told her to show me her paycheck. It was 1143. I did not pay a bill in order to join her. I told my husband it’s not going to make or break us because we are already broken. Nothing is going to change and I saw this as a way out.  

Right around the same time my husband did get a better job and it was enough for us to live on in that trailer. So at first I used this money as homeschool and play money, play dates, baseball, Disney tickets.  Within five months, I matched my teaching income and decided to put my son in a private Christian school. 22 months later I hit emerald, and we finally were able to find a place where my daughter had a bedroom and we had a yard.  

Obviously, I have tons of health stories that go along with that like my migraines went away, my daughter’s eczema, my husbands, seasonal allergies, my father-in-law diabetes, my mothers RA.   But it has completely changed my life, allowed  my husband to be with us, along with children to go to an incredible classical Christian school, we’ve been able to do family vacations every year since, we personally support missionaries.  

Honestly, that is the summary. There’s so much more..." 

Thank you, Amy, for sharing your journey with us.   Your passion and drive are two more things that I admire so much about you, along with the hope that you offer other women to step into their power and change their circumstances for the better.  I am so honored that you have allowed me to feature you as today's beautiful woman!  

 Have you ever met someone whose talents know no end? That’s what I think of when I think about my sister-in-law, Judy. Music, sewing, gardening, cooking, women’s leadership, church ministry…she’s definitely a perfect picture of the proverbial godly woman, and I am so proud to call her my sister!

Besides all these amazing gifts and talents, Judy is sweet, thoughtful and so beautiful. She’s got the most beautiful eyes and hair,  and the prettiest smile that lights up a room, along with long, thin legs that, frankly, make me a little envious. 😊 

One of my favorite things about Judy is how she loves to laugh and have a good time. (All of my sisters-in-law are fun like that.) She’s also a wonderful grandmother and a devoted friend to so many of her sisters in ministry. When I hear people talk about someone having a servant’s heart, I often think of Judy. She’s always helping to fund raise or going on missions trips. 

Judy is the music director and church administrator at Faith Family Church in Maryland and she’s one of the most talented musicians I know! When I asked her to incorporate the song “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music into my wedding march, she immediately said it was no problem and made it happen! Oh, to be possessed of such talent! (I can play a mean, one-finger rendition of Heart and Soul, if anyone would like to hear it.)

Judy, you carry such wisdom and grace. Thank you for being the best example of a godly, beautiful woman, and thank you for allowing me to feature you today!

P.S.  Judy is pictured here with her husband Paul...whom I would say many wonderful things about if this website were called Men are Beautiful.  

 I cannot believe it’s taken me over a year to feature this lady. For years, when anyone has mentioned a beautiful woman, Phylicia has always come to my mind. In my younger adult years, I would somehow always be sitting in the perfect position during church to observe Phylicia’s expression and she unfailingly wore a satisfied smile that was so peaceful and full of joy, that it would put Rembrandt’s (I've just been corrected that it's Da Vinci's...oops...you get the gist...)  Mona Lisa to shame! 

As I’ve learned more about Phylicia through the years, I can only attribute her beauty and magnetics to pure LOVE…for God and for others.   Twelve years ago, Phylicia started a non-profit organization called Sisterhood of Servants.  Through this organization, she has been able to minister to teen girls, homeless women and children, women in crisis pregnancies, children with cancer, the elderly, law enforcement officials and families in Zambia, Africa.

Her newest ministry is called the Partners in Compassion Initiative and it is designed to reach foster girls that have aged out of the foster care system, as well as homeless women and their children.  You can read more about her vision here:

http://www.sisterhoodofservants.com/picproject

Phylicia, I love your passion for women and girls.  I think that is something we have in common, and I cannot wait to learn more about these ministries!  Your beauty and your light are so needed in this world.   I pray that God blesses you in these endeavors!

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I went down to Epcot so that we could experience the flower and garden festival for the day.  It was absolutely amazing although, I'm pretty sure, the hottest day of the year so far.   We stopped in "Mexico" to get a bite to eat and when we went to sit down, there were no tables available.

That was when this pretty young girl speaks up and says, "You can sit with us!"  Well, normally that kind of thing is super uncomfortable for me, but she seemed so genuine and sweet that I couldn't help but accept her offer.  Plus, when in Rome...or Mexico at least...

So pictured to the right is Cheryl, of Miami, FL and her lovely daughter Lyndsey.  It was so fun to sit and chat with them.  Cheryl has been going to Disney since it first opened, and she said she lost count, but she's sure she's been over 300 times!!  She told us so many fun stories about her mom taking her and her siblings there when she was young.  She also gave us a few tips about getting around for the day.

What I loved most about Cheryl and Lyndsey was their kindness.  They were so fun and easy to talk to.  It's wonderful to meet a stranger somewhere and be able to laugh and talk with them like old friends.

Cheryl and Lyndsey, you are both so beautiful and I would love for our paths to sometime meet again.  Thank you for allowing me to feature you both as today's beautiful women!

Have you ever been around a person that just exudes positive energy?  That is exactly why I love being around Shannon.  I wanted to feature her as today's beautiful woman, not only because of her obvious outward beauty, but because of the way her excitement and personality always light up a room.  She is magnetic!  

Shannon is always so easy to talk to.   I absolutely love her smile and her style, and her hair always looks so beautiful.  She's thoughtful and so sweet, and is raising two beautiful girls to be just like her.   When I asked her to provide a photo of herself that she loves, here's what she said about this photo:  "This photo is what defines me.  I'm a mom who is so unbelievably proud of her girls.  We had just finished a race, which is something 20 years ago I never thought I would do.  I love running etc.  It makes me "ok" physically and mentally.  And I'm so proud that my girls want to be strong!!!"  

I couldn't have said it better myself, Shannon!  Way to be an amazing role model for your girls!

Shannon has been a dental hygienist for over 20 years, and she loves her job.  She says people make her happy ("'all kinds"), which is probably why she is so magnetic and easy to talk to.  I think it's also the fact that she says she could not be more thankful for the life she has.  "I have amazing friends and family!"  

I'm sure they're saying the same thing about you, Shannon!  Thank you so much for allowing me to feature you as today's beautiful woman! 

  Here is another beautiful woman that I have never even met in person, but she and I are both members of a facebook community and I have thoroughly enjoyed watching her grow and create a beautiful life for herself in the past year or so. 

Jene is from North Carolina. She owns a marketing company and is the president of Foundation Marketing. She has lots of long-term career/employment options up in the air right now, and in the future she would really like to work in supporting the arts in some capacity. 

As I mentioned already, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching her journey this past year. She does absolutely nothing halfway. She is positive, she is authentic and she is creative. I have watched her upgrade her style, her health, her creativity, her surroundings, her self-image, her relationships and her life overall. She absolutely has learned how to embody the feminine goddess and it has been an absolute joy to watch her create all of this loveliness! 

As you can tell from this picture, Jene has a beautiful sense of style; quite vibrant with a touch of spunk, in my opinion! She also has a beautiful smile, the loveliest sparkling eyes and a fabulous figure!

Jene’s favorite quote is: “Friends are the flowers in the garden of life.” And in her own words: “Friends keep us young and make us feel beautiful from the inside out every day. Where would we be without our friends?” Jene, I can imagine that your friends feel the same way about you and consider themselves blessed to have you in their lives. Thank you for allowing me to feature you as today's beautiful woman!

Today is a milestone day for this beautiful woman, and I am so happy that she is allowing me to feature her!  I've been excited to feature Cheryl for a long time, because I have like a gazillion things to say about her beauty, both inside and out; and I know that normally she wouldn't be comfortable with the attention, but today she is graciously indulging me on her birthday.

Anyone that knows Cheryl would agree that she is the life of the party.  Always ready for a good time, and most of the time providing the good time all on her own.  When she enters a room, you can't help but be drawn to her, and I can imagine that her whole life she was the cool girl that everyone wanted to have as a friend.

Yet she is also such a good listener and can sit and have a serious conversation and can make a person feel so seen and heard when they're going through a tough time.  One of my favorite things about her is her ability to make anyone feel loved and validated.  

She is also one of the most generous people I know!  I often hear about her stepping in and providing when there is a need.   Generosity is trait I so admire in others and try to cultivate more in my own life, and Cheryl is a perfect example of a cheerful giver!

She's hilarious.  She's quirky.  She's loud.  She's crazy.  She's one of a kind and not afraid to be herself.  She's never competing with anyone.  She's full of life and full of laughter.  She's a great hostess.  A fun gift giver.  A lover of books and a great conversationalist.

And if ALLLL that weren't enough...she's absolutely beautiful to boot!  She has the most beautiful blue eyes, as you can see, and the hair of a 20 year old!  Her complexion is flawless, her style of dress is bold and colorful, and her smile lights up a room.  

Cheryl, I know you don't like to be in the spotlight like this, but I so appreciate you allowing me to share with the world how wonderful and beautiful you are.  Happy Birthday to you!  I love you!

I am suuuuper excited to introduce you to today's beautiful woman, my cousin, Emily (although we like to shorten it to Em).  Ok, so you've already met a couple of my girl cousins, and just so you know, I have MANY more that I will be introducing as time goes on, but Em has been on my mind to feature as the day's beautiful woman for quite some time, so I am so thrilled that the day is finally here!  

Em has always been a beautiful girl...her smile, her hair, her eyes, but there is SOO much more that I find beautiful about her.  First of all, her laugh is pure gold, and she LOVES to laugh and have a great time.  Which brings me to her personality...funny, sweet, and incredibly giving and kind.  As a matter of fact, one of my childhood memories about Em was that she was always so sweet to us younger cousins.  As a matter of fact, one time she even shared her bubble gum with me and THAT deserved a good amount of hero worship in my book!

Em grew up to be a kind and giving person as well.  She is so thoughtful and always finding ways to give to people in need.  She has been a PE teacher for years now, and even through the past couple of years that were so difficult for teachers everywhere.  This picture shows her being awarded Maine's PE teacher of the year, an award that I know she's earned many times over!  I can't think of anyone that would deserve it more.

Lastly, another thing that's so beautiful about Em is her talent and creativity.  She has used her gifts to start a business collecting and making the most unique and beautiful gifts out of sea glass.  You must check out her beautiful work!  You can find her treasures on Facebook at 

Maine Sea Glass Creations.  

Em, thanks so much for allowing me to feature you as today's beautiful woman!  You have always been beautiful and your light shines brighter than most!  I'm so thankful to call you my cousin!

Introducing the beautiful Beunca.  I met Beunca and her girls last week when I was on my morning walk.  As soon as I saw her, I knew I needed to ask to feature her.  She was absolutely GLOWING with beauty.  And so were her girls!  They all have such beautiful smiles, and they were so kind and a delight to speak with, if only for a few minutes.  Not to mention, the work they were doing downtown was to share God's message with others.  What could be more beautiful than that??

Thank you, Beunca for allowing me to share your beauty and that of your girls with the world!

This beautiful lady is my sister-in-law, Valerie.  Valerie is the oldest of my husband's six sisters, and she truly holds a special place in my heart.  Valerie's beauty extends far beyond her outward beauty, but let's park there for a moment.  Check out those dimples...and her smile absolutely lights up a room...not to mention that her hair is always perfectly in place, AND she carries herself with such grace and poise!  I've always thought Valerie is the most beautiful woman!

Beyond that, Valerie has always been so kind, so wise and so strong.  She has been through so much pain and loss in all the years I've known her, and yet her grace and beauty continue to shine through.

I asked Valerie if she wouldn't mind sharing a bit about herself, and here's what she had to share:

"I have been on a 25 year plus odyssey that has yet to have an ending. It began with the sudden death of my husband, Tom, at age 48 from a heart attack here at home; then taking his position in an insurance agency, after accepting an offer from his 2 business partners to handle many of his former duties, plus handle the day to day operations of the insurance agency, including the firing & hiring of new employees; Rearing our eleven year old son without Tom; Dealing with ovarian cancer in 2004, plus a pituitary tumor in my brain in 2016 that was removed at Johns (yes, it’s Johns with an S) Hopkins University Hospital. Since that surgery, I’ve dealt with seizures & being diagnosed with epilepsy; the tumor growing back after removal 2 more times, resulting in 2 more surgeries; radiation; amputation of a toe due to it being infected with MRSA; unplanned retirement due to my health issues; a lobectomy (removal of my brain’s right temporal lobe) in an effort to end the seizures, which worked, thank the Lord, but left some unpleasant side effects to deal with on a daily basis; my latest challenge is with my heart, dealing with an afib condition and also severe incontinence that prevents my being able to do much. 

  As I look back at these challenges, I’ve been inspired by the story of Job in the Old Testament & how his faith & trust in God were so deep, he could say “even if God slays me, I’m still going to trust Him!” This is after he’s lost his family, his wealth, his health; the comfort of his friends; and the support of his wife. I’ve tried to keep my faith & trust strong even though I have not gone through the deep trials that Job had to deal with! One thing I have learned throughout all of these challenges is that it’s easy to say what we should do…it’s another to actually do it! Over these years, God has proven Himself faithful, over and over! 

One thing that changed because of my health situation is that I have had to hire caregivers to come in on a daily basis to help me because I am pretty immobile because of the meds I take & also because of my physical situation. I have tried to talk to each of them about what Jesus has done for me & what He can do for them. I’ve found a number of them to be Believers & I’ve enjoyed the fellowship we’ve had, talking about the Lord. However, one of them, a kind Muslim woman, was not a Believer, but I prayed the Lord would give me an opportunity to talk with her. He did, & it was in an unexpected way! She asked me one day why I was so nice to her & also to businesses I had to contact for different health care matters. She said I was never rude or mean. I explained to her that I am trying to live the kind of life that I believe Jesus Christ tells me to live, as a follower of Him…to love my neighbor as myself & to follow His example in what I do. God used this to open the conversation door to what it means to be a Believer and why. I prayed & prayed (& others prayed with me) that she would accept Christ when I showed her the Plan of Salvation from the Bible. I have to admit I was a little dubious that would happen, but God proved that His “Word does NOT return void,”

& she accepted Christ as her Savior! Thanking God for His Faithfulness, once again!! And thankful for these opportunities that I have with my caregivers!

My challenge now is to trust God for the healing I so desperately need & to continue trusting Him even when it doesn’t come. This is a difficult journey for me, & I want to be found faithful!"

Valerie, thank you so much for sharing your story with us, and for allowing me to feature you as today's beautiful woman!  Your testimony is so inspiring!  Love you so much!

P.S.  Valerie is pictured to the right ringing the bell the day she finished her radiation treatments.  She said she rang it so hard that it fell off the wall!

This beauty has been on my heart and mind for a long time, and I am beyond excited to feature her today.  Sarah is one of those people that just gets more beautiful with time.  She has this classic elegance about her that is evident in her dress, her style and the way she carries herself.  Her makeup is always flawlessly beautiful, her hair always fixed with care.  She is an energetic, bad-to-the-bone businesswoman, and her voice is more lovely than the little mermaid.  :)  These are just a few of the things I find beautiful about Sarah, but I also wanted her to be able to tell us a few things about herself, and here's what she had to share:

"When I share with others, I always try to talk about my health experience. I think it's important for women to know that our circumstances do not define who we are. When the doctor removed my ureter instead of my ovary, my life was changed in an instant. When you face death, your priorities change. I literally woke up to a physician telling me that an injury had occurred and if they didn't take immediate action, I would die. Those words change a person, forever.

For two years, I suffered. Surgeries, bad news after bad news, even Mayo Clinic couldn't fix the error.... not to mention the physical pain I lived with. 
But, all the while, God proved faithful in my life. Constantly showing me His unfailing love. I walked through dark times. Standing on the precipice of giving in and giving up or rise above, overcome, make the most with what I had.

Looking into the eyes of my husband and my children and all the people that prayed for me, gave me an inner strength. I got out of bed, I made an effort, through the pain, to move forward with my life. I started creating jewelry as a hobby. A friend found out and asked for a specific color. I couldn't afford to buy beads, so I painted beads. And it caught. I not only had the gift of jewelry making but I was an artist. I had skills buried in me that I never knew existed. At 42, God chose to reveal my most extraordinary talents. Two and a half years later, my business is gaining momentum and my health hasn't been this good since the injury happened. I'm prone to kidney failure and I have many limitations, I do not publicly speak about but I'm living my life to the fullest. My hobbies are my passions, sharing Jesus, spending time with John and my three girls, who are an absolute treasure to my heart. We love to travel!"

If you'd like to take a look at the amazing jewelry that Sarah creates, you can visit https://www.sarahfide.com   

Sarah, your story is just as beautiful as you are.  Thank you so much for allowing me to feature you today and share your beauty and your creativity with the world!